Opening of the Extension of the Pelham Manor Trolley Line in 1910 -- The Toonerville Trolley Line

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The Pelham Manor trolley line inspired Fontaine Fox to create the Toonerville Trolley portrayed in his long-running Toonverville Folks comic strip.  Until Labor Day, 1910, that trolley line ended on Pelhamdale Avenue near today's Grant Avenue, only a few hundred feet from where the Pelham Manor Depot then stood on the Branch Line.  On Labor Day that year (September 5, 1910), the extension of the line to the end of Pelhamdale Avenue at the intersection with Shore Road near the New York Athletic Club's Travers Island facility opened.  The article transcribed below describes plans for the opening.

"TROLLEYS TO SHORE MONDAY
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According to an announcement made Thursday morning by Superintendent Wheeler of the Westchester Electric Railway, the extension of the Pelham Manor trolley line from the old terminus at the foot of the hill on Pelhamdale avenue to the Shore Road, will be in operation on Labor Day.  Superintendent Wheeler expects to start the cars running on that day.

It is not known how many cars will be operated, but Superintendent Wheeler said that it all depended upon the amount of traffic.

The construction is now practically completed.  There is about 100 feet of rock on the Shore Road that will have to be blasted out, and as soon as this work is done, 200 feet more of rails will be laid, and then the extension will be ready for operation.  The poles are all up and the wires have been strung.

It is believed that this extension will be a money maker, as many people will use the trolleys from Westchester County and various parts of New York in order to reach the Sound and the grounds of the New York Athletic Club."

Source:  Trolleys to Shore Monday, New Rochelle Pioneer, Sep. 3, 1910, p. ?, col. 3 (Newspaper page is undated and contains no page number, but references in text strongly indicate the date is Saturday, Sep. 3, 1910).

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