Montana Historical Society
Archives
RS 298_RS 501
Montana. Board of Railroad
Commissioners
Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners records
1907-1971
5 linear ft
This collection is a subgroup
(Predecessor Agency) of the Montana Public Service Commission records, RS 501. The Board of
Railroad Commissioners served ex-officio as the Public Service Commission until it was
abolished in 1971, and its duties transferred to the PSC. Please see the primary finding aid
for more Montana
Public Service Commission records. These records consist of annual reports of the
Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners from 1907-1971.
33:2-7
English
The Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners was established by the Montana legislature in
1907. The board, consisting of three members elected statewide, was given the authority to
set rates and establish regulations governing freight and passenger transportation within
the state.
In 1913, the Board of Railroad Commissioners was made ex officio the newly created Montana
Public Service Commission. In 1919 the Board also was made ex officio the Montana Trade
Commission and the Montana Irrigation Commission. The Montana Board of Railroad
Commissioners continued to function into the 1970s, when it became the Transportation
Division of the Public Service Commission.
These records consist of annual reports of the Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners from
1907-1971. The title of the report varied over the years. It was "Annual Report of the Board
of Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana" from 1907/1908-1918/1919; it was "Report
of Cases and Proceedings before the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana"
from 1920-1968. The title returned to "Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners"
from 1970-1971.
From volume 1-17 the reports were in published hard-bound format; thereafter they were
mimeographed typescripts in binders. Beginning in 1913 the Board was ex officio the Public
Service Commission; from 1919 to 1928 the Board was also ex officio the Montana Trade
Commission and the Montana Irrigation Commission. The reports reflect these various roles
and summarize cases heard before the Commissioners.
The collection is arranged chronologically in one series.
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Library & Archives and
makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission
must be obtained from the Library & Archives before any reproduction use. The Society does not
necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases,
permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright
owners.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Public Service Commission were integrated
under one collection identifier, RS 501, in order to help facilitate access, reduce
redundancy in the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives catalog, and to follow
best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Public Service Commission's various Divisions and Predecessor
Agencies that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 501. Rather than reprocessing over 80 linear
feet of PSC materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those
collections/finding aids and provide access to them via links in the primary finding aid.
This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over
the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency
finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to
determine if this subgroup pertains to your research needs.
Item description and date. Name of Collection. Collection Number. Box and folder number.
Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should
search under these terms.
Montana. Board of Railroad
Commissioners
Montana. Public Service Commission
Irrigation --Montana.
Railroads--Montana.
Public utilities--Montana.
Montana
Public
Utilities
Railroads
Detailed Description of the Collection
Annual Reports
1 / 1-3
"Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners
of the State of Montana," 1st-5th
1907/1908-1911/1912
1 / 4-7
"Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners
and ex officio Public Service Commission of the State of Montana," 6th-11th
1912/1913-1917/1918
1 / 8
"Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners
and ex officio Public Service Commission, Trade Commission-Mill Control, Irrigation
Commission, Trade Commission of the State of Montana," 12th
1912/1913-1917/1918
1 / 9-11
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,
Irrigation Commission, Trade Commission." 13th-17th
1918/1919-1924
2 / 1-4
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,
Irrigation Commission, Trade Commission." 18th-21st
1925-1928
2 / 5
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,
Trade Commission," 22nd
1929
2 / 6-12
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,"
23rd-29th
1930-1936
3 / 1-13
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,"
30th-42nd
1937-1949
4 / 1-9
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,"
43rd-51st
1950-1958
5 / 1-10
"Reports of cases and proceedings before the Board of
Railroad Commissioners of the State of Montana, ex officio Public Service Commission,"
52nd-61st
1959-1968
5 / 11
"Annual report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners
ex officio Public Service Commission"
1970-1971