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OERM’s archives are a natural
adjunct to its collection of rail vehicles, consisting of materials
documenting North American railroads, with specific focus on the companies
which served the
Western United States. Like our railcar collection, the contents of our archives also reflect our
focused interest in the railroads of Southern California. The Museum’s Collection Policy
defines five “focus companies”; the major railroads and transit
companies which served Southern California; the Pacific Electric, Los Angeles
Railway,
Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Union
Pacific railroads, as well as predecessor and related companies.
In addition to printed
materials and photographs, our
archives also contain many small "three-dimensional objects"
(a.k.a. “railroadiana”).
All materials have been collected to support research, collection documentation,
and exhibition/interpretation at the Museum. In these roles they will help
us to fulfill our mission statement “…to
educate the public on the technology, history, and impact of the rail
transportation industry in the West….” OERM's
archives are currently housed in several locations around our Museum site and are available
for viewing by appointment. Contact
the Chair, Education & Exhibits for additional details.
Computer
rendering of OERM's new
Library Building. Rendering by Mountain
Architecture
Groundbreaking for
our new permanent Library Building was held on December 10, 2012 and we
are now moving into final design and permitting. A
dedicated Library facility has long been recognized as an important step
in the Museum's development. Click here for a pdf file on
the Library Building project. Contact
the Chair, Education & Exhibits for additional information about the ongoing capital campaign,
including associated naming opportunities.
Collections-
Click here to view some collection highlights.
Click here for information on donating
your collection.
Projects-
OERM's
library volunteers are never wanting for projects. In addition to ongoing
cataloging activities, some of our current
projects include:
Reproduction
"Car
Card" Advertisements. With the arrival of our large-format
digital scanner we can now scan documents and other materials up to 42
inches wide (and unlimited length). This exciting new capability has facilitated
a project to produce a selection of 20 different reproduction "car
card" advertisements from the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles
Railway. The reproductions will be displayed on board or collection of
trolleys and in other exhibits. In addition to scanning items in the
Museum's own collection, numerous collectors have visited with their
collections and had us scan them (they also get digital images for their
own use in the process). Contact
the Chair, Education & Exhibits if you have a car card you would
like to donate or have scanned.
The
large ERHA/SC - Ray Younghans Collection is being cataloged.
Several thousand historic images have been digitized and over 700 drawings
cataloged, and more are
being added each month.
Ward
Kimball
Photograph Collection- in 2011, the Kimball family augmented the large
collection of railroad paper items that had previously been donated with a
large collection of historic photographs that Ward
Kimball had taken or collected during his lifetime. We are currently
organizing and cataloging these photographs, and will draw from this
collection to develop a display about the Kimballs in the Grizzly Flats
Enginehouse.
An
ongoing program of book reprints- Our latest reprint is "Work of
the Railway Carman", a classic text on railway car repair and working
conditions circa 1921, click
here for a pdf press release. Other OERM reprints in recent years
include the "Pacific Electric Corporate History 1885-1911" reprinted
from an original in the John McFadden Collection, and "Railway Car
Construction 1892" reprinted from an original in the Ward Kimball
Collection. Additional reprint projects are also in the planning stages, and
photographs from the Museum's collection are used each year in the annual
Red Cars / Yellow Cars color calendar.
Updating
displays in the Middleton Museum. The entire collection has been
inventoried, and display cases are now receiving makeovers. Since 2006,
over 100 "O" scale trolley models from the Bill Everett collection
have been put on display in the
Middleton Museum.
Library & Archives Wish List- the Museum is
always searching for additional items to add to its collections. Please take a moment to view
the Library &
Archives Wish List.
LA&SL
Railway Depot, Long Beach
This page was last updated
on 3/18/12
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