Railroads and the Historic Resources to Understand their Significance

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Transitioning from Commemoration to Analysis on the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah: Papers in Honor and Memory of Judge Michael Wei Kwan" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Archaeological research of a railroad, while not dissimilar to researching the history of a place, has unique aspects that make it challenging if one is not familiar with the subject. When envisioning a railroad, most people think of tracks, locomotives, stations, and other physical elements. Those are all part of a railroad, but to appropriately research a railroad and understand its significance one needs to understand the nature of railways and available research resources. Four words are vital to understanding a railroad: economics, operations, infrastructure, and regulation. A railroad in the United States exists only with all four in place; and researching a railroad involves all of them to complete a holistic picture. I briefly discuss these issues, and then identify the types of relevant historical documents and significant aspects of operations and infrastructure for railroad research.    

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021   •
• Transitioning from Commemoration to Analysis on the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah: Papers in Honor and Memory of Judge Michael Wei Kwan

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology