A Guide to the John Kight Transportation Collection, 1878-1990

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Descriptive Summary

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Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Description of Series

VIA Records

Transportation

Special Formats

A Guide to the John Kight Transportation Collection, 1878-1990


Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Kight, John, d. 1989.
	Title:	John Kight Transportation Collection,
	Dates:	1878-1990
	Creator Abstract:	John Kight was a long time employee and historian of successive transportation companies in San Antonio. The records of VIA Metropolitan Transit, kept by Kight, include material from the beginning of mass transit in San Antonio in 1878 to 1990.
	Content Abstract:	The Kight Transportation Collection documents the history of mass transportation in San Antonio. The collection is divided into three series of records representing the different types of material and the origins of that material: VIA Records, Transportation, and Special Formats.
	Identification:	MS 26
	Extent:	62.5 linear feet (approximately 47,000 items)
	Language:	The materials are in English.
	Repository:	Archives and Special Collections Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio Library

Biographical Note

John Kight was the company historian and custodian of the records of VIA Metropolitan Transit (VIA). Beginning in 1926, he worked in the maintenance shop for the various successive transportation companies in San Antonio. He retired from the San Antonio Transit System in 1974 but maintained an active interest in San Antonio's transportation history until his death in June 1989. During his career and even after his retirement, Kight wrote extensively on transportation history in company publications. The records of VIA, kept by Kight, include material from predecessor transportation companies dating back to the late 19th century; however, most date from 1920-1977. Using his skill as a photographer, Kight also made a detailed visual record of San Antonio's public transportation system in the 20th century.

VIA began operating one hundred years after mass transportation in San Antonio began with cars being pulled along rails by mules in 1878. With a population of 12, 256, San Antonio was then the largest city in Texas. Five different companies began operating electric streetcar service in the 1890s. The lack of standardization and cooperation between the companies caused problems for people who needed to use more than one line. By 1900, the five companies had been consolidated into the San Antonio Traction Company, a single company responsible for all mass transportation in San Antonio. Between 1900 and when VIA began operating in March 1978, mass transportation in San Antonio was run by a succession of separate companies. A brief chronology of the different transit companies in San Antonio is listed after this note. Mass transportation in San Antonio became publicly owned in 1959.

VIA, the first regional transit authority in the nation, and its predecessor companies made many milestones in the history of mass transportation. As advances in technology made improvements possible, San Antonio would be among the first places where innovations were tried. For example, bus service started in 1917 when a converted truck was used to transport servicemen between Fort Sam Houston and downtown. Buses became more and more common in San Antonio throughout the 1920's. Touring buses for sightseers began in 1930. San Antonio was the largest city in the United States to completely convert from streetcars to buses in 1933. Fifty years later rubber tired reproductions of streetcars were put into service on downtown streets by VIA. San Antonio was also the first city in the world to offer air conditioned bus service in 1947. In addition, the maintenance department of the San Antonio Transit System redesigned the air conditioners of the Diesel powered "Dreamliner" buses that arrived in 1960. General Motors adopted the San Antonio design for all Dreamliners. San Antonio was also one of the first cities to use an automatic vehicle monitoring system to pinpoint the location of buses on routes.

Mr. Kight also kept the papers of F. Norman "Pinky" Hill. Mr. Hill was the General Manager of the San Antonio Transit System from 1959 to 1977 and an officer of the American Transit Association (ATA) serving as president in 1967-1968. Prior to his arrival in San Antonio, Mr. Hill held positions with the St. Joseph [Missouri] Railway, Light, Heat and Power Company (1942-1945), National City Lines in St. Louis (1945-1948) and the Baltimore Transit Company (1948-1951). He was also president of the Capitol Transit Company (1951-1955) and Red Arrow Freight Lines (1955-1959) both in Little Rock, Arkansas.

San Antonio Public Transportation Timeline


	1878	San Antonio Street Railway Company begins operating between downtown and San Pedro Springs. Cars were pulled along tracks by mules and horses
	1889	San Antonio Edison Company formed to create and power an electric railway system.
	Sept. 1890	First electric streetcar operated by San Antonio Edison Company (Hot Wells line).
	1890	San Antonio Street Railway Company replaces the mules with electric streetcars. Alamo Electric Railway Company formed. Rapid Transit Company formed. A 5th company ran a line to West End Lake.
	1898-1900	All five companies which run streetcars in San Antonio merge and form the San Antonio Traction Company.
	1917	San Antonio Traction Company merges with San Antonio Gas and Electric Company and becomes the Traction Department of the San Antonio Public Service Company.
	1931	Traction Department renamed Transportation Department.
	1941-1942	Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority tries to purchase San Antonio Public Service Company.
	Oct. 1942	San Antonio City Commissioners buy San Antonio Public Service Company and create City Public Service Board.
	Dec. 1942	Transportation Department of City Public Service Board sold to Smith, Young, Tower Corporation, which forms the San Antonio Transit Company.
	May 1959	City of San Antonio purchases San Antonio Transit Company. The San Antonio Transit System is formed.
	Mar. 1978	Following voter approval, the San Antonio Transit System is dissolved and the county wide VIA Metropolitan Transit begins operations

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Scope and Content Note

The Kight Transportation Collection consists of materials dating from 1878 to 1990, which document the history of mass transportation in San Antonio. The collection is divided into three series of records representing the different types of material and the origins of that material. The series are VIA Records, Transportation, and Special Formats.

