California artist William Howell Bull's cover for a 1911 Southern Pacific Railroad 96-page pro­motional booklet visually reinforces SP's mes­sage to prospective settlers: Take advantage of this window of opportunity! Come west on the train, and you will prosper amidst bountiful orchards and rich farmlands. Exceptional ex­amples of railroad promotional literature and a myriad of documentary sources for the study of railroad history are available at the Califor­nia State Railroad Museum Library, located in historic Old Sacramento.

The library is the re­search department of the California State Rail­road Museum and collects materials on the history of railroads and railroading in California and the adjacent states from the 1850s to the present. Both primary and secondary sources cover railroad topics throughout North America, including Canada, Mexico, and Central America, with an emphasis on sources relating to the eco­nomic, social, political, cultural, and techno­logical impact that the industry has had on the region. Over one million photographs, 200,000 engineering and architectural drawings and maps as well as company records, ephemera, timetables, and trade catalogues, document corporate and individual endeavors in railroad history.