Finding Aids

The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was incorporated in October 1974. It was formed under the auspices of the United States Railway Association, a quasi-public agency established for the purpose of solving the problems of bankrupt railroads in the Northeast and Midwest. The Conrail photograph collection consists of a large number of images from its company files, but the majority of the material comes from its predecessor companies: Pennsylvania Railroad and Penn Central Transportation Company. These items are predominanatly composed of photographs, negatives, transparencies, lantern slides, and films.

The Transportation Act of 1920 required railroads to file with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for permission to eliminate tracks from their system. The collections consists of index cards to finance dockets involving the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central Transportation Company, and Conrail.

The Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company was the creation of a 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. In 1970, the "Penn Central" Transportation Company filed for bankruptcy and auctioned off Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad memorabilia, pictures, and other materials. This collection consists of a poster for the auction of Penn Central railroad memorabilia. The poster includes images of lanterns and a locomotive, both in black, on brown paper with text announcing dates for auction and preview.

Robert Bruce Watson (1931-) was the Coordinator for the Northeast Corridor Project for the Penn Central Railroad. This collection contains photographs and postcards of the high-speed equipment used in the Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project, including exteriors, interiors and details of trucks and other parts. There are several photographs of speakers at a train dedication event in 1996.

"The Lou Gordon Program" is a 90-minute radio show that interviews and discusses topics of public interest. This collection includes a letter to David C. Bevin from Lee C. Hanson and two audio reels of "The Lou Gordon Program."