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Harold E. Cox transportation collection
The Dr. Harold E. Cox transportation collection is composed primarily of records from the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), its predecessor the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), and that company's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. The collection dates from 1803 to 1967, wi...
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| Collection: | Harold E. Cox Transportation Collection |
| Collection Number: | 3158 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
| Item Description: |
Processing Information: The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' "Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives" Project.
This collection was minimally processed in 2009-2011, as part of an experimental project conducted under the auspices of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to help eliminate processing backlog in Philadelphia repositories. A minimally processed collection is one processed at a less intensive rate than traditionally thought necessary to make a collection ready for use by researchers. When citing sources from this collection, researchers are advised to defer to folder titles provided in the finding aid rather than those provided on the physical folder.
Employing processing strategies outlined in Mark Greene's and Dennis Meissner's 2005 article, More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal With Late 20th-Century Collections, the project team tested the limits of minimal processing on collections of all types and ages, in 23 Philadelphia area repositories. A primary goal of the project, the team processed at an average rate of 2-3 hours per linear foot of records, a fraction of the time ordinarily reserved for the arrangement and description of collections. Among other time saving strategies, the project team did not extensively review the content of the collections, replace acidic folders or complete any preservation work. |
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| Physical Description: |
199.5 Linear feet 160 boxes, 624 volumes, 38 rolled items |
| Access: |
The bulk of this collection is open for research use. Portions may be unavailable due to conservation concerns; please contact the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for more information. |
| Summary: |
The Dr. Harold E. Cox transportation collection is composed primarily of records from the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), its predecessor the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), and that company's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. The collection dates from 1803 to 1967, with the bulk of materials ranging from 1858 to 1960. It consists of financial records, legal records, correspondence, administrative records, ephemera, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, atlases, and route maps and diagrams.
A large proportion of the collection relates to the legal affairs of the PTC and PRT, focusing mainly on PTC's "rate cases." Whenever PTC wanted to raise its fares, it had to submit an application to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; often appeals were brought to higher courts, where PTC had to show the increase was necessary for its financial stability. Another well-documented area of the collection is the business activities of PRT and PTC: there are financial records and accounting reports, as well as copies of agreements, leases, and contracts. One of the strongest areas in the collection is records from PRT's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. Documentation varies by company, but generally includes some combination of financial records, accident reports, and meeting minutes. Noticeably absent from the Harold E. Cox transportation collection are Board of Directors minutes from either PRT or PTC, and the collection is light on correspondence files. Some materials in the collection, including atlases, published court records, newspaper clippings, and newsletters from the ephemera series may be available elsewhere.
This collection is arranged into ten series: "Meeting minutes, 1913-1945"; "Financial records, 1857-1967"; "Legal records, 1867-1965"; "Correspondence, 1895-1941"; "General administrative records, 1872-1967"; "Ephemera and other published materials, 1880-1967"; "Subsidiary and predecessor rail lines, 1803-1941"; "Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings, 1905-1942"; "Maps, diagrams, and ward atlases, 1869-1959"; and "Willow Grove Amusement Park records, 1896-1940." Unless otherwise indicated, and excluding the "Subsidiary and predecessor rail lines" and "Willow Grove Amusement Park records" series, all records dating after 1940 relate to the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) and all records dating before 1940 relate to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT).
The first series, "Meeting minutes, 1913-1945," consists of minutes of PTC and PRT meetings. The series is arranged alphabetically by committee name. Only a few committees are represented in this series, and the records are incomplete; noticeably absent are minutes from Board of Directors or Executive Committee meetings.
The second series, "Financial records, 1857-1967," contains annual reports, audit reports, account records, property valuations and depreciation studies, and loan and trust records. The series is arranged alphabetically by folder title. It provides a fairly comprehensive accounting of PRT and PTC finances, especially when taken with the exhibits relating to financial affairs in the legal records series.
The third series, "Legal records, 1867-1965," consists of legal briefs, court orders, exhibits and evidence, questionnaires and answers, printed testimony, and hearing transcripts. The series is divided into twelve subseries. The first ten subseries house records for ten well-documented cases relating to rate increases. The subseries are presented in chronological order of the cases, but within each subseries files are arranged alphabetically by folder title. The eleventh subseries contains documentation about PRT's bankruptcy, and the subsequent merger of subsidiary rail lines that resulted in the formation of PTC. It is arranged alphabetically by folder title. The final subseries contains materials relating to several cases that are not extensively documented. The cases are arranged chronologically by date.