The VIA Records series contains the Records of VIA Metropolitan Transit (VIA) and is composed of ten subseries. It documents local transportation issues in San Antonio and Bexar County. The documents reveal much of the history of transportation in San Antonio and how a large company and agency functioned in San Antonio in the 20th century.

The day to day operations and the flow of communication in the transportation companies are well documented in the correspondence, the Board of Trustees, and the office files subseries. These records show many of the issues with which the transportation companies had to be concerned and how those concerns changed over time.

The ties that the transportation companies had with the San Antonio community are recorded in the local associations subseries as well as the legal and contracts subseries. These documents help to illustrate how various groups in the area viewed mass transportation. The ties that the transportation companies in San Antonio had with transportation companies in other cities is well documented, as are the ties with the manufacturers of buses.

The transportation companies also worked hard to establish a positive image in San Antonio. The VIA publications subseries contains material designed to promote the companies, both to their employees and the San Antonio community. The public image of the transportation companies in San Antonio is also documented in clippings and awards.

The Transportation series focuses on transportation issues that concern more than San Antonio and Bexar County. A large number of national transportation periodicals and information about professional associations provide insight into national and international transportation issues. The papers of F. Norman Hill are also in this series.

F. Norman Hill's papers are useful to compare the operations of San Antonio Transportation System with the other companies with which Hill worked. His leadership role in the American Transit Association (ATA) makes his papers a valuable resource to study how the leaders of the transportation industry reacted to the challenges of the 1960s. A number of regional and national groups concern themselves with mass transportation. Some of these groups are documented in transportation associations. The American Transit Association, the largest professional association of the transit industry, is further documented in American Transit Association meetings and publications. VIA and its predecessors kept a large reference library of national transportation publications providing another avenue in which local authorities could consult national experience and expertise.

The Special Formats series contains non textual records and is divided into three subseries. This arrangement of photographs, negatives and other formats provide a detailed visual record of the history of mass transportation in San Antonio spanning over a century. The growth of the city and the bus system can be examined using this material. This series illustrates the information in the other series, but it is also a rich historical resource by itself.

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Arrangement
	The collection is arranged as follows:

		VIA Records
		Transportation
		Special Formats

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.

Usage Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Collection must be obtained from the Archives and Special Collections Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio.

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Index Terms

	Persons
		Kight, John, d. 1989.
		Hill, F. Norman.
	Organizations
		Alamo Area Council of Governments.
		American Electric Railway Association.
		American Street and Interurban Railway Association.
		American Transit Association.
		Baltimore Transit Company.
		Capital Transportation Company (Little Rock, Ark.)
		City Public Service (San Antonio, Tex.)
		Good Government League (San Antonio, Tex.)
		Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
		HemisFair '68 (1968: San Antonio, Tex.)
		National City Lines (St. Louis, Mo.)
		San Antonio Public Service Company.
		San Antonio Public Service Company. Traction Dept.
		San Antonio Public Service Company. Transportation Dept.
		San Antonio Traction Company.
		San Antonio Transit System.
		San Antonio Transportation System.
		Texas Transportation Museum (San Antonio, Tex.)
		VIA Metropolitan Transit.
	Topics:
		Buses--Texas--San Antonio--History.
		Electric railroads--Texas--San Antonio--Cars.
		Local transit--Texas--San Antonio--History.
		Transportation--Texas--San Antonio
		Transportation--Texas--San Antonio--History.
		Urban transportation--Texas--San Antonio--History.
	Locations
		San Antonio (Tex.)
	Genres/formats
		Clippings.
		Correspondence.
		Journals (periodicals).
		Legal documents.
		Long-playing records.
		Minutes.
		Negatives (photographic).
		Newsletters.
		Photographs.
		Postcards.
		Slides (photographs).
		Videotapes.

