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Barriger Library Special Collections
Established in 1984 as a special collection of the St. Louis Mercantile Library, the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library stands today as one of North America’s largest and finest railroad history collections. Named after the noted twentieth century railroad executive, John W. Barriger, III (1899-1976), whose collection forms its heart, the Library has grown to become a major resource for the history of railroad business and technology as well as for the study of railroading’s multidimensional influence on the American economy, society and culture. To see a list of Barriger library collections and finding aids, including those materials not yet available in the digital library, please see the Barriger Library Special Collections Directory.
draggable directories
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- B-196 African-American Railway Clerks Photograph Collection
- Collection of Photographs of African-American Railway Clerks at their Convention.
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- B-1 John W. Barriger III Collection
- The working library of noted railroad executive John W. Barriger III (1899-1976) was acquired in 1982, the generous donation of his family. Widely recognized as one of the twentieth century's best-known and most distinguished railroad executives, Mr. Barriger was also an avid scholar, book collector, and photographer. His collection of books, papers, photographs, and memorabilia - collected over an active career of 50 years - forms the nucleus of the Library's railroad collections, one of the largest rail transportation collections in the world.
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- B-115 FOIA Request Files from FBI regarding the Wreck of the Federal in 1953
- Files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to the FBI's investigation of the accident at Union Station in January 1953 involving The Federal.
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- B-132 Washington Medal
- 9/16" diameter medal with George Washington on the obverse and the text of the Lord's Prayer on the reverse. Research shows these were souvenirs from the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit Utah on May 10, 1869.
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- B-137 New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad Photographs
- A collection of photographs from the construction of the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway circa 1883.
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- B-14 Railroad Executive Oral History Program
- A collection of interviews of notable railroad executives. Transcripts are provided when available. Please contact the library if you have any questions.
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- B-145 Daniel Kitchen Collection
- Various railroad documents, publications and ephemera collected by Daniel Kitchen.
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- B-15 William Rapp Collection
- Railroad Station Photographs
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- B-155 Preston Cook Collection
- Collection of material from former EMD employee Preston Cook. Consists of technical and historic material relating to diesel locomotives, mainly built by EMD but also other manufacturers. There is also a significant image collection found on the library's flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/barrigerlibrary
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- B-293 P. Kent Hannah Collection
- The collection of timetables, railroad, bus, marine, airline and travel ephemera from P. Kent Hannah.
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- B-49 Stanley Barriger Slide Collection
- Slides taken by Stanley Barriger (1933-2008) the second son of John W. Barriger III and Elziabeth Thatcher Barriger. Mr. Barriger was known for his personal interest in rail travel and took these images during his many trips around the United States, Canada and outside North America.
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- B-4: Association of American Railroads-Bureau of Railway Economics Historical Collection
- The Bureau of Railway Economics Historical Collection is comprised of approximately 30,000 volumes including rare books, pamphlets and industrial reports dating from the very beginnings of railroads in this country in the 1820s through the 1980s. 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; trade periodicals; and an outstanding group of 19th century travelers and emigrants guidebooks. Additional periodical holdings in the Barriger Library which complement the BRE Collection include the Official Railway Equipment Register, Pocket List of Railroad Officials, the Official Railway Guide, Herapaths Railway & Commercial Journal, and the American Railroad Journal. Also included in this important collection are professional railroad club proceedings which provide vital insights into railroad operating, engineering, and management practice. B-4: Association of American Railroads-Bureau of Railway Economics Historical Collection is also indexed within the special collections directory of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library.
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- B-5 Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Historical Society Collections
- The collection reflects many detailed aspects of the business history and operations of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad, a colorful and historic Midwestern and Southern road.Included are extensive correspondence between railroad officials, internal reports and memoranda on many topics, employee records, operational documents for freight and passenger service, public and employee timetables, maps, plans for structures of all types, and black & white and some color photographs. The records date generally from the late 1800s through the 1970s, with the strongest concentrations in the early 1900s, and from 1940-1960. The collection is arranged in 14 subjects or document types identified by series number: Series 1: Executive Papers (including Mergers and the H.B. Vorhees Files); Series 2: Annual Reports; Series 3: Legal Papers; Series 4: Personnel Records; Series 5: Traffic and Transportation; Series 6: Operations; Series 7: Mechanical; Series 8: Engineering and Maintenance of Way (including Maps, Track Charts and Profiles); Series 9: Photographs; Series 10: Railroad Employee Magazines and Newsletters; Series 11: Other Railroads and Organizations; Series 12: GM&O Historical Society Files; Series 13: Oversized and Framed Materials and Artifacts; Series 14:Additional Subcollections (identified by original collectors' names: Norbert Shacklette (documents on Chicago & Alton Steam Locomotives and their maintenance); M. Barkoviac (Chicago & Alton contracts, tariffs, and correspondence); and Lee Hastman (detailed Chicago & Alton passenger car specifications and plans).
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- B-96 The Blalock-Charles Collection
- Maps and drawings from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad collected by Bruce Blalock and John Charles.
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- Barriger Library Art Collection
- Artwork from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library
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- John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library General Collection
- Various acquisitions that are not part of existing or are individual acquisitions to the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library.
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- Southern Pacific Railroad History Center Collection
- Documents, photos, maps, drawings, and other paper ephemera and media related to the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and its predecessor and affiliated companies.
Mercantile Library Collections Directory
Mercantile Special Collections Directory
Barriger Library Collections Directory
Barriger Special Collections Directory