Call Number:

25

Repository:

Germantown Historical Society

Extent:

80.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1831-1981 (inclusive)

Creator:

Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail Road Company.

Abstract:

The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Rail Road Company, one of the first railroads in the Philadelphia area, was incorporated in 1831 and liquidated in the late 1970s. The PG&N became part of the Reading Railroad system under lease in 1869 and became the Reading's primary entrance for passenger trains into Philadelphia. The Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail Road Company records, 1831-1981, include executive business records, financial records, and stock records. There are also materials relating to property and depots owned by PG&N, and records from subsidiary and other rail companies.

"The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania on February 17, 1831. It was one of the first railroads in the Philadelphia area. It completed a line from 9th and Green Streets in Philadelphia to Germantown in 1832 and a branch from 16th Street Jct. to Norristown in August 1835. The PG&N became part of the Reading Railroad system under lease in 1869 and became the Reading's primary entrance for passenger trains into Philadelphia. The PG&N remained an independent company and was liquidated in the late 1970s. Most of its former property is operated as the Norristown and Chestnut Hill West lines of SEPTA, the Philadelphia area transit authority."

Bibliography:

Quoted material from: Catalog record for "Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail Road Company records, 1831-1847," Hagley Museum and Library, ID 08073192. Accessed February 29, 2012. http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/opac/resolve.link?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft.title=Records%2C+1831-1847.

The Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown Rail Road Company records include executive business records, financial records, and stock records. There are also materials relating to property and depots owned by PG&N, and records from subsidiary and other rail companies.

The executive business records in this collection consist of Board of Managers' minutes, 1833-1962; officers' correspondence and letter books, 1831-1942; and legal documents and contracts.

Financial records include: daybooks, 1836-1869; master ledgers, 1831-1883; accounts, 1919-1943; loans, 1833-1861; and tax returns. There is also a large quantity of cancelled checks and check stubs.

The stock records include stock ledgers, certificates, dividends, transfers, and stockholders' minute-book.

Materials relating to property and depots owned by PG&N include contracts, agreements, permits, about two-dozen blueprints, 9 maps, and several photographs and prints.

This collection also includes records from four subsidiary and other rail companies. From the Chester Valley Railroad, there is a letter book and agreements, 1852-1854. From Chestnut Hill Railroad, annual reports, 1926-1939. There are also some loose papers, 1831-1840, from Norristown and Valley Railroad. The largest body of material in this series comes from Plymouth Railroad Company: executive records including minute books (1836-1949), financial records (1836-1971), and miscellaneous loose documents.