Part I
Introduction
I.1 This reference information paper describes significant records in the National Archives that relate to railroads in the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico), Canada, Mexico, and the Panama Canal. This paper describes documentation concerning the railroads and their interaction with the U.S. Government from the beginning of railroading to 1996. The records described include more than 1,000 series of textual, cartographic, still picture, motion picture, sound recording, and electronic records in 57 record groups housed in the Washington, DC, area and the regional archives branches of the National Archives and Records Administration as of December 31, 1996, as well as a few records in Presidential libraries.
I.2 The paper contains a preface, introduction, frequently asked questions, record descriptions, appendices, and index. The record description sections are arranged by general subject category, such as "Federal Regulation and Oversight of Railroads" and "Railroads and the Military," thereunder by record group and type of records (textual and nontextual), and thereunder by creating organization and record series title or item description.
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