Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection, 1851-1978 Ms.2009.037

Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection, 1851-1978 Ms.2009.037


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

John M. Jackson, Archivist

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2009.037
Title
Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection 1851-1978
Quantity
3.7 Cubic Feet, 6 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Creator
Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The Norfolk and Western Railway and Associated Companies contains a collection of records relating to the Norfolk & Western Railway and several of its predecessor and subsidiary lines and other associated enterprises, including the Atlantic & Danville Railway; Bluefield Inn; Deepwater Railway; Hotel Roanoke; New Jersey, Indiana & Illinois Railroad; New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad; Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad; Norfolk and Western Railroad; Roanoke Machine Works; Shenandoah Valley Railroad; Tidewater Railway; and the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway. Included are such materials as financial and legal documents, reports, maps, construction files, printed materials, and Norfolk & Western standard plans.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection, Ms2009-037, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The first accrual of the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection was purchased in 2008. The second accrual was purchased from the same source in 2009.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the first accrual of the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection commenced and was completed in March 2009. Processing of the second accrual of the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection commenced in April 2010 and was completed in September 2010.

In the first accrual, materials relating to the N&W and affiliates were processed as the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection. The working and personal papers of Chapman J. French, distinguishable from the remainder of the collection, were separated into a second collection bearing French's name (Ms2009-034) . Other materials, not related in any way to the N&W were divided into various individual collections (see "separated materials" section).

The second accrual, in keeping with the work done on the first, was also divided between the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection and the Chapman J. French Papers. With the second accrual, however, materials which were not related in any way to the N&W and its affiliates, as well as N&W-related memorabilia and other items which had been created for external use or created by others, were moved to a new collection bearing the name of the collector, the Wayne Perkins Collection, Ms2010-078 .


Administrative History

The Norfolk & Western Railway was established through a reorganization of the bankrupt Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1896, the latter company itself having arisen from the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad, a successor to the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad. Through expansion and various mergers, the N&W grew to become a major U.S. carrier, serving 14 states. The company manufactured steam locomotives at its own Roanoke Machine Works (established in Roanoke, Virginia in 1882), and among the railroad's affiliated holdings were several hotels (represented in this collection by the Bluefield Inn and the Hotel Roanoke). Among the company's larger merger acquisitions was the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad--the "Nickel Plate Road"--in 1964. (Other acquisitions represented in this collection are the Atlantic & Danville Railway (1962); the New Jersey, Indiana & Illinois Railroad (through acquisition of the Wabash Railroad, 1962); and the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway (acquired and operated jointly with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, 1909).) In 1982, the N&W combined with the Southern Railway to form Norfolk Southern Corporation.

Scope and Content

This collection contains materials from the Norfolk & Western Railway, several of its predecessor and subsidiary lines, and associated companies. The collection contains such items as financial and legal documents, reports, maps, plans, timetables, work documents, and printed materials.

The operations of the Norfolk & Western Railway are represented in the collection by a diverse array of materials, including such items as seniority rosters, descriptions / classifications of the company's rolling stock, and printed materials (including legal agreements and a list of Roanoke sidings and team tracks). The N&W materials also include several timetables, train orders, and memoranda from the Passenger Traffic Department. Most significantly, perhaps, the materials include a bound set of standard plans issued by the office of the company's chief engineer. The standards book includes specifications for company-manufactured or -constructed buildings, tools, signs, roadways, bridges, tunnels, appurtenances, etc. Among the remaining materials are a number of financial documents, including such materials as account statements and disbursement vouchers. Also relating to various aspects of daily company operations are several items, including a record book of clerical personnel at the Bluefield Yards; a conductor's train book, bulletins from Crew, Virginia; Passenger Traffic Department circular letters; and time return and delay reports.

The collection also includes several construction job files for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Company (the "Nickel Plate Road") projects in Ohio during the late 1950s. Included in the files for jobs at Huron, Canton, Toledo, Massilon, Georgetown, Fremont, Ironville, Cleveland, and Burbank, are maps, legal documents, balance sheets, correspondence, and reports.

Among the materials in the collection representing other companies are antebellum payment records from the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad (including payrolls and disbursement vouchers). From the Norfolk and Western Railroad are various financial and legal documents, including account statements, purchase vouchers, and reports, all largely relating to the company's reorganization. Among the many other companies represented in the collection are: the Deepwater Railway; Hotel Roanoke; New Jersey, Indiana & Illinois Railroad; Roanoke Machine Works; Shenandoah Valley Railroad; Tidewater Railway; and Winston-Salem Southbound Railway.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by company name, then alphabetically by topic or document type.