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VIA Records
			Correspondence
		Bound volumes of correspondence of the San Antonio Traction Company, The Traction and the Transportation Departments of the San Antonio Public Service Company, and the San Antonio Transportation Company. Most of the letters are written between company officials and concern the day to day operation of the company.
		Arranged chronologically.
Box	Folder
OM1				San Antonio Traction Company
	1				Oversize: 1910
	2				Oversize: 1912-1914
Box
OM8					Oversize: 1916-1922
Box	Folder
OM1				San Antonio Public Service Company
	3				Oversize: September 1919-May 1920
	4				Oversize: May 1920-November 1920
Box	Folder
OM2	1				Oversize: November 1920-June 1921
	2				Oversize: June 1921-June 1922
	3				Oversize: June 1922-March 1923
	4				Oversize: March 1923-August 1923
Box
83					August 1923-June 1924
Box
84					November 1924-February 1925
					June 1925-February 1926
Box
85					February 1926-November 1926
Box
86					November 1926-September 1927
Box
87					September 1927-July 1928
Box
88					August 1928-July 1929
Box
89					July 1929-July 1930
Box
90					July 1930-September 1931
Box
91					September 1931-October 1932
Box
92					October 1932-September 1933
Box
93					September 1933-August 1934
Box
94					August 1934-July 1935
Box
95					July 1935-July 1936
Box
96					June 1936-July 1937
Box
97					July 1937-September 1938
Box
98					September 1938-September 1939
Box
99					September 1939-September 1940
Box
100					September 1940-September 1941
Box
101					September 1941-August 1942
Box
102				San Antonio Transit Company
					December 1942-February 1944
Box
103					February 1944-January 1945
Box
104					January 1945-March 1946
Box
105					March 1946-May 1947
Box
106					May 1947- December 1948
Box
107					January 1949-June 1950
Box
108					July 1950-December 1951
Box
109					January 1952-December 1953
Box
110					January 1954-December 1955
Box
111					January 1956-December 1957
			Board of Trustees
		The minutes of meetings of the board that oversaw public transit in San Antonio. The minutes run uninterrupted between 1959-1977. The minutes often contain clippings, reports and appendices, which board members consulted during the meetings. There is also a small group of minutes from the VIA Board of Trustees in 1984.
		Arranged chronologically.
Box	Folder
1				Minutes
	1				May 1959-July 1960
	2				August 1960-July 1961
	3				August 1961-July 1962
	4				August 1962-July 1963
Box	Folder
2	1				August 1963-July 1964
	2				January 1965-July 1965
	3				August 1965-December 1965
	4				January 1966-March 1966
	5				April 1966-July 1966
	6				August 1966-December 1966
Box	Folder
3	1				January 1967-March 1967
	2				April 1967-July 1967
	3				August-December 1967
	4				January-March 1968
	5				April 1968-July 1968
	6				August 1968-December 1968
	7				January-March 1969
	8				April 1969-July 1969
Box	Folder
4	1				August 1969- December 1969
	2				January 1970-April 1970
	3				May 1970-July 1970
	4				August 1970-December 1970
	5				January 1971-March 1971
Box	Folder
5	1				April 1971- July 1971
	2				August 1971-January 1972
	3				February 1972-April 1972
	4				May 1972-July 1972
Box	Folder
6	1				August 1972- October 1972
	2				November 1972-January 1973
	3				February 1973-April 1973
	4				May 1973
Box	Folder
7	1				June 1973-July 1973
	2				August 1973-October 1973
	3				November 1973-January 1974
	4				February 1974-April 1974
Box	Folder
8	1				May 1974-July 1974
	2				August 1974-January 1975
	3				February-April 1975
	4				May-July 1975
Box	Folder
9	1				August 1975-September 1975
	2				October 1975-January 1976
	3				February 1976-July 1976
	4				August 1976-September 1976
Box	Folder
10	1				October 1976-January 1977
	2				February 1977-May 1977
	3				1983-1984
	4			City Clerk, 1959-1967
			Office Files
		Material such as correspondence, reports and other reference information concerning issues and concerns of the transportation companies. Most of the information was produced by the different departments and groups within the San Antonio Transit System (1959-1977). This material includes a great deal of the professional correspondence of F. Norman Hill while he was General Manager. Other materials relating to Mr. Hill are kept in the Hill series of the Transportation series (TS1).
		Arranged alphabetically and organized by topic.
Box	Folder
11				Administration Building
	1				1947
	2				1948-1968
	3				1951-1962
	4				1963-1969
Box	Folder
12	1			Alamo Guided Tours, 1965-1969
	2			Automobiles, 1959-1968
	3			Bids, 1964
	4			Consultants, 1962-1970
				Correspondence
	5				Commendations, 1971-1973
	6				Complaints, 1971-1973
					Inquiries
	7					1961-1964
	8					1965-1971
	9					1965-1970
Box	Folder
13	1					1972-1978
	2				Marketing, 1960-1965
	3			Equipment, 1960-1962
	4			Extensions, 1965
	5			Furniture, undated
				Gray Line
	6				Bylaws and Membership, 1959-1967
					Correspondence
	7					1961-1964
Box	Folder
14	1					1965-1972
				HemisFair
	2				1963-1964
	3				1965-1966
	4				1967-1968
				History
	5				General, 1904-1968 and undated
Box	Folder
15	1				Nostalgia, 1974-1982 and undated
				Inspection and Surveys
	2				1905-1907
	3				1909
	4				1909-1910
Box	Folder
16	1				1910
	2				1911
	3				1911
Box	Folder
17	1				1912-1938
				Inventory
	2				Fares, undated
	3				Price list, undated
	4				Routes, undated
	5				Routes, undated
	6				Schedules, undated
	7				Volume One, undated
Box	Folder
18	1				Volume Two, undated
	2			Kight, John, 1956-1981
				Maps
					City
	3					Undated
	4					1948-1976
	5				Geographic, 1949
	6				Romana Plaza, 1940-1968
					Transit
	7					Undated
	8					[1920]-1957
	9					1958-1986
Box	Folder
OM3					Oversize materials, undated
Box	Folder
19				Miscellaneous
	1				Undated
	2				1946-1971
				Personnel
	3				Benefits, 1965-1966
	4				Group Records, 1961
	5				Insurance, 1956-1961
