Chronological arrangement.
Includes lists of rail accidents, production and distribution of locomotives, and engine repair costs; reports on locomotive power, cost and performance, and purchases of locomotives and cars; and correspondence relating to these and other matters, all 1850-1880. Most correspondence is to Garrett from railroad supervisory staff. Includes a history of the operation of the railroad during the Civil War and additional correspondence concerning Ohio River bridges, trestles, and tunnels.
John W. Garrett Collection, 1850-1880, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company.
Gift of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. through Lawrence W. Sagle, Public Relations Representative, in 1997.
Garrett, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 1858-1884, was born in Baltimore, Maryland July 31, 1820. After working for his father's financially successful commission business, during which time he invested heavily in the B. & O. Railroad, he was elected a director in 1855 and president in 1858. Under his leadership the railroad made history during the Civil War by carrying out the first military rail transport. During peacetime the railroad prospered with Garrett as president. He died September 26, 1884.
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Transportation (now Division of Work and Industry).
This collection has been combined with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Collection (NMAH.AC.1086)
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection processed by Robert Harding, 1985