Berson Brothers, Inc.
New Britain > Acorn Oil - American Hardware - Armour - Barnesdale Coal & Wood - Berson Bros - Carlson & Torrell - City Coal & Wood - William Cohen - Conn Light & Power - Cremo Brewery - D&K Coal - Fafnir Bearing - R.M. Hall - Hardware City Fuel - Household Fuel - Hugh Reynolds - Landers, Frary & Clark - C.W. Lines - Loewenthal-McKenna - Miner, Read & Tullock - National Fuel - New Britain Cabinet Works - New Britain Gas Light Co - New Britain Lumber - New Britain Machine Co - New Britain Storeyard - North & Judd - Parkmeadow Lofts - Rackliffe Bros - Rogers Sash & Door - Shurberg & Sons - Skinner Chuck - Stanley-Svea - Stanley Works - Steinle Machine Co - Swaine & Bridge - Swift - Tuttle & Bailey - Union Manufacturing - United Coal & Wood - Univeral Coal & Wood - Upson Lumber
50 Harvard St.
1 Side Track, length unknown.
Modeled Capacity: 3 cars
Berson Brothers, Inc. is a coal, coke, and oil dealer that is served during the entire era I'm modeling. I don't know when they were founded, but they are not on the 1909 Sanborn map. I know they were still in business at least until 1970, although no longer selling coal.
1946 New Britain Yellow Pages Ad
1946 New Britain Yellow Pages Ad
1949 New Britain Yellow Pages Ad
In 1911, the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey lost an antitrust case brought by the US Government.
After it was split into 34 companies, Standard Oil of New Jersey sold products under the Esso brand, derived phonetically from the initials ("S. O.").
In many parts of the country, other former Standard Oil companies objected to the use of this name, and their products sold under the Enco brand instead.
Based on the ad, Berson would have received gasoline and fuel oil. These would usually have been in black UTLX tank cars.
The Jeddo-Highland anthracite mines and breakers were located in Pennsylvania and served by the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
Coke is made by burning bituminous coal without oxygen, yielding near pure carbon. It's basically the same process as making charcoal from wood.
Koppers was a national brand based in Pittsburgh. Because of the nature of the commodity, they must have licensed their brand. Koppers Connecticut Coke was produced in New Haven, and later changed its name and brand to Connecticut Coke.
Based on the 1950 Sanborn map alongside a sizeable coal shed they had 4 silos grouped together under a single conveyor house, a large coal shed, and several oil tanks as well. Being an Esso dealer, it will receive UTLX tank cars. In the yellow pages they are also listed under the heading for Jeddo-Highland brand coal
Crop from the 1950 Sanborn map.
The office and small buildings are brick, the coal sheds wood, and the silos concrete.
Compare it to the 1951 aerial view below.