The collection contains a wide range of company instruments issued by various railroads, interurban and trolley lines, as well as non-railroad source documents including newspaper articles, booklets, and maps. Most are from roads doing business in Michigan or other Midwestern states. There is some representation from two western lines; the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. The collection dates span 1837-1960. Railroad company documents include timetables, stock certificates, tickets, advertising, locomotive drawings and a few photographs.

Railroad lines represented which served Grand Rapids include the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroads. Interurban lines include the Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon Railway and the Michigan Railway. Also represented are the Division Street Railway Co. and the Grand Rapids Railway Co. trolley lines.

The Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad, a subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada, also served Grand Rapids. Their station on Bridge Street was by Daniel Burnham of Chicago. An original document critical of the foreign ownership of this railroad (1870) was added to this collection in December 2008, along with other historical references which help explain the history of this line.