1836 Pennsylvania Railroad passenger car photograph
Creation: circa 1893Abstract
Founded in 1846, Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) was a leading industrial and transportation force throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This collection features a cyanotype and a photographic copy print of an image depicting the first passenger car created for PRR, most likely taken in 1893 in relation to Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1893
Creator
- Unknown (Organization)
Extent
2 item(s)
General Physical Description
1 cyanotype : 6.25 x 4.25 in. 1 photographic copy print : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
Historical Note
Founded in 1846 with headquarters in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) was an American Class-1 Railroad that pervaded early American culture. As a chief source of employment and transportation, the PRR served as a national symbol of America's progress as a leading industrial nation. By 1881, the PRR was the world's largest privately-owned company. In 1968, the PRR merged with its New York rival to form the Penn Central Transportation Company. Two years later, the company declared bankruptcy and was incorporated into Conrail, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Amtrak companies.
Scope and Content
The image depicts two men posed in front of the first completed Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) passenger car. This photograph was presumably taken in 1893 in relation to Chicago World's Columbian Exposition at the Pennsylvania Shops at Edgemoor. Plaque on train car reads: "Pennsylvania Railroad/Company Passenger Car/As Constructed/Camden & Amboy Railroad Company/1836".
Location
GL Box 1
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Description
Bibliography
- Churella, Albert J. Building an empire, 1846-1917. Vol. 1 of The Pennsylvania Railroad. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
General note
Donor did not put pencil notation on back of cyanotype; cyanotype reinforced with adhesive
Related Names
Subject
- World’s Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) (Organization)
- Pennsylvania Railroad (Organization)
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- 1836 Pennsylvania Railroad passenger car photograph
- Author:
- Chase Markee
- Date:
- 2013
- 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
