Reading Railroad rest houses photographs
Creation: 1943-1944Abstract
The Reading Company owned, leased or held a controlling interest in rail lines throughout southeastern and central Pennsylvania, with branches stretching as far north as Scranton and as far west as Williamsport and Shippensburg. The collections consists of twenty-five photographs of overnight accommodations (including rest houses and company sponsored Y.M.C.A. buildings) which provided accommodations for Reading Railroad employees at various end-of-the-line locations.
Dates
- Creation: 1943-1944
Creator
- Reading Company (Organization)
Extent
25 item(s)
General Physical Description
25 photographic prints : b&w ; 7 x 8 in. or smaller
Historical Note
The Reading Company, chartered in 1871, became the holding company for the system of railroads, canals and coal mines assembled between 1833 and 1896 by its predecessor, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company. The Reading Company owned, leased or held a controlling interest in rail lines throughout southeastern and central Pennsylvania, with branches stretching as far north as Scranton and as far west as Williamsport and Shippensburg. The company also held a controlling interest in the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, giving its lines access to New York City. As a result of anti-trust proceedings, the Reading Company divested itself of its mining subsidiary in 1923. After bankruptcy in the early 1970s, viable portions of the Reading's rail network were conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976. The reorganized Reading Company retains real estate and other non-rail assets.
Scope and Content
The collections consists of twenty-five photographs of overnight accommodations (including rest houses and company sponsored Y.M.C.A. buildings) which provided accommodations for Reading Railroad employees at various end-of-the-line locations. The accommodations also include converted railroad cars, freight stations, and labor camps, and the number of beds and whether there are dining rooms at the site is indicated. The majority of the photographs featured are located in Pennsylvania with several in New Jersey, and one in Wilmington, Delaware. All show the buildings' exteriors.
Location
GL Box 6.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Description
Provenance
These photographs were once part of a larger unknown report as they are inserted in pages numbered 79 - 85 and labeled Exhibit No. 12 - 36. The Pennsylvania sites are in Bethlehem, Bridgeport, Darby Creek, Hatboro, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, Newberry Junction, Philadelphia, Port Richmond, Reading, Rutherford, Saucon Creek, Tamaqua. The New Jersey sites are in Manville, Port Reading, and West Trenton; the one Delaware site is in Wilmington.
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Reading Railroad rest houses photographs
- Date:
- 2014
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
