Over nine hundred official company photographs documenting the history of the railroad. Subjects include trains, locomotives and cars; employees and employee gatherings and events; structures such as stations, track, bridges, crossings, towers, and coaling stations.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Negatives
Series 2: Copy Prints
Biographical / Historical:
Founded in 1871, the Wheeling and Lake Erie (W&LE) Railway was built to haul coal from southeastern Ohio mines to the Lake Erie ports of Huron and Toledo. After World War II, W&LE had several owners, the Nickel Plate, then the Norfolk & Western, and later, the Norfolk & Western and Southern (NS) merged. The W&LE was dissolved in 1989 but was revived in 1990 by new investors.
Provenance:
Donated to the Museum's Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering in 1981 by John A. Roher.
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.
