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Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Bureau of Archives and History
Pennsylvania State Archives


MG-286

Penn Central Railroad Collection, [ca. 1835-1968]

Series Descriptions



The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Secretary



Annual Reports,
1916, 1917, 1925, 1928, 1938, 1943, 1950.
(2 folders)

{series #286m.61} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by year of report publication.

Annual reports of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company including reports of income and expenditures; revenue and ton mileage; earnings and expenses; traffic; mileage; contracts; dividends; fund debt summary; operating ratio; and securities. Information is also given on the annual meeting location and date; a summary report of the company's year-in-review statistics; balance sheets and equipment summaries.

Return of the Railroads to Private Ownership: Hearing Reports, volumes 1-3,
1919.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1537} [Holdings]

Indexed alphabetically by surname of representative giving testimony, by the name of the organization giving testimony and by the surname of individuals proposing plans. Volume 3 contains a comprehensive index.

Transcript of hearings on the return of the railroads to private ownership given before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the United States House of Representatives. Issued as Volume 1 in three volumes as a single bound set; Parts 1 to 7, are inclusive. The testimony is supplemented by map plates, tables and graphs of financial and operating statistics. Narrative is organized by questions and answers exchanged between the Committee Chairman, Committee members and representatives giving testimony. Also found are resolutions adopted by various trade associations; bills; telegrams; editorials; and letters submitted by representatives of organizations.

Splawn Report: Regulation of Stock Ownership in Railroads, volumes 1-3,
1931.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1536} [Holdings]


Indexed by holding company and by topic. Comprehensive index included at the end of volume 3.

Report investigating individual common carrier railroads and the government regulation of stock ownership in railroad companies. Published in three parts as United States House of Representatives House Report No. 2789, information is found on corporate structure and organization; stock issued; the number of shares outstanding; the names of company officials; maps; graphs; and flow charts. Also listed seperately are sketches of notable holding companies and appendixes.



The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Secretary

Pennsylvania Railroad Company Library



Derivations of Names of Towns Along the P.R.R., by John C. Sims, volumes 1-2,
1878-1891.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1553}
[Holdings]

Arranged alphabetically by name of town or village.

Bound field notebooks listing names of towns along the Pennsylvania Railroad, definitions of town names, locations by state or county of post offices assigned town names, and the railroad divisions on which they are situated. Pre-printed tabulated dividers organize town names in sequence from A-Z. Words such as "baron," "earl," "visc.," etc. appear in a column next to select town names that seem to be British in origin, and in many instances, the regional Native American definition is given for a local place name. Also included is the mileage from major population centers relative to a particular place name. Some entries include a brief description of the local geography and topography. Sometimes an old and new place name are noted with a date when the change was effective. Other brief remarks not related to town names are occasionally noted in pencil.


The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Treasurer



Mortgage and Funded Debt History,
1946.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1532} [Holdings]

Indexed alphabetically by subsidiary company name and thereunder by date of security issue and date of bond maturity.

Report summarizing mortgage and bond issuance of individual railroad companies under the Pennsylvania Railroad system published by the Office of Treasurer. There is a brief description in each section of the aggregate amount of bonds issued; the series to which they belong; the various rates of interest; and the values each bond is worth. Most entries contain the total amount and the date when a bond series was due; the amount of shares issued in an offering; and dates of sale of bonds to purchasers.



The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Vice President of Personnel


Taft-Hartley Hearing on Labor Management Relations, volumes 1-2,
1948.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1535} [Holdings]

Indexed alphabetically by surname of witnesses and chronologically by date of witness testimony.

Transcript of hearings on railroad labor-management relations before the Joint Committee on Labor-Management Relations of the United States Congress. Published as evidence of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, the publication gives a detailed account of testimony by union officials and represntatives verbatim, and the questions asked to them by legislative committeemen. There are descriptions given on strikes; recent wage movements; bargaining practices; a history of labor relations provisions; union organization; and administration.

Timetable and Employee Trip Passes of Charles G. Nash,
ca.1903-1907, 1956.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1552} [Holdings]

Arranged randomly.