	6				Miscellaneous, 1937-1983
Box	Folder
20	1				Retirees, 1950-1977
	2				Seniority List, 1966-1968
	3				Vacation, undated
	4				Retirement Plan, 1973
				Public Relations
	5				1970 and undated
	6				1982-1990
	7			Purchase of San Antonio Transportation Company, 1964
				Rates
	8				Fare Application, 1961
					Senior Citizens
						Chicago
	9						General, 1970
	10						Study, 1970
Box	Folder
21	1					Clippings, 1970-1974
	2					Correspondence, 1969-1974
	3					Dallas, 1971-1972
	4					Miscellaneous, 1968-1970 and undated
						Plan for Implementation
	5						1972
	6						1972-1975
						Senior Citizen Study
	7						1969-1970
Box	Folder
22	1						1969-1970
	2						1969-1970
	3					Various Cities, 1970 and undated
	4					Students 1960-1974
Box	Folder
23					Reports
	1					Annual, 1948-1971
	2					Budget, 1966
	3					Carpenter Body Works, 1983
	4					Bus Service in the Greater Northwest, 1985
	5					Mass Transit, 1966
	6					NIACD Report, 1965
						Passenger loads
	7						1929-1936
Box	Folder
24	1						1936-1938
	2					Request for Transit Communications System, 1983
	3					Route Analysis Procedures, 1986
	4					San Antonio Urban Design Mechanism Study, 1972
	5					Service Station, 1946
	6					Summary of Operating Results, 1960-1982
	7					System Cost Analysis Evaluation Form, undated
	8					Skillcraft Industries Incorporated, 1983
	9					Tri Party Downtown Transportation Initiative, 1984
Box	Folder
25					Urban Transportation Study
	1					1964-1969
	2					1970
				Schedules
					Pocket
	3					1946-1965
	4					1968-1969
	5					1970-1974
	6					1975-1977
Box	Folder
26	1					1978
	2					1979-1980
	3					1981
	4					1982
	5					1983-1984
	6					1985-1986
Box	Folder
27	1					1987
	2					1988-1989
	3					1990
Box	Folder
OM3	2				Oversize materials, 1979-1981
Box	Folder
27	4			Texas Transportation Museum, 1964-1974
				Traffic
	5				Bus lane, 1959-1964
	6				Bus Stops, 1962-1968
Box	Folder
28	1				Capacity of Urban Transit Models, 1962
	2				Expressway, 1963-1971
	3				Mall Studies, 1965-1970
	4				Parking, 1959
	5				Pedestrian, 1964-1966
	6			Validation Plan, 1962-1963
			Clippings
		News Clippings and editorials from the San Antonio Express News and the San Antonio Light about transportation in San Antonio.
Box	Folder
28				Editorials
	7				1964-1967
	8				1968-1972
	9			General, 1952-1972
Box	Folder
29	1			Good Government League, 1960-1972
			Legal and Contracts
		This subseries contains documents and legal concerns such as local, state and federal regulation of public transportation. Information about labor contracts is also in this subseries. There are also contracts between the San Antonio public transportation companies and other entities. Contracts concerned matters such as providing supplies to the bus system and providing bus service to schools and military bases.
		Arranged by type of document and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
29				Contracts
	2				Advertising
	3				Alamo Heights, 1949-1959
	4				Armored Motor Service, 1942-1950
	4				City Armored Service, 1960-1969
	5				City Public Service Board, 1942-1951
	6				Comptroller of Public Accounts, 1950-1958
					Fort Sam Houston
	7					School Bus Service, 1964-1967
	8					Transportation License
	9						1944-1958
	10						1959-1962
	11				Fuels and Lubricants, 1956-1959
Box	Folder
30	1				Goodrich Tire, 1944-1958
	2				Granada Hotel, 1954-1961
	3				Gulf Oil, 1946-1969
	4				Industrial Cleaning, 1947-1956
	5				Kelly Air Force Base, 1947-1968
	6				Lackland Air Force Base, 1944-1958
	7				Lawn Maintenance, 1948-1958
	8				Miscellaneous, 1942-1969
	9				Mobile Oil, 1964-1967
	10				San Antonio Independent School District, 1940-1955
	11				Southwestern Bell, 1958
	12				Texaco, 1960-1967
	13				Texas Company, 1944-1959
	14				Transit Tower, 1943-1958
	15				Tulahoma Gas Company, 1954-1961
Box	Folder
31	1				United States Post Office, 1942-1958
	2				Vending Machine, 1946-1963
				Federal
	3				Fair Labor Standards Act, 1964-1966
	4				Miscellaneous, 1961-1966
	5				Urban Mass Transit Act, 1964
				Ordinances
	6				1921-1941
	7				1947-1970
				State
					Buses
	8					School Bus Regulation, 1962-1965
	9					Size of Buses, 1959
	10				Legislature, 1969
Box	Folder
32	1				Miscellaneous, 1963-1969
	2				National Legislative Conference, 1967
	3				Roster, 1956-1970
					Taxes
	4					Miscellaneous, 1949-1962
	5					Motor Fuel, 1949-1965
	6					Private versus Municipal, 1960-1970
	7				Trial de Nova, 1962
				Labor
	8				Agreements, 1916-1950
Box	Folder
33					Compulsory Arbitration
	1					1957-1961
	2					1961-1967
					Pay board
	3					1971-1972
	4					1971-1972
	5				Reports, 1971
Box	Folder
34	1				United States Department of Labor, 1958-1964
					Wages
	2					Data, 1958-1970
	3					Discussion, 1969
	4					General, 1969-1970
	5					Survey, 1969-1970
			Local Associations
		Contains information about the contact between groups in south Texas like the Alamo Area Council of Governments and the San Antonio River Authority and the transportation companies. These contacts mostly concerned the role of public transportation in San Antonio.
		Arranged by association name and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
34				Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG)
					Executive Committee
	6					1969
	7					1970
Box	Folder
35	1					1971
	2					1972-1973
	3				General, 1970-1972
	4			Archdiocese of San Antonio, 1965-1966
	5			City Public Service
	6			Downtown Association
				Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
	7				Armed Forces Committee, 1965-1971
Box	Folder
36	1				General, 1968-1971
					Highway and Public Works
	2					1966-1967
	3					1968-1971
	4				Urban Improvement, 1961-1966
	5			Miscellaneous, 1956-1970
	6			Municipal Advisory Council, 1960-1967
	7			Oozlfinch Fort Sam Houston, 1961-1962
Box	Folder
37	1			Research and Planning Council, 1962-1963
