Brooks A. Bentz Railroad Collection


Overview of the Collection
Repository:	Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.
Creator:	Bentz, Brooks A.
Title:	Brooks A. Bentz Railroad Collection.
Dates:	undated, 1889, 1913-1975
Extent:	.75 linear foot.
Record Series:	MSS20030113
Language	English.
Abstract:	The Brooks A. Bentz Railroad Collection consists almost exclusively of materials associated with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, including passenger and employee timetables, a parlor car wine list and dining car cafe menu, information about the railroad equipment provided for railroad employees, information about the railroad's merger with what became Penn Central in the late 1960s, a vehicle decal, a map of the railroad system (ca. 1925), and photographs of locomotives.

History

Brooks A. Bentz is a resident of Stonington, Connecticut. Beginning in 1969 he worked for various railroad companies, including Penn Central, Norfolk & Western Railway, Delaware & Hudson, and Boston & Maine Corporation in such capacities as brakeman, assistant trainmaster, agent/operator, marketing director, and General Manager of Intermodal Operations. In the late 1980s he was President and CEO of Ameritrans Corporation, AVP - Intermodal of Burlington Northern Railroad, and CEO of Trans-Star Trucking Company. Since 1991 he has worked as a transportation consultant.

Mr. Bentz is also a collector of historical railroad documents and memorabilia, including those of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (a.k.a. New Haven Railroad).

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Scope and Content

The Brooks A. Bentz Railroad Collection consists almost exclusively of materials associated with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, including passenger and employee timetables, a parlor car wine list and dining car cafe menu, information about the railroad equipment provided for railroad employees, information about the railroad's merger with what became Penn Central in the late 1960s, a vehicle decal, a map of the railroad system (ca. 1925), and photographs of locomotives.

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Arrangement

Series I: Papers, undated, 1889, 1913-1975. This series consists of a commemorative booklet about the effect that the New England Hurricane of 1938 had on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, information about the brake equipment on cars and locomotives, reports of the company's trustees during the 1960s, passenger and employee timetables, a parlor car wine list and a dining car cafe menu, histories of the company written by its Public Relations Department, and testimony of Richard Joyce Smith, a trustee of the company, concerning the merger of Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad (which became known as Penn Central).

Series II: Ephemera, undated This series consists of R.P.O. cancellations of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad's Boston and New York train, and a company vehicle decal.

Series III: Map, 1925. The series contains a map of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad system.

Series IV: Photographs, 1931-1961. This series consists of nine builder's photographs of New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad diesel locomotives 0400, 0500, 0568, 0900, 0923, 0931, and 0973. It also includes one photograph of locomotive 2001 with a long line of passenger and freight cars.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from this collection must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial number of collections with information about southern New England railroads. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Persons:

Bentz, Brooks A.

Smith, Richard Joyce.

Organizations:

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company.

Penn Central Transportation Company.

Subjects:

Railroads--Connecticut.

Document Types:

Administrative Records.

Maps.

Photographs.

Publications.

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Series I: Papers, undated, 1889, 1913-1975
1:1	"The Devastation and Restoration of New England's Vital Life-Line," (commemorative booklet about the New England Hurricane of 1938), 1938
1:2	Rules for the Government of the Operating Department for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, 1954
1:3	Air Brake Equipment on Cars, 1963
1:4	Air Brake Equipment on Locomotives, 1963
1:5	Track Safety Record, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1975
1:6	Reports of the Trustees on the Operations of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, 1965-1968
1:7	Passenger timetables, 1889, 1929, 1964, 1967, 1968
1:8	Passenger timetables, lines west of New London and Willimantic, 1913
1:9	Passenger timetables, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Cos Cob and Grand Central Terminal, 1939, 1943, 1948
1:10	Passenger timetable, New York and Danbury, Pittsfield, Waterbury, 1968
1:11	Passenger timetable, Cape Cod and Islands (reprint), undated
1:12	Passenger timetable, Penn Central New Haven region, 1969
1:13	Passenger timetable, Boston & Maine Railroad, 1939, 1943, 1948
1:14	Employee timetables, 1948, 1964, 1965, 1966
1:15	Parlor Car wine list, 1968
1:16	Dining Car cafe menu, 1968
2:17	Summary of equipment, 1964-1968
2:18	Special train symbol numbers, ca. 1968
2:19	New Haven Division Pool Code List, ca. 1968
2:20	Description and assignment [of] Air-Conditioned Passenger Cars, ca. 1968
2:21	Histories of the New Haven Railroad (written by the Public Relations Dept.), undated
2:22	Information for news media about the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, 1967
2:23	Testimony of Richard Joyce Smith, Trustee of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, concerning the merger with Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad, [1967]
2:24	Track charts, [1967]


Series II: Ephemera, undated, 1968
2:25	R.P.O. cancellations -- Boston and New York train, April 10 and April 11, 1968, 1968
2:26	New Haven Railroad vehicle decal, undated


Series III: Map, 1925
2:27	Map of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad system, ca. 1925


Series IV: Photographs, 1931-1961
2:28	Photographs
		2003-0113.ph1, diesel locomotive 0400, builder's photograph, 1947
		2003-0113.ph2, diesel locomotive 0450, builder's photograph, 1947
		2003-0113.ph3, diesel locomotive 0500 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1947
		2003-0113.ph4, diesel locomotive 0568 (switcher), builder's photograph, [1950]
		2003-0113.ph5, diesel locomotive 0900 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1931
		2003-0113.ph6, diesel locomotive 0931 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1938
		2003-0113.ph7, diesel locomotive 0923 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1940
		2003-0113.ph8, diesel locomotive 0931 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1941
		2003-0113.ph9, diesel locomotive 0973 (switcher), builder's photograph, 1947
		2003-0113.ph10, Locomotive 2001 with long line of passenger and freight cars, [1961?]

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