Lehigh Valley Railroad Records
name: label: Creator
content: Lehigh Valley Railroad Company
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
topic: label: Topic
content: Railroad bridges
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Pennsylvania
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Maintenance and repair
label: Topic
content: Railroads -- Buildings and structures
label: Topic
content: Railroad tracks
label: Topic
content: Railroad companies -- Pennsylvania
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Original provenance unknown.
creator: label: Creator
content: Lehigh Valley Railroad Company
setName: label: See more items in
content: Lehigh Valley Railroad Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: Papers and photographs documenting the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Originally known as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad, the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) competed for the lucrative anthracite coal transport trade in northeastern Pennsylvania. It dominated the industry in eastern Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, becoming known as the "Route of the Black Diamond." The Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad was first suggested by prominent members of Lehigh and Northampton Counties, and the bill was carried through the legislature by Dr. Jesse Samuel, then a representative from Lehigh County. In August 1847, the necessary certificate to the Governor was signed for the purpose of obtaining a charter of incorporation. The name of the company was changed to Lehigh Valley Railroad Company by an act of assembly on January 7, 1853. Although the railroad did carry passengers, it depended mainly on the transportation of coal as its source of profit. The demise of the coal industry and the rise of auto and air transportation in the 1950s led to its financial ruin and a takeover by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1960. The records were acquired over the course of several years from the main offices of the LVRR.

Source

Historical note courtesy the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) Company Records Collection MG-274, Pennsylvania State Archives
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.25 Cubic feet (7 boxes, 1 map-folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1860-1940
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1046
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Payrolls
label: Type
content: Blueprints
label: Type
content: Reports
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Mark Seggal (volunteer) and Franklin Robinson Jr., archivist; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2010.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1920-1940
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Payrolls
label: Genre/Form
content: Blueprints
label: Genre/Form
content: Reports
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The collection consists of papers and photographs relating to the infrastructure of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, including correspondence, blueprints, inspection reports, plat and profile books, and photographs of tracks and bridges.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Archival Materials
content: Materials at the Archives Center


Coxe Brothers Collection (NMAH.AC.1002)

Girard Estate Records (NMAH.AC.1011)

Lehigh Valley Coal Company Records (NMAH.AC.1106)

Materials at Other Organizations

Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) Company Records Collection MG-274, 1849-1962, undated

The bulk of the records are 703 volumes of minutes, reports, journals, ledgers, cash books, company history, records of lands owned by the LVRR, and other records pertaining to everyday operations. Major series include: Minutes of the Board of Directors, 1850-1962 (which, among other things, contain information on accidents); Annual Reports, 1852-1975; Trustee Files, [ca. 1900-1982]; Cash Books, 1855-1952; Ledger, 1853-1955; and Real Estate Department Records, 1878-1951. (For records documenting personnel see Robert Dructor's publication: Guide to Genealogical Sources at the Pennsylvania State Archives, 2nd ed.) Records of Subsidiary Companies, consisting of 1,421 volumes, are organized by transportation companies, 1851-1950, and non-transportation, 1844-1947, then arranged alphabetically by company name. For each company there are minutes and/or financial accounts. Also included are three cubic feet (over five-hundred items) of photographic negatives taken by staff photographers. Subjects include construction of the Claremont Terminal, Jersey City, New Jersey, 1917-1923; ruins of the Morris Canal near Washington, New Jersey; the 1902 Lehigh River flood near Easton; and construction of an unidentified engine and freight-house, probably in Buffalo, 1915.