A collection of photographs, mechanical drawings and blueprints, artwork, original documents, manuscripts, maps, annual reports, scrapbooks, postcards, timetables, large objects, books, and ephemera collected by Al Graves, primarily about the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway that ran from Mill Valley from 1896-1930. There are also objects about railroads, locomotives and streetcars, and manuscripts relating to the writing of the book, The Crookedest Railroad, which he co-wrote with Ted Wurm in 1954.

Al Graves, born Alvin Clifton Graves on July 15, 1913, was the son of Cliff Graves (Henry Clifton Graves) and nephew to Roy D. Graves, who was a fireman for the North Shore Railway and later for the Mill Valley & Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway. Roy went on to become curator for the Marin County Historical Society Museum. Al was a collector of photographs and railroad memorabilia, and co-author of Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods: The Story of the North Pacific Coast Railway and San Francisco Bay Paddle-Wheel Ferries with A. Bray Dickinson, and The Crookedest Railroad in the World; A History of the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railroad of California with Ted Wurm.

xx linear feet, x boxes, additional items

Collection is open for research. Original materials may be viewed with permission from staff. Digital copies of materials may be available. Materials in this collection do not circulate.