State and Federal Government Publications

• Ohio Railway Report
  Published annually by the Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs of Ohio from 1868 to 1911. It included detailed statistics for each railroad doing business in the state compiled from reports submitted annually by each railroad. In the earlier years the submitted reports were published. In later years the commission ruled on rate and safety issues and these decisions were included. It is now part of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. (courtesy Cleveland Public Library and State Library of Ohio)
  • 1867 First Annual Report of the Commissioner - A&GW, CZ&C
  • The1902 annual report included a chronological History of the Railroads of Ohio compiled from the previous reports:
    1902 History of Railroads of Ohio: Web Page - DjVu
    1905 History of Railroads to 1905 (DjVu)
  • 1907 Inspection of Electric Lines (DjVu)
• Interstate Commerce Commission
  • Analysis of Railroad Abandonments 1920-1943 (includes section on Ohio communities)
  • Reports 1922-1940 (Valuations, Abandonments, Construction, Deficits)
  • New York Central Valuation - Testimony of H. E. Riggs concerning depreciation - 1927
• Geological Survey of Ohio
  • Building Stones of Ohio 1915 (Selected pages dealing with quarrying process and NE Ohio quarries)

Railroad Publications
Railroad publicity departments published materials for the general public, investors and their employees. Most of these materials were never copyrighted. The railroads sometimes explicitly encouraged their duplication.

• Annual Reports
  • Cleveland, Coshocton & Zanesville Prospectus 1853
  • Lake Erie & Western 1892
  • Nickel Plate Road 1924
  • Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark 3rd Annual Report 1858
• Route Guides - descriptions of towns, industries and attractions along a railroad line.

• AC&Y Brochure circa 1950
• AT&SF Railroad (Santa Fe)
  • Santa Fe Magazine (Monthly publication for employees)
  • Santa Fe Today (1946-1950 Pamphlets explaining railroad operation)
  • AT&SF Ticket Selling Talks for Santa Fe Agents 1914
  • Prescott, Arizona Promotional Brochure (1913)
  • ATSF Advertising
• The Bessemer Story - 1950's promotional brochure for B&LE RR.
• Chessie System Queensgate Yard - Cincinnati, Ohio
• GM&O Alton Route Streamliners (Describes trip Chicago-St. Louis post WWII)
• Great Northern 1929 New Cascade Tunnel Brochure
• New York Central Railroad
  • 2 Days at Niagara Falls (Four Track Series #9 - 1904)
  • Evolution of NYC RR 1831-1915
  • The Mercury c1936 (Cleveland-Detroit Passenger Service)
• Nickel Plate Road
  • Dining Car Menus
  • 1917 List of Officers, Station Agents, etc.
  • 1913-1914 Industrial and Shippers Guide
• Norfolk & Western Railway 1961 Expansion Press Packet
• Pennsylvania Railroad
  • Board of Directors Inspection 1948
    (including a history of the Pennsylvania RR with maps)
  • Pennsylvania Lines: The 1913 Flood
  • Century of Progress Brochure 1933
  • Story of the Day's Work 1927 Advertising Campaign
  • 1889 Summer Excursions (Map - Drawings)
• Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
• Huron, Ohio Coal and Ore Docks 1937 ( Brochure)

Trade Publications
Trade Associations promote a particular industry and lobby the government. Most of these materials were never copyrighted.

• Association of American Railroads
• National Automobile Chamber of Commerce Facts and Figures 1920 - 1930
• Railroad Gazette 1905

Reference Books

• Poor's Manual of Railroads (1868 - 1924)
• Hayward's 1853 United States Gazetteer (Cleveland, Canals & RRs, Routes to California and Oregon)
• Simmons-Boardman Cyclopedias (1921 Maintenance of Way - Track - Bridges)

General Publications
There are many books and other publications that include transportation history. Although most were copyrighted, many early texts are now in the public domain and can be shared via the web.

• All About Cleveland - A City Cyclopedia - 1897
• Between Ocean and Lake: The Story of the Erie 1899/1901 by Edward H. Mott
• Great Industries of the United States 1873 (illustrated history)
• Historical Collections of Ohio (1840-1890) by Henry Howe, LL. D.
• Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway 1900 (History and Biographies)
• New York Central Route and City Guide 1867 by H. F. Walling
• Ohio Railroad Guide Illustrated 1854
• Pennsylvania Railroad 1879 James Dredge
• Roadway and Track by W. F. Rench (Pennsylvania RR Supervisor) - 1921
• Western Maryland Story by Harold H. Williams 1952
• Century Magazine
  1892 Our Common Roads road building before the automobile.
  1886 Abraham Lincoln: A History Chapter 1 Pioneer in Kentucky and Illinois

Links to other sites with online texts

• Making of America (University of Michigan)
• Making of America (Cornell University)
• Google Books (search full view books)
• Achive.org (searches many sources and media types)