Collections by Subject: Railroad History
A Selected List of Holdings in the Archives and Manuscripts Department, University of Maryland Libraries
For more information about how to access materials in this guide, please visit the Maryland Room web page or fill out an information request.
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Papers of John Henry Alexander, 1824-1857. 0.75 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
John H. Alexander (1812-1867) had a varied career as a lawyer, civil engineer, surveyor, geologist, and teacher at the universities of Pennsylvania and Maryland. As Chief Engineer of Maryland, he surveyed the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. He also conducted a coast survey for the federal government, and, as Maryland's first geologist, he mapped coal deposits in the state.
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Archives of the Cuba Company, 1894-1960. 273.50 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
This business firm, active in pre-Castro Cuba, was involved in railroad construction and operation, among other enterprises. Records relating to railroading appear throughout this extensive collection including the president's correspondence; financial records; land records; blueprints; maps, plats, and land lots; and photographs.
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Papers of the Dawkins Family, 1883-1931. 1.25 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
Among the records of this family is the correspondence of one of the sons, Young Parran Dawkins, who discusses the construction of Central Station in Utica, New York, under his supervision.
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Demorest's New-York Illustrated News Woodcut Collection, 1861-1865. 4 woodcuts with prints and 1 broadside.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
This collection contains a Civil War-era woodcut of troops watching a train pass through en route to Washington, DC, from Annapolis, Maryland.
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Archives of Robert Garrett and Sons, 1830-1863. 2.00 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
The records of this Maryland business firm contain one series of materials relating to the firm's involvement in transportation concerns, among them the B & O Railroad, New Railroad Line, and the Patent Portable Car Body Line.
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Papers of Ray Hiebert, 1910-1960. 35.00 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
Ray E. Hiebert, a faculty member and dean in the College of Journalism, collected press releases of the Pennsylvania Railroad during the first fifty years of its existence. These press releases are chronologically in scrapbooks and date from 1910 until 1960.
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Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America (IUMSWA) archives, 1934-1970. 188.75 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
The records of this shipbuilding union include files from the United Railroad Workers of America, who were temporarily affiliated with the IUMSWA. Included are charters of locals; correspondence; extensive runs of organizers' reports; publications; meeting minutes; membership lists; resolutions; and conference proceedings. These materials include files on the Pennsylvania Railroad and other mid-Atlantic lines.
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George Koonce Collection, 1862-1864. 7 items.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
Seven documents attesting to the loyalty of Harper's Ferry resident George Koonce, who defended the town against the Confederate army in 1861 and lost his business as a result. The collection includes a letter of support from Baltimore merchants and trade documents relating to the movement of goods using the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
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Papers of Hervey Machen, 1937-1968. 41.50 linear feet.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
Mr. Machen served in the Maryland House of Delegates and the U. S. House of Representatives. Among the general subject files documenting his political career and interests are two files on railroads. Mr. Machen's papers also contain information relating to mass transportation, rapid transit, and transportation in general.
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Records of the Phi Mu Fraternity, 1923-1945. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: University Archives
Initiates to this engineering honor society were required to prepare a research paper on an engineering topic of their choice. Among these papers, many of which deal with aspects of the history of the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia, are a number which address railroading topics including construction of various lines, equipment, substations and other facilities, electrification, and bridges. Lines represented include the B & O; Chesapeake Beach Railway; Pennsylvania; Cumberland and Pennsylvania; and the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis.
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Archives of the Work Projects Administration in Maryland, 1933-1943. 20.00 linear feet + 50 reels microfilm.
Location: Historical Manuscripts
This collection consists of administrative and project records of the Maryland WPA and several of its predecessor agencies. Among these materials is an extensive run of notes, newspaper clippings, and draft articles and essays used or produced by the Maryland Federal Writers' Project between 1935 and 1939. Among these subject files are ones on various topics relevant to railroad history.
Maryland Manuscripts
For more information, visit Historical Manuscripts
The Maryland Manuscripts grouping consists of a wide variety of materials, such as letters, diaries, printed ephemera, and business ledgers, which have been described individually. Among these items are a number which relate to railroads, including proceedings of meetings; menus; timetables; pamphlets; and letters concerning various aspects of railroad operation, dating primarily from the nineteenth century. Lines represented among these documents include the B & O; Annapolis and Elk Ridge; Atlantic Coast Line; Baltimore and Eastern; Baltimore and Potomac; Eastern Shore; and the Pennsylvania.
Photographs
Among the departmental photographic holdings are images, dating primarily from 1900 to 1953, which depict railroad equipment, construction, and depots. The photographs relate primarily to the B & O, Pennsylvania, and the Chesapeake Beach Railway but there are also some that record the train operated by the University of Maryland's Farmer's Institute.