Erie Railroad Collection

Summary

Collection ID:: NMAH.AC.1082
Creators:: Erie Railroad Company
ConRail
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI.
Olevsky, Walter
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
Dates:: circa 1880-1980
Languages:: English
Physical Description:: 57 Cubic feet
59 boxes, 97 map-folders
Repository:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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

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

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

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.

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.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

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.

Ownership and Custodial History

Transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Work and Industry in 2007.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms	Keyword Types
Blueprints	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Buildings and structures	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Employees	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Rolling-stock	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Mechanical drawings	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Tracings	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad tracksdrawings	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad stations -- United States	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Glass negatives	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 20th century	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 19th century	Topic	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 19th century	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings	Type	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
ConRail	Corporate Name	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI.	Corporate Name	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI	Corporate Name	Search Smithsonian Collections	Search ArchiveGrid

Repository Contact

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

P.O. Box 37012

Suite 1100, MRC 601

Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

archivescenter@si.edu

http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives

Guide to the Erie Railroad Collection