The Jackson and Sharp Company, a manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, was incorporated in Delaware on February 24, 1869, as the successor to the partnership of Jackson & Sharp. The drawings comprise materials salvaged from the plant. Most are detail drawings of brake rigging or of parts such as couplers, locks, ventilators, and plumbing fixtures. The projects include standard and narrow-gauge railroad cars and streetcars for both foreign and domestic customers. The materials date from 1895 to 1930.

The Westinghouse Machine Company began in 1880, and the company's first contract to build a turbine dates to 1896. The album contains a variety of images of products and facilities related to the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. These include photographs of equipment such as boilers, generators, mechanical stokers, pumping machinery and turbines.