	2			San Antonio Athletic Club, 1967-1970
				San Antonio City Government
					General
	3					1959-1966
	4					1970-1973
	5				Model Cities Program, 1968
	6				Regional Planning, 1966
	7				Traffic Coordinating Committee, 1968
				San Antonio River Authority
					General
	8					1970
Box	Folder
38	1					1971-1973
	2				River Corridor Study, 1973
	3			Southwest Foundations, 1967-1968
	4			Southwest Research Institute, 1965-1968
			Buses
		This subseries includes registrations and insurance information as well other material from the companies' maintenance departments in which John Kight worked for over forty years. Some information about the routes traveled by the buses is in this subseries including a sample of bus transfers. This subseries also provides a detailed look at some of the equipment used by the transportation companies in San Antonio.
		Arranged by topic and organized alphabetically.
Box	Folder
38	5			Air Conditioning, 1960-1961
	6			Automatic Vehicle Monitoring, 1981-1983
	7			Bids, 1964
				Certificates
	8				1960-1966
Box	Folder
39	1				1967-1985
				Communications,
	2				1982
	3				1983
	4				1983
				Correspondence
	5				1930-1948
	6				1957-1960
	7				1960-1967
	8			Disposal of Buses, 1961-1969
	9			Dreamliner, 1960
Box	Folder
40	1			Exhaust Pipes, 1969
				Fuel
	2				1961-1963
	3				1964-1966
				GMC
					Advertisements
	4					1963-1968 and undated
	5					1968-1970 and undated
	6				Correspondence, 1961-1962
				Insurance
					General
	7					Undated
	8					1966-1972
	9				Safety Survey, 1970
	10			List of Buses, 1959-1967
	11			Mack Bus, 1961
	12			Maintenance, 1972-1973
Box	Folder
41	1			Mileage, 1932
	2			Miscellaneous, undated
	3			Owner's Manual, 1948-1971 and undated
	4			Propane, 1956-1970
	5			Radio, 1979
	6			Replacement Program, 1961-1965
				Reports
	7				Blue Bird Body Company, 1983
	8				Carpenter, 1970 and undated
Box	Folder
42	1				Neoplan Bus, 1983
	2				Ontario Bus, 1983
					Specifications
	3					1964
	4					1965-1967
	5					1969-1971
	6			Seats, 1967
	7			Signs, 1961-1964
	8			Streetcars, 1932-1982
Box	Folder
43	1			Tires, 1961-1963
				Transfers and Passes
					Passes
	2					1939-1944
	3					1945-1948
	4					1978
					Transfers
	5					Books, 1926-1987
	6					Correspondence, 1945
	7					Route changes, undated
	8					General, undated
Box	Folder
44	1			Upholstery, 1961-1968
				United States Department of Transportation
	2				1962-1977
	3				1979
	4				1981-1982
			Awards
		This material concerns the Fleet Magazine Maintenance efficiency award, which was won by the transportation system in San Antonio for 45 consecutive years. This subseries includes reports submitted to Fleet. These reports summarized the year's maintenance activities so that San Antonio could be considered for the award. There is also information on awards won by SATS and VIA.
		Arranged by award name and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
44				Charles A. Coffin Medal
	5				1927
	6				1927-1928
	7				1927-1929
				Maintenance Efficiency
	8				1936-1937
Box	Folder
45	1				1937-1938
	2				1938-1939
	3				1939-1940
	4				1940-1941
	5				1941-1942
Box	Folder
46	1				1942-1943
	2				1943-1944
	3				1944-1945
	4				1945-1946
	5				1946-1947
	6				1947-1948
	7				1948-1949
	8				1949-1950
	9				1950-1951
	10				1951-1952
Box	Folder
47	1				1952-1953
	2				1953-1954
	3				1954-1955
	4				1955-1956
	5				1956-1957
	6				1957-1958
	7				1958-1959
Box	Folder
48	1				1959-1960
	2				1960-1961
	3				1961-1962
	4				1962-1963
	5				1963-1964
	6				1964-1965
	7				1966
	8				1967-1973
Box	Folder
OM3	3				Oversize materials, 1949-1951
Box	Folder
48	9			Commendations, 1964-1970
			VIA Publications
		This subseries contains journals and newsletters published by the bus company. Some of these publications were for employees and others were for customers. Several articles by John Kight are within these publications.
		Arranged by publisher and title and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
48	10			San Antonio Traction Company, 1903-1910
				San Antonio Public Service Company
	11				The Broadcaster, 1927-1932
Box	Folder
49					General
	1					1923-1938
	2					1938-1946
	3				Manuals, 1923-1929
	4				Records of Constructing and Changing of Routes, undated
	5			City Public Service, The Broadcaster, 1968-1982
Shelf
1				San Antonio Transit Company
					The Accelerator
						Volume 1, 1943-1944
						Volume 3, 1946
						Volume 4, 1947
						Volume 5, 1948
						Volume 6, 1949
						Volume 7, 1950
						Volume 8, 1951
						Volume 9, 1952
						Volume 10, 1953
						Volume 11, 1954
						Volume 12, 1955
						Volume 13, 1956
						Volume 14, 1957
						Volume 15, 1958
Box	Folder
50	1					1959-1960
	2				Manuals, 1944-1954
				San Antonio Transit System
	3				Manuals, 1962-1974
					Roadrunner
	4					1961-1964
	5					1970-1976
Box	Folder
OM4	1				Oversize: Accelerator and Roadrunner, 1956-1969
Box	Folder
50				VIA Metropolitan Transit
	6				Buster the Bus Book, undated
	7				Rider Reader, 1981-1988
					VIA Roadrunner
	8					1981-1984
	9					1985-1988
	10					1988-1990
	11			Voz del Barrio, 1968
			Other Cities
		This subseries contains some correspondence with officials in other bus systems and reference information. A large number of labor contracts can be found here.
		Arranged by city and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
51	1			Cincinnati, 1964-1972
				Dallas
					Clippings
	2					1955-1972
	3					1973-1974
					General
	4					1946-1964
	5					1969-1972
	6					1973-1974
	7			Fort Worth, 1950-1969
	8			Houston, 1940-1985
	9			Laredo, 1969-1976
	10			Louisville, 1954-1964
Box	Folder
52	1			Memphis, 1963-1964
	2			Miscellaneous, 1941-1972
	3			San Francisco, 1966
	4			St. Louis, 1948-1964
	5			Twin Cities, 1956-1964
	6			Washington D.C., 1961-1963
				Labor Contracts
	7				Undated
	8				1953-1960
	9				1964-1973
	10				1974-1975

