The U.S. Railroad Retirement
Board are limited to individuals who worked in the rail
industry after 1936. It is possible to request these records. Please do
not contact us with requests for records before that date.
We don't have that information.
However we do know where some of the records are. In response
to your inquiries we have compiled a list of depositories that
we are aware of with railroad records. (Send additions or
corrections to webmaster@rrb.gov)
These records are for historians and may
not have information of interest to those doing family research.
In addition, the records may not be indexed or available to
genealogists. However, some collections include payroll
records. Any information on the usefulness of these
collections to genealogists would be appreciated.
Some Railroad Record
Depositories
Boston and Maine Railroad
Although the primary focus of the
collection is documentary material pertaining to the B&M RR and its
corporate predecessors, the collection includes materials pertaining
to the history of other New England railroads and electric railroads
(trolley lines).
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
Grievance files for the Denver & Rio Grande Western
Railroad from1929-1960s
Burlington Archives
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
Company
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha
Railway
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire McIntyre Library has 4,000
personnel records of the Eau Claire depot of the Chicago, St. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha Railway
Nacogdoches and Southeastern
Railroad Company
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Norfolk and Western Railway
and Southern Railway
University Libraries at Virginia Tech holdings include records of
the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway systems.
These are pre-1930 archival records of the Norfolk and Western
Railway, along with the records of its predecessors and early
subsidiaries, and the Southern Railway (which had merged with
Norfolk and Western) along with the records of its predecessors and
early subsidiaries. Together, the two collections
include archival records for nearly three hundred railroads and
related companies in the South and Midwest. These records comprise
approximately 450 cubic feet of manuscript material spanning a
century from the 1830s to the 1930s, with the greatest concentration
of records in the late nineteenth century.
Northern Pacific
Pullman Company Archives
Southern Railway
Additional Useful Links
National Archives and Records
Administration has records on
railroad accidents.
Local
Historical Societies are a good source
for railroad information.
Cyndi's List has a
page of railroad resources for
genealogists.
Frisco Papers--independent collection
of information regarding the St Louis San Francisco Railway and more
Virginia Historical
Society Online Catalog--numerous
manuscript items relating to the Richmond, Fredericksburg &
Potomac railroad
Follow their tracks!
Here are some railroad route maps from the 1800s.
Abbreviations,
Trade Names, and Nicknames of Railroads (Past and Present)
Combined
Average Monthly
Compensation by Occupation for the Period 1924-1931
Dictionary of
Railroad Slang
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