Our records are limited to individuals who worked in the rail industry after 1936.  Please do not contact us with requests for records before that date. We don't have that information.
 

Genealogical Information After 1936	Federal Government Sources
Railroad Record Depositories	Additional Sources

Genealogical Information After 1936

• Fee
  The fee for searching our records is currently $27 for each employee on whom records are requested.  The fee is payable before any search is attempted. It is not refundable, even if we are unable to locate the information requested or if the file has been destroyed.  Your check or money order should be made payable to the Railroad Retirement Board, and sent to the Congressional Inquiry Section, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

• Limitations
  The Railroad Retirement Board, like the Social Security Administration, was not established until the mid-1930's, and it began maintaining its own records of all covered rail service in 1937. Therefore, the Board's service records are limited to individuals who worked in the rail industry after 1936. If a person was not actually working for a railroad after 1936, he or she would not be listed in these records.   Nor would the Board generally have any pertinent records of persons whose rail service was performed on a casual basis and/or was of short duration. Also, the Board's records are only on persons whose employers were covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. Employers such as street, interurban, or suburban electric railways are not covered under this Act.
   
• What We Need
  The Board's records are kept by the railroad employee's social security number (SSN) and a person's SSN often appears on his or her death certificate. In some cases, if that number is not available, having the employee's full name, including middle name or initial, and complete dates of birth and death may be of some help in determining whether we have any records of that person. However, in dealing with relatively common surnames, it is usually not possible to make a positive identification without the employee's SSN. If you do not know the deceased's SSN, the Social Security Death Index is a good non-federal source for locating Social Security Numbers.  Please be aware this index is not complete, especially in cases where the person died over forty years ago.  We will attempt to locate the number for you, but it helps if you can supply that information.
   
• Where to Send Requests
  Requests for genealogical information should be sent directly to:

  U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
  Congressional Inquiry Section
  844 North Rush Street
  Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.

  Generally, the Board requires at least 30-60 days to reply to genealogical inquiries.

• National Archives and Records Administration has records on railroad accidents.

Railroad Record Depositories

Although we do not have information for records for 1936 or earlier, we do know where some of the records are.  In response to your inquiries, the following are the depositories that we are aware of with railroad records.  (Send additions or corrections to webmaster@rrb.gov).

These records are for historians and may not have information of interest to those doing family research.  In addition, the records may not be indexed or available to genealogists.  However, some collections include payroll records.  Any information on the usefulness of these collections to genealogists would be appreciated.

All links below go to web sites outside of rrb.gov and other federal government sites. 

• Boston and Maine Railroad 
  Although the primary focus of the collection is documentary material pertaining to the B&M RR and its corporate predecessors, the collection includes materials pertaining to the history of other New England railroads and electric railroads (trolley lines).
• Burlington Archives
• Northern Pacific Railway
• University Libraries at Virginia Tech holdings includes records of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway systems.  These are pre-1930 archival records of the Norfolk and Western Railway, along with the of its predecessors and early subsidiaries, and the Southern Railway (which had merged with Norfolk and Western) along with the records of its predecessors and early subsidiaries.  Together, the two collections include archival records for nearly three hundred railroads and related compaines in the South and Midwest.  These records comprise approximately 450 cubic feet of manuscript material spanning a century from the 1830s to the 1930s, with the greatest concentration of records in the late nineteenth century.
• Railroad History Archive
• Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library

Additional Sources

All links below go to web sites outside of rrb.gov and other federal government sites.

• The Social Security Death Index.  Please be aware this index is not complete, especially in cases where the person died over forty years ago.  We will attempt to locate the number for you, but it helps if you can supply that information.

• Local Historical Societies are a good source for railroad information.

• Cyndi's List has a page of railroad resources for genealogists.

• Virginia Historical Society Online Catalog--numerous manuscripts items relating to the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac railroad.