Title: Norman W. Smith Postcard collection

Dates: 1940s-1990s

Collection Number: MS 805

Creator/Collector: Smith, Norman W.

Extent: 8 albums

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: Albums include postcards of West Coast railroads of the United States and Canada.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open for research.

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 Librarian. 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.

Norman W. Smith Postcard collection. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Sue Smith, 1994

Album 93 includes a pen and ink drawing, art prints of cars, depots, locomotives, bridges and trestles from Union Pacific, Western Pacific, Missouri Pacific, Northern Pacific Burlington Northern, Great Northern, Erie Railroad, Spokane, Portland & Seattle, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and St. Louis - San Francisco railroads from the 1940s to the 1990s. Album 94 includes postcards of mainline Eastern railroads of the United States, National Railways of Mexico, and rapid transit lines in the United States and Canada including, from California, Bay Area Rapid Transit, San Diego Trolley , San Francisco Muni, and Santa Clara Co. Area Transit. Also includes photographs of heavy rail and self-propelled lines. Album 95 includes postcards of Canadian railroad diesel locomotives, equipment, and buildings. There are no captions. Include Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads in various locations. Albums 96 and 97 include photographs of the British Columbia Electric Company interurbans that comprise an unpublished work in progress. The captions for each photo in Album 96 are very detailed. The photos in this album are the interurban cars which ran between New Westminster, Sapperton, Vancouver, Steveston, Marpole and Chilliwack, British Columbia. Album 97 has no captions and the album is divided into 2 parts. The two parts are Victoria, B.C. and Vancouver, B. C. Toward the end of the set of pages are floor plans and seating arrangeements of all of the B.C. Electric RAilway Company city cars. At the very end are copies of maps of the B.C. Electric Railway lines in Victoria, Vancouver, and New Westminster, B. C. Album 98 has photographs without captions or identifying information of Key System passenger equipment at various locations along the line from San Francisco to Oakland and Berkeley. There are some photos of the pre-1939 ferry operations from the Oakland Pier to the Ferry Building, depots, and maintnenance of way equipment. Album 99 includes photographs of Sacramento Northern passenger equipment at various locations along the line from San Francisco to Chico. There are some freight locomotives and some depots and maintenance of way equipment. Album 100 includes photographs of street cars from the Key System, the Eastbay Street Railway, and the East Bay Transit Company.