Railroad history

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where one would find information on the building of the SF rails through Oklahoma in the early 1900's? I am particularily interested in the construction deaths of workers in the Oklahoma area from 1901-1905 for geneology purposes.[?]

[Anonymous]

I dont usually look for stuff like that. But did you try any local RR muesums or the local library? I am sorry but I dont know to much about SF's history.

[Anonymous]

There is a book called "Santa Fe: A Modern History, 1880-1990" by Henery J. Tobias and Charles E. Woodhouse. I hope this helps you out.
Sincerely,
Andrew

[Anonymous]

Local library and archives would be a good start, it can be tricky sometimes.
Also try google.

http://www.google.com

If it's not on google, it's not on the internet.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I agree about Google, but the kind of information you are looking for may not exist. If you are looking for a name of someone killed, the railroad may not be a source. In the early days of railroading many people were killed, but records weren't necessarily kept. Local newspapers might be a good source.

[Anonymous]

I agree that local newpapers will be your best source. Especially papers from where the RR had larger facilities since they would tend to give greater coverage since the RR was often a major employer in town and the victims would tend to live near them.

Even the best RR histories I've seen tend to quote newspaper articles about wrecks because of the often dramatic & descriptive language. Example: Harter's unfortunately-named history of the NYC Adirondack division, "The Fairy Tale Railroad."

Unfortunately, the workers constructing the railroads were often new immigrants & transients with no ties to the area, working for contractors or labor-subcontractors and fatalities, if reported at all, were often just the number killed.

Wayne