Charles K. Adams Santa Fe Railroad collection, 1850-1951

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Adams, Charles K.
Abstract:
In 1868, Cyrus K. Holliday obtained a charter and raised capital for a new railroad that began running in Kansas the following year. He dreamed of a railway to replace covered wagons along the Santa Fe Trail between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. By 1890, 9000 miles of track had been laid. The railway became bankrupt in the Panic of 1893, but was bought by Edward Payson Ripley, who added 2000 miles of track creating one of the largest privately-owned rail systems in the world. The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, clippings, maps, books, and other printed material relating to the formation, development, and history of the Santa Fe Railroad.
Extent:
3.0 Linear Feet (6 boxes and 1 oversize package)
Language:
Materials are in Englsih.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Charles K. Adams Santa Fe Railroad Collection (Collection 343). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, clippings, maps, books, and other printed material relating to the formation, development, and history of the Santa Fe Railroad.

Biographical / historical:

In 1868 farmer, lawyer and first mayor of Topeka, Kansas, Cyrus K. Holliday obtained a charter and raised capital for a new railroad that began running in Kansas the following year; he dreamed of a railway to replace covered wagons along the Santa Fe Trail between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico; by 1890, 9000 miles of track had been laid; the railway became bankrupt in the Panic of 1893, but was bought by Edward Payson Ripley, who added 2000 miles of track; it became one of the largest privately-owned rail systems in the world, with passenger service from Chicago to San Francisco and Los Angeles, and with the bulk of its business in freight.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Charles K. Adams, 1953.
Processing information:

Processed by Manuscripts Division staff.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Correspondence and historical material (Box 1).
  2. Official papers, Adams's notebooks, newspaper clippings, photographs (Box 2).
  3. Rules and regulations of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System (Box 3).
  4. Ephemera and pamphlets published by and about the Santa Fe Railroad Co. (Box 4).
  5. Books (Box 5).
  6. Newspapers and clippings (Box 6).
  7. Adams's large notebook (Box 7).

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Charles K. Adams Santa Fe Railroad Collection (Collection 343). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988