Amassed through a life of collecting, the Edwin Shearin Railroad Memorabilia Collection covers 50 years of railroading in America. With the help of friends and family, Edwin Shearin compilied the various pieces of railroad memorabilia held within this collection.

The latter half of the twentieth century was a turbulent time for much of the United States railroads. With an increase in automobile and airplane traffic, America's railroad industry saw a marked decrease in rail traffic. Icons of the era like the California Zephyr and Twentieth Century Limited would complete their final runs. This era of railroading was captured in the song "City of New Orleans," penned by Steve Goodman and made famous by folk singer Arlo Guthrie in 1972. Rail traffic, which was at its height during the Second World War, declined sharply over the next 40 years. In 1959, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved the merger of Virginian Railway and Norfolk & Western. This merger ushered in the modern railroad mergers and consolidations. In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with New York Central to create Penn Central, which would declare for Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years later on June 21, 1970. This era was punctuated in 1971, when President Richard Nixon along with Congress created Amtrak, via the Rail Passenger Service Act.