A great way to share travel adventures with friends and family back home, railroad postcards were a popular item in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Common subjects included new railroad bridges and stations (depots), route scenery, luxurious railcar interiors, and even collapses, crashes, and trains getting stuck in various predicaments. Collectors look for strange locations, specific railroads ('roads') and routes, rarity, condition and visual appeal. Railroad postcards are relatively plentiful (since people used to keep them as souvenirs) and can therefore be affordable.
Interviews & Articles
Walker Evans, Preeminent Photographer and Passionate Postcard Collector

In 1994, I had the great pleasure of acquiring the complete archive of Walker Evans for the Metropolitan Museum. The archive is qu… [more]
An Overview of Railroadiana Collecting

Many people are fascinated by railroads. At one time, railroads were connected to most aspects of community and economic life, and… [more]
Railroadiana Collectors Preserve the Days of Train Travel

My husband Bill always loved trains and my grandfather had been an executive with the Denver and Rio Grande here. We opened up a l… [more]
When Postcards Were the Social Network

I worked for 35 years as a reference librarian with the Madison Public Library and I just got interested in Madison’s history thro… [more]
Attending the Theatre, Via Postcards

Andreas Praefcke (Ravensburg, Germany) collects postcards of old and new theatre buildings worldwide. His complete collection can … [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Railroadiana Online

If you've ever wondered how to tell real from fake railroad china, or how brass baggage tags originated, this extre… [read review or visit site]
Carthalia

Andreas Praefcke's postcard collection of theatres and concert halls worldwide. Showcases 3700 images of over 1810 … [read review or visit site]
Tall Tale Postcards

Don't let this one get away from you. This 'unbelievable' collection, from the Wisconsin Historical Society, featur… [read review or visit site]
Clubs & Associations
- Key, Lock and Lantern, Inc.
- Railroadiana Collectors Association, Inc.
- National Association of Timetable Collectors
- San Francisco Bay Area Postcard Club
- National Railway Historical Society
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The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid

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