RR Maps

Pitchwife

Dreamer
I have pretty much finished designing my layout. It will be a fantasy link connecting as many as three or four major lines with interchanges and through passage. It is to be situated in the Pacific Northwest and heavily used due to major geological events that permently destroyed other mainlines in that area. The period is modern, but situated in an old mining and timber town that would have structures spanning the range from early 1900's through today.

My problem is that I am not a "railfan" as many of you are. What I need to know is what rail lines operate in that area. I'm fairly sure that you wouldn't see a Rock Island or a SOU engine in that part of the country, although rolling stock would be another matter. I need to know which ones you probably would see in addition to the lines own engines. Maps of lines would be a great help, not only for the information about which lines went where, but also to help pin down a location for my town.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
It would depend on how modern you are talking about. If you model prior to the Burlington Northern merger, you could have Union Pacific, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Chicago Burlington & Quincy, S P & S, Milwaukee Road, & Southern Pacific. More modern would allow Burlington Northern, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and possibly Montana Rail Link. It would depend on how close to each other these railroads operated. Today, you would have BNSF, U.P. and Montana Rail Link. There may be some other short lines I am forgetting. If you model shortly after any mergers, you would have many locomotives in left over paint schemes.
 

Pitchwife

Dreamer
I had in mind somewhere in the last five to fifteen years although nothing is written in stone. What dates are you talking about with the different mergers. Right now the timeline is fairly malleable. Just thought it would be a good idea to start looking towards which lines and models would be most likely.
 

MCL_RDG

Member
Same problem...

...here.

I am trying to concoct a relationship between the Reading, Pennsylvania (Penn Central, NYC, NH, Monongaheennnuffa). This morning I accidentally found all the Reading's (primary concern) connections with all other railroads and where.

I can't actually answer your question and all the "newness" of the Internet pales when actually trying to do this kind of research. Check your local library and talk to the local hobby shop owners about local railroad history and who they might be able to point you in the direction (there of).

Check out-
Fallen Flags and other Railraods

Look for railroad names you know in the area and go!

Regards,

Mark
(SP&S, MLW- quite right.)
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Originally posted by Pitchwife
I had in mind somewhere in the last five to fifteen years although nothing is written in stone. What dates are you talking about with the different mergers. Right now the timeline is fairly malleable. Just thought it would be a good idea to start looking towards which lines and models would be most likely.

The U.P., S.P. merger and the BNSF merger took place in the last five years, I think 1998, but not positive. S.P. had previously been bought out by D&RGW, so the equipment is still painted for all three roads. I'm not sure if there are any left, but when U.P. bought S.P., I think there were still some S.P. "Kodachrome" units left from the attempted merger with Santa Fe that the ICC shot down. U.P. also bought CNW a year before they bought S.P. so there are quite a few CNW units on the system as well. With the BNSF, they experimented with a number of different paint schemes including two or three green and orange heritage schemes. There are two or three B.N. green schemes extant. Some with white noses, some with white striped noses, and I think I've seen pics of some with black stripes on the nose, but am not sure about that one. With Santa Fe you would have both blue and yellow "Warbonnet" and the red and silver "Warbonnet" schemes. The merger that formed B.N. from Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Spokane, Portland & Seattle, and Chicago Burlington & Quincy, occured in 1972 I think. I think 1972 or about then is when the Milwaukee Road went under as well.
 

brakie

Active Member
If you are modeling todays railroads you can get a map from your states Department of transportation..For older maps do a search on the net for the maps of the railroads that connect with yours.
 
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