Museum of History & Industry
Sophie Frye Bass Library
2700 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112
Phone: 206-324-1126
URL: http://www.seattlehistory.org

Guide to the James C. Mattson Collection on Northwest Railroads, 1877-2006


1985.52





Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson

Finding aid encoded by Jody Hendrickson, 2007
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Overview of the Collection
 
Repository Name:
 

Museum of History & Industry
Sophie Frye Bass Library

2700 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112
Phone: 206-324-1126
URL: http://www.seattlehistory.org
 
Collection Number:
 

1985.52
 
Collector:
 

Mattson, James C.
 
Title:
 

James C. Mattson Collection on Northwest Railroads
 
Dates:
 

1877-2006 (inclusive)
 
Quantity:
 

3.17 cubic feet
 
Languages:
 

Collection materials are in English. 

 
Summary:
 

Materials related to Northwest railroads, including timetables, annual reports and photograph albums.
 
Location of Collection:
 

12b.2.1-4
 

Biographical Note

James C. Mattson is a historian of railroad lines of the Northwest, especially of the Great Northern Railway. A resident of Seattle, Mattson was an employee of the Great Northern Railway and later of the Burlington Northern Railway. Over a period of many years he amassed a large personal collection of railroad materials, including items salvaged from materials which would otherwise have been discarded by Burlington Northern Railroad.

Content Description

Annual reports, expense authorization registers, public timetables, official station and agent lists, and documentary photograph albums from Northwest railroads, particularly the Great Northern Railway.

Arrangement

Arranged in 7 accessions:

  • Accession No. 1985.52, Great Northern Railway photograph albums, circa 1931, 1934
  • Accession No. 1989.8, Railroad Public Timetables, 1887-1984 (bulk 1930-1970)
  • Accession No. 1989.14, Great Northern Railway Official List of Officers, Agents and Stations booklets, 1891-1910
  • Accession No. 1995.47, Northern Pacific Railway AFE register copies, circa 1930-1970
  • Accession No. 1990.60, Great Northern Railway Company Annual Reports, 1882-1927
  • Accession No. 2000.2, Railroad company annual reports, 1877-1895
  • Accession No. 2007.48, Railroad company annual reports, 1901-1912, 1940-2006

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access 

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

Restrictions on Use 

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation 

James C. Mattson Collection on Northwest Railroads, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

Related Information

Related Materials 

The Burlington Northern Railroad Company Records, 1876-1971, (Accession Nos. 1972.5375, 1983.12 and 1986.19) include Burlington Northern record books, Great Northern account books, and a series of Northern Pacific Railway Company notebooks of photographs showing joint facilities with other railroads.

The Railroad Employee Timetable Collection (Accession No. 1983.75, including several interfiled accessions) includes employee timetables for northwest United States and Canadian railroads, 1862-2000.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

 
Railroads -- United States --Timetables
Railroads --United States--Records
Photograph albums
Other Creators :
Burlington Northern Railroad Company
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.)
Southern Pacific Railroad Company
Union Pacific Railway Company

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.


 

accession no. 1985.52:  Great Northern Railway photograph albums,  circa 1931, 1934

2 albums containing 131 photographs.21 cubic feet
12b.2.1
Two photograph albums which were created by the Great Northern Railway to be presented to the Interstate Commerce Commission in support of Great Northern's request to abandon rail lines in Washington State.
 
 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1

1985.52.1:  Rail line between Molson and Curlew
   1934 August 29
 
Simmer, Alfred G.  ( photographer)
78 photographs
Album of 78 linen backed photographs, all taken on August 29, 1934. The photographs were part of a presentation to the Interstate Commerce Commission asking to abandon the rail line between Molson, Washington and Curlew, Washington. (The line was abandoned in 1935). The first 35 photographs in the album depict various parts of the railroad; the rest are views of the surrounding countryside between Curlew and Tonasket. Each photograph is inscribed with a detailed label, giving location, viewpoint and distance from nearby towns.
 


