Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company collection

The Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company collection consists of 1.25 linear feet of materials, dating from 1909–1958. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Lakeside and Marblehead and various affiliates, including the railroad trade groups Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line Railroad Association. Further, there is a small amount of communication from other railroad companies such as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and the New York Central Railroad. Additional correspondence features parent company Kelley Island Lime and Transport, as well as state and federal government agencies and departments. Of particular interest is the paperwork related to the World War II era War Manpower Commission, which includes light correspondence and work release applications.

A number of legal documents appear in the collection, the majority of which were generated by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The included dockets and orders cover a variety of issues related to the operation of rail systems within the United States in general. A number of the cases involve Lakeside and Marblehead directly, though all had an impact on the operations of the company. Additionally, there are a small amount of materials related to the financials of the railroad and the Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company, particularly those related to state and federal taxes.

Although the collection does not provide a great deal of information regarding specifics of the daily operations of the Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad, it does provide some information regarding the inner workings of the company and is also wonderful overview of the operations of regional rail systems throughout the United States. This collection is of great use to those researching 20th century railroad operations and legal matters.

Documentation regarding Lakeside and Marblehead membership in the American Short Line Railroad Association and the Association of American Railroads. Includes forms and correspondence.

Correspondence written by various officers of Lakeside and Marblehead to entities such as trade organizations, state and federal government offices, and other railroad companies; internal correspondence; and correspondence to or about Lakeside and Marblehead from various companies and governmental agencies. In many cases, the letters may not be written directly to the railroad, but refer to the company or its operations in some way. Finally, the series contains correspondence to and from various officers of Kelley Island Lime and Transport, primarily consisting of direct communication between the company and Lakeside and Marblehead.

Correspondence regarding and documentation of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Lakeside, Danbury, and Kelley’s Island, as it was related to Lakeside and Marblehead and Kelley Island Lime and Transport. Records indicating the loading and transfer of individual train cars. Registers of the times and dates worked by employees assigned to the Lakeside and Marblehead Roundhouse. Notices, memoranda, and forms related to or issued by offices of the United States federal government, including documents related to employee exemption during wartime. Also includes documentation of quarantines and restrictions on the import and export of goods and materials in the years immediately following World War II.

Various orders and memoranda handed down by the Interstate Commerce Commission, including cases involving such things as passengers, freight, and United States post, as well as various dockets related to cases presented to the commission, a number of which feature Lakeside and Marblehead as a direct participant. Also includes orders handed down and cases heard by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio that either involved or directly impacted the operations of the railroad.

Various paperwork, statements, ledgers, and forms related to financial matters of Lakeside and Marblehead, including several documents that help chart the changing costs of passenger travel and freight transport before, during, and after World War I. Also contains one folder of documentation related to the finances of Lakeside and Marblehead's parent company (Kelley Island Lime and Transport) including paperwork related to the payroll of Lakeside and Marblehead.