Jackson St Archive
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Jackson St Archive
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The GNRHS Archives at Jackson St. Roundhouse
The
GNRHS Archives, managed by GNRHS Archive Committee is located at the Minnesota
Transportation Museum - Jackson Street Roundhouse in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Before visiting, please make arrangements ahead of time
to ensure that a staff person will be there, by emailing
archives@gnrhs.org. Alternatively,
written inquiry may be sent
to: GNRHS (651) 222-3409. Because the office is not regularly staffed, phone
messages are recovered weekly.
MTM
- Jackson Street Roundhouse is also the home of former GN
SD-45 #400 "Hustle Muscle". Click on the graphic above to learn
more about this famous engine.
Most
organizations that are similar to the Great Northern Historical Society are
conducting some kind of archival activity. Some of the railroad groups,
such as the Union Pacific Historical Society,
have long-standing and close affiliation with their namesake, while others are
just beginning to establish such connections. In this regard, our Society
has recently taken a very positive step by associating itself with two other
fine organizations: the Minnesota
Transportation Museum and the Northern Pacific
Railway Historical Association. The
Minnesota Transportation Museum has a 40-year history of preservation activity,
primarily in the operating of restored equipment. Anyone close to
Minnesota will know that their trolley, steamboat, and excursion train rides
have been a part of the metropolitan scene for years. With the addition of
the Jackson Street Roundhouse, the museum has a "home" for conducting
its restoration projects and preserving the history of transportation in
Minnesota. The
fact that the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association and the Great
Northern Railway Historical Society has formed an archival agreement will make
the preservation of Great Northern's history a practical reality. For the
GNRHS, the core of the archival activity is the GN Property Accounting record,
which have been in our custodial care for more than twenty years. Moving
the records into a secure and climate-controlled environment makes it practical
for researchers to secure information about various historical considerations on
the railroad.
AFE
ARCHIVE The
RPC (Record of Property Change) ledger books have been moved to the museum and
are organized for individual research. The AFE files themselves are still
in a certain state of limbo, as they are in temporary storage, but accessible.
For the time being, researchers need to communicate far in advance with the
archivist so that the correct material can be pulled and made accessible for any
research being completed. Please
be aware that there are still certain restrictions on the availability of
material, because the collection is literally still in three locations - we
cannot pull volumes of material for a single visit. The researcher will
also like to explore the potential material at Minnesota Historical Society and
other public institutions in the metro area.
PHOTO
ARCHIVE The
principle collection of GN photos in the archive is the Keyes collection.
Currently, we are scanning photos into a digital format and cataloging the
collection. Our primary desire is to make this collection available
for the publication of the Goat, but also to legitimate research as well. As
with any published material, photo copyright is an issue that must be respected.
We will not sell or distribute material that is not ours to distribute. We
can show examples of what is there for personal research, but only marked
digital photos will be printed and released.
RESEARCH On
several occasions, the museum and archives have been able to help individuals
wanting to conduct research with the collections we hold.
In all cases, the individuals communicated their interest and we were
able to narrow down their search and have materials pulled for review at the
museum. Other
individuals have been helped who have been directed to us via the Internet and
through our website. Most often general questions come our way from our
webmaster or by our information officer (Ask Bev) at gnbuff@aol.com.
One of these communication methods may be of interest to the membership of
GNRHS. One could also check the "Talking It Over" section of the
Goat, where the address and phone number of the Archives office will be printed
on a regular basis.
ARCHIVE
STORAGE As
reported earlier, we had to take some time off in establishing a storage area in
the museum because of physical problems with the building. That situation
is behind us now and we do have a secure room with shelving erected and ready
for archive storage. Volunteers from the NPRHA and GNRHS worked successive
weekends getting the shelving set up and a secure door on the storage room. A
file system has been established, and items that may be donated will be placed
in proper storage units for preservation. Our collections will remain
physically separated in the storage area from those of the other organizations,
as well as tracked via a cataloging system that is being developed. By
utilizing the storage placement system and cataloging system, collections will
not be lost or forgotten.
ARCHIVE
CATALOGING GNRHS
Member Jeff Otto has developed an excellent database for cataloging the archives
at the museum. Based on Microsoft Access, the database is interactive in
cross-referencing the collection, the donor, collection contents, and location
of storage. Several individuals have been assisting in cataloging the NP
archive collection and a BNSF collection of photos. We could use
volunteers to work on the GNRHS collection as well. Completion of the
cataloging would be a big step towards making the archives more available to
researchers. An
archive computer committee has been established to research the current and
eventual needs of the archive. We currently have three computers working
independently, but want to establish a "server" system of
interconnected computers to hold the data storage. With
the vast data being entered on collections and the size of the photo files,
memory will remain a critical resource of the system, and expansion of data
storage capacity a necessity in the future. Also, we would like to see the
system set up so web access is possible, eventually making at least some of the
collections accessible via our website. We
have been cataloging the AFE index for several years. Up to this moment as
many as 80,600 entries have been entered into the system. That is less
than half the total that will be required. It is hoped that others will
help out by taking sections of the index and further increasing the number of
entries many times more.
NEED
FOR HELP, NEED FOR DONATIONS The
facilities are ready and the systems are in place. To make this the best
archive around, we need members to continue to support the cause any way they
possibly can. We need people to volunteer their time and expertise to make
this effort successful. Contact us with an idea of availability and
ability to assist in our efforts. Refer to this or any future issue of the
GNRHS Goat for contact information (or see above). For
those who have GN material, keep this museum in mind when you have material that
can be donated. Keep in mind the donation is deductible and will be a
great way to preserve part or all of your collection. We do want to work
with those members with collections to think of us first when deciding on a
disposition. We
are constantly getting donations. Each week something comes our collective
way. Thanks to those who already have been so helpful and thanks to those
who have lent their support to the project. We will not disappoint you.
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