Documents
Generally consists of written or printed items. Can be personal or corporate in nature. Examples: personnel records, equipment rosters, memos, correspondence, company reports, budgets, AFE’s (Authorization for Expenditure), Annual Reports, waybills, train registers, dispatcher’s sheets, financial records, diaries, track bulletins, train orders, and so forth.
Drawings
A unique hand-created graphic illustration (mostly 2-D, but could be 3-D) that describes and defines an object. It is possible that drawings could be modified, re-issued, or copied over the lifespan of the object depicted. Objects covered include: railroad equipment and their associated parts, structures, bridges, and most any other physical plant object. Drawings may also contain graphs, charts, or other statistical information.
Ephemera
Generally memorabilia (written or printed, but also includes some 3-D items) created with expectation of short-term usefulness or popularity. Examples: travel brochures, envelopes, stationery, forms, passes, tickets, calendars, promotional pencils, playing cards, posters, and so forth.
Maps Or Diagrams
Generally pertains to physical plant such as track location and geometry, property boundaries, structure locations, and so forth. Examples: Track maps and diagrams, Right-of-Way maps, Station maps, Surveys, Track Charts, Track Profiles, Condensed Profiles, Plat Maps, Yard Plans.
Publications
A mass printed item produced by a railroad company, vendor, manufacturer, or other related entity. Examples: Newspaper Clippings, magazine articles, Locomotive Operators Manuals, Maintenance Manuals, corporate manuals, trade association minutes and procedures. This category does NOT include railfan or historical periodicals or books (they are catalogued under a separate insular database).
Timetables
A mass printed item produced by a railroad company that pertains to train schedules or operations. There are two major subcategories: Public Timetables (PTT) and Employee Timetables (ETT). Public Timetables contain primarily passenger train schedules for the use of the traveling public and employees. Employee timetables are for the use of employees only and are an official governing instrument for specific physical sections of a railroad. Other examples that fall under this category are freight schedules and condensed commuter schedules.