Related Material

Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives holds several other manuscript collections as well as books relating to the Norfolk & Western and its affiliates.

Separated Material

The Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection was purchased in two accruals. With the first accrual, materials that were determined to relate specifically to the Norfolk & Western, its predecessors and affiliates were retained in this collection (Ms2009-037). The personal and working papers of Chapman J. French, a civil engineer employed by the company, were easily distinguishable and were separated to the newly created Chapman J. French Papers (Ms2009-034) .

Materials that did not relate in any way to the N&W were separated into the following individual collections:

Chapman J. French Papers, Ms2009-034

Mine Hill & Schuylkill Haven Railroad Stock Certificates, Ms2009-035

New River Mineral Company Stock Certificate, Ms2009-036

Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Receipts, Ms2009-038

Raleigh Coal & Coke Company Rail Spur Drawing, Ms2009-039

Reed Island Iron Company Receipts, Ms2009-040

Rock Island Lines Insurance Booklet, Ms2009-041

Sullivan Railroad Company Stock Certificate, Ms2009-042

Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railroad Annual Report, Ms2009-043

Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railway Annual Report, Ms2009-044

Thomas Wood and Company Freight Records, Ms2009-045

Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company Receipts, Ms2009-046

Much of the second accrual was likewise divided between the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection and the Chapman J. French Papers. In the second accrual, however, materials that did not relate to the N&W were separated into a newly created collection bearing the name of the collector, Wayne Perkins Collection, Ms2010-078


Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
  • New York, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Company
  • Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
  • Railroad

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).

