Railway Employee Records for Colorado Volume Iii
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RAILWAY EMPLOYEE RECORDS FOR COLORADO VOLUME III By Gerald E. Sherard (2005) When Denver’s Union Station opened in 1881, it saw 88 trains a day during its gold-rush peak. When passenger trains were a popular way to travel, Union Station regularly saw sixty to eighty daily arrivals and departures and as many as a million passengers a year. Many freight trains also passed through the area. In the early 1900s, there were 2.25 million railroad workers in America. After World War II the popularity and frequency of train travel began to wane. The first railroad line to be completed in Colorado was in 1871 and was the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad line between Denver and Colorado Springs. A question we often hear is: “My father used to work for the railroad. How can I get information on Him?” Most railroad historical societies have no records on employees. Most employment records are owned today by the surviving railroad companies and the Railroad Retirement Board. For example, most such records for the Union Pacific Railroad are in storage in Hutchinson, Kansas salt mines, off limits to all but the lawyers. The Union Pacific currently declines to help with former employee genealogy requests. However, if you are looking for railroad employee records for early Colorado railroads, you may have some success. The Colorado Railroad Museum Library currently has 11,368 employee personnel records. These Colorado employee records are primarily for the following railroads which are not longer operating. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF) Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad employee records of employment are recorded in a bound ledger book (record number 736) and box numbers 766 and 1287 for the years 1883 through 1939 for the joint line from Denver to Pueblo. Possible information recorded in the book is: name of employee, date of employment, location, job titles, reasons for job changes, weight, height, complexion, hair and eye color, birth date and place, and marital status. Colorado & Southern Railway Co. (C&S) The Colorado & Southern was Colorado’s state home-grown railroad. It was, in fact, known as “The Colorado Road”. Its pride and joys were the Texas Zephyr, flagship of the road’s passenger fleet and the fastest train between Denver and Dallas, and steam locomotive No. 900 which was one of the prettiest ever built.(1) The C&S came into existence in 1898 as the result of a merger of the narrow-gauge Denver, South Park & Pacific and the Colorado Central. It thrived until 1 1908 when its standard-gauge and narrow lines became a subsidiary of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and it was finally absorbed in 1982. The main line of the C&S, which some wags suggested stood for “Cinders & Smoke” because it was the last Class I railroad in the region to rid itself of steam locomotives. The rail line remains a major Front Range north-south rail link in Colorado. (1) Below is a partial alphabetical listing of employees of the C&S Railroad for whom there are employee record files. Many of the files only contain an “Application for Employment”. Important information given on the employment application was: occupation applied for; city, state, and date of birth; color of eyes and hair; style of beard; if alive, names and addresses of wife, father, mother, and children; names and addresses of other near relatives; previous employment history consisting of name of railroad, occupation, and dates; names and addresses of all persons dependent on the applicant; full name and address of applicant; surgeon’s certificate of examination listing many eye, ear, disease, and physical evaluations. Box numbers 445, the rear of 731, and box numbers 1276 through 1290 contain most of these applications. Some of the files contain information involving railroad accidents and incidents. These investigations usually involve locomotive engineers or firemen. Sometimes demerit marks were issued for disoperation of the engine. An accumulation of an excessive number of demerit marks usually resulted in employment suspension. Firemen and engineers were regularly examined and the findings may also be in their employee files. General correspondence may also be contained in the file. Most of these files are contained in box numbers 202 and 1275 and the rear of box number 456. Box number 766 contains letter applications to the Auditing Department during the time period 1908 to 1919. The rear of box number 731 contains many of the exams required to become locomotive firemen and engineers. It was common for locomotive firemen with experience to be promoted to locomotive engineers. Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railway Co. (DLG) The rear of box number 445 contains files of applications for this railroad. Pertinent information given on the applications is similar to that of the Colorado & Southern Railway Co. except no surgeon’s exam or names of dependents are given. Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company (D&RGW) Denver and Rio Grande Western employee records contained in box numbers 714 through 717 and 727 through 733 are from the DC&H (Dining Car and Hotel Department). Box numbers 766 through 772 and 1287 contain mostly employee records for laborers assigned to the Burnham Store in Denver, Colorado. The Burnham Store was the railroad’s parts department and was located about 8th and Mariposa Streets in Denver. Contained in these files is an “Application for Employment”. Important information recorded on these applications is: full name, position, social security number, birth date and place, citizenship, race, nationality, hair and eye color, weight, height, marital status, address and ages of children, father and mother’s name and addresses, emergency contact person and address, education, relatives employed by D& 2 RGW; work history documenting where employed, occupation, time periods of employment, salary, reason for leaving, and supervisor. Other miscellaneous paperwork also is in the file with the employment application. Union Pacific Railway Co. (UP) The front of box number 456 contains employee records for special agents of the Union Pacific Railway Co. These special agents consisted of guards, watchmen, and a few support staff of steno-clerks. Pertinent information given on the applications is similar to that of the Colorado & Southern Railway Co., except no surgeon’s exam is given. Complete information from these records may be obtained by contacting: Archivist, Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library The Colorado Railroad Museum 17155 West 44th Avenue Post Office Box 10 Golden, CO 80402-0010 Phone 303-279-4591 Fax 303-279-4229 Email: [email protected] The Colorado Railroad Museum - Richardson Library is your best source for any information you may be seeking on Colorado railroads. In addition to employee records they also have accident and equipment records. Other sources for railroad employee records: Denver Public Library Western Railroad Collection 1. Denver Tramway Personnel Records which are being indexed. 2. Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Accident Reports (16 volumes) and Personnel Files (4 volumes and 2 boxes) which mostly are filed by date. 3. Railroad Maps: Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Atchison, Topeka& Santa Fe, and the Union Pacific Railroad 4. Railroad Photographs, see http://gowest.coalliance.org or www.denver.lib.co.us 4. Railroad Manuscripts 5. Railroad Books and Periodicals Union Pacific Railroad Museum Library, 200 Pearl St, Council Bluffs, IA 51503, phone 712-329-8307, www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/museum/index.shtml has 150 boxes of personnel records. For information about Union Pacific equipment, also contact the Union Pacific Historical Society, www.uphs.org Southern Pacific Railroad employment cards dating back to 1903: contact California 3 State Railroad Museum Library in Sacramento, CA www.csrmf.org/doc.asp?id=122 They also have The Biographical Directory of Railway Officials of America Burlington and Quincy Railroad Co.: contact Chicago’s Newberry Library archives records Great Northern and Northern Pacific Lines: contact The Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org Pullman Co.: South Suburban Genealogical Society in South Holland, IL has indexed records dating from 1900 to 1949 and covering 200,000 employees; for free online form go to www.rootsweb.com/~ssghs/pullman.htm For pension information about employees who worked in the rail industry in the U.S. after 1936, contact the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, the railroad workers equivalent of the Social Security Administration. The Board provides information on deceased persons, but requires consent to provide information on persons who are still living. The records are by the employee’s social security number. You can possibly find deceased individuals Social Security Number through www.ancestry.com or www.familysearch.org. Office of Public Affairs Railroad Retirement Board 844 North Rush St. Chicago, IL 60611-2092 www.rrb.gov/geneal.html Phone 1-800-808-0772 If your ancestor had a Social Security number starting with a "7" he probably worked for the railroad between 1937 and 1943. The Railroad Pension was set up at the same time as Social Security and railroaders received their own Social Security numerical prefix. Until 1964, railroad employees were given special numbers, with the first three digits (ordinarily designating geographic area) falling between 700 and 729. National Association of Retired & Veteran Railway Employees, Inc. (NARVRE), www.NARVRE.com, email: [email protected] Another possible source of information about an ancestor who was a railroad worker is the United Association of Railroad Veterans, 187 Illinois St., Patterson, NJ 07503. For information about Nebraska railroading, see www.rootsweb.com/~nerailrd/index.html this web site has a link to the National Archives (NARA) which has railroad accident records for 1911 to 1984. The NARA publication North American Railroads, Reference Information Paper 91, is your best source of information for small abandoned railroads.