About the archive
The Center cares for nearly 700,000 photographs in our Railroad Heritage Visual Archive under the leadership of Adrienne Evans, director of archives and collections. Our goal is to build a representative archive encompassing the many styles and subjects of railroad photography and art—from their beginnings in the early decades of the nineteenth century to the present, and from throughout the United States and the globe. Standing commitments (as of 2026) will push the total number of images to 1.1 million in the future, while we continue to review and consider new submissions and acquisitions. Our mission is to preserve these images and make them accessible.
Collection processing status
| Collection | Status |
|---|---|
| Keith Bryant | In progress: 25% complete |
| Shirley Burman | Women and the American Railroad series to commence in 2027 |
| Tom Gildersleeve | Estimated start: fall 2026 |
| Gordon Glattenberg | Estimated start: fall 2026 |
| John Gruber | Negatives complete; slides up next |
| Stan Kistler | Slides complete; Middlebrook series positing in progress |
| Henry Posner III | Posting in progress |
| Jim Shaughnessy | Negatives complete; 55% of slides complete |
| Richard Steinheimer | In progress: 72% of slides complete |
| Karl Zimmermann | Images onsite complete; posting in progress |
Last updated: May 2026
Collection updates
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Zoom member-exclusive program: John Gruber’s rolling studios collection
Join us for our next members-only webinar, focused on the latest addition to the John Gruber Collection: portraits and stereographs produced in specially equipped rail photo cars that traveled the burgeoning U.S. railroad system during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fascinated for decades by what he called “rolling studios,” CRP&A founder John Gruber…
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Zoom member-exclusive: CRP&A Collections Policy Update
In this members-only presentation, executive director Scott Lothes will provide an update on the changes being made to the Center’s photography collections policy, which will shape future accessions (visit the Collections page for details). He’ll share results and takeaways from the recent members survey about our collections work, as well as next steps for 2025.…
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Zoom member-exclusive program: Steinheimer’s Sierra Crossing
Join us for an inside look at the Richard Steinheimer & Shirley Burman Steinheimer Collection! In a rush of locomotives climbing through smoky snow sheds, plowing “Sierra cement,” and carrying passengers over “the Hill,” Associate Archivist Heather Sonntag has viewed volumes of Richard Steinheimer’s visual storytelling across Donner Pass. She’s digitized frame after frame of…
Collection visualizations
As our digital collections grow, we can use their metadata to say more about them while also identifying trends, strengths, and gaps within our archive. Jordan Craig, digital archives manager, shared both of these graphics at our Conversations 2026 conference. The video shows current photographic coverage of states by decades, while the chart looks at coverage of Chicago—the most photographed location in our archive—by photographer and year. Note that both graphics represent images in our (external) online digital collections portal.
Collection processing procedures
The Center’s Railroad Heritage Visual Archive is a professional archive repository whose personnel follow established archival principles while caring for our collections. Our archivist supervises work performed by other archives staff members, contract archivists, graduate interns, and volunteers to ensure the materials in our possession receive proper care.
A newly-acquired collection goes through several phases, collectively known as processing:
Phase 1: Arrangement and Description
This is the initial planning phase for any collection where we get familiar with its materials. In this phase we will begin to organize the collection and create an inventory along with any information that can be used in a finding aid.
Phase 2: Processing
This phase involves long, tedious legwork but is essential in the general preservation and accessibility of the collection. Once the collection is organized we can apply labels to binders and pages while correctly matching up the physical materials with a digital inventory that will include metadata.
Phase 3: Metadata and Finding Aid
Metadata, or data about data, are necessary to fully understand the materials in our collections. At the Center we record detailed metadata and embed that raw data into any digitized materials. Once we have finished processing a collection we can create a detailed and cohesive finding aid. This is the best way for our users to understand the scope and content of a collection.
Phase 4: Accessibility
In the final phase, we strive to make our collections available to the public and searchable online via finding aids. Throughout the previous phases the Center will attempt to provide previews of collections online as they are processed.
We’re able to do this work thanks to the generosity of our community.
- Multi-year support from the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust has helped us build up every aspect of our collections work, from expanding our space, to adding more staff, to implementing our collections management system.
- Heritage grants from the National Railway Historical Society help fund our work on the John E. Gruber Collection and the Richard Steinheimer and Shirley Burman Steinheimer Collection.
- Thanks to the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s William D. Middleton Research Fellowship, we’ve been able to fill in more metadata for many of our collections.
- Our more than 1,000 members empower all of our programs through annual memberships and additional gifts. If you’re already a member, thank you. If you’re not, join now and begin receiving quarterly issues of our beautiful journal, Railroad Heritage.