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Transportation
			Hill, F. Norman
		The personal papers of F. Norman "Pinky" Hill, longtime General Manager of the San Antonio Transportation System and President of the American Transit Association. Material in this subseries contains information about his jobs prior to arriving in San Antonio and some personal correspondence. His activities with the San Antonio Transportation system are documented in Office files (VS3) and other subseries in the VIA series. Records of Mr. Hill's activities with the American Transit Associations and other professional organizations are kept in the Transport Associations subseries (TS3).
		Arranged by topic and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
53				Correspondence
	1				1945
	2				1946
	3				1947
	4				1948-1949
	5				1950
	6				January-August 1962
	7				September-December 1962
	8				1963
Box	Folder
54	1				1971
	2				1972
	3				1973
				Baltimore Transit Company
					Arbitration
	4					1945
	5					1945
Box	Folder
55	1				Baltimore Engineer, 1950
					Bulletins
	2					1950
	3					1950
	4				Contract, 1950
	5				Fares, 1950
					General
	6					1949
	7					1949-1950
Box	Folder
56	1					1950
					Manuals
	2					Coach Operation, undated
	3					Fire, 1952
	4					Parking, 1949
						Preventive Maintenance
	5						1949
	6						1950
	7				Operating Department, 1948
	8				Parts Inventory, 1950
Box	Folder
57	1				Personnel, 1949-1950
	2				Real Estate, undated
	3				Statistics, 1948-1950
	4				Supervisory, undated
	5				Tire Contract, 1949-1950
	6			Capitol Transportation Company, 1950 and undated
				National City Lines
	7				Beaumont City Lines, 1944-1946
	8				Contract Data, 1947 and undated
	9				East St. Louis, 1952
Box	Folder
58	1				Financial, 1945-1947
	2				Forms, undated
					General
	3					1945-1946
	4					1947-1948
	5					1949-1951
					Manuals
	6					1500 Mile Inspection, 1947
	7					3000 Mile Inspection, undated
	8					15000 Mile Inspection, undated
Box	Folder
59	1					Management, 1947
	2				Montgomery, 1946-1948
	3				St. Louis, 1950
	4				St. Louis Public Service Company, 1949
	5				Statistics, 1946
	6				Tulsa, 1948
	7			Scouting, 1954-1955
				University of Colorado
					Development
	8					1965-1966
Box	Folder
60	1					1967
	2				General, 1961-1970
			American Transit Association Publications
		The records of the annual meetings of the ATA, its predecessors, and various sub associations. A small selection of books published by the ATA is included.
		Arranged by association name and publisher and organized chronologically.
Shelf
1				Meeting Proceedings
					General
						1905-1906
						1911
						1912
						1925
						1929
						1930
						1931
						1933
						1934
						1935
						1936
						1937
						1938
						1939
						1940
						1941
						1942
						1943-1945
						1947
					Accountants' Association
						1906
Shelf
2						1907
						1908
						1909
						1910
						1911
						1912
						1913
						1914
						1915
						1916
						1917-1919
						1920
						1921
						1922
						1923
						1924
						1925
						1926
						1928
						1929
						1930
						1931
						1932
						1934
					Claim Agents' Association
						1910
						1911
						1912
						1913
						1914
						1915
						1916
						1925
						1926
						1929
						1930
						1931
						1932
						1934
					Engineering Association
						1908
						1909
						1910
						1911
						1912
						1913
						1914
						1915
Shelf
3						1916
						9 1917-191
						1920
						1921
						1922
						1923
						1924
						1925
						1926
						1928
						1929
						1930
						1931
						1932-1933
						1934
					Operating Association, 1934
Box	Folder
60				Bulletin
	3				1970-1971
	4				1972-1973
	5			Classification of Accounts, 1916-1925
Shelf
3				Cost of Urban Transportation Service, 1916
Box	Folder
60	6			Courtesy, 1938 and undated
Shelf
3				Handbook of Modern Electric Railway Methods and Practices, 1925
Box	Folder
60	7			Newsletter, 1965-1970
Shelf
3				Selling Transportation, 1928-1929
			Transportation Associations
		Correspondence and other communication with regional, national and international transportation groups. This includes material from F. Norman Hill when he was an officer of the ATA. Communications with groups and associations in the San Antonio area, most of which concern bus service in the city, are documented in the Local Associations subseries (VS6).
		Arranged by association name and publisher and organized chronologically.
Box	Box
61				American Transit Association
	1				Awards, 1965-1969
	2				Annual Reports, 1959-1967
					Board of Directors
	3					Correspondence, 1961-1967
	4					Minutes, 1962-1967
