Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Railroad History Collection of America

Summary
Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1327
Creators:
Amtrak
ConRail
Dates:
1867-2000
bulk 1970s
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
13 Cubic feet
47 boxes, 1 map folder
Repository:
The collection documents railroad ephemera, primarily relating to Amtrak and Conrail.
Content Description
Content Description
The collection contains photographs, internal documents such as safety and procedures manuals, employee copies of schedules, a scrapbook of clippings and photographs, brochures, timetables, advertising, "consists" (i.e., listings of which types of cars were on each train and in what order), maintenance regulations, track charts, publications such as annual reports, maps, etc. The collection relates almost entirely to Amtrak and Conrail. A file on fellow railroad collector and enthusiast is also included.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Collection is arranged into seven series.
Series 1: Directories, Instructions, Manuals and Rules, 1907-2000
Series 2: Publications, 1942-1992
Series 3: Timetables, 1967-2000
Series 4: Photographs, 1940-1994
Series 5: Train Consist Books, 1971-1983
Series 6: Maintenance Programs and Track Charts, 1947-1985
Series 7: Ephemera, 1867-1989
Administration
Author
Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection had been the property of Railroad History Collection of America, Inc., which was liquidated after the death of the corporation's owner, Frank Perrin. The collection was donated to the Archives Center in 2014 by the heir, Patricia Mathis-Oster, through attorney Andrew Jiranek, Receiver.
Processing Information
Collection processed by John Benko, intern; Isaac Meth, intern, Kendall McKinley, intern; and Alison Oswald, archivist, 2022.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing 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.
Conditions Governing Use
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
Advertisements Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Annual reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Charts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuals Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maps Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad companies Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad engineers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Trains Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- Employees Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- History Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schedules Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Technical manuals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Timetables Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jiranek, Andrew Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mathis-Oster, Patricia Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Perrin, Francis Personal 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