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The J. Ross Clark, San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad series (1902-1921) contain the office files of J. Ross Clark, second Vice President of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake (SPLA&SL) Railroad, and younger brother of Montana Senator William Clark, who owned the railroad until he sold it to E.H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad. J. Ross Clark’s Empire Construction company was responsible for the construction of the SPLA&SL Railroad. These files contain correspondence concerning Helen Stewart’s Las Vegas Ranch, which the railroad purchased, the management of the ranch after the Railroad took possession, the laying out of the Las Vegas townsite, the subsequent auction of the town lots, and the construction of the early railroad buildings in Las Vegas and California.
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The Las Vegas Land & Water Company series (1905-1976). This series contains files kept by Walter Bracken, the resident Las Vegas agent of the Las Vegas Land & Water Company. Materials include leases of the railroad’s Las Vegas properties, as well as the construction, maintenance and management of the city’s water facilities. This series also includes Bracken's files of Las Vegas railroad operations. Bracken’s Las Vegas files were later transferred and incorporated into files kept in Los Angeles by the railroad’s General Manger, Manager of Properties, and Manager of Industrial Development, for railroad property and right-of-way in Nevada outside Las Vegas and in California. The series also contains the LVL&W corporate records, including Board of Directors meetings, correspondence, financial accounts, etc., which had always been kept in Los Angeles, as well as the later correspondence of the Las Vegas agents.
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The Union Pacific Railroad Company series (1899-1974) contains photographs, maps, plans, drawings, and instruction books pertaining to the operation of the Union Pacific railroad.
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The United States Harbor Reports series (1914-1940) contains blueprints, photographs, and maps of freight terminals related to transportation in and around various United States seaports, including Boston, Massachusetts; Norfolk, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; New York City, New York; New Orleans, Louisiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California.
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The Law Department series (1865-1983) contains the files kept by the legal department in Los Angeles, California, which made all final decisions regarding legal matters for the Union Pacific and the Las Vegas Land & Water Company. The legal department reviewed all matters which had legal implications for the railroad at local, state, and federal level, and drafted and reviewed all legal documents and transactions, including contracts, claims, employee relations, rates, court cases and judgements, land acquisitions and sale, abstracts of title, station closings, state and federal legislation, filings and proof of construction, passes, patents, payroll, permits, bond issues, taxes, and uncollected accounts. They also reviewed anything affecting the railroad company’s water rights and water supply, as well as all matters that appeared before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
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The Chief Engineer and Engineering Files series (1903-1972) contains materials relating to the Chief Engineers office in Los Angeles, California. The chief engineers office was responsible for all railroad construction, including track, sidings, stations, depots, and all railroad and railroad-owned buildings. The chief engineer laid out the company townsites in Las Vegas, Nevada and designed the depots. The Engineering Department was also responsible for the construction of all water facilities and pipelines in Las Vegas, as well as any other towns in which the railroad owned the water supply. The local engineer in Las Vegas reported to the Chief Engineer in Los Angeles. During World War II, the engineers office was responsible for protecting critical railroad installations for which there is a series of files titled “War Conditions."
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The Industrial Development series (1914-1967) contains files for the development of industrial properties on railroad-owned land in Nevada towns outside Las Vegas, including Boulder City, Henderson, Logandale, Pioche, Panaca, and Overton. Industrial development files for Las Vegas are included in the Las Vegas Land & Water Company series.
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