Edison Film Shows Subway System Only Marginally Improved In Past 111 Years

[Alona Hyatt]

Thomas Edison Film From Moving Train Shows Subway System Only Marginally Improved In Past 111 Years

Hunter Stuart Posted: 11- 6-10 03:59 PM

Sixteen years after the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, Thomas Edison made this film from the front car of the BMT train that once crossed the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Although the train which Edison rode in 1899 appears to be moving at roughly the same speed as the modern-day BD and Q trains which crawl across the Manhattan bridge, it seems that the view has improved slightly in the past 111 years.

Shot in scratchy black-and-white film in September, 1899, the film shows glimpses of the Manhattan skyline along with the steel girders and tall stone arches of the bridge itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WA47Y6em8M&feature=player_embedded