						Meetings
	5						Las Vegas, 1967
	6						Washington D.C.
	7					Membership, 1960-1967
					Committees
	8					Administrative, 1967
Box	Folder
62	1					Advertising Revenue, 1961-1964
	2					Bus Design, 1952-1958
	3					Clean Air, 1961-1966
	4					Clerical, 1960-1967
						Executive
	5						1960-1967
Box	Folder
63	1						1968
	2						1968
	3						1969
	4					Executive and Finance, 1969
	5					Finance and Special Dues, 1969-1970
	6					Highway Capacity, 1960-1962
	7					Labor Relations, 1962-1968
	8					Law, 1959-1960
Box	Folder
64	1					Nominations, 1959-1969
	2					Program, 1960-1968
	3					Purchase and Stores, 1958-1969
	4					Tax Advisory, 1953-1962
	5					Urban Transit Radio, 1953-1968
					Conventions
	6					1967
						1968
	7						General
Box	Folder
65	1						General
	2						Program
	3					1969-1970
	4					1970
	5					Midyear, 1968-1969
Box	Folder
66	1					Western Regional, 1967-1969
					Correspondence
	2					Director
	3					General, 1968-1969
	4				Directories, 1936-1970
	5				Fares, 1961-1969
					Manuals
	6					The Case Interview Plan, 1949
Box	Folder
67	1					Transit Fact Book, 1944-1960
					Labor Relations
	2					Case Interview System, 1953
	3					Consumer Price Index, 1958-1964
	4					Labor Practices Report, 1956-1969
	5					Wages, 1965-1972
					Legislation
	6					Transit Housing Act, 1962-1964
	7					Urban Transportation Act, 1964-1969
Box	Folder
68	1				Municipal Ownership, 1958-1963
	2				Papers Presented, 1955-1959
	3				Philadelphia Transit Authority, 1959-1969
	4				Press Releases, 1959-1969
					Special Inquiry Services
	5					Correspondence, 1970-1972
						Questionnaires
	6						1955-1963
Box	Folder
69	1						1964-1967
	2						1968-1969
					Statistics
	3					General, 1964-1965
	4					Operating Ratio, 1959-1960
	5					Tires, 1960-1967
Box	Folder
70	1					Transit Traffic, 1970-1972
	2			Air Pollution Conference, 1966
	3			Automotive Safety Foundation, 1967
	4			Canadian Transit Association, 1968
	5			Electric Railroad Association, 1969-1971
				International Conference
	6				1967-1968
	7				1968-1969
Box	Folder
71	1			Miscellaneous, 1961-1967
				Midwest Transit Association
	2				1951-1952
	3				1953
	4				1954
	5				1954
Box	Folder
72	1			National Research Council,
	2			NDTA, 1968
	3			Regional Transit Association, 1975
	4			Texas Transit Association, 1961-1968
				Texas Transportation Institute
	5				1961-1965
	6				1966-1968
	7			Texas Manufacturing Association, 1963-1970
Box	Folder
73	1			Transit Data Summaries, 1970-1972
			Transportation Publications
		National Transportation journals kept as reference material by VIA.
		Arranged by publication name and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
73	2			Bus Ride, 1968
Shelf
				Bus Transportation
Shelf
3					Volume 22, 1943
					Volume 23, 1944
					Volume 24, 1945
					Volume 25, 1946
Shelf
4					Volume 26, 1947
					Volume 27, 1948
					Volume 28, 1949
					Volume 29, 1950
					Volume 30, 1951
					Volume 31, 1952
					Volume 34, 1955
					Volume 35, 1956
Box	Folder
73	3			Collector's Item, 1981-1982
	4			Electric Railway Journal, 1929
				Fleet Owner
	5				1960
	6				1964
	7				1965, 1988
	8			Labor Track Work, 1930
Shelf
4				Lubrication
					Volume 43, 1957
					Volume 44, 1958
					Volume 45, 1959
					Volume 46, 1960
					Volume 47, 1961
					Volume 48, 1962
					Volume 49, 1963
					Volume 50, 1964
					Volume 51, 1965
					Volume 52, 1966
					Volume 53, 1967
					Volume 54, 1968
					Volume 55, 1969
					Volume 56, 1970
					Volume 57, 1971
					Volume 58/59, 1972-1973
				Mass Transportation
					Volume 39, 1943
					Volume 40, 1944
					Volume 41, 1945
					Volume 42, 1946
					Volume 43, 1947
					Volume 44, 1948
					Volume 45, 1949
					Volume 46, 1950
					Volume 47, 1951
					Volume 48, 1952
					Volume 51, 1955
Shelf
5					Volume 52, 1956
					Volume 53, 1957
					Volume 54, 1958
Box	Folder
73	9			Metro Magazine, 1990
Box	Folder
74	1			Miscellaneous, 1925-1969
Box	Folder
OM4				Passenger Transport
	1				Oversize: 1943
	2				Oversize: 1944
	3				Oversize: 1945
Box	Folder
OM5	1				Oversize: 1946
	2				Oversize: 1947
	3				Oversize: 1948
Box	Folder
OM6	41				Oversize: 1949
	42				Oversize: 1950
	43				Oversize: 1951
Box	Folder
OM7	44				Oversize: 1952
	45				Oversize: 1953
	46				Oversize: 1955
Box	Folder
OM8	47				Oversize: 1956
Box	Folder
74	2				1970
Shelf
5				Railway Track and Track Work, 1908
Box	Folder
74	3			San Antonio Tourism Publications, 1965-1972
	4			The Texas ERA, 1962
	5			Traffic Engineering, 1962
	6			Traffic Quarterly, 1958-1968
				United States Department of Transportation
	7				Department of Transportation News, 1972
	8				Innovation in Public Transportation, 1981

