Brooks A. Bentz Railroad Collection

Collection

Identifier: 2003-0113

Staff Only

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.

Dates

undated, 1889, 1913-1975

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

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.

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).

Extent

0.75 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

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.

Custodial History

The materials were collected and held by Mr. Bentz prior to their donation to Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The records were donated by Mr. Brooks A. Bentz in 2003.

Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to the railroads of southern New England, particularly the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the Reading Room desk.