Container List

A-C
box-folder 1 folder: 1
  • Atlantic & Danville Railway right-of-way and track map,
    1927
    [see Oversize Materials]
  • Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad receipts,
    1876-1881
    [2 items]
  • Bluefield Inn receipts,
    1893-1897
Deepwater Railway financial records,
box-folder 1 folder: 2 1903-1906, n.d.
[3 folders]
E-G
box-folder 1 folder: 3
  • East River Railroad - West Virginia legislation,
    1882
  • Erie-Lackawanna Railway train orders,
    1976
Hotel Roanoke
  • box-folder 1 folder: 4
    Receipts,
    1893-1898, n.d.
  • box-folder 1 folder: 5
    Extra labor payroll records,
    1940-1941
Howard Collieries grocery invoices,
box-folder 1 folder: 6 1928
I-M
box-folder 1 folder: 7
  • Lynchburg and Durham Railroad - Virginia legislation,
    1892
New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois Railroad
box-folder 1 folder: 8 1904-1905
New River Plateau Railroad - Virginia incorporation act,
box-folder 1 folder: 9 1888
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate Road") job files
  • box-folder 1 folder: 10
    Dredging of dock facilities at Huron, Ohio (Job J-4239),
    1959-1962
  • box-folder 1 folder: 11
    Grade separation on U.S. Route 62 at Canton, Ohio (Job J-4123),
    1957-1958
  • box-folder 1 folder: 12
    Grade separation structure over expressway at Toledo, Ohio (Job J-4122),
    1955-1958
    [2 folders] [see also Oversize Materials]
  • box-folder 1 folder: 13
    Installation of operation recorders at Massilon, Ohio (Job J-4142)
    1956-1957
  • box-folder 1 folder: 14
    Installation of partition at Georgetown, Ohio (Job J-4165),
    1958
  • box-folder 1 folder: 15
    Relocation of U.S. Route 20 at Fremont, Ohio (Job J-4125),
    1957-1959
  • box-folder 1 folder: 16
    Removal of clay deposit and replacement of pole line at East Canton, Ohio (Job J-4162),
    1957-1959
  • box-folder 1 folder: 17
    Replacement of car wash building at Ironville, Ohio (Job J-4166),
    1957-1961
  • box-folder 1 folder: 18
    Replacement of plank walks with slag screenings at Ironville, Ohio (Job J-4170),
    1957-1961
  • box-folder 1 folder: 19
    Restoration of Cuyahoga Valley Railroad turnout at Cleveland, Ohio (Job J-4164),
    1956
  • box-folder 2 folder: 1
    Separation of track grades for State Route 1 at Burbank, Ohio (Job J-4194),
    1958-1960
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad payroll and vouchers,
box-folder 2 folder: 2-3 1855-1859
Norfolk and Western Railroad
  • box-folder 2 folder: 4-6
    Account statements and receipts,
    1883-1887, n.d.
  • box-folder 2 folder: 7-8
    Bonds, securities and mortgages,
    1881-1905, n.d.
  • box-folder 2 folder: 9
    Claims,
    1882-1886
  • box-folder 2 folder: 10
    Claims,
    1887
    [2 folders]
  • box-folder 2 folder: 11
    Correspondence and memoranda,
    1883-1905
  • box-folder 2 folder: 12
    Employee pay and travel expense records,
    1882-1887
  • box-folder 2 folder: 13
    Freight bills,
    1883-1887
  • box-folder 2 folder: 14
    Legal documents,
    1884-1896
  • Map of depot grounds and proposed arrangement for coal tracks at Central Station
    n.d.
    [see Oversize Materials]
  • box-folder 2 folder: 15-16
    Purchase vouchers,
    1882-1887
  • box-folder 3 folder: 1-2
    Reports and statements,
    1882-1897
Norfolk & Western Railway
  • box-folder 3 folder: 3
    Account statements,
    1908-1916
  • box-folder 3 folder: 4
    Buffalo Creek (West Virginia) deeds,
    1903-1917
  • Burns legal files
    • box-folder 3 folder: 5
      Mollie and J. Taze Howard (guaridans of Burns and Lois Aston) v. N&W,
      1897-1900, n.d.
    • box-folder 3 folder: 6
      Miriam E. Jackson v. N&W,
      1894
    • box-folder 3 folder: 7
      S. N. Johnson v. N&W,
      1893-1905, n.d.
      [2 folders]
    • box-folder 3 folder: 8
      B. H. Jones v. N&W
      1896
    • box-folder 3 folder: 9
      Lebanon Hardware Company v. N&W,
      1905-1907
    • box-folder 3 folder: 10
      Ida Sexton (by Lafayette Sexton) v. N&W,
      1895-1896
    • box-folder 3 folder: 11
      B. J. Wysor v. N&W
      1905
    • box-folder 3 folder: 12
      L. Finney v. E. E. Price (N&W, garnishee),
      1904
  • box-folder 3 folder: 13
    Civilian Conservation Corps - Camp McArthur (Damascus, Virginia) train orders
    1933-1935
  • box-folder 3 folder: 14
    Clerical personnel record book [Bluefield Yards],
    1931-1939
  • box-folder 4 folder: 1
    Company fact book,
    [1949?]
  • box-folder 4 folder: 2
    Conductor's train book (W. F. Oliver, conductor),
    1954
  • box-folder 4 folder: 3
    Crewe, Virginia superintendent's office bulletins,
    1955
  • box-folder 4 folder: 4-6
    Disbursement vouchers,
    1908-1918
  • box-folder 4 folder: 7
    Employee travel expense statements,
    1908-1918
  • box-folder 4 folder: 8
    Freight bills,
    1900-1909
  • box-folder 4 folder: 9
    Inventory of materials and supplies on hand,
    1917
  • box-folder 4 folder: 10
    Materials and supplies disbursed statements,
    1918
  • box-folder 4 folder: 11
    Passenger Traffic Department circular letters
    1945-1957
  • box-folder 4 folder: 12
    Rolling stock description and classification
    • Locomotives,
      1941
    • Locomotives,
      1953
    • Passenger equipt. cars,
      1945
  • box-folder 4 folder: 13
    Seniority rosters
    • Conductors - Pocahontas Division
      1957
    • Telegraphers and agents - Radford Division
