Great Northern Railway- Blueprint-Authorization for Expenditure Collection

Identity elements

Reference code

US MnSpGNR E0045A

Level of description

Collection

Title

Great Northern Railway- Blueprint-Authorization for Expenditure Collection

Date(s)

  • 1881-1982 (Creation)

Extent

10,750 documents

Name of creator

(1944-)

Biographical history

Name of creator

(1973-)

Administrative history

The Society was founded by Charles F. Martin in 1973 under the name "The Fraternal Order of Empire Builders", and it was dedicated to the preservation of everything related to the Great Northern Railway. In 1982 the Society name became "The Great Northern Railway Historical Society". With this name change the Society also became chartered under the not-for-profit laws of the State of Illinois, and acquired tax exempt status from the Federal government under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the original name of "The Fraternal Order of Empire Builders", journals containing facts, photographs, drawings and general information relating to the Great Northern Railway and its predecessor companies were published. With the revised name, The Great Northern Railway Historical Society (GNRHS) continues that tradition. Each quarterly issue of the GNRHS 'Goat' normally contains sixteen pages of general information and society affairs, new member lists, member sales and want items, and books/videos listings of subjects related to the GN and its pre/post merger corporate identities. Issues include 40 to 60 additional pages within separately stapled titles known as Reference Sheets. Each issue of the 'Goat' also contains a section of pages dedicated to GN modeling, the Modelers' Pages.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The Great Northern Railway- Blueprint-Authorization for Expenditure Collection (GN_Blueprint_AFEs) was created by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society from materials at the Jackson Street Roundhouse. Blueprints and other documents stored with Great Northern Railway Authorization for Expenditure files were gathered and cataloged as a separate collection with reference to the Authorization for Expenditure number where available. In addition to Great Northern Railway blueprints, some supplier blueprints, catalogs, and other supplemental materials for individual projects are included. Blueprints are categorized as Engineering drawings when depicting buildings, track and other structures and as Mechanical drawings when applicable to rolling stock. Other (minor) categories of documents include maps and plats, photographs and printed ephemera.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Please see the Great Northern Railway Historical Society Reproduction Policy for further information.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Ownership of the Great Northern Railway- Blueprint-Authorization for Expenditure Collection resides in the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. It was created primarily from the Burlington Northern Railroad Company files transferred to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society in 1983. The collection is held in the Great Northern Railway Historical Society Archives at the Jackson Street Roundhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

The bulk of the collection is stored in Rooms 9 and 10 in the Jackson Street Roundhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Exceptions are noted on the individual item records.

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Related descriptions

Notes element

Specialized notes

Alternative identifier(s)

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Describing Archives - A Content Standard (DACS) 2nd Edition 2013

Sources used

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Accession area