Erie Railroad Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Erie Railroad Company
label: Creator
content: Olevsky, Walter
label: Donor
content: ConRail
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
topic: label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Buildings and structures
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Employees
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Rolling-stock
label: Topic
content: Railroad tracksdrawings
label: Topic
content: Railroad stations -- United States
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- 19th century
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Originally collected by the National Museum of American History's Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering's reference collection.  

In 1978, 668 glass plate negatives documenting Erie railroad stations were purchaed from Walter Olevsky; in 1987 drawings of structures built by the various railroads which, at the time of the donation, constituted the Consolidated Rail Corporation were donated; and in 2007, two cubic feet of photoprints and nine cubic feet of archival records were transferred from the Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center.
creator: label: Creator
content: Erie Railroad Company
label: Creator
content: Olevsky, Walter
setName: label: See more items in
content: Erie Railroad Collection
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Erie Railroad was founded in 1832 by large group of investors from the Southern Tier Counties of New York. Among these investors, businessman Eleazar Lord had been among the originators and later became the first president of the company. The railroad's construction took place from 1832 to 1851 with a seven-year pause between 1842 and 1849.

At the time of its completion, the Erie Railroad was the largest railway system in the United States, both in length, 446 miles, and in gauge, six feet. Thanks to its tracks span from New Jersey to Illinois and itsabove-average gauge, it could transport larger cargo.

Throughout its history the company underwent numerous bankruptcies and merged with several companies. The first merger was in 1960 with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad creating the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. The second was in 1976 when the once-again bankrupt company merged with five other lines to create Conrail.

Source

Allegany County Historical Society, Andover, New York

https://www.alleganyhistory.org/culture/transportation/railroads/erie-railroad/1060-the-erie-railroad (Last accessed on Decemeber 3, 2019)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 57 Cubic feet (60 boxes, 97 map-folders)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1880-1980
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Work and Industry in 2007.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1082
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Blueprints
label: Type
content: Mechanical drawings
label: Type
content: Tracings
label: Type
content: Glass negatives
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into seven series.
    
Series 1: Photographs		

Series 2: Glass Plate Negatives			
 
Series 3: Lists			
 
Series 4: Subject Files			
 
Series 5: Specifications for Bridges, Buildings and Terminals		
 
Series 6: Drawings			
 
Series 7: Bridge Notebooks
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by John Benko, intern, 2019; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist. 

In 2019, some drawings were deaccessioned to the Industrial Archives & Library in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Blueprints
label: Genre/Form
content: Mechanical drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Tracings
label: Genre/Form
content: Glass negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Collection consists of six hundred sixty-eight (668) glass negatives relating to the Erie Railroad. Subjects include stations, train cars, railroad employees, employees' recreational activities, ferries, construction, street scenes, and resort hotels; drawings of structures built by the various railroads which, at the time of the donation, constituted the Consolidated Rail Corporation. Included are linen tracings, blueprints, and mechanical copies; and two cubic feet of photoprints made from negatives in the Erie Railroad Collection.