Ten ephemera items issued by the Pennsylvania Railroad to Charles G. Nash, believed to be a PRR Engineering Department employee. Includes a 1907 PRR employee timetable, a PRR trip pass, and several PRR term passes, inscribed to C.G. Nash. Also present is incoming and outgoing correspondence between Charles G. Nash and S.K. Stevens, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

 



The Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Voluntary Relief Department


Enrollment Cards,
1886-1968.
(300 cu. ft.)

{series #286m.417}

The file cards of this fund are arranged in five file units and there under in alphabetical order by surname of person.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Voluntary Relief Department was established on February 1, 1886. An insurance plan providing sick and death benefits to the worker or his family the Voluntary Relief Department was funded by the company and by voluntary contributions from the employees. The series is split into five subseries, with their names deriving from the original five titles written on the original card cabinet drawers, namely: 1.) Deceased and Left Service File, 2.) Deceased and Left Service File, 3.) Left Service File, 4.) Left Service Since 1959 File, 5.) Relief Members to the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company 10/16/1964. Their subdivision by the company was apparently based upon dates and circumstances of employees' service, date of death, and federal government pension and retirement regulations. Because of the number of cards involved and the size of the file, it is impossible to determine the exact time periods covered by the files. Within each subseries, cards are arranged in alphabetical order by name of employee, and cards have been found for workers whose employment dates back to at least 1865. Membership in this insurance program was voluntary, so not all employees of the railroad will be documented by these cards even though coverage was system wide. Also, please note that none of the cards can be made available to the public unless the employee had been dead for at least twenty-five years. Information appearing on each set of cards includes the following:

Subseries 1: Deceased and Left Service File

Arranged alphabetically by name of employee. Contains index cards (5x8) that were printed prior to 1938 and which cover service by workers back to at least 1865. Data shown includes the names, places of birth, dates of birth, and occupations of the employees; the names of their father, mother, and if relevant spouse; the certificate numbers and the dates entitled to retirement; and their employment service records, that is, titles of postings held, division employed by, dates of entering service or changing jobs; and rates of pay. An occasional social security number is present as well. Supplemental cards contain "Disablement Records" that detail when and for how long workers were sick or injured; what the cause of disablement was; and if needed, the dates of death. Other information that might appear includes, the dates that the employees were last compensated for service dates of retirement, and particulars regarding whether they were granted and annuity under Railroad Retirement Act of 1937.

Subseries 2: Deceased and Left Service File

Arranged alphabetically by name of employee. Consists of index cards (5x8) that were printed prior to 1950 and which cover employment back to the early 1900's. The cards contain the same type of information found for Subseries 1. Some personnel cards originating from the New York Central Railroad Company also are present. Such cards do not have the VRD data but they do note dates when the individuals were off duty or had left service as well as the causes. Most of the employees found on the Subseries 2 cards appear to have been dead for at least twenty-five years.
The dates of the employees' deaths, however, are not always on the cards to verify this, and several employee cards were in fact found that listed dates of death as recently as 1970. The cards, therefore, cannot be made available without staff intervention.

Subseries 3: Left Service File

Arranged alphabetically by name of employee. Index cards (3x5) that cover service by workers dating back to at least the 1880's and which in some cases include the same employees found in Subseries 1. Data can vary with the card utilized but normally entries give the employees' names, divisions, occupations, dates of birth, length of service (years and months, and dates of death; the certificate numbers; and the dates that the benefits became effective. Older cards from the early 1900's also provide the workers' present ages and rates of pay (as of 1905-1910 usually); the dates of employment (exact date of entry and leaving service); average rates of monthly pay; and period of time on the relief fund rolls. Cards dating from the 1950's list the addresses of the persons; have space for recoding the dates of death; and contain references to supplemental pension plans, and railroad benefit numbers. As with Subseries 1 most of the workers documented on these cards died more than twenty-five years ago.

Subseries 4: Left Service Since 1959 File

Arranged alphabetically by name of employee. Index cards that were for the most partly printed prior to 1960 and include individuals who left service and as late as 1963. While some cards can be found for employees who started working for the railroad in the early 1900's most of the individuals documented in this series were hired during the 1940-1950 time period.
All of the cards in this series are restricted for at least twenty years.

