I read these awesome articles on these incredable layouts, generally always referring to aspects of the particular division/sub division, particular industries served ect… of their prototype.
Where do I start to find information on CSX?
My first trip was to the library, Punched in CSX into the search function and returned 0 items. tried other searches with same results, none. A librarian was helping me and she was baffled as well.
I’d like to do early eighties, nineties. I’d like to begin to focus on Coal, Steel, grain, Corn Syrup.
I have spent a great deal of time on their website, but it’s geared more for present and potential customers(makes sense). Trackage is so extensive it’s mind bogling.
I’m open to freelancing around prototypical ideas(if that makes sense)
Search Google or Bing for “model railroad books”. Then go to those web sites and see what books/videos are available.
From the CSX website pick some of the cities and go to MapQuest/Google Maps/Terra server and search the maps of the areas to see where the CSXT runs.
Join a CSX historical society.
Join a CSX Yahoo group.
Buy an Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) (check e-bay).
Pick an area you are interested in and study that. You won’t find all the information you want in one afternoon. Collecting information is a loooooooong process. Depends on how much and what type, and how much it matters to you.
I can’t put it more susinctly than above. Google is your friend for finding prototype info rihgt from your very own office or LR.
Just type in various key words or phrases for the info you are seeking about CSX. Hunt and poke around. You are bound to find all you wnat to know and more. ANd find an engine roster and engine/equipment/buildings/yards/subs/cartage/revenue producers/etc…anything you almost could want to know about CSX.
I get a lot of info from our online City, Provincial and Federal Archives. There are hundreds of thousands of photo’s of just about anything RR related. Documents and historical accounts of most things RR related. The U.S. must have similar resources available.
I get the prototype information I’m using for my modeling from a most unlikely source - my own field notes and photographs. Backup is about ten linear feet of reference books, mostly in the Japanese language.
I will grant, immediately, that I would not have the same resources if I had decided to model some other geographical location, or an earlier era when I wasn’t physically present. Nor would I have the same resources if I had decided to model what I model in 2004 rather than 1964.
Compare the two searches, side-by-side, in web browser tabs, and you can pretty much map out how the prototypes of today came to be survivors. Tons of links here.
This search defines many CSX predecessors: Wikipedia = Conrail (excerpt below).
For things that are “same as they ever were” (apologies to the Talking Heads) like the land, much of the trackage, many structures, and even some industrial practices like the coal industry you could check into the predecessor railroads historical societies for the areas you plan to model. I don’t know about all of them, but B&O, C&O and the Pennsylvania RR all have great groups that are full of information.
Well, you might want to narrow the scope of your search a bit. CSX is kind of a big place. Is there a state or city, or region you’re interested in? Depending on the area you’re representing, there could be wild fluctuations in what you can model.
For instance, you won’t find coal trains originating in Florida, nor would you see solid blocks of reefers hauling orange juice out of West Virginia. There are some lanes that handle a lot of double stack container trains, and others that are ancient rights of way that don’t provide the clearances to allow them. There are also warehouse districts for switching, waterfront ports, river front ports where cargo is transferred to barges…
As for scenery, you run the gamut from the urban jungles of Baltimore and Philadelphia to the remote marshes of eastern North Carolina. From the Appalachian coal regions to the flatlands of northern Florida.
So you see, there’s a vast amount of information that won’t matter one bit to you, depending on what area or type of business you want to model.
I get most of my information from books and historical societies. The magazines also have a lot of good information, but you’re at the mercy of their schedule and need to buy back issues / wait until they cover it.