The fourth series, "Correspondence, 1895-1941," consists of company letterbooks of outgoing general correspondence, and correspondence from the engineering department in particular. Of special interest is a letterbook from the office of Peter Arrell Brown Widener, one of the trio who founded Philadelphia Traction Company. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by subject. Researchers should note that letterbooks are filed within this alphabetical scheme under "L." The letter books contain chronologically arranged correspondence that pertains to multiple subjects. Additional correspondence files, dating from 1896 to 1912, are currently restricted due to conservation concerns; contact the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for more information.
The fifth series, "General administrative records, 1872-1967," houses a wide variety of records relating to the management, activities, and administration of PRT and PTC. Documentation is somewhat scattered and incomplete; researchers should review this series in conjunction with the financial records series. It contains accident registers, leases and agreements between PRT and subsidiary rail lines, vehicle specifications, Mitten Management training manuals, passenger statistics, property records, township ordinances and rights of way. Of special interest are "Historical data" files compiled by writers of PTC/PRT institutional histories, and a chart showing the subsidiaries of PRT and PRT's interests therein. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject and/or record type.
The sixth series, "Ephemera and other published materials, 1880-1967," contains bound publications (publications by PRT in chronological order, in volumes by year), issues of "Off-Peak," PTC's employee newsletter; "PRT/PTC Traveler," a free public guide to Philadelphia events and how to get there by PRT/PTC transit; "Service Talks," Mitten Management's newsletter; press releases; bus schedules; and ticket samples. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type or name, and then chronologically within those groups.
The seventh series, "Subsidiary and predecessor rail lines, 1803-1941," consists of materials relating to any company besides the PRT and PTC. Documentation for each of the individual rail lines varies significantly -- some are only documented by a single record, while others are represented with several records over many years. Researchers will find one or more of the following for each: accident registers, minute books, letterbooks, account ledgers, annual reports and stockholder listings. Almost 60 rail companies are represented, but documentation is particularly robust for 13th and 15th Streets Passenger Railway Company, People's Passenger Railway Company, Philadelphia Traction Company, Union Traction Company, and Wilkes-Barre Railway Company.
The eighth series, "Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings, 1905-1942," is divided into four subseries. The first subseries, "Edmund Stirling scrapbooks, 1917-1935," contains scrapbooks created by Public Ledger editor Edmund Stirling. The scrapbooks consist primarily of newspaper clippings about the PRT, and are accompanied by a card-file index to the scrapbooks. The second subseries is "Newspaper clipping scrapbooks, 1905-1912" and the third subseries is "Newspaper clippings, 1912-1936," compiler(s) unknown. The scrapbooks in the last subseries, "Miscellaneous scrapbooks, 1848-1942," include newspaper clippings, photographs, ticket stubs, and transportation ephemera related to PRT, PTC and public transportation generally.
The ninth series, "Maps, diagrams and ward atlases, 1869-1959," contains maps of Philadelphia and surrounding areas, transportation maps, and electrical diagrams of stations. The majority are bound volumes and rolled items.
The final series, "Willow Grove Amusement Park, 1896-1940," consists of materials relating to the PRT-owned and operated amusement park. Conceived as a way to generate business along the Willow Grove transit line, the park opened in 1896 and was in operation until 1975. It contains administrative, legal, and financial records relating to park operations, as well as photos of annual company picnics. Prior to the 1870s, Philadelphia's public transportation system consisted of dozens of independently owned and operated horse drawn streetcar lines. In the 1880s and 1890s steps were taken toward electrification and unification, a goal finally achieved in 1902 with the founding of Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). PRT constructed subway and elevated train lines, and managed public transportation until 1940, when the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was established, absorbing PRT and all of its functions. The Dr. Harold E. Cox transportation collection is composed primarily of records from PTC and PRT, as well as PRT's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. This collection dates from 1803 to 1967, with the bulk of materials ranging from 1858 to 1960. It consists of financial records, legal records, correspondence, administrative records, ephemera, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, atlases, and route maps and diagrams. The collection documents the growth and development of public transportation in Philadelphia, with a focus on the business activities and legal affairs of the PTC and PRT. |