Get railroaded for free

Genealogy conferences and travel can run into real money. If you're on a tight budget and anywhere near the public-transit-commuting fringes of the Chicago area (Kenosha, Woodstock, Elgin, Aurora, Joliet, South Bend), consider the Newberry Library's free two-day spring workshop May 30-31, "Railroad Ancestors." (Advance registration is required.)

So many genealogy programs are beginner stuff; this looks to be a step up, provided of course it would help if you have relevant research targets! Friday speakers are Martin Tuohy on government records for railroad workers, Jim Metlicka on Railroad Retirement Board records, and Craig Pfannkuche on Chicago and Northwestern Railroad archives. Saturday it's all Paula Stuart-Warren all the time, on railroad history, indexes and finding aids, and "Midwestern River People." Her blog is here.

The Newberry is home to the massive Pullman Company archives, blogged earlier.