About the Collection
Chartered in 1850, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a major contributor to the development of the southeastern United States. The growth of the steel industry and the development of the eastern Kentucky coal fields were in fact dependent upon the services and financial support of the railroads, including the L&N. The history of rail transportation in the United States is a story of merger and consolidation. While the L&N absorbed other lines in its time, it was ultimately consolidated into what is now known as CSX.
The University of Louisville holds the records of the L&N, along with subsidiaries such as the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis (NC&St.L) and Monon railroads, and has begun making them available online. This work is being done in stages, beginning with the L&N Employes’ Magazine.
About the L&N Employes’ Magazine
The Employes’ Magazine, also known simply as the L&N Magazine, was published from March 1925 until June 1974. From 1925 through 1971, it was published monthly; in 1972 through 1974, it was published bi-monthly, with a few exceptions when it was published monthly.
The L&N Magazine carried a variety of news about the company, including stories on specialized cars developed for different industries; profiles of cities and towns served by the railroad; human interest stories on employees; humor; and sections aimed at children and “the feminine interest.” Coverage of employees was extensive: news about retirements, weddings, births, deaths, and other life events affecting the staff at all levels were shared.
The use of the spelling “employes” rather than “employees” is not a typographical error, but was a common 20th century spelling.
The L&N Magazine was digitized in 2014 with support from the CSX Corporation.
Conditions of Use
The University of Louisville welcomes fair use of this website and its contents. If you wish to publish, broadcast, or publicly display these materials, please notify Archives and Special Collections. In addition, it is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions, which may include paying fees for commercial use. For further information about permissions, use, and ordering reproductions, see Order Reproductions or contact Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville.
To cite an image from this collection, please use the following format:
[Image Name or Article Title], Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company Records, University Archives and Records Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
To cite the digital version, add its Reference URL (found by following the link in the header above the digital file).
Acknowledgments
Heather Fox and Carrie Daniels produced PDFs from 400 ppi, 8-bit RGB color TIFF files and created metadata in accordance with the University of Louisville Digital Initiatives Data Dictionary (PDF). Terri Holtze designed the HTML pages.
The digitization of the L&N Employes’ Magazine was outsourced, with the generous financial support of the CSX Corporation.
