Collection Guide
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Preliminary Guide to the James H. Gildea Middle East Railroad Collection
Bernath Mss 219
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Table of contents
Title: James H. Gildea Middle East Railroad Collection
Dates: ca. 1940s-1970s
Bulk Dates: early 1950s
Collection number: Bernath Mss 219
Collection Size:
1.1 linear feet
(2 document boxes and 1 oversize box).
Creator:
Gildea, James H.
Repository:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Abstract: The collection contains documents and photos, mainly about James H. Gildea's involvement in the early 1950s, as engineer and
manager in charge of the construction of the Saudi Government Railway, running through the Arabian desert from the Persian
Gulf to the capital city of Riyadh.
Physical location: Del Norte (boxes 1-2); Annex 2 (box 3); Del Sur Map Cabinets (Map Cabinet 20-5).
Languages:
English
None. Collection is partially stored off-site; advance notice required for retrieval.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
James H. Gildea Middle East Railroad Collection. Bernath Mss 219. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University
of California, Santa Barbara.
Gift of the Gildea Estate and Purchase, 2006.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains documents and photos, mainly about James H. Gildea's involvement in the early 1950s, as engineer and
manager in charge of the construction of the Saudi Government Railway, running through the Arabian desert from the Persian
Gulf to the capital city of Riyadh. The project came about as a result of a 1947 agreement between King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud
and the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco). The cost was financed primarily from Saudi oil revenues, with engineering and
construction under the guidance of Aramco and the Bechtel Construction Company. Gildea, formerly with Union Pacific, was chosen
to head the project because of his experience in World War II as an operating manager for the Iranian railroad. Gildea later
lived in Santa Barbara and was married to Madame Gildea.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Gildea, James H.
Railroads--Saudi Arabia.