Al Grudzinski collection
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises printed materials issued to Grudzinski by the Long Island Rail Road and Pennsylvania Railroad, in fulfillment of his professional duties as conductor and freight brakeman, including employee identification cards, certificates, manuals and rule books, instruction and exam materials, key rings, and route maps. Materials pertaining to Grudzinski’s participation in the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen include that organization’s by-laws, membership records, and mediation agreements made with the Rail Road Company. In addition to printed matter issued directly by the formal railroad entities, Grudzinski collected ephemeral objects and memorabilia pertaining to rail travel, with a particular interest in the travails of the suburban commuter in the mid-century years, and the LIRR’s function during the 1964-1965 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens. Objects and ephemera include humor and nonfiction publications; stickers and patches; caps and badges; buttons, pendants, pins, pin fasteners, and tie clips; flashlights; glassware; matchbooks; Christmas ornaments; and original railroad-inspired artworks made for Grudzinski by his daughter Eleanor.
Dates
- 1905 - 1972
- Majority of material found within 1943 - 1960
Creator
- Grudzinski, Al, 1917-2006 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Some printed material is protected by copyright.
Biographical / Historical
Alexander A. Grudzinski (1917-2006) was a conductor and freight brakeman for the Long Island Rail Road from 1940-1971. During his tenure, he served as representative of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT), a precursor to the United Transportation Union, and as local representative of same to the Trainmen News. He ran for the position of Vice President of the BRT in the 1950s. Following his December 1971 retirement, he moved with his wife to Englewood, Florida, where both were cared for by their daughter Eleanor K. Grudzinski of Dade City from 1995 until their deaths in the 2000s.
Extent
7.33 Linear Feet (3 boxes (1.25 linear feet); objects and ephemera in flat files (6.08 linear feet))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Printed materials, ephemera, and objects collected by former Long Island Rail Road conductor Alexander A. Grudzinski, including employee manuals and instructions, publications, newsletters, identification cards, and memorabilia produced by the Long Island Rail Road, Pennsylvania Railroad, and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
System of Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into 3 series, in function of format. Paper documents and photographs are housed in manuscript boxes in the Archives and Reading Room and are arranged by issuing body, and thereafter chronologically. Objects in the memorabilia series have been separated from paper-based materials and are stored at the Gabrielle Shubert Research Center in function of object type, with materials of the same genre deriving from other collections. Maps are stored in flat files in the Archives and Reading Room with other maps depicting the relevant dates or geographical regions.
Other Finding Aids
PDF URL
Provenance
Donated by Eleanor K. Grudzinski, June 15th, 2007.
- Title
- Finding aid for the Al Grudzinski collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Rebecca Haggerty and Emily Toder
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- 2022: Edited and reformatted by Elise Winks
- 2023: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Joanna Satalof
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository