Does anybody have any maps of their railways either made up land or based on land and railroads aquired?
Yes, when I was developing a freelance, that was the first thing I did. I assumed everyone did the same thing.
This one was pieced together for our photo album. I drew in the fictional portion we modeled in orange. Is this what you’re thinking of?
I have to find mine. Right now I have discovered that much of my route can be done on Auran Trainz (V scale). This of course is good until I get a basement for my HO stuff.
See various articles about the Allegheny Midland and the V&O.
I am working on one for my freelance route, I actually took a map and scanned it in, found the other “real” railroads so I can have/imagine an interchange, even going so far as to set up the mile posts to tie in with the planned track warrants I have printed out. This is all part of the great fun of this hobby. Talk about the worlds most elaborate game to play [:p]
The easiest way is to take last year’s state road map. Then a color marker, and simply draw in your route. some include other railroads, so you can see where your pike connects to a real Class 1. Chances are, there was someone who proposed a route & made a survey. They just never could get enough ca$h to build the route. Or they only had enough to build part of the route before a bigger road stepped in & put an end to the madness. If you are lucky, there may be a book about ghost RR’s in your state. It may detail routes & RR’s built over a century ago that have long since been abandoned & taken over by the state DOT. One of those in Penn turned out to be the turnpike.
I gotta get one drawn up for the ARK. I’ve been meaning to take some thin paper to a State Map and trace the route. I know it in my mind, I know exactly where railroads connect to it, and the approximent form my shortline takes(It makes a “C” basically, around a large lake).
Noah
I will be freelancing the Cincinnati, Georgetown & Portsmouth Railroad in the 1940’s - 1950’s on my next layout. I have a book that shows a track plan and elevations but to be honest the people that mapped out the route in the 1880’s would get drummed off this forum. The first hill was so steep that the railroad never could pull more than three cars up it. Obviously I am going to need to reroute the line and improve the grade just as they would have had to if they had stayed in operation. When I get to that point I am going to sit down with a topographical map and try to find an easy route up from the Ohio River valley. One railroad tried to dig a tunnel to allow them to climb the grade. http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/deercreek.html
Does anyone know if topographical maps are available on the internet?
USGS Digital Raster Graphics (images of 7.5 minute quadrangle maps) are available online using Microsoft’s Terraserver (http://terraserver-usa.com/). They have an agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to display them online. You can click down thru the map to the area you want. Both maps and aerial photography are usually available.