Come along for a fast track overview of the Cartographic Branch’s railroad records.
The Cartographic Branch contains a wide variety of records. In those records, there are more than 69 record groups and 215 series that include maps, architectural and engineering drawings, and aerial photographs that all relate to railroads in the United States, with widespread coverage of regions all over the world. The dates of these records range from 1828 to 2009, with the bulk of records covering other countries and regions from the early to mid 20th century.
Map of the Washington and Alexandria Railroad and its Connections with the Baltimore and Ohio, Loudon and Hampshire Orange and Alexandria Railroads, May 1865, National Archives Identifier 102279492
The United States Federal Government has always had an interest in railroads since the first charters were awarded. While we may not have those early records, we can see the importance of railroads to the federal government through other records that exist within our holdings. The Corps of Engineers created survey maps for internal improvements across the country, including the Washington and Alexandria Railroad and its connections with Baltimore and Ohio (see below). These records can be found in Record Group 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers 1789-1900.
The railroad industry continued to grow and expand beyond the east coast, as the country grew the demand for fast and efficient transportation grew too. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. If you would like to view the act, it is digitized and available in the Catalog.
This set up for the transcontinental railroad to be built as it provided funding and the legal groundwork for the massive undertaking of connecting the east and west coasts of the continental United States. You can learn more about the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad from the blog post, Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, by Brandi Oswald, Cartographic Branch Supervisory Archivist.
Map No 1, Diagram of Published Maps - Territory of the United States from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Originally prepared to accompany the Reports of the Explorations for a Pacific Railroad Route, 1856 - 1868. National Archives Identifier 200168137
While support was strong for railroads for many years, public interest waned as corporate greed increased and regulations were non-existent. The Federal Government passed the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1887, but it did not have the authority to regulate railroads until congress passed the Elks Act of 1903, the Hepburn Act of 1906, the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, the Valuation Act of 1913, and the Transportation Act of 1920. These acts gave the ICC the authority to improve regulations and through the Valuation Act of 1913, create the most complete set of maps for railways across the country. These maps, created before the National Archives existed, are now part of one of our most popular series, Railroad Valuation Maps, ca. 1915–ca. 1920, Record Group 134 Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission 1887 – 1995.
This series contains 125,000 right of way and tract maps, station maps, and indexes. These blueprint maps cover the continental United States and were created by the ICC to contain land acquisition information, layouts of tracks, roads, buildings, and bridges along the line, and these maps were used to evaluate railroad property. Interurban and narrow-gauge railroads were not included in the survey, though the total main line trackage reached about 254,000 miles. These maps were compiled circa 1915-1920. The ICC also revised some of the valuation maps between 1920 and 1960.
As the National Archives is balancing physical collections in the digital age, we’re working to digitize existing collections to help preserve, protect, and increase access. While this project is on-going, maps are still available to be requested in the Cartographic research room in College Park, MD.
But that’s not the end of the line! As stated above, there are many record groups that contain items relating to railroads. Cartographic holds patents, including those for trains and steam engines, braking systems, and box car designs and aerial photography that shows train lines important to keeping troops supplied during World War II.
One month ago we launched the Revolutionary War Pension Files Mission and our Citizen Archivists have been busy! Together 474 Citizen Archivists transcribed 3,571 pages. That’s amazing!
Have you transcribed a pension file and found a surprising or intriguing story? An unexpected artifact? Let us know in our survey! The stories you share can be used to help others learn more about the lives of Revolutionary War veterans and their families.
