James Waddell timebooks and conductor's logs

Title: James Waddell timebooks and conductor's logs

Dates: 1874-1923

Collection Number: MS 543

Creator/Collector: Waddell, James

Extent: 2 boxes

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: This collection appears to be the personal timebooks and freight conductor's logs compiled by Central Pacific / Southern Pacific employee James Waddell.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for 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 Archivist. 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.

James Waddell timebooks and conductor's logs. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Max Rankin, 2003

Mr. Waddell is variously identified as a freight conductor, yardman, and brakeman, and appears to have worked in Rocklin and Truckee. He may be James Waddell, born September 28, 1854, died October 30, 1942 in Placer County. The freight conductors document traffic along the Sacramento Division. These logs (SP form F 83) are printed so that the eastbound activity is entered at one end of the notebook. By flipping the notebook over, one could enter westbound freight information. Some volumes contain "Instructions to Freight Conductors" and a list of station numbers and distances between San Francisco and Ogden. Although the pre-printed pages have room for several categories of information, the following data is most consistently recorded: Division, date and number of train, locomotive number, names of the engineer, fireman, conductor and brakeman as well as the reporting marks of each car and a description of the freight. There is some overlap in the dates among the volumes. The timebooks include a record of not only Mr. Waddell's monthly hours but also that of other specifically named employees.