Harding,

Thanks for the tips, I'll certainly give them a look.  Much appreciated,

-Miles


On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 2:22 PM, Harding Polk <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I realize they are not archaeological reports, but a couple of reprints I
> would suggest are:
>
>
> 1995  Moseman's Illustrated Guide For Purchase of Horse Furnishing Goods,
> Imported and Domestic.  Studio Editions, Ltd.  London England.  (this is a
> combination of the J.H. Hawkins & Co. 1889 and C.M. Moseman and Brother,
> 1892.)
>
>
> 1994  Bristol Wagon and Carriage Illustrated Catalog, 1900.  Dover
> Publications, Inc. New York.
>
>
> Harding Polk II
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Miles Shugar <[log in to unmask]>
> To: HISTARCH <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tue, Feb 12, 2013 9:21 am
> Subject: Horse Railroad Contexts
>
>
> Greetings all,
>
> I am a MA candidate at UMass Boston interested in urban transportation,
> growth,
> and labor.  After scouring multiple online journal databases and article
> collections, albeit in a limited capacity due to the constraints of any
> library,
> I haven't been able to find any archaeology of 19th century horse
> railroads,
> save the project that I'm studying for my in progress thesis.  My
> collection
> comes from a support complex of the Metropolitan Railroad Company of
> Boston,
> Massachusetts, which operated from the 1850s until the 1880s, when it was
> swallowed up by a conglomerate of street railway companies that would
> become the
> later electrified lines.  The complex, which consisted of stables,
> carhouses,
> various workshops, and a blacksmith, was dug in the late 1970s by the
> archaeology staff of what was then called the Museum of Afro American
> History,
> and the report was completed in 1986 by Beth Anne Bowers.   The artifacts
> are
> largely architectural and industrial, that is, relating to the ha
>  rnessing of the Company's many horses, the maintenance and construction
> of its
> streetcars, and various materials coming from the 20th century demolitions
> and
> construction onsite.
>
> I am particularly interested in the leather harness collection that was
> recovered during Phase II and III, of which there are portions
> representative of
> every piece of 19th century industrial draught horse power.
>  Unfortunately, as
> mentioned above, I can't seem to find any analogous reports or literature
> against which I might compare my collection.  This seems odd considering
> that in
> the latter half of the 19th century, most metropolitan areas of the US
> from Los
> Angeles to Philadelphia had adopted horse rails for commuter
> transportation, and
> further, that some urban archaeological excavations probably have
> encountered
> the vestiges of these systems.
>
> So I'm turning to you to see if any of your collective experience remembers
> anything of the sort.   Thanks so much in advance for any information you
> might
> be able to supply as I seek to learn more about these interesting urban
> contexts.
>
>
>