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Railroads

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings

Found in 127 Collections and/or Records:

Locomotives and views of Mauch Chunk contact photographs and negatives

 Collection
Accession: 1969-092
Abstract:

This collection consists of glass plate negatives and photographic copy prints which were made directly from the negatives. The images document an array of subjects, though the majority of the images are of locomotives, railroad cars, railroad stations, and other railroad infrastructure. Various landscape and cityscape photographs are also included. Where it is possible to identify the locations, the majority of images document sites in Pennsylvania, though photographs of sites in New York state and Ontario are also present.

Dates: circa 1860-1950

Louis T. Klauder and Associates, Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2014-258
Abstract:

Louis T. Klauder and Associates (LTK) is a professional rail transportation engineering consulting firm. LTK were hired to work as consulting engineers for a joint project of the United States Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Railroad called the Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project. This collection contains aerial photographs of the Northeast Corridor railroad route from New York to Boston taken between 1951 and 1965. These images were used to aid in the project. These aerial photographs make up a bulk of the collection. There are several sets of images that show train station exteriors along several routes on the Northeast Corridor. Thirty-eight photographs show the projects test track at Pueblo Army Depot in Colorado. There are four press photographs for Inflight Motion Pictures Inc. and a few renderings of proposed trains.

Dates: 1951-1970; bulk 1957-1963

Louis T. Klauder and Associates, Office of High Speed Ground Transportation job files

 Collection
Accession: 2609
Abstract:

Founded in 1921, the Philadelphia firm of Louis T. Klauder and Associates specializes in the design and evaluation of railroad and rail transit systems, including equipment, infrastructure and operations. Their collection consists of selected job files covering Klauder's work for the Federal Office of High Speed Ground Transportation in developing the first U.S. high-speed rail project in the Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The collection also includes smaller job files on tangential rail projects and a series of files Robert B. Watson, former Northeast Corridor project coordinator for the Pennsylvania and Penn Central Railroads, brought with him when he joined Klauder in 1972.

Dates: 1962-1975

Manitou and Pikes Peak railway viewbook

 Collection
Accession: 2001-213
Abstract:

The Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway, which takes passengers to the summit of Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado, is the highest rack railway in the world and the highest railway in North America. This collection consists of a viewbook consisting of eight pages with photographs of the railway.

Dates: circa 1925

Mendes Cohen report on the economy of a new system of working the engines on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company

 Collection
Accession: 0460
Abstract:

Mendes Cohen (1831-1915) worked for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, chiefly in the Motive Power Department, from 1851 to 1855, where he adaptated wood-burning locomotives to coal-burning and devised the method for handling traffic on the 10% temporary grade over the Kingwood Tunnel. The report covers a series of tests and improvements conducted in 1853 and 1854 with the aim of reducing flue wear and tear and fuel consumption in the large coal-burning engines

Dates: 1854

Michael Munroe of Lobdell Car Wheel Company pouring steel photograph

 Collection
Accession: 1969-058
Abstract:

Lobdell Car Wheel Company was a producer of cast railroad car wheels in Wilmington, Delaware. This collection contains one photographic reproduction depicting employee Michael Munroe (1879-1969) pouring steel.

Dates: circa 1910-1940

Miscellaneous (mostly railroad) stock certificates

 Collection
Accession: 1996-233
Abstract:

Historically, a stock certificate is a paper record of ownership in a company. Certain information is included on a stock certificate: number of share, identification number, a corporate seal, and signatures. This collection consists of predominantly unissued stock certificates for American railroad companies. There are also four certificates of tax free municipal bonds of the City of Philadelphia.

Dates: 1848-1907

Mount Carbon Rail Road Company laborers receipts

 Collection
Accession: 0205
Abstract:

The Mount Carbon Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 20, 1829, for the purpose of building a railroad from the Schuylkill Canal at Mount Carbon up Norwegian Creek to the forks and thence to Wadesville on the East Branch and Mount Laffee on the West Branch. The collection consist of thirteen laborers receipts issued for the construction of the railroad in 1829 and 1830 by William R. Hopkins, superintendent.

Dates: 1829-1838

North Pennsylvania Railroad Co., portraits of officers and directors

 Collection
Accession: 1990-249
Abstract:

The Philadelphia, Easton and Water-Gap Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 6, 1852, and renamed the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company on October 3, 1853. The collection consists of nineteenth and twentieth century portraits of officers and presidents.

Dates: 1852-1965

North Pennsylvania Railroad Company records

 Collection
Accession: 1999
Abstract:

North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served the Pennsylvania counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and Northampton. It was incorporated as the Philadelphia, Easton and Water-Gap Railroad Company on April 6, 1852, and renamed the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company on October 3, 1853. Their records consist of corporate records such as minute books, annual reports, account books and statements.

