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called the PRRT&HS Discussion Web. The answers posted here, unless otherwise
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Technical and Historical Society. All visitors should note that the answers
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answers and PRR experiences
FORMER EMPLOYEE RECORDS
Revised December 3, 2007
The Urban
Archives of Temple University in Philadelphia has a large collection of
individual files from the PRR’s Voluntary Relief Department (VRD). VRD
files were given sequential numbers in the order in which they were
opened, rather like social security numbers. They are not arranged
alphabetically, and it may be very difficult to locate files by surname.
The institutions' rationale in saving the records was to have a
sociological sample of railroad employee work histories that could be
used for statistical purposes, not individual genealogies. Likewise, the
PRR arranged the files for the purpose of keeping tabs on sick and death
benefits, not genealogical research. Unless the PRR's own indexes were
preserved, it would be almost impossible to search the files for an
individual short of looking at every file. If you don't know where on
the PRR they worked or when, that makes it even more difficult. Temple
may has an Urban Archives page at:
http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/overview.jsp?bhcp=1