Subseries 5: Relief Members to Norfolk and Western Railroad company, October 16, 1964

Arranged alphabetically by name of employee. Contains index cards that are the same as those described under Subseries 4 and are subject to the same access restrictions.
(* note: some of these cards are restricted)


Penn Central Corporation

Secretary



Annual Reports,
1967, 1968, 1969.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.418} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by year of report and supplement.

Published annual reports and supplements summarizing financial and statistical data of selected Penn Central companies. Includes earning statement; balance sheet; statement of income; assets; liabilities; operating revenues for freight and passenger operations; balance sheet schedules; statistics; investment data; operating ratios; mileage statistics; freight traffic listed by major commodities; train and car mile data; and equipment inventory. Common carrier subsidiaries reporting data to Penn Central included Pennsylvania Coal Company Consolidated; Arrida Corporation Consolidated; Buckeye Pipe Line Company Consolidated; Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Company; Great West Corporation Consolidated; Maaco Realty Company Consolidated; Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company; and Strick Holding Company Consolidated.

Merger and Incorporation Documents and Stock Certificate,
1969.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1533} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

By-laws, articles of incorporation, and pre-incorporation stock subscription of the "PCT" [Penn Central Transportation] Company. Also found are an unissued PCT stock certificate; a written consent in lieu of the meeting, signed by Stuart T. Sanders, Alfred E. Perlman and David C. Bevan; and a plan of merger and reorganization.

Minute Book of Stockholders' Annual Meetings,
1970-1974.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1539} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

Bound typed minutes of the 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 annual meetings of the Penn Central Company stockholders. Information given includes notice of the annual meeting, brief summaries of directors reports and committee reports, resolutions, the nomination and election results of directors, and notice of 1971 annual stockholders reports. The minute book is titled as No. 1 and all pages are marked sequentially from pp. 1-20, with the last four pages remaining unmarked.

 


Pennsylvania Railroad Subsidiary Lines


Ann-Arbor Railroad Company



Annual Reports,
1918-1919.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1528} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

One annual report of the Ann Arbor Railroad Co., for the fiscal years December 31, 1918, and December 31, 1919. There is a list of railroad directors, executive committee and general officers of the corporation. Information provided gives a financial year-in-review of the company's overall profits and losses. Topics covered include account; profit and loss account; assets; liabilities; funded and other interest-bearing debt; expenditures for additions and betterments; equipment owned; federal operations; traffic and mileage statistics; a brief history of the company; and a map-plate showing the route of the railroad between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie.


Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad


Report of the Board of Directors,
1910, 1911, 1912, 1915.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1529} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by year of report.

Four annual reports issued in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1915, respectively, by the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad board of directors to the company stockholders. Information provided therein includes the names of directors and officers; the financial report for the previous calendar year; justification for expenditures; operating statistics; auditor's certificates; tabulated statements showing track mileage and equipment; funded debt; balance sheet; income account; construction account; equipment account; distribution of operating expenses; and comparative statement of operating expenses. Also present are map plates of the C&WIR and the Belt Railway of Chicago showing connections to other railroads.


Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad Company



Board File 248/1-248/5,
1960-1969.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1534} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by date of the annual meeting of the stockholders.

Notice letters, proxy forms and lists of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting of the firm. The proxy forms list the slate of directors elligible for reelection; the names of principle stockholders and the number of shares held by each; and a notorized proxy ballot signed and dated by principle stockholders, signed by the vice president and the corporate secretary. Also present are income statements; comparisons of cash forecast sheets; treasurer's reports; and the resignation letters of Assistant Secretary Cathleen Barrett and board member John A. Kennedy, 1960.


