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.
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.
1868 | Photograph
This is a photograph of a Union Pacific Railroad engineering camp in Weber Canyon, Utah in 1868.
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.
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.
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.