Norfolk and Western Railroad Account Ledgers

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 and Western Railroad Accounting Ledgers, Ms2010-075, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
5.3 Cubic Feet 18 boxes
Creator:
Norfolk and Western Railroad Company (1881-1896)
Abstract:
The collection contains the accounting ledgers of the Norfolk and Western Railroad, providing detailed monthly account entries for each of the company's divisions and monthly summaries and analyses of expenses for the company as a whole.
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 and Western Railroad Accounting Ledgers, Ms2010-075, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains a set of accounting ledgers for the Norfolk and Western Railroad. The ledgers record the expenses of each of the company's several divisions (i.e., Clinch Valley, Durham, Kenova, Lynchburg, Norfolk, North Carolina, Pocahontas, Pulaski, Radford, Roanoke, Scioto Valley, Shenandoah and Winston-Salem). Included in each ledger are statements titled "accounts charged from vouchers" (changed to "detail of operating expenses for the month" in later volumes) for the individual divisions, followed by a sheet providing the system-wide totals. Also included are monthly summaries of accounts charged from vouchers payable, listing transactions by voucher number, with a breakdown of expenditures under various headings (general expenses, Commercial Department, maintenance of way, maintenance of engines, maintenance of cars, conducting transportation). A third set of sheets in each ledger appears to consist of the original account entries, listing individual voucher numbers and associated expenditures, again listed under the several different categories of expenses. Affixed to the inside covers of the ledgers are monthly statements titled "Amounts Charged Under 100 Year Mortgage from Vouchers," "Earnings and Expenses," "Percentages for Expenses Based on Car Mileage," and "Analysis of Earnings and Expenses for the Month." At the end of the ledger set is a single volume, dated February 1895 and stamped "new acct." and bearing the names of the receivers, F. J. Kimball and Henry Fink.

Also included in the collection are a set of ledgers specifically relating to the company's Scioto Valley Division, its records apparently having been kept separate from the remaining divisions from February 1895 forward. These ledgers contain the same type of accounting entries as those described above.

Biographical / historical:

The Norfolk and Western Railroad originated with the 1838 chartering of the City Point Railroad, a line between Petersburg and City Point, Virginia. The line was purchased by the South Side Railroad in 1854, which, in turn, merged with the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad and the Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad, forming the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad in 1870. The AM&O fell into bankruptcy and was purchased in 1881, the new owners incorporating under the name Norfolk and Western Railroad, with a line extending from Virginia's coast to Southwest Virginia. The N&W went into receivership in 1895 and was reorganized as the Norfolk & Western Railway the following year.

Acquisition information:
The Norfolk and Western Accounting Ledgers comprised part of a larger railroad-related collection purchased by Special Collections in 2009. The remainder of the acquisition of which these ledgers were a part was divided among the Chapman J. French Papers (Ms2009-034), the Norfolk Western Railway and Associated Companies Collection (Ms2009-037), the Norfolk and Western Railway Company Mortgage Bond Book (Ms2010-077), and the Wayne Perkins Collection (Ms2010-078).
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Norfolk and Western Railroad Accounting Ledgers commenced and was completed in October 2010.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by ledger coverage area, then chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Railroad