Guide to the Western Pacific Railroad Authorities for Expenditure (AFE) Collection MS 918
Library & Archives staff
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
2023
Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Western Pacific Railroad Authorities for Expenditure (AFE) collection
Creator:
Western Pacific Railroad Company
Identifier/Call Number: MS 918
Physical Description:
23.7 Linear Feet
17 record cartons + 16 shoe boxes + 1 filing cabinet
Date (inclusive): 1910 - 1983
Abstract: The AFE project files contain detailed information about construction projects and equipment orders undertaken by the Western
Pacific Railroad between 1911 and 1983. The indexes to AFEs are useful in providing a summary of this information.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center:
Series 1. Indexes
Subseries 1.1. Index cards I2.300.J6-J7
Subseries 1.2. Record books I2.300.H8, I2.300.I6
Series 2. AFE Project Files I2.211.D1-D3, E9-E11
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection is made up of three donations:
1. Gift of Union Pacific, 1998, 378 AFEs for Western Pacific and 3 for Sacramento Northern (a WP subsidiary), 1915-1921, 1967-1983
and 4 AFE record books (indexes to AFEs), 1913-1921
2. Gift of Virgil Staff, 2004, 371 AFEs for Western Pacific and 22 for Sacramento Northern (a WP subsidiary), 1925-1951
3. Gift of Jeff Asay, 2010, 16 shoe boxes of AFE index cards, WP and subsidiaries, 1910-1983
This collection is arranged into two series:
Series 1: AFE Indexes
Subseries 1.1. Index cards
Subseries 1.2. AFE record books
Series 2: AFE Project Files
All railroads had a system for approval of capital expenditures by senior officers or, in some cases, by the board of directors.
On the Western Pacific this approval process was known as Authority for Expenditure (AFE). Department heads, senior officers,
the President, or the Board of Directors would propose capital expenditures as necessary to build new structures and other
facilities such as depots, shops, and team tracks, to replace worn or obsolete equipment, upgrade track and structures, to
buy locomotives and passenger cars. Each item or project was assigned an AFE number by the Finance or Accounting Department.
Before 1910 the railroad was considered to be under construction and there were no AFEs. After 1983, WP was merged into the
Union Pacific and ceased to have its own AFE process. The department proposing the expense would prepare a brief description
to go with the AFE number. WP AFEs and Southern Pacific GMOs had the same function: to briefly describe a project or capital
expenditure and to justify its inclusion in the budget for the year. Each AFE number would have a corresponding file where
project details and progress would be noted, including dates of commencement and completion.
On the WP, the AFE number was a serial number that started at 1 each year, followed by the year in which the AFE was activated.
The first AFE was issued in 1910. Between December 26, 1917 when President Wilson assumed control of the nation's railroads
under the United States Railroad Administration and March 1920, when control was returned to the railroads, some AFEs had
a letter in front of the number. In 1921 the AFE number reset to each year and was followed by the last two digits of the
year in which the AFE was activated. For example, 155 42 refers to the 155th project in 1942.
[Identification of item], Western Pacific Railroad Authorities for Expenditure (AFE) Collection, MS 918 State Railroad Museum
Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
This collection was artificially generated. Series 2 was created by interfiling AFEs from donations by Union Pacific and from
Virgil Staff. The indexes were donated by Jeff Asay and Union Pacific, and these were placed at the beginning of this collection
as Series 1.
The AFE project files contain detailed information about construction projects and equipment orders undertaken by the Western
Pacific Railroad between 1911 and 1983. This collection includes only a small percentage of the overall AFE project files.
There are no AFE project files for 1952-1966. The AFE indexes fill in some of the gaps in information about these projects.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Staff, Virgil, 1928-2008 Asay, Jeff S.Railroad Locomotives
Railroads--United States--Freight cars
Sacramento Northern
Railroad tracks--design and construction
Series 1: AFE Indexes
Index cards and record books all provide some basic information about AFEs generated by the Western Pacific Railroad, including
AFE numbers, date of creation, description of project and date of completion. They have been divided into two subseries:
1.1 AFE index cards, 1910-1983 and 1.2 AFE record books, 1913-1921. There are more AFEs listed in these records than we have
AFE project files.
Subseries 1.1. AFE Index Cards, 1910-1983
As projects were assigned AFE numbers, the department which had charge of the project would prepare index cards to keep track
of projects. Managers and clerks would refer to the index cards to find the AFE files for review or document filing. Some
indexes would be arranged by station or location, and others by year assigned or by project type. Individual departments
would prepare their own indexes for their own purposes.
It is important to note that a project having an AFE number might be cancelled or postponed depending on availability of
funding or last-minute change of plans. This would be noted on the index cards in most but not all cases. Some AFEs would
be carried over to following years under the same number. AFEs approved toward the end of the year would of necessity be
completed in the following year.
Index cards may include the following information about each AFE: CE number, CMO number, GMO number (1917-1921), project description
and project location.
There are several sets of AFE index cards in this collection:
1. Station indexes, which list AFEs arranged by station.
2. Chronological index of AFEs, arranged by year of approval.
3. WP's Chief Engineer AFEs, including station indexes for the Northern California Extension (completed in 1931).
4. Sacramento Northern Railroad index, which includes AFEs by station, year, AFE number and President's numbers.
5. Signal Department AFE index is arranged by location, project type and AFE number.
6. Division Engineer AFE index is arranged by project or equipment type.
7. Finance Department AFE index includes only structures and equipment, 1952-1982.
Subseries 1.2. AFE Record Books, 1913-1921
The AFE Record books provide a list of AFEs issued between March 1913 and July 1921. It includes the following information
about each project: date the AFE was issued, when it was approved by the executive committee, a description of the project,
when work started, when it was completed, estimated costs, material and labor costs, and pay roll voucher numbers. Arranged
in chronological order.
Series 2: AFE Project Files, 1910-1983
Many of the AFEs in the collection donated by Virgil Staff and covering the period 1910 to 1956 originated in the Western
Pacific Railroad's Engineering, Bridges and Roadway Department. They include improvements and additions to spurs, culverts,
bridges, trestles, and yards. The Union Pacific donation includes AFEs generated between 1967 to 1983 pertaining to the purchase,
modification and retirement of rolling stock and locomotives, tools, and machines for shops. This collection does not include
AFEs between 1957 and 1966. However, some information about AFEs between these years can be found the the AFE index cards.
Each AFE file may include the following: the AFE form, correspondence, bills of lading, completion reports, record of material
used and labor expended on the AFE, drawings or sketches, and specifications. The AFE form includes information about the
project, including the purpose of the project, reason for the extension, improvements or other change, a breakdown of costs
of projects and a detailed estimate of labor and material costs.
Additional Western Pacific AFE files are located at the Western Railway Museum.