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John Nehrich

John Nehrich was the official project coordinator of the RPI model railroad club from 1989 until 2020. He worked with the giant layout which depicts real historic sites in upstate New York. He has written 10 books and over 100 hobby magazine articles on rolling stock, architecture, history of technology and culture. John maintains a Facebook page highlighting his research and work at John Nehrich's NEB&W Historical, Technical & Model Railroading.

Downtown Troy’s First Bridge Over The Hudson: A Short History

September 30, 2020 by John Nehrich Leave a Comment

Green Island Bridge shown in the close-up of a birds eye engraving with the west end already converted to steel trussesIn the 19th century, America had vast forests of virgin timber, unlike Europe, which during the Middle Ages had used up most of its largest trees. (The remaining were saved for ships’ masts.)

One of the first developments of the Industrial Revolution was powered sawmills. Thus was born the covered bridge, made of heavy structural timbers for trusses, and sheathed with easily-replaceable wood sheathing to protect the structure members from rotting. (This was years before creosote was used to protect exposed wood.) [Read more…] about Downtown Troy’s First Bridge Over The Hudson: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Architecture, Green Island, railroads, Transportation History, Troy

Italianate Architecture: From Italy to America

July 22, 2020 by John Nehrich Leave a Comment

saratoga victorian houseIn popular culture, “Victorian” is considered an architectural style, but historians are quick to point out that there were actually several very distinctive and different styles that make up Victorian.

Architecture can be divided and subdivided and so on, creating dozens of names for various styles. Even more confusing is that some styles get multiple names. [Read more…] about Italianate Architecture: From Italy to America

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Italian History, Saratoga, Troy

Mame Fay: Stories From Troy’s Red Light District

July 14, 2020 by John Nehrich 2 Comments

prototype section by Jim Shaughnessy c 1950The term “red light district” is believed to have first appeared in print in Ohio in 1894.

One folk etymology relates that red light districts referred to areas frequented by off-duty railroaders, but this is probably apocryphal. The story goes that railroaders would hang their lanterns outside so the crew-callers could find them, but red lights already had an association with prostitution, and therefore areas of vice, long before that. [Read more…] about Mame Fay: Stories From Troy’s Red Light District

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Crime and Justice, Cultural History, railroads, Social History, Troy, Vice

Dirty Laundry: The Backyard Clothesline In The 1950s

June 24, 2020 by John Nehrich 21 Comments

closeup on laundry courtesty Library of CongressWhen I was growing up in the 1950s, my mother had one of those old Maytags. The washing machine agitated the clothes in the soapy water until she turned it off.

Then each garment would be passed through the wringers to squeeze out as much water as possible. Finally, the damp clothes would be put out on the clothes line, our “solar-powered dryer.” [Read more…] about Dirty Laundry: The Backyard Clothesline In The 1950s

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Labor History, Social History, Urban History

Beacon Oil: New York’s Lighthouse Gas Stations

May 13, 2020 by John Nehrich 8 Comments

closeup of corner of Woodlawn to the left and Church to the right The Beacon Oil Company was formed in 1919 in Boston, and named for the city’s Beacon Hill.

In 1922, a standard service station design, called the “Watertown” used elements of the 1700s Massachusetts State House, designed by noted architect Charles Bullfinch. [Read more…] about Beacon Oil: New York’s Lighthouse Gas Stations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, lighthouse, Transportation History

Using the Bathroom: A Short History

May 4, 2020 by John Nehrich 2 Comments

Division Street end of the Saratoga Springs depotThe first photo here is of the Division Street end of the Saratoga Springs, NY, rail depot.  Behind it looms the back wing of the United States Hotel, which ran two full blocks down to Broadway and then back again, enclosing several acres. [Read more…] about Using the Bathroom: A Short History

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Housing, railroads, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs

Board-n-Batten Siding: Carpenter’s Gothic Architecture

April 28, 2020 by John Nehrich 1 Comment

D&Hs original depotThe Goths, Visagoths, and Vandals were the infamous three tribes that sacked Rome. More than a thousand years later, during the rebuilding of London after their great fire of 1666, Christopher Wren sought to introduce the latest styles from Italy. He termed that what had burned “Gothic,” a disparaging term, similar to “vandalism” from the name of the other tribe, as a way to promote his new designs. [Read more…] about Board-n-Batten Siding: Carpenter’s Gothic Architecture

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, Cultural History, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Historic Preservation

Dumb Waiters to Skyscrapers: Evolution of the Elevators

April 26, 2020 by John Nehrich 1 Comment

Looking down Division St in Saratoga c 1910 from the depot to BroadwayWith the dawn of the 20th century came the race to build the tallest skyscrapers. Such wonders were made possible in part by the new technologies afforded by steel girders.

This was part of a trend which had its roots half a century earlier, in such behemoths as the record-breaking hotels of Saratoga Springs. The United States Hotel, seen in these photos, was the world’s largest structure when completed in 1871. This was surpassed only a few years later when the Grand Union was constructed next door. [Read more…] about Dumb Waiters to Skyscrapers: Evolution of the Elevators

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs, Troy

Saratoga’s Greek Temple Railroad Stations

April 20, 2020 by John Nehrich Leave a Comment

adirondack companys officeThe prevailing architectural style at the time of the American Revolution is what many call “colonial” but a more precise name is “Georgian” after the unbroken reign of English kings. The style has it roots in the idealized Greek temple, but it was a style that bounced around from Rome before it fell, to Italy during the Renaissance, then to England, and finally crossing the Atlantic.  Each time it was modified, added to, and interpreted differently. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Greek Temple Railroad Stations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, railroads, Saratoga, Saratoga Springs

Riding The Rods And Railroad Reefer Cars

April 14, 2020 by John Nehrich 1 Comment

Armour and Company meat reeferHere is a photo of an Armour & Company meat refrigeration car (a reefer) with a hobo “riding the rods.” The car lacks the grab irons on the right side, so we know it’s before the 1911 Amendment to the Railroad Safety Appliance Act. [Read more…] about Riding The Rods And Railroad Reefer Cars

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: railroads, Transportation, Transportation History

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