Object Details
Summary
A collection of black and white photographic negatives depicting railroad scenes and locomotives in the United States and Canada, taken by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of approximately 445 (3 inches by 4 inches) photographic negatives of railroad trains taken by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey. The majority of these images are of steam locomotives in service at rail stations and rail yards. The collection primarily documents eastern railroad lines, especially the Baltimore and Ohio, Boston and Maine, Central of New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania, but also includes views of railroads in New Mexico and Canada. A printed guide to the negatives exists in the Archives Center's reading room along with video disc #38105 of all of the photographs in this collection. This guide has detailed information on the prints in this collection. Some envelopes contain two negatives.
Series 1, Photographic Negatives, 1936-1966, undated, is arranged numerically by negative number and then alphabetically by the name of railroad. These numbers were assigned by the National Museum of American History in 1986. There are a few exceptions when the negative number does not correspond with the usual alphabetical placement of the railroad pictured. There are two dates on the negative sleeve. Under the heading "Year" is the date of the construction of the locomotive pictured. The date listed under "Photo Description" is the date the photograph was taken by Hall. The date recorded in the finding aid data is the one listed under "Photo Description"; if no date was recorded then it is listed as "undated".The locomotives depicted range in construction date from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century. There are sometimes two negatives in a sleeve depicting the same subject but with slight differences.
Series 2, Photographic Prints, 1986, contains the later prints (3 and one-half inches by 5 inches) made directly from Hall's negatives by the Division of Work and Industry in 1986. They are arranged numerically by the negative number.
sova.nmah.ac.1168
Donor
Hall, Clayton M.
Topic
Locomotives
Railroad stations
Railroads -- Trains
Railroads -- 20th century
Transportation
Provenance
The collection was donated by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey in 1972.
Donor
Hall, Clayton M.
See more items in
Clayton M. Hall Collection of Railroad Photographs
Extent
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three-hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Date
1936-1966, undated
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center in 2009 from the Division of Transportation (now part of the Division of Work and Industry), National Museum of American History.
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.1168
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographic prints
Photographs
Citation
Clayton M. Hall Collection of Railroad Photographs, 1936-1966, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Photographic Negatives, 1936-1966, undated
Series 2: Photographic Prints, 1986
Processing Information
Originally processed by the Division of Work and Industry. Additional processing by the processing team of the Archives Center, January 2013; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, supervisory archivist. Finding aid written by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Vanessa Broussard-Simmons.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 20th century
Other Finding Aids
An inventory for the Clayton M. Hall Collection of Railroad Photographs is available.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
NMAH.AC.1168
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8863b51c2-2d2c-4a4d-a4b0-2cd277329b7b
NMAH.AC.1168
ACAH
Record ID
ebl-1562715050302-1562715050317-0