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Two thousand copies of the SIRT book were printed and sold out completely in eight months. The railroad itself sold 800 copies at its St. George ricket booth. When the printer was asked for a new press run, he said that he had destroyed the "flats" (press negatives)--the full costs of a new job would be incurred. As Irv was then serving in the Army, the financial resources were not there and no additional run was forthcoming.
Six copies were designated for contributors. These had a bookplate attached with each contributor's signature.
There was just one hardbound copy of the book. It was presented to J.V. Donovan at his retirement banquet in 1966.
Copies of the book have shown up on eBay. Sale prices have been in the range of $70 to $90. The original price was $1.25 retail or $1.00 for Silver Leaf subscriberss. A new high price of $117.25 was realized May 26, 2002.
Interactions with the community (often dogs) were common, but no one was bitten. When walking the former South Beach Line, some neighbors were convinced the authors were Staten Island Advance reporters. No denial would satisfy them, and Irv and Paul dutifully listened to their complaints with the SIRT, the borough and the City.
To receive a batch of Bob Wasche's photos, Paul spent a day with him at Monmouth Park (NJ) Race Track. They weren't betting; Bob was the Public Service bus operator.
Hands-on Research. One of several company orders premitting the authors access to property and trains. In the course of research, most of all three lines were walked. This slip gave permission to walk the Arlington Line, then an active freight operation.
The official website of MTA Staten Island Railway.
A wonderful illustrated essay on the current state of abandoned SIRT properties today is at Kevin Walsh's forgotten-ny.com
An illustrated ride down the line today at New York City Subway Resources, with commentary by Hank Eisenstein, Peggy Darlington and Thurston Clark.
Views of line and equipment by Joseph Korman.
Updated
©1965 Silver Leaf Rapid Transit. ©2001 Paul Matus. ©2001 The Composing Stack Inc.