About this Guide
This guide represents a selection of resources available through Northwestern University's Transportation Library. It is not intended to be all-inclusive, but a starting point in helping to guide your research. Please contact a librarian for additional assistance or inquiries about collections, items, or subjects.
New York and New Haven Railroad Annual Report, 1954
Collection Highlight
- Official Guide of the Railways byCall Number: Lower Level Room B249 PeriodicalsPublication Date: 1900-1973
Digital and Archival Collections - Rail
- David V. Woolf Bus and Train Collection, 1950-2009The David V. Woolf Bus and Train Collection consists of 154 transportation-related postcards primarily related to buses and bus lines. The collection ranges in publication date from the 1950s to the early 200s. Text on the postcards is primarily in English; Dutch, French, and German are also representated. The collection measures .5 linear feet in one box.
- Gary Gelzer Transportation CollectionThe Gary Gelzer Transportation Collection consists of 411 postcards, timetables, menus, and other materials related to 20th-century railroads, ships, and other modes of transportation.
- H.H. Copeland Maps and TablesThe Transportation Library's collection of H. H. Copeland and Son's maps consist of 76 maps and tables on U. S. railways dating from the early 1930's to the mid 1950's. The Copeland maps consist of traffic density maps and tables on ton miles, freight density and traffic distribution and other railway related tables and calculations.
- Ira Silverman Railroad Menu CollectionRailroad menus in this collection date back from 1968 to recent Amtrak excursions. The collection addresses menus from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and all of Western Europe.
- John A. Swider Timetable CollectionThis collection consists of 919 rail and bus timetables from the United States and Canada collected by Mr. John A. Swider, of Mount Prospect, Illinois. The collection comprises timetables issued 1880 through 2006, with the majority dating from the 1930s through the 1990s. It includes timetables focused on the Chicago metropolitan area, and on travel to the San Francisco, Chicago, and New York World’s Fairs.
- Thomas Taber III Railroad Digital CollectionMr. Taber’s extensive collection of published resources related to US railroad history has been digitized and is fully available to researchers online.
Selected Early Rail Periodicals
The Transportation Library holds several nineteenth and early-twentieth century railroad periodicals in our collections. A selection is below; to find additional titles, search our catalog.
- The Railway AgeCall Number: Main Library Transportation Library Periodicals (Shelved by title)The library's holdings date back to 1878.
- Railway Age GazetteCall Number: Main Library Transportation Library Periodicals (Shelved by title)The library's holdings date from 1910 to 1917.
Annual Reports
The Transportation Library’s collection of annual reports documents the financial and operational history of transportation companies around the world from the 1820s to the present. Originally compiled for the companies’ investors, the reports contain a wealth of primary source information for researchers in the history of transportation as well as those researching transportation in the current day. Industries represented include pipeline, infrastructure, trucking, automobile, and bus companies, railroads, transit corporations, cruise ships, airlines, and federal agencies, with a particular strength in 19th century U.S. railroads.
The collection is international in scope and includes reports from such airlines as American Airlines, East African Airways, and Alitalia, among many others.
To search for a specific company, enter that company's name, together with "annual report" into the search box in the library's catalog. For example: American Airlines "Annual Report"
Directories
- The Biographical directory of the railway officials of AmericaCall Number: HE2723 .W628Publication Date: 1885;1887;1893;1896;1901;1906;1913;1922
- Manual of the railroads of the United StatesCall Number: HE2721 .P823Publication Date: 1868/1869-1894
Additional Resources
- Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc., Directory of Railroad History Research LocationsMajor locations for railroad history research with websites and some email addresses are listed here. Clicking on the underlined location provides a brief description of the holdings.
- RAILROADS: Historical Research Sources at the Library of CongressPrint-based and digital collections related to historical railroad research at the LOC
Search Our Collections
Search our collections by railroad name to find all of our holdings on a given railroad.
- Transportation Library Collections This link opens in a new windowUse the Transportation Library Collection tab to do a global search for all Transportation Library books, journals, EIS', journal articles, digital collections and more.