Delaware Railroad



History of the Delaware Railroad and Its Connections.,
1882.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1531} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

Short historical profile of the Delaware Railroad written by M. Hayes, Secretary and Treasurer. Includes information on its original charter, steamboat operations, financing and directors, leases, construction, legislative aid, branch railroad, financial affairs, freight traffic, orchard business, and seashore resort business. Included at the end of the history is a fianncial table summarizinig the costs of construction of the road, length of the right-of-way including branches, and a table showing the proportion of revenue of fruit traffic for a 13-year period, beginning October 31, 1879. The history was published by Aldine Publishing and Engraving Company, Wilmington, Del., and was excerpted from advance sheets of [the] Encyclopedia of Delaware.


Finley Company



Board Files, B 239/1-B 239/21,
1952-1958.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1541} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by date of election.

Official board file of the Finley Company. Documents include election ballots of directors; annuals reports of the company; resignation letters of directors; cash reports; written consent solicitations on proposed mergers; financial statements; and proposed real estate transfers.

Cash Book, G16-17,
1952-1958.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1542} [Holdings]

Arranged alphabetically by subject with index.

Bound hand-written cash book recording financial transactions of the Finley Company. Sections include cash; Sayers and Hawkins--Special A/C; coal lands; Andrew B. Crichton; Charles E. Hackney, Trustee; Mortgages purchased (misc.); Coal Lands-Greene County; Office Equipment; Capital Stock; Profit &Loss; Surplus; Commissions-Hackney; Legal Expenses; Organization Expense; General Expense; Maps; Taxes (by county); McNay Farm; Stout Farm; Notes Payable; and Granite Improvement Co.

Journal, G16-19,
December 1951-January 1953.
(1 item)

{series #286m.1544} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by transaction.

Bound hand-written ledger recording financial transactions of the Finley Company. Fields include date of receipts and expenditures and a summary of the project or transaction.

Ledger, G16-21,
1952-1953.
(1 item)

{series #286m.1543} [Holdings]

Arranged randomly by expense account.

Bound hand-written ledger recording expenses of the Finley Company. Fields describe date of purchase; the items purchased; folio code; debits; date sold; and credits. Expense categories include office equipment; accounts receivable; agreements; capital stock; coal lands; insurance; interest income and payable; legal expenses; mortgages purchased; office equipment; paid-in surplus; petty cash fund; rentals; royalties; special accounts; taxes; taxes accrued; working funds; and accounts payable.


New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company



General Statements,
1910-1914.
(2 folders)

{series #286m.1530} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by fiscal year.

Five general statements of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, for the fiscal years June 30, 1910, June 30, 1911, June 30, 1912, June 30, 1913, and June 30, 1914. There is a list of railroad directors of the corporation. Information provided gives a financial year-in-review of the company's overall profits and losses. Topics covered include income account; financial profile; special investigations; additions and betterments, affiliated companies; water lines; real estate; statement of stockholders; organization; general balance sheet; profit and loss account; assets; liabilities; funded and other interest-bearing debt; expenditures for additions and betterments; rentals of leased lines; debentures; description of railroad operated; equipment owned; federal operations; traffic and mileage statistics; and account and balance sheets of subsidiary companies, including railway and steamship lines.


New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad Company



Annual Reports,
1915-1916.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1108} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

One annual report of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad Company., for the fiscal years March 21, 1916, and March 20, 1917. There is a list of railroad directors, executive committee and general officers of the corporation. Information provided gives a financial year-in-review of the company's overall profits and losses. Topics covered include account; profit and loss account; assets; liabilities; funded and other interest-bearing debt; expenditures for additions and betterments; equipment owned; federal operations; traffic and mileage statistics; and a brief history of the company.


Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway



Minutes of Proceedings, Compilation of the Laws, Deeds, Mortgages, Leases and Other Instruments and Minutes of Proceedings,
1875.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1540} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

A manual of published legal documents of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway. Includes a prefatory statement by J.F.D. Lanier, Chairman; a statement of the Purchasing Committee, published in 1862; the original plan of reorganization; agreements of bondholders; laws of several statements affecting the company's operation, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; the deeds and mortgages of the railway; proceedings of bondholders to modify the Sinking Funds; agreements and leases relating to the management and possession of the railway and its connecting lines; and various other documents including a review of the history and management of the railway; form of new certificate of stock; contract with the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company; assignment of the contract with the GR&IR to an assumption of all liabilities thereunder by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; papers related to the special stock issues to represent permanent improvements and bearing dividends payable and guaranteed by the lessee; and renewal of equipment bonds in conformity with the lease, payable, principal and interest by the lessee.


