Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Glass Plate and Film Negative Collection, Circa 1843-1913

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Summary

Title:
Railway & Locomotive Historical Society glass plate and film negative collection
Subtitle:
Dates:
Circa 1843-1913
Abstract:
The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Glass Plate and Film Negative Collection contains photographs of locomotives located in North and South America between the years of 1843 and 1913. This collection contains photographs that were collected by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
Extent:
14.28 Linear Feet 34 shoe boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Glass Plate and Film Negative Collection, MS 936, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Glass Plate and Film Negative Collection contains glass plate and film negatives depicting photographs of locomotives in North and South America between the years of 1843 and 1913. This collection contains photographs that were collected by the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.

There are several pieces of information written on every glass plate and film negative, with most of the negatives including the railroad name, locomotive name and number, wheel arrangement, locomotive builder, build date, as well as information regarding the negative's size, type and number. The sizes of the glass plate negatives vary from 8x10 to 3x5, with the majority of the 3x5 negatives are located in boxes at CSRM's offsite location, while the larger 8x10 negatives are currently located in file cabinets at the CSRM Library. Contained within the glass plate collection, there is a much smaller film negative collection, all of which are located at the end of the box and file listings for this collection.

Biographical / historical:

The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society was founded in 1921 as the first organization in North America to focus on the history of railroads. This organization has been a longstanding resource for those interested in the history of railroads. The 1st chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society was founded in New York City in 1934, and has since expanded to include 10 chapters located across the country, including two within California. While the majority of members are nonprofessional railroading enthusiasts, the society does count archivists, historians, preservationists, curators, and museum directors among its ranks. The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society has had its collections open to researchers since 1927, when it was located in the library of Harvard's Business School. Since then, the National chapter of the R&LHS has partnered with the CSRM to house several of their extensive collections, including the group's Glass Plate and Film Negative collection.

Acquisition information:
On loan from the Railway Locomotive Historical Society.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged alphabetically by the corporate name of the railroad.

Physical location:
Big Four Building and Statewide Museum Collection Center.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Library Archives staff
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-01 23:37:08 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research by appointment.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Glass Plate and Film Negative Collection, MS 936, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Location of this collection:
111 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 323-8073
Library.CSRM@parks.ca.gov
Website