James Waddell timebooks and conductor's logs
Finding aid created by California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives staff using RecordEXPRESS
California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
2020
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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
Sacramento, California 95814
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
Scope and Content of Collection
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.