Early Morning Train 1.4-mi below Stockton & Headed South (Circa 1907)
Belvidere Delaware Division of Pennsylvania Railroad (Bel-Del)
Cropped and sharpened to bring distant covered bridge into view:
The upper photograph is a Real Photo Post Card (RPPC) enlarged 4 times actual size (22.5-in
wide on my screen vs 5.5-in width of postcard). The sun's long shadows indicate early morning,
based on USGS maps. The photographer is standing at ground level, and the Raritan
Canal feeder is out-of-sight presumably just behind the wooden fence. The Delaware River
although it flows left to right in the upper part of the picture, has curved to the left
and passes behind a nearby clump of bushes on right side of the pole. The treeline on the left side
of the photo is undoubtedly on the other side of the river, based on USGS.
We were able to verify the location as follows:
1) The
original postcard has an undivided pre-1907 back and an
unidentified type of early stamp box; 2) An RPPC earlier than September 1903 of an outdoor
scene at this location would be extremely unlikely; 3) The Stockton bridge, which shows up
on the enlargement is the only covered bridge between Belvidere and Yardley which survived the
September 1903 Delaware River flood totally intact; 4) The distant tree line almost perfectly matches
the treeline on our Brookville postcard, and the open field on the hill behind the nearby
Village of Brookville shows
up just above the train in the photo at the top of this page.
Belvidere Delaware Rail Road:
Raven Rock/Bull's Island (D&R Canal Feeder)
Tracks near "Brookville"
Tracks near "Titusville Station"
Scudder Falls Station
Wilburtha Camping
Cadwalader Park Station
Belvidere Delaware Rail Road:
Railroad Map
Trenton to Belvidere (Along the Delaware River)
Bucks County Link:
Craven's Yardley Site (Photographs, Maps, History/Geography, Craven Biography)