Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Erie Railroad Collection

Summary
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis, New York
Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1082
Creators:
Erie Railroad Company
Olevsky, Walter
Dates:
circa 1880-1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
57 Cubic feet
60 boxes, 97 map-folders
Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
Collection consists of six hundred sixty-eight (668) glass negatives relating to the Erie Railroad. Subjects include stations, train cars, railroad employees, employees' recreational activities, ferries, construction, street scenes, and resort hotels; drawings of structures built by the various railroads which, at the time of the donation, constituted the Consolidated Rail Corporation. Included are linen tracings, blueprints, and mechanical copies; and two cubic feet of photoprints made from negatives in the Erie Railroad Collection.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is divided into seven series. Series 1: Photographs
Series 2: Glass Plate Negatives Series 3: Lists Series 4: Subject Files Series 5: Specifications for Bridges, Buildings and Terminals Series 6: Drawings Series 7: Bridge Notebooks
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
The Erie Railroad was founded in 1832 by large group of investors from the Southern Tier Counties of New York. Among these investors, businessman Eleazar Lord had been among the originators and later became the first president of the company. The railroad's construction took place from 1832 to 1851 with a seven-year pause between 1842 and 1849.
At the time of its completion, the Erie Railroad was the largest railway system in the United States, both in length, 446 miles, and in gauge, six feet. Thanks to its tracks span from New Jersey to Illinois and itsabove-average gauge, it could transport larger cargo.
Throughout its history the company underwent numerous bankruptcies and merged with several companies. The first merger was in 1960 with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad creating the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. The second was in 1976 when the once-again bankrupt company merged with five other lines to create Conrail.
Source
Allegany County Historical Society, Andover, New York
https://www.alleganyhistory.org/culture/transportation/railroads/erie-railroad/1060-the-erie-railroad (Last accessed on Decemeber 3, 2019)
Administration
Author
John Benko and Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Originally collected by the National Museum of American History's Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering's reference collection.
In 1978, 668 glass plate negatives documenting Erie railroad stations were purchaed from Walter Olevsky; in 1987 drawings of structures built by the various railroads which, at the time of the donation, constituted the Consolidated Rail Corporation were donated; and in 2007, two cubic feet of photoprints and nine cubic feet of archival records were transferred from the Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center.
Ownership and Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Work and Industry in 2007.
Processing Information
Collection processed by John Benko, intern, 2019; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
In 2019, some drawings were deaccessioned to the Industrial Archives & Library in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Erie Railroad Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Blueprints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Buildings and structures Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Employees Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Rolling-stock Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mechanical drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tracings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad tracksdrawings Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad stations -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 19th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
ConRail Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu