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]

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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Railroadiana Online

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

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

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]



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1912 Rppc Post Mortem Sanderson Texas Southern Pacific Train Robbers Dead Photo1908 Rppc Railroad St Roscoe Pa Winners Store Boyle Grocery Taschmann's StoreParEaston Maryland Railroad Station Rppc P B & W 1912 Steam Engine PhotographRppc Postcard Geneva Road Nw Railroad West Chicago Illinois Il Cr Childs PhotoRppc Postcard State St. S From Nw Railroad Belvidere Illinois Il Cr Childs Rare Conard Rppc Exaggeration - Giant Sweet Potatoes On Railroad Card 1938Pa, Brynmawr Bryn Mawr Train Station Depot Real Photo Rppc Rp Postcard ParksideRoader Train Log Logging On Way Chemainus Vancouver Island Canada Rppc PostcardThorndike Me Dirt Street Store Fronts Railroad Rppc Real Photo PostcardRppc 1916 Ashland Or S.p. Depot Oregon W/1c Stamp Real Photo PostcardRare Antique/ Vintage Photo Postcard Cuyuna Minn. Railroad Rr End Of Line C1910!Scarce Early Disneyland Postcard - Frontierland Mine Train - C-18;nt0365;disney Real Photo Rppc Railroad Station Depot Helmetta New Jersey Postcard 1906Gobles Princeton Gtr Railway Station Crash ? - Vintage Rppc Ontario PostcardEarly 1900s Mowbray Railway Station Cape Colony Unused South Africa PostcardCambria Michigan Mi Train Wreck-railroad-r.r.-train-rppc-locomotive-earlyWood River Junction, Ri - Rppc - Railroad Station, Tracks On Both SidesItaly Sicily Castelvetrano Stazione Ferroviaria Train Station Postcard C 19002 Rppc 1907 Flood Maysville Kentucky L & N Railroad Steam Train Photo Postcard Wi-reeseville-train Wreck-rppc-mailed 1912-k948531909 Cumberland Valley Rr Station - Depot, Mechanicsburg, Pa - B&w PostcardRppc 1915 Rock Cut Fayette Iowa Postcard Train Real Photograph - Postcard - Miniature Railway Pleasure Park Rhyl - 1920'sRppc C.n. St Paul Railroad Cut Fayette Iowa Postcard Train Rppc 1913 Real Photo Postcard Railroad Easton Minn. Southern Minnesota RailwayScarce 1908 Callicoon Ny Railroad Rr Depot Mailed Cancel Briscoe Dpo Pc PostcardEarly Osaka Japan Japanese Postcard Tenma Bridge Streetcar Rr Railroad Xb6652Aurora - Illinois - Burlington Railroad Depot - 1907 Used Real Photo Postcard1933 Hong Kong Postcard +8c Stamp Germany !! Kowloon Ferry Boat Depot +auto !!1910 W M Railroad Depot Parsons W V W Va West Virginia Vintage Postcard1925 Rppc Depot Photo Postcard *hand Obstructs Car By Clay City In Train StationRppc--- Hartford Wi Train Station Depot 1909 Cancel Rppc 1900 B & O Railroad Cherry Tree Bottoms Richwood W Va Wv Vintage PostcardChina Old Postcard Manchuria Mudanjiang Railway StationRppc---seaside Oregon Train Station Depot Azo Stamp Box Rppc By Childs--delavan Il Train Station Depot I.c. & C& A R.r. DepotsRailroad Station Depot P.r.r. Metuchen New Jersey Postcard 1913Rppc Real Photo Postcard Hatfield Wisconsin Railroad Bridge And DamRailroad Station Depot Phila & Reading Hopewell New Jersey Postcard 1913Railroad Station Depot Lower Jamesburg New Jersey Postcard 1912Railroad Station Depot P.r.r. Atco New Jersey Postcard 1924Rppc Photo Wwi Military Doughboys & Women Waiting At Train Depot - Uncirculated Railroad Station Depot C.r.r Atlantic Highlands New Jersey Postcard 1908Tinted Photo Railroad Station Depot N.y.s.& R.r Hamburg New Jersey Postcard 1908Railroad, Wreck, Gregory, South Dakota, 1909, RppcRppc Sparta, Michigan Railroad Depot And Lumber Company 1914Lackawanna Railroad Station Tobyhanna Pa Train Rr Ca 1910 Postcard Gv Miller Vintage Rppc Postcard Alma Mi Mich Military Soldiers Marching Train StationOn Line C.m. & P.s. Railway,sluicing In The Bitter Root Mountains, Mt PostcardAntique Tinted Photo Christmas Child Postcard Girls Have Dolls Toy Horse Train1913 Virginian Railway Coal Piers Postcard - Sewell's Point Virginia Va26000 Italy Ormea Cuneo View Panoramic & Station Train Break PostcardSpringfield Missouri Frisco Passenger Station Train PostcardImperfect Tuck Old Holiday Christmas Postcard Santa Kids Toys Train Monkey TeddyNorthern Pacific R.r./train & Depot Spokane,wa.1917 Postcard 1886-1936 Vancouver Golden Jubilee Postcard TrainsSandusky Ohio Postcard Folder 1910s Cedar Point Columbus Ave Trolley Bus Rr BoatA La Gare De St Nicolas Am Bahnhof St Niklaus Postcard - Switzerland - RailwayWoodland, Colorado Midland Depot Exterior View Real Photo Vintage Post Card