General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

copper plate/ wood backing

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

11.1 cm

Width

5.0 cm

Height

2.3 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Railway Transportation

Category

Miscellaneous

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

North America

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

An item from the collection of Mr Andrew Merrilees acquired between the 1950’s and his death in 1979. Mr. Merrilees was a noted collector of early railway and transportation material and was particularly interested in pre-1920 photography. The majority of Mr.Merrilees’ collection was sent to the National Archives circa 1980, his printed material to the National Library and the Ontario Archives. The material in this donation was retained by Andrew Merrilees Ltd., currently owned by Dr. Robert Stewart (Acquisition proposal for AK0114 archival material by D.Monaghan, in Supp. Info.).

Function

Used in a printing press to transfer an image to paper using ink, in this case an image of what appears to be a railway station.

Technical

The New York and Lake Erie Railroad Company was incorporated in April of 1832. Initially, the project to construct a rail line from New York City to Dunkirk on Lake Erie progressed slowly. The line was finally opened in May of 1851. The line became the Erie Railway after reorganization in 1862. It followed the Susquehanna River through the northern part of Susquehanna County for approximately twenty-five miles, and had two stations, Susquehanna and Great Bend, within the county (Blackman 1873:106, Stocker 1887:54-56). The chief mechanical headquarters for the Erie Railway were at Susquehanna and at times employed as many as 3,000 people. The rail year was constructed in 1848 on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Among the first structures in the yard was a boarding house to accommodate the workmen. The original, small frame buildings erected in 1848 and used as shops in the building and repairing of rail cars were replaced in 1865 by a more extensive rail yard. The new complex covered more than eight acres, cost $1.7 million to build, and employed nine hundred men. The main building constructed of stone with a slate roof (which stood until 1981) was 750' long and 137' wide. This structure contained the erecting, machinery, tool, rod, turning, planning, wheel, tin and copper, and stock departments. Adjoining the main building to the north were six brick annexes housing the boiler shop, blacksmith shop, engine room, bathhouse, paint shop, pattern storeroom, and carpentry shop. Additional structures in the rail yard included the foundry (a portion of which still stands), hammer shop, a 33 stall round house, gas works, oil works, and an office building. The yard could accommodate approximately 200 locomotives at time (Ref. 1).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Lettering on sign? depicted on plate reads 'SUSQUEHANNA/ ERIE RAILWAY'

Missing

complete

Finish

copper coloured metal/ unfinished wood

Decoration

N/A