The University of Missouri Digital Library has over three dozen digital collections, including those that focus on the Civil War and historical Missouri newspapers. One of the more recent additions is this archive of the American Railroad Journal. This publication was started in 1832, and it covered all aspects of the railroad industry for over 70 years. Taken as a whole, this archive offers a...

From Stanford University comes this extensive digital history project that provides insight into the experiences and legacy of nineteenth-century Chinese railroad workers in North America. This project was headed by history professor Gordon Chang, English professor Shelley Fisher Fishkin, and American Studies scholar Hilton Obenzinger, in collaboration with a number of experts and organizations...

The first railroad in Massachusetts was chartered in 1826 and since that time the commonwealth has seen dozens of operators expand and contract their operations. Interestingly enough, by 1836 railroad corporations had to submit reports of their activities to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and in 1871 a Railroad Commission was established to oversee these companies. This wonderful digital...

Railfan & Railroad Magazine is a compelling resource for those with an interest in the history of passenger and freight railroads in the United States. On the magazine’s site, visitors can look over specialized photo essays, online forums, and a selection of back issues. The Railnews contains links to key news items from around the railroad world and visitors can also look over the Timetable which...

The history of America is, to a large extent, a history of railroads. Railroads connected the coasts, helped fashion the modern economy, and allowed for greater mobility of goods and people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This history of the railroads, though somewhat one-sided (no mention here of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of native people), covers a lot of ground....

The US Library of Congress American Memory site has recently added this new item to its impressive collection. Railroad Maps, a preview release provided by the Geography and Map Division of LOC, contains a searchable and browseable selection of maps taken from RailroadMaps of the United States, by Andrew M. Modelski.

In the 19th century, the widespread expansion of railroads across the American landscape transformed the lives of millions of people from Maine to California. This digital collection from the University of Nebraska seeks "to document and represent the rapid and far-reaching social effects of railroads and to explore the transformation of the United States to modern ideas, institutions, and...

During the 19th and early 20th century, the railroad was the reigning king of American industry. A range of short and long haul railroads built and used over 240,000 miles of track from north to south and east to west. This fascinating online exhibit from Harvard Business School's Baker Library looks at how these companies transformed American business, and makes some comparisons with European...

Railroads changed the landscape of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries as they traversed swamps, mountains, and fruited plains. This digital archive from the University of Virginia looks at the ways in which the coming of the railroad to the isolated counties of Accomack and Northampton "profoundly changed the physical and mental landscapes in which the people of the region lived,...

Telling the history of the Union Pacific Railroad is a tall order, but this delightful site does the job quite effectively with historical photographs, maps, and thematic essays. The materials on the site are divided into sections that include "Union Pacific History and Chronologies", "Historical Equipment", "Photos", and "Reference". In the "History and Chronologies" area, visitors can learn...