See the DataCenter for links to state railroad representative and association, infographics, fact sheets, some of the rail cost indexes, and links to purchase publications that include: Railroad Ten-Year Trends, Weekly Railroad Traffic, Railroad Facts, Rail Time Indicators and Data, Freight Commodity Statistics, Analysis of Class I Railroads, AAR Railroad Cost Indexes

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). The BLET is the senior national labor organization in the United States and also North America’s oldest rail labor union. The BLET marked its 150th anniversary in 2013 and was founded in Detroit, Mich. on May 8, 1863, as the Brotherhood of the Footboard; a year later, its name was changed to The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The BLE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and became the BLET on January 1, 2004.

Members include historians, rail fans, collectors, modelers, photographers and prior employees. Includes photos and Rosters, Equipment & Structures. There is an archive as well.

The museum is one of the oldest railroad museums in the country and is a Smithsonian Affiliate. It does have a Library & Archive that includes photographs, publication, manuscripts, timetables, menus, Maps. and Technical Drawings. Of interest are the Central Pacific Railway Records. External

The CPRR is an online museum with a wealth of material on the history of railroads in the United States. It includes photographs, maps, and other digitized content like government documents and reports.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) was one of the most significant railroads in the United States particularly between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. The Newberry's gallery features images of materials from the CB&Q Archives - letters, reports, photographs, maps, drawings, posters, etc. Also see the Daily Life Along the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad External Link collection.

"The Association of Tourist Railroads and Railway Museums now Heritage Rail Alliance was born from two venerable associations with a combined history of nearly 100 years. After several years analyzing their many similarities and goals, the Tourist Railway Association and the Association of Railway Museums merged to form ATRRM in 2013. The Resources tab and under the Magazine tab there is an online archive of the publication "Tourist Railroads and "Railway Museums."

This collection consists of 238 items: 227 menus and eleven pamphlets from the United States and Canadian railroads.

The John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library is a special library within the St. Louis Mercantile Library and includes over 45,000 volumes covering all aspects of railroading, and dating from the beginnings of railroads in the 1820s to the present day. The collection focuses strongly on railway economics, finance, corporate history, management practice, regulatory history, mergers, labor relations, operations, and engineering. Specific collections include: documents from the Bureau of Railway Economics Collection (BRE); items from the Association of American Railroads-Bureau of Railway Economics Historical Collection (of particular note are the many nearly complete runs of corporate annual reports for dozens of companies; foundational corporate documents, reports and internal corporate histories; pamphlets on railroad development in the 19th century; trade periodicals; and an outstanding group of 19th century travelers' and emigrants guidebooks); and periodical holdings which include complete or very extensive runs of, important trade journals such as: the "American Railroad Journal," Herapath's, "Railway Age," "Modern Railroads," "Railway World," "Railway Mechanical Engineer," "Railway Review," "Canadian Railway & Marine World," and "Traffic World;" the Poor's and Moody's Financial Manuals from 1869; the "Official Railway Guide" from 1871 to the present; the "Pocket List of Railway Officials" (1895-); the "Official Railway Equipment Register" (1886-); and the "Car Builder's and the Locomotive Cyclopedias."

Established in 1956 and located in Green Bay, WI, this museum provides exhibits, programs, and special events. The Archives Collection located in the Exhibits tab, includes corporate records and documents, annual reports, maps, mechanical and engineering drawings, oral histories, and ephemera. The holdings of the collection represent various railroad companies, labor unions, and fraternal organizations. There is also a Library, photographs and artifact collection.

Formed in 1935 by a group of rail historians to preserve the history and monitor the growth of railways. The History Section has an archive which show elements (photos, text, and printed material) of historical interest of railroad history. It also has the Almanac of U.S. Railroad History and covers a railroad history chronology from 1720-1999 and a collection of historical photographs.

NPRHA was founded in 1981 and is dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating information about the Northern Pacific Railway. There is a Research Library which includes documents, photographs, etc.

The Teamsters Rail Conference represents more than 70,000 rail employees in the United States who work as locomotive engineers, trainmen and maintenance of way workers on the five major freight railroads, Amtrak and numerous commuter rail systems and short lines. The Conference was formed in early 2004 after the merger of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and added to in 2005 when the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes merged with the Teamsters.

Includes over 5,000 railroad links. Provides links to federal, state and local railroad agencies, photo collections, discussion forums, government agencies, historical societies, specific rail lines, magazines, etc.

This is an online exhibit from Harvard utilizing material from their collections. Includes digitized images and other material.

