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[Chicago?, 1914–1920]. “Common Sense” binder, 8.5” x 11” and 2” thick (trade-mark patented in 1904 by Asa L. Shipman’s Sons), tan cloth-covered boards. 102 cyanotypes, 23 silver prints, 1 map (4.5” x 9”, plus margins), and 47 reproductions of drawings (most on blue print-out paper, some folding); 8 catalogs (a total of 324 pp.), as follows: two Electric Railway supply catalogs (a total of 30 pp.), Railway Line Material for Direct Suspension (92 pp.), Line Material and Rail Bonds for Mine and Industrial Haulage (72 pp.), Rail Bonds and Bonding Tools (54 pp.), General Electric Company Supply Department—Shaft Couplings (12 pp.), Railway Motor Gears and Pinions (24 pp.), and Railway Substations (40 pp.). The back-cover bears the following title, “Electric Traction. Descriptions of Systems. Technical Papers on Electrification. Regenerative Braking. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul General Description & Data.” CONDITION: Contents very good overall, a handful of the cyanotypes faded; no losses to the text.

An impressive and apparently unique photographically-illustrated shop manual relating to the early phase of electrification of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, supplemented with eight illustrated electric railway parts catalogs published by General Electric Co. between 1914 and 1920.

This manual includes photos and illustrations of locomotives, rail lines, and railway electrification equipment and components, in addition to a regional map of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad line through parts of Idaho and Montana. Many photos bear an ink stamp stating they are the property of General Electric Co. and cannot be reproduced without permission, indicating that the manual was assembled by someone working on the electrified Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line from materials supplied by General Electric Co. The line eventually connected St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Pacific Northwest, passing through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and into northern Washington during the early electrification period of the railroad from 1914 to 1920.

Photos show many railroad and municipal railway systems supplied by General Electric Co. of Schenectady, NY. Besides the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R.R., these include the Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railroad; the Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson Railway; London and Port Stanley Railway Co.; Commonwealth Edison Co.; Ft. Dodge, Des Moines, and Southern Railroad; Wilkes Barre and Hazleton Railway Co.; Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and Dubuque Electric Traction Co.; Chicago, North Shore, and Milwaukee Railroad; Portland Railway Light & Power Co.; Grafton & Upton Railroad Co.; University of Michigan; Nashville Interurban Railway; Claremont Railway & Lighting Co., and the Detroit River Tunnel.

Incorporated in 1892, General Electric Co. was heavily involved in the electrification of America, including its railroad and railway systems. The company designed and manufactured—along with the American Locomotive Co.—locomotives and their motors, frames, transmission lines, generators, and a host of equipment necessary to outfit and power trains and streetcars and maintain them. The company’s plant in Schenectady, NY had a short railroad built along the Erie Canal on which it tested new locomotives and railway equipment. The illustrated catalogs from General Electric included here consist of two Electric Railway supply catalogs, Railway Line Material for Direct Suspension (1916), Line Material and Rail Bonds for Mine and Industrial Haulage (1918), Rail Bonds and Bonding Tools (1914), General Electric Company Supply Department—Shaft Couplings (1914), Railway Motor Gears and Pinions (1916), and Railway Substations (1915).

A highly visual manual with extensive photo-documentation of railway electrification in the early twentieth century.

Item #7376

Price: $3,500.00