SOUTHERN IRON & EQUIPMENT COMPANY RECORDS, 1903 - 1960
#354

(.3 cubic feet: 1 ShB, 1 folder)

by: Craig Orr, June 1993

History

The Southern Iron & Equipment Company, a family-owned business located in Atlanta, Georgia, was a major re-conditioner of locomotives in the period ca. 1900-1960. The company purchased locomotives, refurbished them, and then sold them. In addition, the company did repair and reconditioning work on behalf of various railroads.

Scope and Content

These records document the rebuilding of locomotives by the Southern Iron & Equipment Company during the period ca. 1903 - 1960. They consist of one folder of "Memorandum of Locomotive Numbers" and a number of 6" x 4" cards recording sales of rebuilt locomotives. The "Memorandum," forty-eight pages total, lists the locomotives by number and shows the company from which it was purchased, type of locomotive, manufacturer, and to whom it was sold. The cards, alphabetically arranged by purchaser, record the type of locomotive, manufacturer, its number, and the purchase price. The cards contain most complete information on the period ca. 1903-1924; after that, only the number of the locomotive was noted on the card.

Provenance

The written and photographic records of the Southern Iron & Equipment company were purchased from the company at the time of its dissolution by a Mr. Witbeck, a collector of railroad photographs. The records were subsequently purchased from him by Mr. Edward Bond of Marietta, Georgia. Mr. Bond donated them to the National Museum of American History in December 1988. They were transferred from the Division of Transportation to the Archives Center on September 25, 1989.

Related Collections

The Division of Transportation, NMAH, holds approximately thirty photonegatives and approximately 800-1,000 photo prints from the Southern Iron & Equipment Company, dating from 1900-1935. They are fully described in a separate catalog available from the Division of Transportation.

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