The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Preliminary Inventory to the Arthur W. Marshall Madeira-Mamoré Railroad Records 1909-1968
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Title: | Marshall, Arthur W., Madeira-Mamoré Railroad. Records |
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Dates: | 1909-1968 |
Accession Number: | 2024-021 |
Size: | 2.75 linear feet (2 boxes) |
Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
Abstract: | The collection consists of material related to Arthur William Marshall’s engineer career and employment with the Madeira-Mamoré railway. |
This collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Marshall, Arthur W., Madeira-Mamoré Railroad. Records, Acc 2024-021, Box #, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Arthur William Marshall was an engineer, born in Terre Haute, Indiana. Marshall worked as a clerk and an engineer for railroads in the Midwest in the early twentieth century. In 1909, he notably served as an engineer for the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway in Brazil. American entrepreneur Percival Farquhar spearheaded the construction of the railway to connect Porto Velho on the Maidera River to Guarajará-Mirim on the Bolivian border. The railway would facilitate the transportation from rubber from central South America to global markets by connecting the navigable rivers and ports in the region. Built between 1907-1912, the project became known as the Devil’s Railway after approximately 6,000 people died during its construction from disease and dangerous conditions. The railway never proved successful as Malaysian rubber quickly eclipsed Amazonian rubber.
The collection consists of material related to Marshall’s engineer career and employment with the Madeira-Mamoré railway. It includes employee newsletters from the time of construction, photographs of construction, maps, and news clippings from the mid-twentieth century. The collection also contains papers from the Madeira-Mamoré Association for “survivors” of the construction, including the association’s reunion events in the mid-twentieth century. Finally, the collection includes Marshall’s recollections of his life and experience working on the railway.
Box 1 | A.W. Marshall Resume of Experience, circa 1931 |
Box 1 | Madeira-Mamoré Railway employee newsletters, 1909-1911 |
Box 1 | Madeira-Mamoré Association, 1949-1962 |
Box 1 | Newspaper clippings, 1962 |
Box 1 | Arthur William Marshall “memoirs” of railway building, n.d. |
Box 1 | Translation of article in Brazilian newspaper, May 21, 1956 |
Box 1 | Photographs of building the Madiera-Mamoré railway, n.d. |
Box 2 | Map of Madeira-Mamoré railway, with accompanying letter from Marshall, 1954 |
Box 2 | Bacardi ad featuring “mining engineer,” n.d. |
Box 2 | Newspaper clippings, 1965-1968 |
Box 2 | Map of South America, n.d. |
Box 2 | Photograph from Madeira-Mamoré reunion, 1950 |