1928 | Photograph
John W. Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1858-1884, steered the railroad through the crisis of the Civil War, maintaining a firm commitment to the Union. In the strike Garrett regretted pay cuts and attempted to retain his employees, but firmly held to the principle of free labor's right to contract.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), captures a railroad fireman shoveling coal into the firebox.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) depicts a large number of railroad mechanics posing with a locomotive.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) shows a number of railroad workers standing atop a wrecking train.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), shows a railroad engineer, "oil-can in hand," lubricating the wheel of a locomotive.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), depicts a room full of freight department clerks.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) captures a railroad freight crew posing with an Erie Railroad car in the background.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), captures a track walker, lantern in hand, performing his nightly duties.
1911 | Photograph
This image from The Modern Railroad (1911), shows a railroad conductor at work.
1877 | Photograph
Part of a series of stereographs published in the wake of the 1877 Railroad Strike. The images show the destruction at Pittsburgh, which resulted from violent clashes July 21-22.
1877 | Photograph
Part of a series of stereographs published in the wake of the 1877 Railroad Strike. The images show the destruction at Pittsburgh, which resulted from violent clashes July 21-22.
1877 | Photograph
Part of a series of stereographs published in the wake of the 1877 Railroad Strike. The images show the destruction at Pittsburgh, which resulted from violent clashes July 21-22.
1868 | Photograph
This is a photograph of a Union Pacific Railroad engineering camp in Weber Canyon, Utah in 1868.
1863 | Photograph
Dawes fought in the Battle of Shiloh, then protected the railroads in Tennessee with the 53rd Ohio. He was promoted to major of the regiment on January 26, 1863.
1850 | Photograph
Few original images remain of railroad workers in the 1850s, especially of construction crews, whether free labor or enslaved. Northern railroad companies employed thousands of men on their payrolls in a dizzying array of occupations.
N.D. | Photograph
This is a digital photograph of an image of the Union Pacific Railroad's Brigham Young Construction camp in Echo Canyon, Utah.
N.D. | Photograph
This is a photograph of the grading camp for the Union Pacific Railroad in the Rocky Mountains.
1878 | Illustration
Railroad detective Allan Pinkerton's history of the strike emphasized the unruliness of the mob and the threat of foreign, anarchist, and communist influences on American labor. He also emphasized the role of women in inciting the conflict. Here, his illustration shows women leading a mob against the police during the 1877 railroad strike in Baltimore.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
The strike spread from Baltimore into small towns, big cities, and rural areas in the summer of 1877. This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts a gang of workers under the protection of the 23rd New York State National Guard Regiment repairing the tracks near Corning, New York.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
Although there was no large-scale unrest in New York, crowds did gather in Tompkins Square during the Railroad Strike. Tompkins Square had been the site of civil unrest and rioting at several points in New York history, including during the 1863 Draft Riots, and police feared speakers would rile up strike supporters.