Footnotes to Long Island History
More Bicycle Railroads
by
Thomas R. Bayles
I have read in the November 1967 issue of Yankee the story
of “Boynton's Dream Engine” by John H. Ackerman. I am wondering if that
Boynton was the same man who was interested in the Long Island Bicycle
Railroad in 1893. I am enclosing part of an article I wrote for the
local paper, the Patchogue Advance, regarding this.
The first mention we find of the bicycle railroad, which had
a two-mile piece of track at East Patchogue, LI, where the experimental
car was run, was the following item in the Patchogue Advance, Oct. 1,
1892.
“It said that F. W. Dunton is at head of a scheme to connect
Jamaica with a bicycle railroad to run to East Patchogue and then across
the Island to Port Jefferson where connections would be made for steamer
to and from Bridgeport, Conn. Mr. Dunton is a son-in-law of President
Corbin of the Long Island Railroad, and became acquainted with Eben M.
Boynton who had invented bicycle railroad systems, and they thought they
saw in this method of travel great possibilities for safe and speedy
travel.”
Public meetings were held in every village with illustrated
lectures explaining the great advantages of the new system of travel,
and people rushed to purchase stock in the company.
In July 1893 a trial of the bicycle car was successfully
made at East Patchogue with President Dunton and Secretary Boynton on
board. A speed of 40 miles an hour was made and the two-mile run was
made daily for sometime but no further construction was made. In 1902
the railroad was torn down and that ended the experiment.