Finding Aids

Allen H. Tweddle (1949-) is a retired railroad conductor and avid collector of railroadiana. Railroadiana are artifacts related to current or former railways. This small collection consists of photographs, prints, and note cards related to railroad locomotives. There are photographs of train stations, train cars and engines and one stereoview showing an elevated railway street scene of New York City. There is an album containing many different Amtrak trains, several blotters from the Association of American Railroads, and a few series of note cards. Notably there is a large collection of railroad locomotive trading cards from the Topps Chewing Gum Company series called "Rails and Sails" published in 1954.

A collection amassed by a retired conductor successively employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, Conrail and Amtrak. It consists partly of company publications and documents collected on the job, and partly of advertisements, timetables, brochures, maps and other railroadiana from many different companies bought from dealers and other collectors. It is particularly useful for the Amtrak manuals relating to things like consumer satisfaction, employee health and safety and equipment maintenance.

The Budd Company was a manufacturer of steel automobiles, passenger rail cars, and other transportation products. This collection’s photographs focuses on the Budd Company rail division with some images of automobiles and wheel products and manufacturing. The bulk of the materials date from the 1940s, 1950s and the 1980s. The collection is organized into five series: Company executives and employees; Plants and manufacturing; Products; Advertising; and Films and videos.

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 portfolio contains sixty-eight examples of proof copies of advertisements created by the advertising agency of Ogilvy & Mather, Inc. (later Ogilvy & Mather Partners, Inc.), between Conrail's start up in April 1976 and 1990. There are also two pages of proxy instructions that appear to date from the first CSX takeover bid in 1997.

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.

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was chartered in 1846 to complete an all-railroad network across the state. Between 1855 and 1874, the PRR underwent rapid expansion and emerged as one of the two largest railroad systems in the region east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio. In 1910, the PRR entered Manhattan through tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers. This collection consists of flyers and a brochure for Pennsylvania Railroad special fares or trains.

Chartered in 1871, Reading Company was the holding company for the system of railroads, canals and coal mines assembled by the predecessor Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company between 1833 and 1896. The collection consists of the corporate records of the Reading Company (1871-1976), the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company (1833-1896), the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company (1896-1923), and 159 predecessors and subsidiaries.

The Reading Terminal was a train station serving passenger trains in Philadelphia from 1893 until 1984. This calendar was produced by the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society. It is illustrated with archival photographs from a variety of published and private sources.

Transportation Displays Inc. (TDI) was an advertising sales agency targeting the commuter market. Founded in New York in 1938, the company installed and maintained placard advertising, posters, signs, and other displays aimed primarily at daily commuters, in railroad stations, passenger cars, menus, and timetables. The collection consists of photographs showing a wide variety of advertising placed and maintained by Transportation Displays, Inc. in train stations throughout the Northeastern United States. Also included are sketch plans of many of the stations, showing locations of poster frames and advertisements.

Ward and Gow, a New York advertising agency, is credited as one of the first firms to "systematize" advertising in the New York subway and elevated marketplace. These fifteen photographs document advertising on New York City elevated train platforms and on subway cars. Each photo's location is given in the lower right side of the image.