The objective of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society is to promote research and to encourage preservation of documentation pertinent to business history, finance, labor history, and biography as well as technology. It has an extensive Guide to Railroad Records at the National Archives External which is a comprehensive survey of the holdings of the National Archives of railroad-related material. The Reference Section is intended to become an important source of railroad historical information, and to be a product of cooperative effort from R&LHS members but has a Railroad Nicknames and Slogans, an Index to Railroad History 1921-2004, a state-by-state location for railroad research sources in the Directory of Railroad History Research Locations, as well as other helpful information.

This collection contains printed and visual materials on transportation technology and travel. There are printed items from as early as 1588, but the majority of the material is from the 19th and early 20th centuries. International in scope, subjects in the collection include ballooning and dirigibles, early roads, automobiles, canals, bridges, carriages and coaches, and, most notably, railroads. The collection of railroad material consists of over 14,000 items relating to American, Canadian, Mexican, British, French, German, and Russian railroad companies and their rolling stock. There are annual reports, including extensive runs of most major lines in the United States, pamphlets, timetables, charters, stock certificates and other legal documents, surveys, advertising brochures, posters, artwork, archival collections and photographs. In addition to the annual reports, there are many monographs and long runs of most of the State Railroad Commissions' Reports. Many items are imaged and available.

The genealogy research area contains information for genealogical research as well as Railroad Record Depositories and a few years worth of historical data related to the Annual Railroad Retirement Act and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act reports.

The BTS compiles, analyzes, and publishes data and information needed for transportation decision-making, and generally coordinates DOT statistical programs. BTS also manages the National Transportation Library and the Office of Airline Information, and leads the federal effort in developing transportation geo-data to fulfill the vision of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). BTS covers information and statistics in all areas of transportation including: Freight Data and Statistics, Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database, National Transportation Atlas Database, National Transportation Statistics, Transportation Indicators, etc. Much of the data is part of TransStats. Within TranStats data is browsable by Mode or by Subject (freight transport, safety, economic/financial, etc.). Rail data includes: Railroad Accident/Incident Reporting System, Transborder Surface Freight Data, Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), etc.

Some of the Censuses of Population (e.g. 1880) include Report on the Agencies of Transportation in the United States (various names). Census also publishes more generalized information via: Annual Service Industry Survey and Economic Census (begun for regular publication in 1930). Digital versions of these may not be complete so it may be necessary to look to the Library's online catalog for older print publications related to the various Census publications.

The Federal Railroad Administration was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 to promulgate and enforce rail safety regulations; administer railroad assistance programs; conduct research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy; etc. Data includes safety data going back to the mid 1970's. There are reports and research results but the historical content only begins in the late 1990's.

Records Relating to North American Railroads [PDF format: 1.04 MB / 282 p.] that was compiled by David Pfeiffer, Reference Information Paper 91 (2001). It includes a host of agencies including the ICC, the Records of the United States Railroad Administration, the Defense Department,etc. This is part of a "comprehensive descriptive program and are designed to provide researchers with concise information about Federal archival records relating to specific topics of current interest." Specifically it includes United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico), Canada, Mexico, and the Panama Canal and describes documentation concerning the railroads and their interaction with the U.S. Government from the beginning of railroading to 1996. It includes "1,000 series of textual, cartographic, still picture, motion picture, sound recording, and electronic records in 57 record groups housed in the Washington, DC, area and the regional archives branches of the National Archives and Records Administration as of December 31, 1996, as well as a few records in Presidential libraries."
Also, of interest are the ICC Railroad Valuation Records Most of these valuation records were created during the period 1915 to 1920 by ICC and railroad employees who undertook a massive project to inventory almost every aspect of the existing railroad system in the United States.
The valuation records in the custody of the National Archives are part of Record Group 134, Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission. These records total approximately 11,000 cubic feet and are divided into two general subdivisions: the basic valuation records and the period updates.

Records from the U.S. Railroad Administration including correspondence files of the Regional Counsel, the Regional Director. Also includes records from the Department of Defense Transportation which Coordinated and directed the utilization of domestic transportation facilities during World War II which includes Railway Transport Files that document defense related railway operations in the southern region. The material covers a broad range of topics including accidents, derailments, freight handling, organization of field offices, railway service and terminals, military facilities, American cars in Cuba, shippers, and private industry.

The mission of the National Transportation Library (NTL) is to maintain and facilitate access to statistical and other information needed for transportation decision-making at the Federal, State, and local levels. The collection contains material in all areas of transportation modes and includes material on the history of transportation, railroads, statistics, etc. Their fastest-growing collections is exclusively digital, serving as a permanent archive for statistical, technical, research and policy documents. The resources and tools is broken down into topics: dictionaries, directories, statistics, Legislative/Regulatory Resources, and Research Tools.

