Prototype information

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

Greetings fellow modelers…
I have been absent from the hobby for about 10 yrs. and have recently been bitten by the bug, HARD! [:)]
Things have certainly gotten better in such a short amount of time. DCC is everywhere you look now, which is cool, acess to information for us greenhorns is abundant…my hats off to the powers-that-be!

My dilema…even with this abundant information I am having troubles locating some information I am looking for. I am interested in building a freelanced/prototypical layout based on areas on central Minnesota. Particularly the areas between St. Cloud, Little Falls, and Brainerd, MN. I would like info on the industries that were located in the area. From my basic knowledge there was obviously lumber and some agricultural…but I WANT MORE! [:)] I really am interested in finding maps of yards, loco’s used, etc.
If it makes any difference I would like to set it sometime between 1960-1980.

Any suggestions where I may find this stuff. I am hoping to find most of it on the net, I do make occasional trips that way…but not sure where i would need to go to get the info i am looking for.

I can’t even explain how nice it is to have forum’s like this…a decade ago…I would be totally lost!!

2

First of all[#welcome] to the forums. It’s good to see modelers coming back into the hobby. I here your doing a freelance railroad. One of the bigger trains in Minnesota is th Coal train which runs through Brainard and there are many Intermodel trains too. I will give a more indepth message when I get home.
james

3

Every month Mainline Modeler magazine has 2 page spread listing all of the various RR hystarical (oops, make that historical) societies. Most have a web site listed. The most usefull for your purposes would probably be Great Northern and Northern Pacific.
You might also consider membership. I belong to 2 at the present time (Milw & PRR) and am seriously thinking of rejoining the Santa Fe’s. The quarterly magazines are a treasure trove and most socities can give you a list of back-issues that will enable you to mine previously available lodes.

4

Thanks for the advice…I agree…I was a memeber of the FOBN for a spell.
But I am looking for quick info…I DON’T WANT TO WAIT!!. haha

5

One industry that you might be able to work in is iron mining. Most people are familiar with the Mesabi Range in NE Minnesota, but don’t realize that there was an iron range right in the middle of MN, the Cuyuna Range. The Crosby - Ironton area was served by NP and Soo Line who operated a shared service to the iron mines and shared duties hauling the ore to NP’s ore dock in Allouez Wisconsin.
Your area wouldn’t quite be in the big grain / wheat area of NW Minnesota, but would have plenty of agriculture - lots of dairy farms. Otherwise, many ‘generic’ industries (coal or oil dealer, lumber yard, etc.) would work.

One suggestion would be to check out a map of the area, and try tracking down the websites of the cities located in the area. It would have at least a current listing of businesses in the area, and many sites have a brief history of the city.

6

Great info…where would I look for yard maps, etc…just for inspiration?

7

Como Shops website might be a good place to track down books, maps etc. on the area. The series of “in Minnesota” books (“Northern Pacific in Minnesota”, “Foundations of an Empire: Great Northern in Minnesota”) are very good.

BTW I think John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operations” talks about modelling possibilities in central MN if I recall correctly ??

http://www.comoshops.com/

8

Sanborn fire insurance maps, which were produced up until 1970, have a tremendous amount of information on industrial structures – including dimensions, type of construction used, and uses to which buildings were put.

Most public libraries have collections for their cities or environs, and copies are available on-line. Just do a Google search for “Sanborn maps” to find out what’s available, and what costs will be.

9

Again thanks for the info.
I have been trying Google Earth out, but in most rural areas of the U.S. the range is pretty out there. I also have used Terrafly, which is better, but a bit more akward to try and move about and zoom.
I have a general feel for the area, but have seen maps of other geographical areas that feature rail, getting into yards, etc. and thought “I need one of those!”. haha
The Trains.com forum comes to the rescue!

10

You might also be able to find some good info in back issues of the Chicago & Northwestern, and Soo Line Historical society mags. I know you said you were looking for more ideas for traffic for your protofreelanced road. You can always extend your line to the Twin Ports for overhead traffic. Also wood chips, pulpwood, pulpboard were shipped out of the area. Check the individual cities chambers of commerce websites to see what companies do business there to get a feel for different ideas.

11

See my reply (below) in the New England Trackplans forum.

If you can make the trip, go to College Park, MD to the NARA (National Archives and Registration Administration) and get copies of track plans from all over the nation. Visit the NARA site: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/

Click on the yellow button “Search”, type in this number “587535” (the ARC identifier number). It’ll take you to the info page. Here’s a summary of that page:

Title of document: Revised Railroad Valuation Maps, ca. 1920 - ca. 1960

Location: Cartographic and Architectural Records LICON, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-C), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 PHONE: 301-837-3200, FAX: 301-837-3622, EMAIL: carto@nara.gov

Scope & Content: This series consists of revised right-of-way and tract maps, station maps, profiles, and related indexes. Also known as detailed land maps, they usually are in the form of annotated blueprints measuring 25 by 54 inches. The series coverage is nation wide and the map sheets contain information on land acquisition (grantor and grantee information) and engineering details such as the layout of track and the locations of roads, buildings, and bridges.

For anyone who is looking for PRR or PC track plans, also visit the Pennsylvania State Archives at: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/railroadPRRlandmaps.htm
You’ll find a list of track plans, etc on microfilm available to copy.
Again, you have to go there to get them.

Anyone in need of Boston and Albany track plans (more like schematics to me), with curvature and grades of the main line, from Rensselaer, NY to Boston, see: http://www.zekedev.com/sites/boston_line/index.cfm

The Maptech site is good too but lacks detail that I’m looking for.

In fact, does anyone have info on the track plans (detailed with industry spurs) of the Framingham, MA area?

I’m plann

12

Dont forget Cat equipment is in the area. Shingle companies as well. I have been up by Brainerd wasnt there a military base there? Cant remember or maybe that was further north.
Also Stone quaries up by St Cloud. I picked up a lot of marble in that area, supposedly came from near by quarries.
Good luck and welcome .

13

Got this from antoher post, by WickhamMan, I think Minnesota is under the midwest listing. You can go to this site and download the states, towns, industries, railroads, and what was shipped at that industry.

http://www.opsig.org/industrydb/

Rick

14

Having lived in the area for the better part of my life i can add alittle. The iron mining is a little bit of a strech, but not for freelance. All the mining is to the north and east altough it is pretty close. Ag is big, but forest products are bigger. Brainerd has a paper mill that is the biggest shipper(includes need street running through my mother-in-law’s neigborhood). Depending on when you want to model there use to be a cut-off from Little Falls to Brainerd. The southend of this line is still open to haul equipment to and from Camp Ripley a MN National Gaurd base. As far as maps the sanborns are pretty good espically of the old shops in Brainerd. The still repair MOW equipment there. Not really an industry but you could make into someother type of repair facility on a freelance. Also besides coal headed toward power plants east, through trains of grain go to the Twin Ports during harvest rush. hope that helps?.