Poor's ''Manual of the Railroads of the United States'', later shortened to Poor's ''Manual of Railroads'', was a reference book by

Henry Varnum Poor Henry Varnum Poor (December 8, 1812 – January 4, 1905) was an American financial analyst and founder of H.V. and H.W. Poor Co, which later evolved into the financial research and analysis bellwether, Standard & Poor's. Biography Born in East ...

intended for investors and published annually from 1868 to 1924.

History

Each volume detailed the history, ownership, equipment, and finances of

railroads in the United States Rail transportation in the United States consists primarily of freight shipments along a well integrated network of standard gauge private freight railroads that also extend into Canada and Mexico. The United States has the largest rail transp ...

, including maps of the largest railroad systems at that point in time. Later editions would limit the scope to steam-powered railroads while expanding the coverage to include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the principal railroads of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. In addition to the 57 annual volumes that were published, supplements were occasionally produced under the title ''Intermediate Manual of Railroads'', and a companion ''Directory of Railway Officials'' was also introduced. In 1922, a collaboration with

Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

resulted in a collection of the Manual with other financial documents under the title ''Moodys Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities''. Henry Varnum Poor initially published the books with his son,

Henry William Poor Henry William Poor (June 16, 1844 – April 13, 1915) was an American banker, stockbroker, and author. Biography Early life Henry William Poor was born in Bangor, Maine in 1844, the son of Henry Varnum Poor. The family moved to New York City when ...

, as a follow-up to his 1860 book ''History of Railroads and Canals in the United States''. The Manual's success led to annual updates funded by advertisements inside the book from manufacturers, banks, and insurance companies that did business in the railroad industry. After the author's death in 1905, the works would continue to be released by Poor's Publishing Company, a predecessor of

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...

References

Rail industry {{US-rail-transport-stub