Dates: 1836-1982

Northern Liberties & Penn Township Railroad Company journal no. 1

 Collection
Accession: 2702
Abstract:

The Northern Liberties & Penn Township Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 23, 1829, to build a railroad from Front Street at the Delaware River through what was then the independent District of Northern Liberties and Penn Township (now both part of the City of Philadelphia) to connect with the state-owned Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad near Broad and Vine Streets. This volume is the basic surviving record of the company's monetary transactions during its period of construction and independent operations.

Dates: 1832-1857

Penn Central Railroad memorabilia auction poster

 Collection
Accession: 1998-261
Abstract:

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.

Dates: 1972

Penn Central Transportation Company employee timetables

 Collection
Accession: 2667
Abstract:

A complete set of employee timetables for each region and division of the Penn Central Railroad.

Dates: 1968-1986

Penn Virginia Corporation records

 Collection
Accession: 1764
Abstract:

Penn Virginia Corporation was an oil and gas company, incorporated as the Virginia Coal & Iron Company on January 6, 1882. It was one of many firms established by a group of interrelated entrepreneurs headed by John Leisenring (1819-1884), a Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, civil and mining engineer. The name changed to Penn Virigina Corporation in 1967. The records of Penn Virginia Corporation cover the development and operations of the Virginia Coal & Iron Company, a large southern Appalachian land company, with some information on its immediate neighbors and local support facilities.

Dates: 1864-1981

Pennsylvania Railroad calendar art posters

 Collection
Accession: 2002-220
Abstract:

From 1925 to 1958, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company issued a series of advertising calendars, each measuring over two feet square. Of the thirty-three calendars published, twenty-eight were illustrated by Grif Teller (1899-1993). This small collection consists of six posters featuring the paintings from the 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955 Pennsylvania Railroad advertising calendars. The title of the painting and the words "Pennsylvania Railroad" appear in the border beneath each image.

Dates: 1948-1955

Pennsylvania Railroad Company records

 Collection
Accession: 1807
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. These records provide nearly comprehensive coverage of corporate matters for the entire time span and reasonably complete coverage of the functional departments from 1920 to 1950, with less coverage from 1893 to 1920 and from 1950 to 1968.

Dates: 1813-1968

Pennsylvania Railroad flyers and brochure

 Collection
Accession: 1998-262
Abstract:

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.

Dates: 1963-1965

Pennsylvania Railroad Hudson River tunnel construction photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1971-594
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This small collection of photographs covers the planning, surveying, and building of the Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels under the Hudson River, connecting New Jersey and New York in the early twentieth century.

Dates: 1902-1909

Pennsylvania Railroad photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1988-231
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This collection of photographs primarily depict the PRR itself, but numerous views of similar facilities and equipment on other railroads, of nearby buildings and properties, or of standardized equipment and accessories that were collected for reference are included. Almost all of the photographs are the work of commercial photographers hired on short term contract, but some are prints from the company's own negatives. The collection have been arranged by subject and organized into three series: Equipment, trains, and personnel; Structures and right of way; and Company magazine photographs.

Dates: 1863-1973; Majority of material found within 1910-1960

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) blank forms

 Collection
Accession: 2523
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This is a collection of thirty-six blank, preprinted forms dating between 1960 and 1967, mostly related to the inspection and movement of freight cars.

Dates: 1960-1967

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) bridge and trestle documents (copies)

 Collection
Accession: 1562
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This collection consists of materials related to the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge and trestle near Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. There is a copy of an erection diagram from 1896 and a copy of the application for the bridge to be a historic site to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Dates: 1896; 1976 June-1976 August

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) maps accompanying general orders

 Collection
Accession: 2493
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and tratffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This small collection consists of six schematic diagrams of racks and signals placed in service or removed from service, mostly in connection with the step-by-step construction of the Philadelphia Improvements of 1927 to 1952.

Dates: 1937-1942; undated

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) motive power study

 Collection
Accession: 2722
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This collection consists of one report from 1959 by General Electric Company, Locomotive & Car Equipment Department consisting of an electric motive power study.

Dates: 1959

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) motive power study and menu

 Collection
Accession: 2412
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This collection consists of two items. One is a copy of a report from 1959 by General Electric Company, Locomotive & Car Equipment Department containing an electric motive power study. The second item is a menu with a cover design by industrial designer Raymond Loewy (1893-1986).

