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Archaeologists and Historic Railroad Resources in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2022

Michael R. Polk Open the ORCID record for Michael R. Polk [Opens in a new window]
Michael R. Polk*
Affiliation:
Aspen Ridge Consultants LLC, San Rafael, CA, USA
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

Archaeological research of a railroad, although not dissimilar to researching the history of a place, has unique aspects that make it challenging for those not familiar with the subject. Four words are vital to understanding a railroad: economics, operations, infrastructure, and regulation. With exceptions, a railroad in the United States exists only with all four in place. An archaeologist should investigate each to complete a holistic picture, although each may not always be essential for complete understanding of a particular railroad project. The author briefly discusses these issues and then identifies types of relevant historical documents and select archaeological features important in understanding a railroad. A case study of Lampo, a Central Pacific Railroad section station operative from the 1880s to 1942, is included to highlight important links between document research, archaeology, and the key operative aspects of a railroad.

La investigación arqueológica de un ferrocarril, aunque no es diferente a la investigación de la historia de un lugar, tiene aspectos únicos que lo hacen desafiante para aquellos que no están familiarizados con el tema. Cuatro palabras son vitales para entender un ferrocarril: economía, operaciones, infraestructura y regulación. Con excepciones, un ferrocarril en los Estados Unidos existe solo con los cuatro en su lugar. Un arqueólogo debe investigar cada uno para completar una imagen holística, aunque cada uno puede no ser siempre esencial para la comprensión completa de un proyecto ferroviario en particular. El autor discute brevemente estos temas, y luego identifica tipos de documentos históricos relevantes y selecciona características arqueológicas importantes para comprender un ferrocarril. Se incluye un estudio de caso de Lampo, una estación de la sección del Ferrocarril del Pacífico Central operativa desde la década de 1880 hasta 1942, para resaltar los vínculos importantes entre la investigación de documentos, la arqueología y los aspectos operativos clave de un ferrocarril.

Keywords

railroadsdocumentary resourceshistorical archaeologycase studyferrocarrilesrecursos documentalesarqueología históricainvestigación documental
Type
How to Series
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , May 2022 , pp. 227 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology

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