Samuel Morse Felton Family Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Felton, Samuel Morse, 1809-1889 (civil engineer)
label: Creator
content: Felton, Samuel Morse, 1853-1930 (son)
label: Names
content: American Locomotive Sales Corporation.
label: Names
content: Louisville Southern Railway Co.
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.).  Division of Transportation
label: Names
content: Philadelphia RR.
label: Names
content: Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore RR.
label: Names
content: Southern Railway and Steamship Association.
label: Names
content: United States. Army
label: Names
content: United States. War Department
label: Names
content: Ames, Oliver
label: Names
content: Atterbury, W.W.
label: Names
content: Cooke, Jay
label: Names
content: Davis, Robert C.
label: Names
content: Fletcher, Andrew
label: Names
content: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
label: Names
content: Lomonossoff, G.
label: Names
content: McAdoo, W.G.
label: Names
content: Milliken, J.
label: Names
content: Scott, Thomas A.
label: Names
content: Smith, M.H.
place: label: Place
content: Pennsylvania
label: Place
content: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
topic: label: Topic
content: Railroads
label: Topic
content: Business records -- 1840-1930
label: Topic
content: Civil engineers
label: Topic
content: Transportation
label: Topic
content: Slavery -- United States
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Creator
content: Felton, Samuel Morse, 1809-1889 (civil engineer)
label: Creator
content: Felton, Samuel Morse, 1853-1930 (son)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Samuel Morse Felton Family Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Papers of Samuel Morse Felton, civil engineer and railroad president, and his family.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Samuel Morse Felton (1809 1889), civil engineer, became Superintendent and engineer of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1843 and left in 1851 to become President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PWBRR).  Under Felton's able management this unsuccessful and financially failing railroad was rebuilt, restored and prospered.  The road was of great strategic importance during the Civil War and performed a great service by transporting troops and supplies for the Union.  In 1857, he installed the locomotive engine "Daniel Webster" in service on the PWBRR.  It was probably the first really successful coal burning passenger engine in regular service upon any RR in the U.S.  In 1865 he left the PWBRR to become President of the Pennsylvania Steel Company.  This was the first attempt in the United States to manufacture steel rails as a commercial enterprise.  During this period he also served as director of many railroads including the Philadelphia, Wilmington & BRR, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., the Northern Pacific, the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain and several others.  He was director for ten years of the Pennsylvania RR.  In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant as a Commissioner to inspect Pacific Railroads.

His son, Samuel Morse Felton (1853 1930), followed in this father's footsteps.  He graduated from MIT in 1873 and began a life long career in American railroading.  In 1889 he became President of the Chicago and Alton Railroad, later assumed the Presidency of the Mexican Central Railroad, and became President of the Chicago Great Western Railroad in 1909.  During WWI he was appointed Director General of Military Railways and in that capacity had charge of the organization and dispatch to France of all American railway forces and supplies.  He continued in that position during the World War years.  By 1928 he was Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Great Western Railroad, President of the Western Railroad Association, and Chairman of the  Western Association of Railway Executives, to name only a few of his positions. At his death he was an advisor and associate of the Central Trust Company of Illinois.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.3 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1841-1930, undated
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Transportation (now Division of Work and Industry) on July 3, 1985.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0170
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Reports
label: Type
content: Clippings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection divided into five series.

Series 1: Biographical, 1841-1921

Series 2: Correspondence, 1861-1927

Series 3: Reports, 1847-1919

Series 4:History of Transportation Department, undated

Series 5: News clippings, 1889-1930
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Robert S. Harding  9/91, David Haberstich, Revised 11/28/05, David Haberstich, Revised 5/19/06
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1840-1930
label: Genre/Form
content: Reports
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings -- 1840-1940
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection contains biographical material on both Feltons; a handwritten bound report by Felton on the construction of the Norfolk Co. Railroad, 1847 1849; correspondence, 1861 1927, to and from both Feltons; various reports on military railroads during the World War years; and news clippings and articles on the Feltons, 1889-1930.