Postcards (2) RPPC Silk Train Locomotive Railroad Wreck w/ Bicycle c1909, Kleist

Description: Postcards (2) RPPC Silk Train Locomotive Railroad Wreck w/ Bicycle c1909, Kleist You are purchasing two (2) postcards. I've done extensive research on these two postcards and believe this to be without a doubt, one of the two trains in the accident carrying Spencer Trask. Trask was a philanthropist and the financer of Thomas Edison's projects. The train carrying Trask was the Montreal Express. The other was a train carrying the hottest, most valuable commodity at the time, silk. There were several train wrecks in the time span of this era. However, after my research, I found only two "silk" train wrecks that occurred during the era of this postcard. The AZO stamp box indicates, by the 4 upward triangles in the corners, that the era of this postcard is between 1904 and 1918. The wreck involving Spencer Trask occurred in 1909. The second silk train wreck in question also occurred in 1909, but in Saskatchewan Canada. It broke in two and was run into by a wayward freight train. This does not correspond with the photos on these postcards. The position of the train on both postcards shown are identical, as well as the train components themselves. Whether or not this was the train carrying Spencer Trask, it is still a valuable piece of history. Story below taken from the New York Almanack: On the morning of December 31, 1909, Saratoga Springs philanthropist and financier Spencer Trask was just waking up after a night in a railroad sleeping car at the rear of the Montreal Express. The night before this southbound train had picked up Trask in Saratoga as it made its way toward New York City.At 8:03 am, only moments after the express train had stopped unexpectedly on the mainline near Croton, Westchester County, New York, a train transporting bales of raw silk crashed into its rear, killing Trask, the porter in his sleeping car, and injuring several other of the passengers. While the direct cause of this deadly wreck pointed to a failure of signal equipment and railroad personnel, events leading up to the tragedy had been put into motion six thousand miles to the west seventeen days earlier.Silk was a commodity whose value in North America had increased dramatically in the years following the Civil War. In 1909, the year of Spencer Trask’s death, our country consumed half of the world’s production of raw silk, about twenty-four million pounds, with an estimated value of eighty million dollars.Brief Bio of Spencer Trask: Spencer Trask was an American financier, philanthropist, and one of history's most significant venture capitalists. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison. He was a director in the Rio Grande Western Railroad, of which one of his partners, George Foster Peabody was vice president. Note: Spencer first met George while attending services at the Reformed Church in Brooklyn Heights. Mr. Trask was also president and the largest stockholder in the company that owns the Bowling Green building. He was a member of the Union League, Metropolitan, Grolier Club, and National Arts Club of New York, and took a prominent part in municipal reform and local politics, especially in connection with the Gold Democrats. In 1897 he reorganized the New York Times of which he was the largest shareholder, as well as president of the company. His literary work was limited to one book, Bowling Green, and editorials contributed occasionally to that paper. Along with his financial acumen, Trask was a generous philanthropist, a leading patron of the arts, a strong supporter of education, and a champion of humanitarian causes. His gifts to his alma mater, Princeton University, were generous enough to set a lecture series to his name, that still continues to this day. He was also a trustee of the Teachers' College (now Teachers College, Columbia University) and St. Stephen's College. Spencer Trask recognized bold, world changing ideas long before everyone else and has launched some of the biggest technical revolutions of our times. He was often a supporter of new inventions in their experimental stages. He foresaw the potential of inventions such as the Marconi wireless telegraph, the telephone, the phonograph, the trolley car, and the automobile; "to all of these he gave of his time, his money and his judgment, to aid in their development." Thomas Edison, did not the "invent" the light bulb. However, he did develop and produce the first commercially, practical, incandescent light in 1879, which was financed and supported by his friend, Spencer Trask. For over twenty years Mr. Trask was president of the New York Edison Company, pioneering the development of distributed electricity through capacitors, networks, and transfer stations. Mr. Trask was also part of the Edison illuminating business throughout the country, and one of the original trustees of the Edison Electric Light Company in 1880 - the predecessor to the General Electric Company. In 1884 Mr. Trask helps launch the modern age of electricity as the president of the world's first electric company — Consolidated Edison. In 1892 Mr. Trask as a member of the founding Executive Committee started what became the most valuable and profitable company in history - General Electric. An interesting association occurred in 1890 when he backed his partner John Moody, then a young financial researcher, Spencer Trask creates the first rating service, the foundation for the world's financial markets, becoming Moody's Investor Services. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was founded on May 26, 1896, General Electric is the only company, of the original twelve listed, that remains today. Postcards in good condition. May have wear associated with age.May have some minor yellowing, staining, tanning, (Or Foxing), creases, edge/corner wear, age wear, and writing on front and/or back. Please see photos for more details. Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions. . USA Postcard and Trade Card Orders under $20: eBay standard envelope only provides tracking updates from post office to post office. When it marks it as "out for delivery/delivered" it means it has arrived at your local sorting center, not your home address. Please allow an extra 3 days for it to arrive at its final destination. Should you have an issue, please contact me first before opening a case.Thank you very much!

Price: 215 USD

Location: Evans, Georgia

End Time: 2025-01-19T04:14:49.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.85 USD