government's control and use of the railroads during wartime. The researchers include railroad buffs who are interested in the history of a railroad, model railroaders who request railroad track plans, attorneys involved in land-use litigation who need to determine title to parcels of land that were owned by a railroad, historic preservationists who are interested in construction details for railroad structures such as passenger and freight stations, genealogists interested in tracing ancestors who were railroad employees or involved in railroad accidents, and historians interested in the U.S. Many of these researchers are interested in gathering information either on a particular railroad or on a specific geographic area. Reference requests at NARA have been increasing over the years as more records relating to railroads have become available and as researchers have become aware of them. The American research public is slowly discovering the value of railroad records. This article highlights several examples of textual railroad records. Significant information about railroads is contained in more than fifty record groups comprising hundreds of series. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has a large volume of textual records, maps, still photographs, and motion pictures relating to railroads. The growth of interstate commerce and mass transportation is mostly attributable to railroads. Railroads have also played a major part in military operations and civilian supply activities during wartime. Railroads have played an enormous role in American history, particularly in the saga of the settlement of the American West in the nineteenth century. Records of the Interstate Commerce Commission, RG 134, Textual Reference Division. Interior shot taken of Camden Station, B & O Railroad, Baltimore, Maryland.
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