Secondary Research
Note
Most of the links on this page are PDF files.
Historic Resource Survey Forms (Pennsylvania)
The BHP collects information on historic and cultural resources in Pennsylvania. This information comes from a variety of sources ranging from firms engaged in cultural resource management, municipality and county governments, to private citizens interested in the history of their property or community. The BHP collects this information on Historic Resource Survey Forms (HRSF). The HRSFs listed below are only a sampling of railroad resources we have on file. Please go to our Cultural Resources Geographic Information System (CRGIS) which is a web access map-based inventory to search for additional resources.
It is important to note that HRSFs only represent the resources for which we have received information, many railroad lines in their entirety have not been evaluated by our office and thus are undocumented in our files. Due to file size limitations, photographs and maps have not been scanned. The paper copies of the HRSFs are located in our office in Harrisburg, and the files are open to the public. Please contact our office at (717) 783-8946 if you wish to make an appointment to see the files.
Survey Forms
- Atlantic & Great Western Railroad: Franklin Branch
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (Munntown to Anderson Station)
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad: Pittsburgh Division (Draft)
- Bangor & Portland Railroad (Ackermanville Segment)
- Delaware & Hudson Canal Company Gravity Railroad (Honesdale to Scranton)
- Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (Scranton to Slateford Junction)
- Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain Railroad
- Monongahela Railroad (Brownsville Junction to state line)
- Norfolk Southern Railway (Butler Junction vicinity)
- Pennsylvania Railroad: Fort Washington Branch (Mt. Airy to Fort Hill)
- Pennsylvania Railroad: Morrisville Line
- Perkiomen Railroad
- Philadelphia & Reading Railroad: Chester Valley Branch (Cedar Hollow to Downingtown)
- Reading Railroad: Chester Branch (Tinicum Twp to Philadelphia)
- Reading Railroad: Main Line (Philadelphia to Port Carbon)
- Reading Railroad: New York Line
- Turtle Creek Valley Railroad (Trafford to Export)
- Wright & Pier Tram Railroad (Clear Creek State Forest)
Other Studies:
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National Register Nominations (U.S.)
The nominations and MPS/TR documents are courtesy of the NPS National Register of Historic Places Digital Library - NPS Focus.
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
DC
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
- Illinois Central Stone Arch Railroad Bridges (not yet digitized)
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
- Lexington Extension of the Louisville Southern Railroad
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Passenger and Baggage Depots
Maryland
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
- Railroad Logging Sites of the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico MPS
- Railroad Logging Era Resources of the Canon de San Diego Land Grant in North- Central New Mexico MPS
New York
Ohio
- Canal, Railroad, and Industrial Resources of the Village of Clinton/Warwick, Ohio MPS
- Zanesville Historic Railroad Depots TR
Oregon
- Mt. Hood Railroad Linear Historic District
- Oregon Pacific Railroad Linear Historic District
- U.S. Spruce Production Railroad XII, Spur 5
Pennsylvania
- Allegheny Portage Railroad (NHL)
- East Broad Top Railroad
- Switchback Gravity Railroad (Mauch Chunk to Summit Hill)
- Pennsylvania Railroad Rolling Stock Thematic Resource
- Railroad Resources of York County MPS
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
- Austin and Northwestern Railroad Historic District - Fairland to Llano (not yet digitized)
Utah
- Central Pacific Railroad Grade Historic District
- Transcontinental Railroad Grade
- Union Pacific Park City Branch RR Grade
Wyoming
- Industrial Facilities Served by the Railroad in Cheyenne, Wyoming, ca. 1890-1945
- Historic Context for Transportation Routes and Sites in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming
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Horseshoe Curve. |
Web Links
- Altoona and the Pennsylvania Railroad
- American-Rails
- Association of American Railroads. A Short History of U.S. Freight Railroads
- Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture. The business and technology section features an essay and primary documents including annual reports and photographs.
- Bridges & Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA Railroad History.
- Chronology of Railroading in America
- History of Railroads and Maps (American Memory)
- Lehigh Valley Railroad
- The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Society
- National Railroad Museum
- National Railway Historical Society
- North Central Pennsylvania Railroads
- Northeast Railroad Corridor, Amtrak Route Between Delaware-Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania-New Jersey State Lines (HABS HAER)
- North East Rails. Website focuses on Pennsylvania and the North East.
- Pennsylvania Railroad Stations Past & Present. Searchable database with photographs.
- Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society
- Railroad and the Making of Modern America
- Railroads in North America: Some Historical Facts and an Introduction to an Electronic Database of North American Railroads and Their Evolution (M.C. Hallberg)
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The museum is administered by the PHMC, with the active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
- The Railroad Network. Interesting essays and articles, photo archives and forums for discussing many aspects of railfanning.
- Railway Preservation News. Online magazine of railway history and preservation.
- Railroad Surveys: History and Curve Computations (PDF). This paper takes an in-depth look at the history of the U.S. Railroad system and discusses the instruments and procedures used to map and layout railroads.
- Reading Company Technical & Historical Society
 Railroad tracks and bridge, Allegheny County, PA, 2010. |