Bush Terminal Company

In 1903, Irving T. Bush, incorporated the Bush Terminal Railroad to serve his 200 acre industrial park that he had started to construct in 1900 on the waterfront in Brooklyn. He constructed 15 industrial lofts - six to eight stories in height.

His railroad was a great success - it needed eight steam locomotives and another six electric ones to serve all of the customers. One of the biggest customers turned out to be an interchange partner - the South Brooklyn Railway.

One of the Bush Terminal Company’s more impressive operations, was the company’s single float barge. The plan of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company for handling freight included a contract that almost entirely removed from the streets the large double-team trucks of the Borden Condensed Milk Company, which thundered through the city streets early in the evening on their way to the milk depot in Jersey and returned in the early morning hours with the dairy products, which were then loaded on single-horse wagons and distributed to households. The BRT decided to that the milk to Jersey City would be floated by the Bush Terminal Company to South Seventh Street, Brooklyn, where the cans were transferred to the cars of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and transported by the latter to the several distributing stations of the Bordon Company throughout the city. At the time, the wagons making the trip to Jersey City had to cross the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River, cross New York City, and then cross the Hudson by ferry to New Jersey.


Certificate: Common Stock, issued in the 1920’s

Printer: Republic Bank Note Company

Dimensions: 8 1/2” (h) x 11 1/2” (w)

State: NY-New York

Subject Matter: Maritime and Related | Shipping Lines | Dry Docks and Shipyards

Vignette Topic(s): Ship Featured | Harbor Scene | Allegorical Featured | Winged Wheel or Gear | Skyline Scene

Condition: Vertical fold lines, punch hole cancels in the signature areas and body, and some toning and edge faults from age.