EAD
TABLE OF CONTENTSInventory |
Guide to the Long Island Railroad Collection (Bob Strum Records)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | Strum, Robert | |
| Title | Long Island Railroad Collection (Bob Strum Records), | |
| Dates: | 1903-1998 | |
| Abstract: | The Long Island Railroad Company (5 boxes, 4 cubic feet) has been in existence since 1834 providing commuter service for millions of customers every year. There have been a variety of schedules and changes over the years due to heavy demand. There are also changes to schedules based on holiday activity and the need for the company to make repairs that will provide better service to its clientele. The collection is made up of LIRR timetables that provide information on the changes in service from 1903 to 1998. | |
| Extent: | 5 boxes, 4 cubic feet | |
| Identification: | L-13 | |
| Location: | The material is located in the Archives at Queens Library. | |
Historical/Biographical Note
The Long Island Railroad was originally called the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad Company. The original idea was to have a light rail mode of transportation between the areas of Boston and Jamaica. There were formally only boat trips that took several hours from port to port.
Based on the suggestion of a Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad Company Chief engineer a plan was put in place to construct a rail system to connect the two cities. The charter for the Long Island Railroad Company was attained on April 24, 1834. The original route was from Boston to Atlantic Avenue (Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn) to Jamaica, NY. Originally leased out to Long Island the company was taken over first by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1900 and then by New York State in 1966. The original three stop route has now become a vital commuter hub with 124 stations, 303,000 weekday customers, and a yearly total of 83 million commuters. The Long Island Railroad is the busiest commuter railroad in North America.*
Robert Strum worked for the LIRR Company for many years before retiring in the early 2000’s. He donated the collection of timetables to the Archives at Queens Library in fall 2010.
*Long Island Rail Road; Fischler, Stan Voyageur Press MBI Publishing Company, Galtier Plaza, Suite 200, 380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101 USA 2007
Return to the Table of Contents
Scope and Content Note
The Long Island Railroad Collection (Bob Strum Records) (5 boxes; 4 cubic feet, 1903-1998) consists of timetables that the Long Island Railroad Company created to assist their employees and customers on schedule and service changes. The collection contains a large assortment of timetables that were given to managers, employees, and customers that were collected through the years by former LIRR employee Robert Strum.
The collection is broken down into four series.
Administrative Time Tables (49 boxes, 1912-1998) focuses on the timetables given to administrators for the Long Island Railroad. The Administrative timetables come in leather bound hardcover casing. Each Administrative timetable includes the specific administrator’s name written in gold lettering on the cover. The timetables are labeled with specific dates. This is the largest series in the collection.
Book of Rules (1 folder, 1903; 1926; 1946; 1954; 1964; 1982) includes the code of conduct for LIRR employees. Within the booklets are solutions for various problems a train conductor might experience on the job. There are also illustrations of different train parts.
Employee Time Tables (33 books, 1917-1918; 1932-1935; 1942-1943; 1946-1946; 1949-1953; 1956-1960; 1964-1968; 1971; 1982; 1998) consists of timetables given to LIRR employees. These timetables have soft cover binding with light blue coloring.
Passenger Time Tables (29 books, 1896-1902; 1904-1906) have light brown coloring and are constructed in small pamphlet styled size. These were the timetables given to LIRR customers to make them aware of changes in service and scheduling of various train routes.
Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The Long Island Railroad Collection (Bob Strum Records), Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library.
Provenance
Robert Strum, a long time employee of the Long Island Railroad company, donated these records to the Archives at Queens Library.
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division's Manuscript Usage Form and deposit their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card with a staff member. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division's loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
- Archives at Queens Library
- Queens Borough Public Library
- 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
- Jamaica, NY 11432
- Phone: (718) 990-0770.
Return to the Table of Contents
Access Points
Subject Organizations:
- Long Island Rail Road
Subject Topics:
- Timetables
Subject Places:
- Queens (New York, N.Y.)
Return to the Table of Contents
Inventory
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
