The New York Central Railroad first stationed business representatives in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853, but it was not until 1870 that the railroad established a significant presence in the local railroad economy. During the 1880s-1890s, the New York Central purchased controlling interests in various railroads to secure routes into Cleveland. In the early twentieth century it built and bought lines through and around Cleveland. Yards that were key to New York Central's repair, maintenance, and storage operations in the Cleveland area included Collinwood, Linndale, and Union Depot. In 1921, the New York Central participated in financing of Cleveland Union Terminal on Public Square and eventually established a yard on that site. By 1929, the railroad had 9,963 employees in the Cleveland area, and had established one of two national offices in Cleveland. During the Depression, many yardworkers were laid off, and labor organizations had units within the yards. Many employees served in World War II, a time of unprecedented passenger and freight activity. In the 1950s-1960s, passenger traffic and freight activity declined. In 1975, the remnants of the New York Central and other railroads were consolidated under the name Conrail. The collection consists of index cards containing the work history, education level, address, birth date, and occasionally, race of the yard workers employed by the New York Central Railroad and its predecessors in northeast Ohio from approximately 1880-1957.
