The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was founded in 1883 in Oneonta, N.Y. as a protective and insurance organization. By the time of its merger with three other railroad labor unions to form the United Transportation Union in 1969, it had the greatest membership of any of the operating railroad brotherhoods.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was established to represent members' interests in obtaining a satisfactory contract with management. The first Canadian lodge was established in Moncton, New Brunswick in 1885, and the first Ladies' Auxiliary was organized in Fort Gratiot, Mich. In 1889. These records reflect the union's political and fraternal activities as well as its actions in the areas of collective bargaining, grievances, and railroad and labor legislation. As the largest of the unions which merged to form the United Transportation Union in 1969, the bulk of its then current files formed the basis for the files now held in the merged union's headquarters.
The rail service members of the BRT included conductors and their assistants, dining car stewards, ticket collectors, train baggagemen, brakemen, and train flagmen. The yard service members of the BRT included yardmasters, yard conductors, switchtenders, foremen, flagmen, brakemen, switchmen, car tenders, operators, hump riders, and car operators. In 1933, the BRT organized interstate bus operators, and included them under BRT contracts held with U.S. bus companies.
BRT officers were elected at the Grand Lodge Convention of the Brotherhood, held every 4 years. The principal officers included a president, an assistant to the president, a general secretary-treasurer, Canadian and national legislative representatives, a senior vice-president, BRT representative, and National Railroad Board of Adjustment representative. The BRT had four governing boards: the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees and Insurance, Board of Appeals, and Executive Board.
Consists largely of internally circulated BRT publications and documents and those produced by other railroad labor organizations or by railroads.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Records #5149. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections:
6480 MB: Paul Berger Collection of Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Memorabilia
Includes Public Affairs Institute Report
Folder C is missing.
Wage Controversy- Non-Operating Groups 1943-44
State Legislative Board Info
Compilation
A series of files, unfoldered for now
Membership List for Ladies' Auxiliary of the BRT in Oneonta, NY
Recopied July 1967. Obsolete.
Recopied 1967. Obsolete.
Report and Letter to all NY Central RR staff concerning the merger of Penn RR and NY Central RR
Personal correspondence.
Contains booklets from the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Maine & Boston Railroad
Used in Initiation Ceremony.
1951 edition, black soft cover.
1935 edition. Green hard cover.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
Not part of the container series. Most likely forgotten when ICC FD's were moved to Boxes 7-14.
July 1965-December 1965
Senate Bills 178, 179, 180, 195, 196, 197. House Bills 884, 900, 1070, 1182, 1214, 1501.
Originals- to be introduced
House Bills 362, 363, 369, 372, 382, 405
House Bills 362, 363, 369, 372, 382, 405
House Bills 377, 382, 391, 435, 448
House Bills 634, 638, 639, 702, 730
HR 4742
Installation of telephones on passenger trains
Altcoin, Pa. (Closed)
Hilton, Pgh.
Sheraton, Phila.
Pittsburgh Auditorium, Pgh.
Sheraton, Phila.
Hilton, Pgh.
Hilton, Pgh.
Sheraton, Phila.
Philadelphia
Sanitation.
May 19, 1942
Contains a copy of ICC Finance Docket #21989 (the paper copy is in Folder 4)
Contains flyers, pamphlets, and documents pertaining to pros and cons of the Penn RR and NYC RR merger
Pamphlet-sized documents
Letter-sized reports
FD 22551 and 22552
FD 21936 A89818
A. 85815
Unfoldered; It is a bundle of three stapled papers.
Unfoldered, but is tied with a rubber band.
One of six. Label was ripped when retrieved.
No folder.
Unfoldered, held together by a rubber band
Blue booklet.
Unfoldered.
Unfoldered
Property abandoned.
Series of booklets, unfoldered.
A series of booklets and letters that are not foldered.
Unfoldered letter sized document
Series of unfoldered booklets and pamphlets
Unfoldered, letter sized document
Unfoldered letter-sized document
Unfoldered booklets and pamphlet documents
Probably misplaced from another box in the collection, but is here temporarily.
Unfoldered booklets and pamphlets
Unfoldered pink letter-sized document
Unfoldered letter-sized document
Unfoldered documents
Booklets and pamphlets, unfoldered
Unfoldered documents
Letter, unfoldered, addressed to President Charles Luna
Unfoldered and unnumbered
Bundle of 27 documents, unfoldered
Unfoldered and unnumbered document
Unfoldered documents
February 1964
October 20, 1945
June - December 1946
September 2-17, 1954
December 17, 1941
December 10, 1970
February 14, 1920
Buffalo Founders List w/ Photos
removed box 191/Mapcase 14 - and distributed cartoons to 3 boxes, 198, 199 and 200 by size
removed box 193/Mapcase 14 - and distributed cartoons to 3 boxes, 198, 199 and 200 by size
removed from mapcase 14/box 191 - part of contents are housed here, smaller items are in box 198, larger items are in box 200
removed from mapcase 14/Box 193 - smaller items housed in box 199, some larger items housed in box 200
was formerly box 16 (wrapped)
removed box 191/Mapcase 14 - and distributed cartoons to 3 boxes, 198, 199 and 200 by size
removed box 193/Mapcase 14 - and distributed cartoons to 3 boxes, 198, 199 and 200 by size