1985.52.2:  Rail line between Molson and Oroville
   circa 1931
 
Simmer, Alfred G.  ( photographer)
53 photographs
Album of 53 linen backed photographs, undated but probably taken in 1930 or 1931. The photographs were part of the Interstate Commerce Commission docket #8280 (Exhibit 17) asking to abandon the rail line between Molson, Washington and Oroville, Washington. (The line was abandoned in 1931). The first 31 photographs in the album depict the railroad; the rest are views of the surrounding countryside. Each photograph is inscribed with a detailed label, giving location, viewpoint and distance from nearby towns.
 

accession no. 1989.8:  Railroad public timetables, 1887-1984,   (bulk 1930-1970)

2 boxes.84 cubic feet
12b.2.3
Public timetables for various Northwest railroads, 1887-1984 (bulk 1930-1970)
 
 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1

Amtrak - System
  1974, 1983
 


Amtrak - West Coast
   1984
 


Burlington Northern
   1970
 
1 system timetable, 1 North Coast Limited timetable
 


Northern Pacific Railway
   1902, 1926, 1935-1954, 1968
 


Canadian National Railways
   1930-1931, 1948
 


Canadian Pacific Railway
   1911, 1924, 1931, 1961
 


Milwaukee Road
   1905, 1915, 1926, 1930-1955, 1960-1970
 
2

St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba
   1887
 


Great Northern Railway
   1903, 1912-1913, 1917, 1925-1926, 1934, 1941, 1946-1960, 1969
 


Union Pacific Railroad
   1897, 1900, 1909, 1927, 1947, 1959, 1964, 1968
 


Southern Pacific Railroad
   1909, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1968
 


Burlington Route
   1916
 


British Columbia Electric Railway
   1950 August 1
 


Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway
   1951 September 30
 


Pacific Great Eastern Railway Co.
   1946, 1950, 1953
 


Great Northern-Union Pacific-Northern Pacific Joint Seattle-Portland timetable
   1951
   

accession no. 1989.14:  Great Northern Railway Official List of Officers, Agents and Stations booklets, 1891-1910

1 box.42 cubic feet
12b.2.4
22 booklets (3.75" x 6") from the Great Northern Railway Company containing lists of officers of various departments, of station agents, and of stations, including station numbers, class of stations, telegraph calls, population of station towns, and miles of line operated.
  
   

accession no. 1995.47:  Northern Pacific Railway AFE register copies, circa 1930-1970

1 box.42 cubic feet
12b.2.4
2 bound volumes of photocopies of Northern Pacific Railway AFE (authority for expenditure) registers, circa 1930-1970. These requisitions document expenses approved for projects, both large and small, on the various divisions of the Northern Pacific Railway.
  
   

accession no. 1990.60:  Great Northern Railway Company Annual Reports, 1882-1927

22 annual reports1 box
12b.2.3
22 annual reports for the Great Northern Railway Company for years: 1882, 1889, 1891, 1893-1895, 1897-1899, 1901, 1909, 1912-1914, 1917, 1919-1921, 1923-1925, 1927
  
   

accession no. 2000.2:  Railroad company annual reports, 1877-1895

14 annual reports1 box
12b.2.3
14 annual reports for the Northern Pacific Railroad for years 1877, 1881, 1882, 1885, 1886, 1888 and 1889; for the Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer Railway for years 1889-1895.
  
 

accession no. 2007.48:  Railroad company annual reports, 1901-1912, 1940-2006

1 box1 cubic foot
12b.2.4
 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1

Burlington Northern, Inc./ Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. annual reports
   1969-2006
 
No annual report for 1988. Includes Reports to Employees, 1977-1980. Name changed to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation in 1995.
 


Great Northern Railway annual reports
   1940-1968
 
Includes Statistical Supplement for years 1953-1962, 1964,1966-1967


Includes Annual Report to Employees for years 1940-1942,1952, 1955-1956, 1958-1961, 1963
 


Northern Pacific Railroad Company annual reports
   1901-1912
 
Bound volume
 


Union Pacific Corporation annual reports
   1991-2006