Dates: 1948; 1959

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) report on dining car food

 Collection
Accession: 2257
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This item is an unpublished report titled, "Analysis of Proposed Use of Prefabricated Food on Dining Cars," written by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Dining Car Department, Research Committee in 1945. The report includes sample menus, data on preparation, and findings from experiments conducted by the committee.

Dates: 1945

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) scrapbook of inter-state rates

 Collection
Accession: 2423
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest railroad in the United States in terms of corporate assets and traffic from the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the decline of the northeast's and midwest's dominance of manufacturing. This item is a scrapbook kept by a railroad station agent(s) somewhere near or south of Philadelphia between 1887 and 1888. The purpose of the volume was to enable the agent to make out waybills for freight by containing updated information as to the rates to be charged on various specific goods, the division of rates with other companies for interline movements, and any embargoes or restrictions on routings. The volume offers a snapshot of the types of traffic, mostly iron and steel, livestock and agricultural products, most common to this territory and of the various through routings common at this time.

Dates: 1887-1888

Pennsylvania Railroad public timetables

 Collection
Accession: 2603
Abstract:

Timetables issued periodically to the public, generally at ticket offices, showing the schedules of passenger trains on various routes.

Dates: 1919-1968

Pennsylvania Railroad stations and bridges viewbook

 Collection
Accession: 2000-222
Abstract:

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 is a viewbook or souvenir album containing views related to the Pennsylvania Railroad in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including stations, bridges, and tracks.

Dates: undated

Pennsylvania Railroad stations and Whitney Dam, North Carolina postcards

 Collection
Accession: 1992-234
Abstract:

This is a small collection of three postcards. Two postcards have images of Pennsylvania Railroad stations in Greensburg and Swissvale, Pennsylvania. The third postcard is an advertisement for Pennsylvania Cement Co. showing the Whitney (N.C.) Dam. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was chartered in 1846 to completing an all-rail road across the state. In 1857 the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the old Main Line system and eventually brought the entire line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh under one management.

Dates: 1909-1912

Pennsylvania Railroad system locomotive rosters

 Collection
Accession: 2386
Abstract:

The Joseph D. Lovell Locomotive Rosters constitute a partial roster of Pennsylvania Railroad steam, electric and early diesel locomotives to 1946. The collection also contains seven small ledgers listing the production of not only the Juniata Shops, but also the earlier Altoona Machine Shops (1866-1904) and locomotives purchased from outside builders, principally the Baldwin Locomotive Works. His lists include rosters for both the Pennsylvania Railroad proper and its predecessor lines.

There is also a folder containing copies of letters and notes by Robert B. Watson documenting the provenance of the records.

Dates: 1946

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company engraved copper plates and medallions

 Collection
Accession: 2014-242
Abstract:

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company (succeeded by the Reading Company) began construction in 1833 and the mainline from Philadelphia to Pottsville opened in 1842. This is a small collection of copperplate engravings and some medallions. They are presumably some sort of seat check for destinations along the mainline. The collection also contains three medallions, two related to the Jamestown Centennial Exposition in 1907 and one from Baldwins Standard dried beef.

Dates: circa 1838; 1907

Philadelphia Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Main Line bridge photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2012-237
Abstract:

The collection consists of digital scans of photographs of bridges on the Philadelphia Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which ran from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.

Dates: circa 1910

Philadelphia railroad stations, Red Arrow Lines trolley track and bus photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1995-238
Abstract:

The Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company operated bus and trolley lines, many of which originated in Upper Darby Township on the western border of Philadelphia and served Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Suburban Station and the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company building are both located in Center City. The Red Arrow transportation lines are found in Philadelphia's western suburbs. This small collection consists of photographs of Suburban Station, railroad and trolley tracks, and bus shelters.

Dates: 1926-1965

Phoenix Iron Company records

 Collection
Accession: 0683
Abstract:

The Phoenix Iron Company began in the late eighteenth century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. This small collection of records includes incoming correspondence chiefly relating to orders for and deliveries of iron for railroads.

Dates: 1844-1875

Railroad bridges photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1973-322
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was chartered in 1846 to completing an all-rail road across the state. Collection consists of three unidentified photographs of stone arched railroad bridges, probably on the Pennsylvania railroad.

Dates: circa 1900

Railroad postcards collection

 Collection
Accession: 1995-229
Abstract:

Collectors of railroad memorabilia often also collected postcards. Railroad postcards generally picture stations, engines, bridges, route scenery, railcar interiors, and accidents. Some collectors sought specific railroads. This collection is over a thousand postcards related to railroads. The collection has been arranged into two series: Railroad stations and Railroad cars and trains. This is an artificial collection assembled from various donors.

