Does anyone know of “One Source” of information that would show the information above in the Title of this thread? That is, rather than “hunt and peck” all over the place to get this information?
For an example: Suppose you wanted to find what year SP began and ended, and what Type of Loco ( U-Boat, GP, SD etc) Color scheme on the Locos and was used in various years? Or when Burlington Northern began and ended and the same information on Loco builds and color schemes in various years?
Is there one book or website that is comprehensive?
This is mainly to get the correct Loco Road Color Scheme and Manf. / Model / Make of the Locos they used in any given year to give “Street Cred” to my layout.
Wikipedia is a decent source (though it is good to double-check things), but I seem to recall a book of that nature. I’ll poke through the Great Mess and see if I can find it.
Have you tried AI? I’ve found it to be crazy good. If you don’t find what you are looking for, you can refine what you ask. I could not find an answer to these questions “normally “, and AI found them in seconds:
“What’s the speaker size for the new Athearn 2-6-0 Mogul?” (28mm)
“For a Broadway Limited 2-8-2 with QSI sound, what are my replacement decoder and speaker options and installations?” (Long detailed answer with several good options)
Oh, I get that! It’s not always right, but it often does a good job of analyzing a lot of data, of finding answers that can then be verified. “Please provide your sources“ so you can check it.
Thanks for the welcome. Back in the hobby after a 25 year hiatus.
Hi BBF,
Sometime ago (here in the UK) I picked-up a real good book by Brian Solomon, ‘North American Railroad Family Trees’, - An Infographic History of the Industry’s Mergers and Evolution.
Published by Voyageur Press, voyageurpress.com
There are plenty of maps and photos and details of Mergers, etc. but no details of Locos or Roster.
Everything leads up to Conrail and beyond to approx. 2013
The book is my one stop reference, particularly the constituent Railroads that formed Conrail and how they were eventually divided up between CSX & NS.
Paul.
Bottom line is if you care about realism, you want your Locos, RR Companies and location to match the Era you are modeling. An exagerated example is you don’t want locomotives painted as BNSF if you are modeling the late 1970s in Maine.
Or a Big Boy working in a logging camp in Vermont.
Of course if you don’t care, you can do anything you want.
I found the book that I was looking for–it’s The Historical Guide to North American Railroads, compiled by George H. Drury. It’s by no means comprehensive, but there is no truly comprehensive single source.