Skip to content

OPEN TODAY: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Tickets

Rare Books

Virginia and Truckee Railway; Virginian Railway


You might also be interested in

  • Image not available

    Early "streamline" inventions - William Riley McKeen Jr. - McKeen Motor Car

    Rare Books

    Assorted articles, letters, diagrams, drawings, photographs, rosters about the McKeen Motor Cars and the company that built them. McKeen was superintendent of motive power for Union Pacific and in 1905, designed a gasoline-powered motor car for short branch lines. In 1908 the McKeen Motor Car Co. was formed, creating "streamlined" cars for various railroads. Includes copy of patent application for McKeen's design (1907). [This is probably the M-10 model]; blueprint of cross section and side view of McKeen Car no. 7 (June 4, 1912); color snapshots of McKeen's former house in Santa Barbara, Ca. (2005); spiral bound booklet - "Virginia & Truckee Railway, McKeen Motor Car No. 2, Restoration Feasibility Investigation." Prepared for the Nevada State Railroad Museum by Stephen E. Drew. Published by Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum (1997). Illustrations, drawings, plans.

    646607

  • Image not available

    Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company; St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad; St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company

    Rare Books

    Includes train(s): The Old Dominion; Morning Star; Tennessean. Includes photographs. One item only for St. Joseph and Grand Island: photograph of McKeen motor car, Jan. 14, 1909.

    646607

  • Image not available

    Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company

    Rare Books

    Includes train(s): Super Chief. Includes (selected items): brochures: "Preliminary Run of the Super Chief, Chicago - Los Angeles, November 19-21, 1935" with running times of four trains and list of "gentlemen" guests aboard train; "Announcing the Super Chief, effective May 12 [1936]"; "Exquisite Interiors--Beauty Wrought in Wood" (rare woods used in train, 1937).

    646607

  • Image not available

    Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company

    Rare Books

    Includes train(s): Super Chief.

    646607

  • Image not available

    Wabash Railway Company

    Rare Books

    This collection of railroad ephemera, photographs, prints and posters concerns only streamliner trains--the wind-resistant, "streamlined" designs first appearing on major U.S. railroads in 1934 and peaking in the glamour years of the American streamliner, late 1930s to 1955. The sleek, fast trains were promoted for their speed, luxury and comfort compared to older, heavyweight steam locomotives. The bulk of the collection is composed of passenger brochures, with especially extensive files on Union Pacific; Southern Pacific; New York Central; Chicago, Burlington and Quincy ("the Burlington"); and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe ("the Santa Fe") railroads. There are also many materials on Amtrak (formed in 1971), and foreign railroads, particularly in Canada, Europe and Japan. Besides brochures, other printed materials include: manufacturer's pamphlets, employee newsletters, press releases, blueprints of railcars, copies of U.S. Patent Office design applications, menus, lounge car stationery, baggage stickers and other items. The photographs are mostly railroad-issued 8 x 10-inch prints showing train exteriors and richly designed dining cars, lounge cars, sleeping cabins and domed observation cars. There are also many high-quality small-format photographs made by Leslie Merrill and other amateur photographers, 1938 to 1960s. The prints and posters mostly consist of promotions for U.S. railroads, with several notable pre-World War II posters for European railroads. An important section of the collection covers early streamlining experiments of the late-19th century: Samuel R. Calthrop's "air-resisting" train of 1865; Frederick U. Adams's "Windsplitter" of 1893; Joe V. Meigs' "Meigs Elevated Railway" monorail in 1880s Boston; and William Riley McKeen Jr.'s aerodynamic McKeen Motor Car of the 1900s. In addition to railroad history, other topics of social and cultural historical interest are: Depictions of African Americans and Native Americans in mass-marketed train travel brochures. There are many examples that reflect American cultural and class stereotypes in the early- to mid-20th century. History of food and drink: See numerous dining car and beverage menus (not always noted in container list). History of advertising, graphic design and typography represented in 20th-century railroad print advertising.

    646607

  • Image not available

    Southern Railway (U.S.)

    Rare Books

    This collection of railroad ephemera, photographs, prints and posters concerns only streamliner trains--the wind-resistant, "streamlined" designs first appearing on major U.S. railroads in 1934 and peaking in the glamour years of the American streamliner, late 1930s to 1955. The sleek, fast trains were promoted for their speed, luxury and comfort compared to older, heavyweight steam locomotives. The bulk of the collection is composed of passenger brochures, with especially extensive files on Union Pacific; Southern Pacific; New York Central; Chicago, Burlington and Quincy ("the Burlington"); and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe ("the Santa Fe") railroads. There are also many materials on Amtrak (formed in 1971), and foreign railroads, particularly in Canada, Europe and Japan. Besides brochures, other printed materials include: manufacturer's pamphlets, employee newsletters, press releases, blueprints of railcars, copies of U.S. Patent Office design applications, menus, lounge car stationery, baggage stickers and other items. The photographs are mostly railroad-issued 8 x 10-inch prints showing train exteriors and richly designed dining cars, lounge cars, sleeping cabins and domed observation cars. There are also many high-quality small-format photographs made by Leslie Merrill and other amateur photographers, 1938 to 1960s. The prints and posters mostly consist of promotions for U.S. railroads, with several notable pre-World War II posters for European railroads. An important section of the collection covers early streamlining experiments of the late-19th century: Samuel R. Calthrop's "air-resisting" train of 1865; Frederick U. Adams's "Windsplitter" of 1893; Joe V. Meigs' "Meigs Elevated Railway" monorail in 1880s Boston; and William Riley McKeen Jr.'s aerodynamic McKeen Motor Car of the 1900s. In addition to railroad history, other topics of social and cultural historical interest are: Depictions of African Americans and Native Americans in mass-marketed train travel brochures. There are many examples that reflect American cultural and class stereotypes in the early- to mid-20th century. History of food and drink: See numerous dining car and beverage menus (not always noted in container list). History of advertising, graphic design and typography represented in 20th-century railroad print advertising.

    646607