Hi all,
I am in the planning stages of a 19x24’ railroad. I am interested primarily in UP and WP. I am struggling to find system maps of how the different railroads interrelate and interconnect. I have two eras of interest : 1952 and 1995.
I have system maps of UP but that isn’t enough for my needs.
Can anybody help?
Railroad Atlases have been reprinted from different years. I am not sure what’s currently in production, but I suggest a Google search on Railroad Atlas. These don’t show details for yards, interchange, etc., just the lines. Historical topographical maps are available as are Sanborn fire maps these show more detail - Sanborn shows quite a lot. Again search the net. Train shows frequently have book dealers with older atlases or reprints.
You can also use Google Maps for current routes. For areas covered by the associated detailed satelite photos you can see individual tracks. These are usually metropolitan areas.
Good luck
Paul
For the last 10 years or so I have been accumulating UP equipment in HO - big steam and 1st gen diesels in particular, and books.
Now that I finally have some space to build a layout I am slowly coming to the conclusion that my intended Sherman Hill / Hermosa layout is not practical in the space available, and whats more the scenery in that area is not the most model-genic.
So I have recently fallen in love with the feather river canyon, but I’m left with the problem of the investment in UP equipment. Most of it has been superdetailed and weathered in the years when I didn’t have a layout.
First prize would be some location on UP with better scenery than the Overland Route, especially if it would allow me to run my California Zephyr as well.
Cheers, Ryan in South Africa
Perhaps the Blue Mountains of Oregon might be a place to consider. The area isn’t too well known since they’re located on the Oregon Short Line route to Portland.
Quote "system maps of how the different railroads interrelate and interconnect. I have two eras of interest : 1952 "
What you want is the Official Guide to the Railways the railway station agent’s book, about 1500 pages thick, with the timetables and route structures of every railroad in North America. Came out monthly. Big major city agents got the new issues, passed them down to secondary stations when new issue came out. Small town stations got a copy after it was 6 months or a year old.
One section at the end of the book is an index of every town in US that had a railroad through it, with the railroads listed, the timetable that covered that town, etc. how many stations in that town and how far apart.
For my mid-1950s layout, I have a 1958 Official Guide and a 1963 volume.
Collectors item now, I have seen them for around $50.
The Official Railroad Equipment Register does the same thing with FREIGHT CARS listing owner, car number and dimensions (not for modeling but for freight load planning and clearance) of every car in interchange. For each railroad, it also lists all the interchange points on that railroad, and what OTHER railroad it interchanges with at that point.
(For private owner cars, the “home” point)
I have 1954 and 1972 volumes and consult them often,
You might also consider the Green River - Ogden segment of the UP, which is truly mountainous. With a little imagination, you could run you Califorinia Zephyr thru Ogden, pehaps because of a track failure from Salt Lake (Amtrak used the Ogden Cheyenne route last year for several months because of track work on the Rio Grande).
This link, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/1930_D%26RGW_WP.jpg, is to a 1930 route map of the Western Pacific - Rio Grande. However, the parallel route of the SP is clear in black on the Hi Res version, as is the connection with the UP at Ogden. Note that the SP-WP parallel each other closely, espcially in Nevada where one is on one side of the Humboldt river and the second is on the other side. This is barren country, but with many orthogonal mountain ranges, a river in the middle, and both railroads.
Hope this gives food for thought, and helps a little.
Bob
thanks guys for all the excellent suggestions. Bob that map is great - it has helped me get my bearings on how everything fits together (important since I don’t live in USA and therefore am not as familiar with the geography as you guys)
I have a lot of books on UP. they concentrate generally on the sherman hill region. I will start looking for information on the Green River - Ogden portion. THat may be what I’m looking for.
In the interim I have also ordered some DVD’s of the WP area to help me get an idea of what that’s like.
leighant - it sounds like I need to search for one of those Guides on ebay perhaps.
Paul, Yes I have considered the Blue Mountains region. I have some videos of footage from the early 1990s. Just doesn’t pull at my heart enough.
This hobby is ironic. I always thought I knew what I wanted to model, now that I have the space, I discover that I actually dont…
Ryan
I have a railroad Atlas from the late 1940s that Carstens published about 20 years ago. You might check their website to see if it is still in print. It has maps by state of all the railroads that existed then. I doubt there would have been many change as of 1955 so it should be good for your needs.
You might also consider looking for Employee Timetables (ETT), not Public timetables. Some are more detailed than others but show things like station markers, interchange, junctions, bridge clearances, tunnels, etc. Not specifically a map but a text version. This same info is probably included in the station agent’s book that Leighant refers to. For an example, look here…
jecorbett,
I have checked out Carstens and they have a number of atlases listed at http://www.carstens-publications.com/
The ones in my area of interes seem to be generally “post merger era” though such as this one http://www.carstens-publications.com/depot/a00952.html
I think I may get one to “test the water”
Ryan in South Africa
Using your suggestions I have found a book :
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD SYSTEM EMPLOYEE TIMETABLES 2-29-48 from Macmillan publishers here http://www.mcmillanpublications.com/Cart/list.asp?cat=tt
It is apparently for the complete UP system as of 1948. I plan to purchase it.
Actually the Macmillan site has a lot of tempting UP and WP stuff listed,
Thanks, Ryan
Thanks for the posting. I was also able to pick up some stuff from Macmillan that I had been searching for. They have a good site.
You might also check your local lobrary or historical society for USGS topo maps.
They carry a wealth of information including rail lines.
The Western Pacific Museum at Portola does a complete circa 1971 track map of the entire Western Pacific system, which can often be purchased via eBay:
And yes, the sense going in that you know what you want to model often changes rapidly once you learn a bit more…I started out wanting to model Southern Pacific, now I model Sacramento Northern (who were owned by Western Pacific.) The more you learn, the more interesting details that appear that spur more research…
