US Migration Railroads
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Some American settlers moved to new homes by railroad. Railroads were faster, less expensive, and healthier than overland travel by covered wagon. Railroads often organized immigrant trains to encourage settlement (and eventually business) along their routes.
| Service Started | Railroad | Normal Route | Connecting Spike |
| 1869 |
The First Transcontinental Railroad Central Pacific + Union Pacific |
Omaha, NE - Sacramento, CA | Promontory Summit, UT |
| 1881 | Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe + Southern Pacific | Chicago, IL - Los Angeles, CA | Deming, NM |
| 1881 | Texas and Pacific + Southern Pacific | St. Louis, MO - Los Angeles, CA | Sierra Blanca, TX |
| 1883 | Southern Pacific | New Orleans, LA - Sacramento, CA | Pecos River, TX |
| 1883 | Northern Pacific | Duluth, MN - Seattle, WA | Gold Creek, MT |
| 1885 | Atlantic and Pacific | Albuquerque, NM - Los Angeles, CA | |
| 1885 | Canadian Pacific | Halifax, NS - Vancouver, BC | Craigellachie, BC |
| 1893 | Great Northern Railway (U.S.) | Chicago, IL - Seattle, WA | Scenic, WA |
| 1925 | Union Pacific (via Boise, ID) | Granger, WY - Portland, OR |
Other Railroads[edit | edit source]
- Antebellum American Railroad: 1830-1860 Compendium
- Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
- Illinois Central Railroad 1882 Chicago, IL to New Orleans, LA
Finding Railroad Records
Bibliography
- Wendy L. Elliott, C.G. Railroad Records and Genealogical Research National Genealogical Society Quarterly 75 (December 1987): 271-277.
- David A. Pfeiffer. " Riding the Rails Up Paper Mountain." Prologue 29 (Spring, 1997) National Archives
- Dean R. Thilgen. Researching Railroad Records. Minnesota Genealogist. 27 ( ): 128- 134.
National Archives
- Guide to Railroad Records at the National Archives
- Marion M. Johnson. Preliminary inventory of the records of the Commissioner of Railroads : (Record group 193).Washington D.C. : National Archives and Records Services Administration, 1964. FHL Digital images
- David Pfeiffer. comp. Records relating to North American railroads:National Archives reference information paper 91.Washington, D.C. : National Archives and Records Administration, 2001. FHL 973 J53
- Peter F. Brauer, comp. Records relating to railroads in the cartographic section of the National Archives.Washington, D.C. : National Archives and Records Administration, 2010. FHL 973 J53r v.116
- Records of the Railroad Retirement Board, Record Group 184, National Archives
Sources
- Holly T.Hansen. The Directory of North American railroads, associations, societies, archives, libraries, museums and their collections.Croydon, Utah : HT Holly Research Services, c1999 FHL 970 C43h
- Ronald G. Watt. Guide to railroad collections in the Intermountain West.Salt Lake City, Utah : Conference of InterMountain Archivists, 1984. FHL 979 A3g
- Directory of Railroad Research Locations.
- Cyndi's List - Railroads
Societies
- Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc.
- Great Northern Railway Historical Society
- Union Pacific Historical Society
