Aitken, Jr. (Harry C.) Collection, 1867-1882, 1929, 1951

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Summary

Title:
Harry C. Aitken, Jr. collection
Dates:
1867-1882, 1929, 1951
Abstract:
Contains 32 telegrams addressed to Central Pacific Railroad President and California Governor Leland Stanford between 1868 to 1869, expense bills and bills of lading from material shipped from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Francisco during the 1870s, early tickets along the route and guide books to the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads collected by Harry C. Aitken, Jr. In addition, it includes ephemera (1952) and a mediation agreement between the Dining Car Cooks and Waiters Union vs. the Southern Pacific Company (1929).
Extent:
.17 Linear Feet 1 manuscript half-box
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Harry C. Aitken, Jr. Collection, MS 887, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Series 1 contains 32 telegrams addressed to Central Pacific Railroad President and California Governor Leland Stanford between 1868 to 1869 from Big Four associates Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins and Collis P. Huntington, Central Pacific chief engineer Samuel Skerry Montague, Chauncey W. West, The Church of Latter-Day Saints pioneer and coordinator of construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in the Utah Territory, and others. Also includes expense bills and bills of lading from material shipped from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Francisco during the 1870s, early tickets along the route and guide books to the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads collected by Harry C. Aitken, Jr.

Series 2 contains ephemera regarding Southern Pacific's "New Red Cap Charge" of 15 cents per piece of luggage. It also contains the mediation agreement between the Dining Car Cooks and Waits Union vs. Southern Pacific Company in 1929.

Biographical / historical:

Harry C. Aitken Jr. was born on August 11, 1931 in Berkeley, California. After attending grammar and high school in Berkeley and completing one year of study at the University of California, he graduated from Stanford University in 1953.

While at Stanford, Mr. Aitken completed ROTC training and when he graduated, he served as Lt. (JR) Communications Officer aboard the USS Kenneth Whiting in the Pacific. He continued his maritime career as a Junior Purser on American President and Matson Navigation Lines.

Following his maritime service, Mr. Aiken was a tour director for Travelworld, Inc. of Los Angeles. He also worked in Grahame Hardy's railroad bookstore and was a copy editor for Howell-North books in Berkeley. He also drove buses.

A charter member of the Bay Area Railroad Association, Mr. Aitken was the photo archivist for its Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista, California, where he organized over 150,000 images. He was co-author of NAPA VALLEY ROUTE: ELECTRIC TRAINS AND STEAMERS (Interurban Press Special No. 47, 1975). His final project was editing and revising the late Vernon Sapper's unfinished manuscript which was published in 2007 as KEY SYTEM STREETCARS.

The Western Railway Museum honored his contributions by naming their photograph archives the Harry C. Aitken, Jr. Photo Archive in 2015. Mr. Aitken died on April 13, 2020 at his home in Suisun City, California.

Acquisition information:
Transferred from the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association / Western Railway Museum per instructions from the Harry C. Aitken Jr. estate, 2020.
Arrangement:

The Harry C. Aitken, Jr. Collection is arranged into two series:

Series 1. Transcontinental Railroad, 1867-1882

Series 2. Southern Pacific Railroad, 1929, 1951

Both series are arranged alphabetically by type of material, then chronologically.

Physical location:
Statewide Museum Collections Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-01-15 18:46:58 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff for details.

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], Harry C. Aitken, Jr. Collection, MS 887, 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