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A History of Railroads at Syracuse University Library
From their beginnings in the second third of the 19th century, railroads
symbolized the rapid growth of this nation. They accelerated the westward
expansion, moving ever increasing volumes of raw materials and finished
goods to markets, transporting passengers, and in times of war playing
a critical role in the mobilization of forces. Railroads have been characters
in film and literature, providing speed, danger, adventure, opportunities
for romance, crime, as well as damsels in distress for bold heroes to
rescue. They have fascinated generations of young and old. Children dream
of finding a toy train under the Christmas tree or of becoming an engineer.
The Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Library
is home to the papers of a number of railroad companies — among them
the New York Central, Erie Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio, and Lackawanna
and Wyoming Valley — as well as the papers of the American Locomotive
Company (ALCO). These records include photographs, journals, financial
records, and annual reports allowing researchers to develop an insight
into the inner workings of America's first true "big business."
With this exhibition we present "snapshots" of railroading
from its beginnings through the end of the steam era in the ‘30s
and ‘40s, shown in historical texts and images, sound recordings,
popular literature, corporate publications, and advertising.
The exhibit was curated by Peter Verheyen and Donia Conn.
Items on Display
History of the First Locomotives in America, Together With Other Interesting
Information from Original Documents and testimony of Living Witnesses.
William H. Brown. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1871.
Die Praxis des Modernen Maschinenbaues: Modellatlas. Berlin: Weller,
ca. 1900
The models depicted in this work are examples of extraordinary paper
engineering. Each plate consists of numbered die-cut layers that can
be folded back to many depths, revealing the inner mechanics of the
item. An explanatory key accompanies each plate.
Engineer Ralph, or Working His Way Upward. Frank H. MacDougal.
Round the World Library, no. 87. New York: Street & Smith, ca. 1903.
Jack Lightfoot's Headwork. Maxwell Stevens. Round the World Library,
no. 107. New York: Street & Smith, ca.1906.
Railroads were a common theme in popular American literature, providing
a backdrop for adventure, danger, crime, and damsels in distress for
bold heroes to rescue.
Watts Flats Station. A-180. Erie Railroad Glass Plate Negative Collection,
1909.
Among the papers and financial records of the Erie Railroad held by
the Special Collections Research Center are a collection of 738, 8"
x 10," glass
plate negatives depicting the stations and other railroad structures
along the Erie's railroad tracks. Watts Flats is at milepost 459, west
of Jamestown, in Chautauqua County, New York. The glass plate negatives
in this collection were digitized and made available online as part
of a Central New York Library Resource Council grant award in 2000.
Digitization increases access to the collection while at the same time
preserving the original. A digital print of the negative can also be
seen.
The Japanese Viewpoint. Carey Orr Collection. 1923
This cartoon, one of over 4000 in the Carey Orr Collection held by
the Special Collections Research Center, confronts the issue of Japanese
immigration to the United States. Railroads are often used as a metaphor
in editorial cartoons.
O. & W.: The Long Life and Slow Death of the New York, Ontario
& Western Railway. William F. Hellmer. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell-North,
1959.
A history of the O. & W. Railroad,which served rural markets from
Weehawken, New Jersey to Oswego, New York — markets not reached
by the larger railroads. Also shown is an unused one-way ticket from
Cornwall to Middletown, both in Orange County, New York.
I've Been Working on the Railroad. Art Mooney and his Orchestra.
Vogue Records, 1946.
Example of a 78 rpm picture disc. The recording is held in the Belfer
Audio Laboratory and Archive, Syracuse University Library.
The Little Train. Lois Lenski. New York: Oxford University Press,
1940.
This popular children's book describes the fundamental workings of
locomotives and railroads in language a five-year-old would understand.
Illustrated by the other. This page depicts the change in motive power
from steam to streamlined diesel motor units.
Fortune Magazine. New York: Time, Inc., January 1935.
This advertisement for the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) depicts
two of the Union Pacific Railroad's M10000 — nicknamed "Little
Zip" — all-aluminum diesel railcars. They were among the first
internal combustion engine-powered trains. Their sleek design reinvigorated
the ailing passenger train business, hailing the demise of steam power.
The Locomotive. Raymond Lowey. London: The Studio; New York: The
Studio Publications, 1937.
Raymond Lowey, noted American industrial designer, was responsible
for some of the most innovative designs in locomotive streamlining.
Among these were the S-1, T-1, GG-1, and the K-4, depicted here. While
the first three were essentially new engines, the latter was an earlier
design to which a streamlined shell was applied.
Annual Report to Stockholders. American Locomotive Company. New
York City: DeVinne Press, 1937.
The cover of the Annual Report "illustrates one of the fifty new
and improved Hudson type J3a locomotives recently built by the American
Locomotive Company at Schenectady for use on the Twentieth Century Limited
and other famous trains of the New York Central (NYC) System."
The Twentieth Century Limited was the NYC's signature train, running
from New York to Chicago.
Annual Report to Stockholders. American Locomotive Company. (ALCO)
New York City: DeVinne Press, 1939.
The cover of the 1939 Annual Report illustrates a 2000 H.P. diesel
passenger locomotive capable of running at 120 mph. The locomotive was
built to pull the Denver - Chicago Rocky Mountain Rocket for the Chicago,
Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad.
Schenectady, New York-based ALCO was one of the premier locomotive
builders in the U.S. and Canada before being absorbed by General Electric.
During its 97-year history, ALCO was responsible for building some of
the best- known engines, such as the Union Pacific's Big Boy, the streamlined
Milwaukee Road Hiawathas, and the New York Central Hudson J3a- type
locomotives. It also built the first commercially successful diesel
electric engine, a form of motive power still in use today, and was
a leader in locomotive exports. ALCO was absorbed by GE which continues
to build locomotives in the late 1960s.
Annual Report to Stockholders. American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
New York City : DeVinne Press, 1940.
This spread depicts the range of diesel locomotives produced by ALCO,
helping speed the transition in motive power away from steam, a business
in which ALCO was also a leader.
The Water Level Route. Charles M. Knoll. Rochester: National Railway
Historical Society, 1984.
This spread depicts the New York Central's Empire State Express, described
as the "finest daytime train in the world," which ran from
New York City to Buffalo. The distance was coved in 7 hours and 50 minutes
with 7 stops for an average of 56 miles an hour. The engines and cars
were covered in fluted stainless steel, finished in silver and black.
Rivarossi modeled the Empire State Express in H0 scale.
Railroads in the Streets of Syracuse. Marcellus, N.Y.: National
Railway Historical Society, 1979.
Many people may not know ore remember that the main lines of the New
York Central and Lackawanna railroads used to run through the streets
of downtown Syracuse. Maximum speed was limited to 15 miles -per -hour.
This situation was not remedied until the completion of the new New
York Central Station (now Time Warner cable channel 10) on Erie Boulevard
with its accompanying elevated tracks (now I-690) in 1936.
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