Inventory of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Broadside Collection MS 909

Library & Archives Staff
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
2022


Contributing Institution: California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Broadside Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 909
Physical Description: 17 Linear Feet Seventeen record cartons
Date (inclusive): July 1828 - March 1968
Date (bulk): 1828-1927
Abstract: The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Broadside Collection contains 568 broadside posters from 77 different railroads including: the Boston and Maine, Boston and Worcester, the Connecticut River, the Boston, Concord and Montreal, New York, New Haven and Hartford, and Old Colony. The dates covered in the collection range from 1828 to 1968, with a majority falling between the 1850s and 1900. Subjects covered by the broadsides range include excursion advertisements for fairs, musical, theatrical and religious events, employee and public timetables, and announcements of schedule changes.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center: I2.208
Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

On loan from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society

Arrangement

Broadsides in the collection are arranged into two series:
Series 1. Timetables
Series 2. Subjects

Biographical / Historical

¶ The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society was founded in 1921 by Charles Fisher, Arthur Curran, Warren Jacobs, and Roy Carlson. In 1925, the aforementioned men, along with Albert Lumis and Carlton Philips, incorporated the society. It began as a regional organization centered mainly around the northeast but has steadily grown into a global entity with ten local/regional chapters, all of which are in the United States. ¶
¶ The New York chapter was the first to be established in 1934, and the latest chapter (The Steel City Chapter in McKeesport, PA) was added in 2017. Originally, prospective members had to submit a monograph on a railroad-related topic, as well as two photographs of locomotives. However now only a ten-dollar yearly fee is required. Membership has steadily grown since its founding from 52 members in 1922, to 2,284 currently around the world. Members primarily consist of rail enthusiasts, as well as archivists, librarians, authors, and former railroad employees. ¶
¶ The purpose of the society was preserving and studying all facets of both railroad history and technology. It is the oldest organization in North America dedicated to this cause. In addition to archiving materials such as photographs, corporate papers, and other rail ephemera, the local chapters may engage in the preservation and restoration of locomotives. However, each chapter may emphasize a different aspect than the others. Additionally, most chapters publish a local newsletter/bulletin separate from the national organization's publications. The Railway and Locomtoive Historical Society established their first archive at Harvard Business School in 1927. In 1983 a new archive was built in 1983 as a part of the California State Railroad Museum. It was also the Pacific Coast Chapter's collection which formed the initial foundation of the California State Railroad Museum. ¶
¶ Current (as of September 2022) organization leadership is as follows: The Society President is Robert Holzweiss, Treasurer is Paul Gibson, Secretary is John Atherton, Membership Secretary is Ron Goldfelder, Membership Manager is Sherri Beck, and Quarterly Newsletter Editor is Dan Cupper. ¶

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item] MS 909 The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Broadside Collection. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives. Sacramento, California.

Scope and Contents

The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Broadside Collection contains 568 broadside posters from 77 different railroads including: the Boston and Maine, Boston and Worcester, the Connecticut River, the Boston, Concord and Montreal, New York, New Haven and Hartford, and Old Colony. The dates covered in the collection range from 1828 to 1968, with a majority falling between the 1850s and 1900. Subjects covered by the broadsides range include excursion advertisements for fairs, musical, theatrical and religious events, employee and public timetables, and announcements of schedule changes.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Timetables
Broadsides
Scheduling
Fairs

 

Series 1. Timetables 1849-1911

Physical Description: 2.6 Linear Feet88 broadsides

Scope and Contents

This series includes 13 public timetables, and 75 employee timetables. The employee timetables have been added to the CSRM Library & Archives catalog.
 

Series 2. Subjects 1827-1899

Physical Description: 14.4 Linear Feet480 broadsides

Scope and Contents

Types of broadsides include: notices of schedule changes, new routes, extra trains, excursions, schedules, tariffs, special events, hours, graphics, drawings, and fares. Arranged by corporate name, then by subject. A majority of the banners are arranged alphabetically by corporate name, then by subject, then by title. The few banners that do not have a corporate name attached to them have been arranged alphabetically by location and placed at the start of the series.