The collection documents railroad ephemera, primarily relating to Amtrak and Conrail.
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:
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
Provenance:
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.
Restrictions:
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.
Rights:
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.