      1930
    • Telegraphers - Radford Division,
      1947
    • Telegraphers - Radford Division,
      1958
    • Telegraphers - Radford Division,
      1960
  • box-folder 4 folder: 14
    Standard plans book,
    1901-1967
  • box-folder 5 folder: 1
    Statements and reports,
    1895-1972, n.d.
  • box-folder 5 folder: 2
    Time return and delay reports (James P. Catron, conductor),
    1949-1955
  • box-folder 5 folder: 3
    Timetables A-Q
    • Lake Erie Division no. 200,
      1965
    • Muncie Division no. 200,
      1965
      [2 copies]
    • Norfolk Division no. 16,
      1959
  • box-folder 5 folder: 4
    Timetables R
    • Radford Division no. 1,
      1930
    • Radford Division no. 2,
      1931
    • Radford Division no. 7,
      1947
    • Radford Division no. 34,
      1930
    • Radford Division no. 37,
      1930
    • Radford Division no. 38,
      1930
  • box-folder 5 folder: 5
    Timetables S-Z
    • Shenandoah Division no. 9,
      1955
    • Shenandoah Division no. 6,
      1975
  • box-folder 5 folder: 6
    Track charts - Eastern Region, Norfolk Division,
    1978
  • box-folder 5 folder: 7-9
    Train orders,
    1954-1976
  • box-folder 5 folder: 10
    Treasurer's office company reorganization papers,
    1896
  • box-folder 5 folder: 11
    Treasurer's office company reorganization papers
    1897-1902
  • box-folder 5 folder: 12
    Printed material
    • "Agreement Between the Director General of Railroads and Norfolk and Western Railway Company and Other Corporations,"
      1918
    • "Alphabetical-numerical List of Sidings and Team Tracks Within Roanoke Terminal Switching Limits,"
      1956
    • "Final Settlement Between the Director General of Railroads and the Norfolk and Western Railway Company and Other Corporations,"
      1923
    • "Hints on Health and First Aid,"
      1917
    • "Indenture of Lease Between Pocahontas Coal and Coke Company, Lessor, and Illinois Steel Company, Lessee, and Norfolk and Western Railway Company...,"
      1901
    • "Instructions Covering Collection of Federal Tax on Transportation of Persons, Seating or Sleeping Accommodations, etc., and Transportation of Property,"
      1950
    • "Instructions to Agents, Conductors, Yard Masters and Others, Governing the Use of Automatic, Self-locking, Consecutively-numbered Car Seals,"
      1908
    • "Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders,"
      1978
    • "Regulations and Requirements Governing Physical Examinations of Applicants for Employment,"
      1928
    • "Transportation Charges and Regulations for Occupancy of Space in Sleeping Cars and Parlor Cars...,"
      1949-1950
      [2 items]
  • box-folder 5 folder: 13
    Miscellanea,
    • Pay rates,
      1952
    • Pocahontas Division superintendent bulletin notice (no. 4430) regarding vacations,
      1949
    • Applications for increase in work force or rate of pay,
      1919-1937
    • Conductor's check of train register,
      n.d.
    • Inspection certificate of empty box car,
      1970
    • Advertisement: Round Trip Fares to Norfolk and Virginia Beach,
      n. d.
O-Q
box-folder 6 folder: 1
  • Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway freight claim payment to Union Pacific Railroad,
    1960
Roanoke Machine Works
  • box-folder 6 folder: 2
    Statements of account with Norfolk & Western Railway,
    1887
  • box-folder 6 folder: 3
    Assorted records
    • Disbursement vouchers,
      1884
    • Materials and supplies account,
      1889
    • Contract with Girard Life Insurance, Annuity & Trust,
      1889
    • Contract with Fidelity Insurance, Trust and Safe Deposit Company,
      1887
Roanoke and Southern Railway legislative charter (North Carolina),
box-folder 6 folder: 4 1893
Shenandoah Valley Railroad
  • box-folder 6 folder: 5
    Correspondence/memoranda and disbursement vouchers,
    1883-1897
  • box-folder 6 folder: 6
    Legal documents,
    1887-1890, n.d.
South and Western Railroad letter from general counsel J. Norment Powell regarding McEwen v. Dawson Coal & Coke,
box-folder 6 folder: 7 1907
Tidewater Railway
  • box-folder 6 folder: 8-10
    Journal vouchers,
    1906-1910, n.d.
  • box-folder 6 folder: 11
    Journal entries and other financial records,
    1905-1909
U-V
box-folder 6 folder: 12
  • Virginia and Tennessee documents,
    1851-1859
  • Virginia Company legal and financial documents,
    1888-1942, n.d.
  • Virginia Mineral Railway legislative act of incorporation,
    1880
  • Virginian Railway financial records,
    1909-1931
W-Z
box-folder 6 folder: 13
  • Washington and Western Railroad legislative act of incorporation (Virginia),
    1889
  • Winston-Salem Southbound Railway annual report,
    1914
OVERSIZE MATERIALS
folder 1
  • Atlantic & Danville Railway Company right-of-way and track map
    1927
  • New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Company ("Nickel Plate Road") grade separation structure over expressway at Toledo, Ohio (Job J-4122)
    1955
  • Norfolk and Western Railroad map of depot grounds and proposed arrangement for coal tracks at Central Station
    n.d.
  • "Official Map of Percentage Groups in Central Freight Association Territory... for West-bound Freight Rates"
    n.d.
  • Norfolk & Western Railway Scioto Division - Sandusky district right-of-way and track map,
    1970
  • Norfolk & Western Railway Company map showing lands on Buffalo Creek (Mingo County, West Virginia),
    1918