Railroad Collections: Oral Histories

John Hartline, A history of Louisville's Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad Company, 1994.
1 cassette, app. 40 of 50 minutes
Hartline recorded a narrative of the history of the Kentucky and Indiana Terminal Railroad Company. He wrote the narrative in 1990 and 1991 and recorded this tape in 1994. The company narrative, lasting thirty-seven minutes, described the organization's activity from the years prior to World War I onward, with emphasis on the building and rebuilding of the railroad's Ohio River bridge to New Albany, Indiana. The narrative also described the expansion of the freight yard in the Portland neighborhood known as the Youngstown yard.

Louisville and Nashville Railroad oral history collection, 1979-1982.
2.5 linear feet, including 110 cassette tapes, 51 reel-to-reel tapes, and 50 transcripts.

The interviews cover the history of the Louisville and National Railroad Company from the mid-1920s until the late1970s; railroads that have merged with L&N are also described. A wide variety of individuals were interviewed, from managers to engineers, shop workers, and firemen, discussing their involvement and work from their particular perspective. Includes interviews with women who worked on the railroad during World War II; representatives from railroad unions such as the International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers (IBF&O), the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks (BRAC), the Railroad Yardmasters of America, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Topics include the role and activities of the railroad during WWII; mergers; the Strike of 1955; labor relations and unionization; Amtrak; female and African American employees; and the South Louisville Shops. Several interviews discuss race relations, equal opportunity issues, segregation, and integration. Also covered are descriptions of changes in technology, particularly of office equipment (i.e., the advent of computers and automation), as well as the company's legal and administrative activities. Several interviews discuss railroad companies that merged with L&N, including Clinchfield; the Atlantic Coast Line; Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis; Seaboard Coast Line; the Atlantic Coast Line; Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis; Seaboard Coast Line; and the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis.

Railroad history – WUOL
2 tapes, 1 hour 40 minutes total
Interviews on railroad history, including railroad historian Charles Castner, done on WUOL radio in 1982 or 1983.

Lucy K. Young oral history interview, 1996,
.25 linear foot
Collection contains four oral history interviews by Young related to Louisville and Nashville Railroad section crews, section houses, and children of L&N section foreman.