Researching Union Pacific's Wyoming Division

[NScaler]

I am trying to find info on Union Pacific's Wyoming Division. Primarily because of the locomotives that ran on it. I like the big steam engines. The Challenger's, the Big Boy's, etc. I also like the little 4-4-0's, so it's not just the larger engines that I like. But it was suggested I pick a prototype and that I might as well pick one that ran the trains I like most. So I am researching to find out all I can about this railroad. Can you guys help me out? I don't really know where to begin. I have been reading Wikipedia and anything else I can find. Are there any good books or DVD's I can get to help me out? I am looking at modeling the early 1950's. How do you find out what that railroad was doing in those days and find out enough to model that period?

Thanks guys!

 

[Ozarks R. Lee]

There is a publication titled The Official Railroad Equipment Register that you can probably contact the company that publishes it for a copy of one of the back issues from the 1950s. The publisher is UBM Global Trade. This sample of an issue has contact information for you.

http://www.railresource.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/orerrr_126_1_sample.pdf

I found this information about UP Railroad Complex at Evanston, WY at Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad_Complex_(Evanston,_Wyoming)

Here's a link to time tables for the Utah Division.

http://www.utahrails.net/up/up-ut-div-timetables.php

 

[Ozarks R. Lee]

I did find that at Abe's Books that they have a link to The Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba, Also Time-Tables of Railroads in Central America, Air-Line Schedules from 1956. In my experience, the series was monthly and had every passenger schedule for all of the railways in the countries listed. The books from the 1870s-1900s were about 1600 pages and provided the routes, maps of the route, and what cars were part of the train on the route. They are a valuable resource if you want to do passenger service on your layout. The price is listed at $77.00 with $3.99 shipping and handling.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...y=1&tn=the+official+guide+to+the+railways

 

[NScaler]

I will have to grab that book. That looks like a great resource for any railroad huh?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Ozarks R. Lee]

I will have to grab that book. That looks like a great resource for any railroad huh?

Thanks for the help!

You're welcome. I would say that it's excellent resource for pretty much any hobbyist interested in passenger service. The earlier editions from the early 1900s and prior are available for free at Google Books because they're in the public domain now.

 

[Espeefan]

I'd recommend you join the UP Modelers group over on Yahoo. They are quite prototype oriented, and will be able to suggest the books which will help you the most. Wiki is OK but I would NOT rely on it for prototype RR information. How deep into research you want to go will determine how large your library gets. Since the UP was a bridge route in those days (and still is I guess ) on that division you'd see a lot of long trains and big power. You won't be able to get everything you need on the net. You might also look into the UP historical society. Back issues of their newsletter are golden. I've done all of this with the SP, and it worked for me.

 

[Cjcrescent]

.. Wiki is OK but I would NOT rely on it for prototype RR information. ...

Truer words were never spoken, Alan. I wouldn't trust Wiki to be true for anything. Considering its written by lay people who don't check their facts, I'm surprised someone has been sued over it.

 

[Ozarks R. Lee]

Truer words were never spoken, Alan. I wouldn't trust Wiki to be true for anything. Considering its written by lay people who don't check their facts, I'm surprised someone has been sued over it.

It all depends on how many citations the article has. Many of the articles I cite from there have at least ten different references in a bibliography.

 

[dave1905]

I am trying to find info on Union Pacific's Wyoming Division. Primarily because of the locomotives that ran on it. I like the big steam engines. The Challenger's, the Big Boy's, etc. I also like the little 4-4-0's, so it's not just the larger engines that I like. But it was suggested I pick a prototype and that I might as well pick one that ran the trains I like most. So I am researching to find out all I can about this railroad. Can you guys help me out? I don't really know where to begin. I have been reading Wikipedia and anything else I can find. Are there any good books or DVD's I can get to help me out? I am looking at modeling the early 1950's. How do you find out what that railroad was doing in those days and find out enough to model that period?

You are talking about nearly 100 years of railroading. The 4-4-0's were gone from the main lines by about 1900.

 

[Ozarks R. Lee]

You are talking about nearly 100 years of railroading. The 4-4-0's were gone from the main lines by about 1900.

Yup, they were unless it was manufactured in the late 1880s or was really fast for passenger service. The Empire State #999 was a 4-4-0 that ran until 1952 and retired. I could see UP using the 4-4-0 for yard duty if it was manufactured in the late 1880s.

 

[Cjcrescent]

It all depends on how many citations the article has. Many of the articles I cite from there have at least ten different references in a bibliography.

Sometimes, the number of citations doesn't matter, if they were put there just to try to add legitimacy to the "article", which I believe some writers have done. I was looking up some quick info on the Southern RR once, and the article, at that time was so incorrect as to be useless. While I will admit the the article has now been replaced with one that is more accurate, readers up to when it was changed were treated to information that at best, was half correct. (Somewhere in the archives of this forum, is a post by me where I copied and pasted a part of the article from the wiki, illustrating how incorrect it really was.)

The article I quoted stated that the Southern was the first major Class 1 RR in the south to dieselize. It wasn't. That honor belonged to the GM&O, which was completely dieselized in 1947. The Southern ran steam until May of 1953. The article said they were dieselized in 1950.

There were many other mistakes like that in the article. There were/are still many mistakes in the information in various articles in the wiki and not just the one's concerning RR's. I have literally cringed at some of the misinformation in articles about my profession, (Nursing), that I have read in the wiki. I wouldn't rely on the wiki as a research tool for anything other than maybe getting an idea on where to look for better information.

 

[Iron Horseman]

I am trying to find info on Union Pacific's Wyoming Division. ... Are there any good books or DVD's I can get to help me out? I am looking at modeling the early 1950's. How do you find out what that railroad was doing in those days and find out enough to model that period?

For the locomotives you have specified, I think your definitive work in this case would be "History of the Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne" by Darwin. Local library might have one in the reserved section. If you watch eBbay eventually one can be had in the $150 price range. I'm guessing with as many UP fans and historians as there are out there the book will eventually be reprinted.

All my friends who are serious about modeling UP belong to the Historical Society.
http://uphs.org/

 

[NScaler]

I'd recommend you join the UP Modelers group over on Yahoo. They are quite prototype oriented, and will be able to suggest the books which will help you the most.

Do you have a link to the actual group? I searched and am not sure which group you are referring to. Thanks!


As for the 4-4-0... it may not be prototypical. But I will find a place for it. It is the loco that got me into model railroading, so I have to have it utilized somehow. I have been looking at other track plans of this route and have gotten some good ideas that way.

Iron Horseman, I plan to join that historical society as soon as I get my ridiculous gas bill caught up. Ever had the gas company estimate your bill for 4 months? Thanks for the book suggestion. Heading to the library after work tomorrow!

I am currently re-reading Track Planning for Realistic Operation. So when I finish that book this thread will be very helpful as I get more into researching this railroad. So keep the ideas coming!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.