Dates: 1903-1972

Ramsay family papers

 Collection
Accession: 2014
Abstract:

William Gouverneur Ramsay (1866-1916) was a civil engineer for railroads and explosives corporations, including Repauno Chemical Company, Great Northern, and DuPont Company. His wife, Caroline “Lena” Johnston Canby (1872-1958) was interested in cultural and educational institutions and traveled extensively. The Ramsay family papers primarily consist of William G. Ramsay's personal and business papers, as well as his family's personal papers which primarily consist of correspondence, much of it between William Ramsay and Lena Ramsay prior to and after their marriage. the letters describe social life in Wilmington, literature, courtship and marriage, household administration, family life, child rearing and health.

Dates: 1828-1958

Raymond Loewy Associates Pennsylvania Railroad renderings

 Collection
Accession: 2349
Abstract:

Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) was one of the most well known industrial designers during the middle decades of the twentieth century. In 1934, he signed a contract with the Pennsylvania Railroad that launched a two-decade relationship with the "Standard Railroad of the World." Loewy's work for the Pennsy did much to establish his reputation as the leading figure in the century's most noteworthy American design style: streamlining. This collection consists of twelve presentation renderings executed in tempera on illustration board. The mats bear Loewy's signature, although the work was actually executed by others. The renderings generally conform, with slight variations, to photographs that show the work as actually built.

Dates: 1936-1946

Reading Company employee records

 Collection
Accession: 2067
Abstract:

The Reading Company, chartered in 1871 as the Excelsior Enterprise Company, became the holding company for the system of railroads, canals, and coal mines assembled by its predecessor, Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, between 1833 and 1896. The records are a fragmentary group from the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company; its successor, the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company; and its subsidiary, the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company. They are primarily registers of employees and wage rates for employees in the Reading, Pennsylvania, repair shops of all three companies.

Dates: 1872-1910; Majority of material found within 1872-1887

Reading Company employment and real estate records

 Collection
Accession: 2176
Abstract:

The Reading Company, chartered in 1871 as the Excelsior Enterprise Company, became 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 Reading Company employment and real estate records comprise a largely incomplete and extremely fragmentary synthetic collection of material related to the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company and its successors. The collection comprises incomplete employment records largely dating from the first half of the twentieth century, records related to the employee pension program and the Relief Association, a small amount of contracts, and deeds and agreements reflecting the company's process of land acquisition following initial main line construction in the 1830s and through to the early twentieth century.

Dates: 1836-1960

Reading Company photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1974-330
Abstract:

The Reading Company, chartered in 1871, became the holding company for the system of railroads, canals and coalmines assembled between 1833 and 1896 by its predecessor, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company. The collection consists of photographs [negatives, blueprints and other graphic materials relating to the Reading Company and its predecessor, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company.

Dates: 1873-1945

Reading Company photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1975-430
Abstract:

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 collection consists of graphic materials relating to the Reading Company and its predecessor, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company

Dates: circa 1842-1960

Reading Company records

 Collection
Accession: 1520
Abstract:

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.

Dates: 1795-1979

Reading Railroad rest houses photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1970-347
Abstract:

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: 1943-1944

Reading Terminal Centennial calendar

 Collection
Accession: 1993-203
Abstract:

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.

Dates: 1993

Red Arrow Lines photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1972-438
Abstract:

Red Arrow Lines, Inc. was a suburban transit company. This collection contains photographs of Red Arrow Lines transit vehicles and stations that were used in book R. DeGraw, Red Arrow Lines.

Dates: 1899-1970

Richard Implay papers

 Collection
Accession: 1760
Abstract:

Richard Imlay (1784-1867) was a railroad car manufacturer and inventor. The papers document his marketing of his patent for an improvement in the mode of supporting the bodies of railroad cars and carriages.

Dates: 1836-1858

Robert B. Watson collection of high speed train images

 Collection
Accession: 2013-224
Abstract:

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.

Dates: 1970s; 1996; undated

Robert B. Watson collection of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Company documents

 Collection
Accession: 2421
Abstract:

The collection consists of materials documenting Watson's work for PRR, particularly mechanical engineering and rolling stock. Records largely focus on the development of PRR locomotives and passenger cars in the mid-twentieth century.

Dates: 1876-1968; bulk 1900-1957

Robert B. Watson professional papers

 Collection
Accession: 2577
Abstract:

Professional career files of mechanical engineer Robert B. Watson (1931-) documenting his work on the development of high-speed trains in the years between 1966 and 1998, especially his involvement in the Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project and the development of the first generation "Metroliners."

Dates: 1926-2005; Majority of material found within 1964-1981