Norfolk & Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

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.

Summary

Extent:
3.7 Cubic Feet 6 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Creator:
Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
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.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
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.

Background

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
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.

Arrangement:

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

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard