About the Archives

The SRHA has long collected and preserved materials related to the Southern Railway. These are now housed in our archives.

Mission

In pursuit of SRHA's mission, we have acquired a significant body of original material that will benefit historians, modelers, academics and other researchers in the years to come. This material includes the Southern Railway Presidents' Files, original and microfilm copies of equipment and structure drawings, photographs, and other documents chronicling the nearly-100 years of Southern Railway's existence.

The SRHA archive has already benefited Southern Railway historians through articles in TIES magazine, and through reference books published by SRHA and others.

Additional articles and books are presently in preparation. We look forward to the day when the archive material is available more widely.

Collections Information

To view more information about the SRHA Archival Collections, see here.

For Those Interested in Donating Materials to the SRHA Archive

Please drop our Archives Director, George Eichelberger an e-mail and discuss your options with him at archives@srha.net. Please note that SRHA cannot assess the value of any donated materials. This is a rule set by the IRS. The donor will have to conduct an assessment if interested in applying for a tax deduction.

For more information on donating or to make a monetary donation today, visit our Donations page.

A Note to persons searching for Employee Records

SRHA does not have any Southern Railway employee records in our archives. It is recommended that you contact the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, which you can contact at 844 North Rush, Chicago, IL, 60611, (312) 751-4500, or on the web at The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board.

Archives Facilities

In 2018, the Southern Railway Historical Association moved its archives from Kennesaw, GA, to Chattanooga, TN, in a building adjacent to and owned by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with 6000 sq. ft. dedicated for use by the SRHA, and in 2019, was dedicated as The Center for Southeastern Railroad Research, which aims to provide a single facility for the research of Southeastern railroads. This effort involves collaborating with the Louisville and Nashville Historical Society, who moved their archives to Chattanooga in late-2021 and share part of the facility space. The move allows the SRHA to have better access to its archival materials. Visitation by the general membership and other visitors is currently only available by appointment only or during monthly archives work sessions.

Archives Work Sessions

The SRHA holds monthly archives work sessions on the third Friday and Saturday of each month (November and December are combined to a different date). These sessions are open to all current SRHA members to perform work and research. For more information and to notify of your attendance, please contact George Eichelberger, SRHA Archives Director, at archives@srha.net. See the full schedule on our membership website, Join It.