Collection consists of letters and correspondence between Earl R. Abbett and former railroad employees, 1940-1953, regarding railroad activities in the first half of the 20th century. Abbett was a dentist and employee of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.

The collection consists primarily of letters written by Henry Larcom Abbot (1831-1927) to his parents in 1855, journals he kept during his work on the Pacific Railroad Survey in California and Oregon in 1855-1856, and various field notes and celestial observations he took for the survey.

Four black and white panoramic photographs: two taken at conventions of the Veterans' Association of the Northern Pacific Railway; one portrait of a gathering of heads of the traffic, mechanical, and operations departments of the Northern Pacific Railway; and one group portrait identified on the print as the Nassak Club.

Register of trains passing through Bowers Junction, Oregon, in 1955 and 1956, and through Vernonia, Oregon, in 1956 and 1969, with information including dates and times of arrival and departure, train and engine numbers, cargo tonnage, and the names of engineers and conductors. Bowers Junction and Vernonia are in Washington County, Oregon. A portion of the railroad routes in the area later became the Banks-Vernonia Trail.

Small collection of black and white photographs relating to the Brady family. The images include railroad scenes; a house at 2210 NE Thompson St. in Portland, Oregon; James Brady and the Brady family on a trip to California; and a group of B. P. O. E. members in a car decorated for Elks Day at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon.

One album containing 48 black and white photographs that depict the construction of the Cascade Tunnel for the Great Northern Railway. Scenes include workers, worker camps, equipment, and landscapes.

Collection consists of cyanotypes and black and white photographs depicting the construction of the Celilo Railroad Bridge in Wasco County, Oregon, for the Oregon Trunk Railway.

Collection consists of two black and white panoramic photographs: one by Frank Woodfield that depicts damaged buildings and blocks of rubble in Astoria, Oregon, after the fire of 1922; and one group portrait of employees of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway, taken in 1928.

Printed program for a tour by train of historic sites along the Columbia River via the Great Northern Railway, July 15-27, 1926, with maps.

Martin Van Buren Donley was superintendent of the bridge and building department, Oregon Railway and Navigation company. Collection includes bills; accident records; bridge and building profiles of miscellaneous railway stations; and 1 plan for the Union Hotel & Depot in Huntington.