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Special Formats
			Photographs
		Over 3000 prints, most taken by John Kight, Many of the photographs were taken to provide publicity shots and visual records for the company. Others were taken for personal reasons. The maintenance department in which Kight worked is especially well documented. Many of the prints have negatives in the negatives subseries (SFS2).
		Arranged by subject in photograph and organized chronologically.
Box	Folder
74				VIA
					Buses
	9					Gray line, 1935-1970 and undated
	10					Interior
						Routes
							Bus 600
	11							Undated
Box	Folder
75	1							Undated
	2						General, 1971-1979 and undated
	3					Traffic Guide, undated
						General
	4						Undated
	5						1925-1975
					Garage
						Buses
	6						Undated
	7						1936-1975
	8					Cars, 1927-1980 and undated
						Construction Equipment
	9						Undated
	10						1941-1963
	11						1964-1978
	12					Emergency Vehicles, 1962-1975
Box	Folder
76						Equipment
	1						Undated
	2						1927-1957
	3						1958-1962
	4						1963-1975
						Trucks
	5						Undated
	6						1955-1957
	7						1958
	8						1959-1962
	9						1962-1975
					Individuals
	10					Construction, 1957-1964 and undated
	11					Drivers, 1953-1967 and undated
						Mechanics
							Inside Garage
	12							Undated
	13							1936-1957
	14							1958-1960
Box	Folder
77	1							1961-1965
	2							1966-1973
	3						Outside Garage, 1929-1975 and undated
	4					Office Workers, 1911-1970 and undated
Box
OM9						Oversize: Personnel Photographs , undated
					Photographs are arranged alphabetically by name
Box	Folder
77						Portraits
	5						A-K, 1901-1969 and undated
	6						L-Z, 1928-1967 and undated
							Unidentified
	7							Undated
	8							1930-1990
					Groups
	9					Boarding Buses, 1957-1967 and undated
	10					General, 1943-1970 and undated
	11					Mechanics, 1902-1977 and undated
	12					Officials, 1903-1971 and undated
						Unidentified
	13						Undated
	14						1927-1972
Box	Folder
78					Properties
	1					Construction, 1927-1973 and undated
	2					Garage, 1933-1975 and undated
	3					General, 1957-1979 and undated
	4					Interior, 1956-1970 and undated
	5					Stops, 1971-1980 and undated
	6					Transportation Building, 1956-1969 and undated
	7					Yard, 1927-1955
					Presentations and Awards
	8					Awards, 1944-1974 and undated
	9					Presentations, 1958-1981 and undated
	10					Parties and Receptions, 1967-1974
Box	Folder
79					Publicity
						General
	1						Undated
	2						1943-1983
Box	Folder
OM11							Oversize: Displays
	1							Display 1-25
	2							Unlabeled
Box	Folder
79					Tracks
	3					Undated
	4					1900-1970
					Trolleys
	5					Undated
	6					1878-1965
	7			Celebrities, 1932-1968
	8			HemisFair, 1967-1968
	9			Military, 1941-1969 and undated
				San Antonio
	10				Undated
	11				1904-1964
	12				1965-1978
	13			Trains, 1926-1969
Box	Folder
80	1			Miscellaneous, 1956-1981 and undated
	2			National City Lines, undated
	3			Other Cities, 1960-1961 and undated
			Negatives
		Some negatives have prints in the photographs subseries (SFS1) but the similarity among several prints made it difficult to assign each negative with a print. There are also some negatives that have no matching print.
		Arranged by subject in negative and organized chronologically.
	4			Awards, 1958-1970
	5			Buildings, 1959-1962 and undated
	6			Buses, 1963-1970 and undated
	7			Cars and Trucks, 1964-1973 and undated
				Maintenance Shop
	8				Undated
	9				1960-1978
Box	Folder
81	1			Miscellaneous, 1962 and undated
				People
	2				Undated
	3				Undated
	4				1963-1971
	5			San Antonio, 1973 and undated
	6			Streetcars, 1930-1968 and undated
			Other Formats
		Contains a selection of slides, postcards, videotapes and LPs used by VIA. A small number of artifacts, dating from the streetcar era, are included.
		Arranged by format and organized chronologically.
Box
Slide Cabinet				Slides, (Slides are kept in cabinet; Inventory Available) 1972
					Buses
					People
					Trolleys
					People
					Presentations
					VIA
Box	Folder
81				Post Cards
	7				VIA, 1961
Box	Folder
82	1				Trolley Museums, undated
	2				Promotional, undated
				Video Tapes
	3				Undated
	4				Undated
	5				1978
Box	Folder
OM3				Oversize: LPs
	4				The Modern Streetcar, undated
	5				Oversize materials, undated
Box
OM10				Artifacts, undated
					Oversize: Safety can
Box
112					Rail Extent (4 pieces)
					Measurement devices

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Guide to the John Kight Transportation Collection, 1878-1990

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Usage Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Acquisition Information

Processing Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

VIA Records

Transportation

Special Formats