Western Railroad Corporation



Report of the Committee of the Stockholders,
1852.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1538} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

One annual report of the Western Railroad Corporation for fiscal year 1851, published in February 1852. There is a board resolution; reports of passenger and freight traffic; organization of the Springfield office; cashier's books; the ticket system; freight department; valuation of property; graduation and masonry; wooden and iron bridge superstructure; station buildings and fixtures; land and fences; locomotives; passenger equipment; sinking fund; unexpended capital; estimate of depreciation of road and equipment; assets and liabilities; and an appendix describing the communication of the president of the Western Railroad Corporation to the investigating committee, financial tables and present and prospective value of the sinking funds belonging to the Western Railroad Corporation.


LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD
(now part of Manuscript Group-274)


Secretary



Minute Book of Directors Committee Meetings,
1963-1965, 1966-1969.
(2 folders)

{series #274m.564} [Holdings]

Arranged chronologically by date of committee meetings.

Typed proceedings of Lehigh Valley Railroad annual and monthly board of directors meetings and directors committee meetings. Includes index; abandonments; real estate sales; disposition of locomotives and rolling stock; and board resolutions.


LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD SUBSIDIARY LINES
(now part of Manuscript Group-274)


Subsidiary Companies, [1844-1965]

Transportation Companies, [1851-1965]


Abalan Corporation



Minute Book,
1937-1965.
(1 volume)

{series #274m.563} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

Minute book for the Abalan Corporation documenting board of directors meetings from 1937 until 1965. Included in the three-ring binder are typed by-laws; minutes of the meeting of incorporators and subscribers; monthly board of directors meeting minutes; financial balance sheets; and minutes of the annual meetings.

 


PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD SUBSIDIARY LINES


Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway



Annual Report, 1904.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1554} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

One annual report of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pitsburgh Railway Company, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904. There is a list of railroad directors, executive committee and general officers of the corporation. Information provided gives a financial year-in-review of the company's overall profits and losses. Topics covered include account; profit and loss account; assets; liabilities; funded and other interest-bearing debt; expenditures for additions and betterments; equipment owned; federal operations; traffic and mileage statistics; and a brief history of the company.

 


Miscellaneous Materials (Not Subsidiary Companies)


Annual Report, Colorado & Southern Railway Company
1910.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1546} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

Eleventh Annual Report of the Colorado & Southern Railway Company for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910. Information given includes reports of income and expenditures; revenue and ton mileage; earnings and expenses; traffic; mileage; contracts; dividends; fund debt summary; operating ratio; and securities. Information is also given on the annual meeting location and date; a summary report of the company's year-in-review statistics; balance sheets and equipment summaries.

Founding of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, by E.A. Ferguson
1905.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1947} [Holdings]

Unarranged.

Published account of the legal court proceedings of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. Chapters include an autobiographical sketch of E.A. Ferguson; The Necessity of the Railway by Dr. J.H. Hollander; Legislation and Litigation by Dr. J.H. Hollander; Testimony of E.A. Ferguson before Special Master and Investigating Commission; Account of the Banquet, March 18, 1880, with speech of E.A. Ferguson; Municipal Results by Dr. J.H. Hollander; and Appendix materials.

History of the Penn Club, by Charles J. Cohen,
1924.
(1 folder)

{series #286m.1548}
[Holdings]

Unarranged.

Published history of the Penn Club (1875-1923), located in Philadelphia. Chapters include Origin of the Penn Club; Extracts from the Minutes; The Penn Club in World War II; Reminiscences; Presidents; Club Directors; Charter of the Penn Club; By-Laws; Deceased Members; List of Members; and Biographical Sketches, many of whom were past and contemporaneous Pennsylvania Railroad officials. The book also includes a list of illustrations and an index.

 
PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records