Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (U.S.). District 262 (Missoula, Mont.) Records

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (U.S.). District 262 (Missoula, Mont.) Records, 1885-1894

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (U.S.). District 262 (Missoula, Mont.)
Title: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (U.S.). District 262 (Missoula, Mont.) Records
Dates: 1885-1894 (inclusive)
18851894
Quantity: 0.5 linear feet and 1 oversize folder
Collection Number: Mss 083
Summary: The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, District 262, represented employees of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Missoula, Montana. The collection contains correspondence and dues reports from the Missoula district and reports from the national organization, as well as materials from the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was founded as the Brotherhood of the Footboard in 1863 in Marshall, Michigan. A year later it changed its name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The BLE represents locomotive engineers, conductors, brakemen, firemen, switchmen, gostlers and other train service employees on numerous railroads in the United States. In Missoula, Montana, the union represented employees of the Northern Pacific Railroad. E.W. Walling was one of the officers.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains correspondence and dues receipts from the Missoula District, but mostly consists of materials collected from the national organization, including its constitution and by-laws and reports. The correspondence mostly concerns union members and their work conditions, complaints by and against them (which includes correspondence with and about their wives), and other union business. A dues receipt book from 1890-1892 shows members' names and dues paid. Accident reports from the Northern Pacific Railroad Company document an accident at Garrison, Montana, on August 14, 1892, from the perspective of the two engineers involved. Materials from the Northern Pacific Railroad include wage scale and employee rules and an accident report from Garrison, Montana.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (U.S.). District 262 (Missoula, Mont.) Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

This collection was originally held by Stanley Dahlstrom, Commander of V.F.W. Post 209. The Missoula Chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was previously housed in the same building. Dahlstrom donated the materials to the Historical Musuem at Fort Missoula on October 31, 1978. Fort Missoula then donated the collection to the Archives and Special Collections in 1979.

Acquisition Information

The bulk of this collection was donated to the Archives in 1979 by the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. In 2024, Fort Missoula donated envelopes, which had been separated from the correspondence originally donated in the 1970s.

Processing Note

The original processors organized the collection and prepared a brief finding aid. In 2004, that fiinding aid was augmented and encoded. In 2024, envelopes corresponding to existing letters and reports in the collection were processed.

Separated Materials

During original processing, a photograph of an engineer's funeral from about 1895 was separated to the Photograph Collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Correspondence	1890-1891
1/2	Correspondence	1892-1893
1/3	Dues receipts	1890-1892
1/4	Constitution and by-laws of the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers	1894
1/5	Board of Adjustments, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers	1890-1892
1/6	Northern Pacific Railroad Company, Conductor's Report of Accident	1892
1/7	Locomotive Engineer's Mutual Life Insurance Association, general reports	1890-1894
1/8	Official Report of Agreements Made Between the Officials of the Roads Represented and the Committees Representing the Engineers Employed Thereon	1894
1/9	Annual and committee reports, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers	1888-1894
1/10	Proceedings of the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers	1889-1894
1/11	Proceedings of the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers	1889-1892
Folder
OS 2	Northern Pacific Railroad, Wage scale and work rules	1885

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