This link has links and information from individual states

The Surface Transportation Board is an independent federal agency that is charged with the economic regulation of various modes of surface transportation, primarily freight rail. The economic data collected by the Board includes information on railroad revenues, income, volumes, employment, wages, fuel surcharges, cost of capital, and revenue adequacy. The service data collected by the Board includes information on railroad performance on their systems and by commodity, as well as information on the Chicago gateway.

Founded in 1913, ASLRRA proudly represents about 600 owners and operators of short line and regional railroads throughout North America.

The official name of AMTRAK is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. It began October 30, 19709 when President Nixon signs Rail Passenger Service Act, setting Amtrak's transition date to May 1, 1971. This link is for the historical resources but for more current information see the home page.

Founded in 1934, AAR represents freight railroads. Full members include the seven major Class I freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. AAR Railroad Affiliate and Associate members include non-Class I and commuter railroads, rail supply companies, engineering firms, signal and communications firms and railcar owners. AAR members include the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Most of the data is relevant to railroads of today but it is good for general information nationally and by state. Their Statistics and Publications section includes: publications, Rail Cost Indexes, performance measures, etc.

NSF’s is made of up 390 predecessor railroads including the: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; St. Louis-San Francisco Railway; etc. There are sections for customers and communities as well as a historical overview. External

CSX may have formally formed int he 1980's but its family tree traces back to 1827 as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Trains.com published a family history in 2006. External

The history of UP traces back to the Transcontinental Railroad (see the section of the guide for more information). The website includes a link to the Union Pacific museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a Photo Gallery, maps of the current and historical lines, a company history and chronology, information on historical equipment, etc.

This is not a digital repository but it can be used to find specific location of records of railroad companies and other railroad related archival material found in university and other collections. For example, Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Company records, 1836-1871 are at the Library of Virginia and that there is a railroad collection at Virginia Tech that contains material from individuals associated with the railroads and material related to particular railroads like the Norfolk and Western Railroad.

There are many titles that are a part of Google Books. Examples from this guide include: G.M. Davison's "The Traveller's Guide Through the Middle and Northern States" and other titles like "History of the Northern Pacific Railroad" by Eugene Virgil Smalley, "The Railroad Builders: A Chronicle of the Welding of the States," by John Moody, "Railroad to the Pacific: Northern Route. Its General Character, Relative Merits," etc. by Edwin Ferry Johnson, "Notes on Railroad Accidents" by Charles Francis Adams, "The Railroad Problem: A Collection of Papers on Various Aspects of the Railroad Problem and Presenting Many Points of View and Contending Suggestions Concerning its Solution" by Aaron M Sakolski, "Academy of Political Science, Railroad Revenues and Expenses from the United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate Commerce (Resolution 23 1921), from 1893 the Official Northern Pacific Railroad Guide: For the Use of Tourists and Travelers" by W C Riley, "Northern Pacific Railroad Company, Railroads of the United States" from Henry M. Flint, etc.

There are many items of relevance in the Internet Archive. Example are items from the Bureau of Railway Economics, William Everett Hooper's "Railroad Accounting," Charles Lee Crandall's "Railroad Construction," Frederick Albert Cleveland, Fred Wilbur Powell's "Railroad Finance," "The American Railroad Problem, a Study in War and Reconstruction" by Isaiah Leo Sharfman, several volumes of the "American Railroad Journal," "Railroad Traffic and Rates" by Emory Richard Johnson, Grover Gerhardt Huebner, "Notes on Railroad Accidents" by Charles Francis Adams, etc.

There are items of relevance to railroad research like "Selected Special Studies, 1910-1914" from the Bureau of Railway Economics, "Railroad Valuation" by Homer Bews Vanderblue, "Railroad to the Pacific" by Thomas Prentice Kettell, "Railroad Operations" by James Shirley Eaton, "Pacific Railroad" by J. A. McDougall, "Railroad Reorganization" by Stuart Daggett, "The Modern Railroad" by Edward Hungerford, etc.

There are many titles that are a part of project Gutenberg including some from this guide like John Moody's "The Railroad Builders" and other titles like "The Paths of Inland Commerce; A Chronicle of Trail, Road, and Waterway" by Archer Butler Hulbert.

This is a research guide from the Minnesota History Center and has many resources for research, many of them specific to their area and collections.