Poughkeepsie’s Boats And Trolleys in the 1930s

Dayliners, Ferries & Trolley Cars on Main Street Poughkeepsie

[Below are notes on file at the Dutchess County Historical Society from the 1970s].

In the 1930s, Edmund Rawson of Luckey, Platt & Co., filmed “Hinkley’s Trolleys.” The National Archives modernized the original film [in the 1970s].

We can see the trolley meeting the ferry; the operator reversing the trolley pole; from the roof of Luckey Platt & Co., the heavy traffic on Main Street and The Mohican Market, where you can almost smell the delightful aroma from the bakery; and passing trolleys at the switch on Raymond Avenue. The end of the line was Taylor Hall at Vassar College. The end of the service was 1935.

You ride aboard the Brinkerhoff sailing from Highland (New Paltz Land­ing) as she passes under the railroad bridge, her walking beam in action, steering in the pilot house and arrival at her Poughkeepsie slip.

The Dayliner from Albany and the Dayliner from New York meet at the Main Street Dock and exchange passengers.

The revival of these movies is a project of the Dutchess County Historical Society and the showing of the film is available on a volunteer basis to non-profit groups.

Moving Images of Poughkeepsie 1912 to 1917