Track Layout Planning


P

pg3914

New Member
It has been many years, but I now have more money and time to dedicate to building a layout. I am looking to place it in my basement.

I am interested in modeling the NKP. I have been researching for some time and have quite a bit of info about the locomotives and cars. My questions are more along the line of scenery and track planning.

What a some good ways or sources to gather information about the geography or track plans for a given railway in a given area? I am sure some rework will be needed, but I want to reduce that as much as possible.

Any insight and wisdom would be appreciated.

Phil
 
A book you might be interested in Tony Jester's book on track planning. He models the NKP, but what is more important is the discussion of Layout Design Elements, LDEs--basically stretches of track or scenery that are interesting in one way or another.

I'm guessing that you have a certain section of the railroad you want to model and you know the era. What I would do is head to your local library (a university library would be better), get on their computer system and look up Sanborn Insurance Maps for the area. They will no only show you the track layout, they will show what types of businesses were in that location . Here's a small sample from my town in 1950.

indianasanborn01.jpg


As for scenery, I would Google photos from the areas you decide upon. I've got lots of good pictures that way.
 
If you don't have it, get a copy of the book The Nickel Plate Story by Rohor. It's out of print but copies show up on e-bay and Amazon regularly. It cover the complete NKP story from birth to merger with the N&W, including all the subsidiary roads. Lots of great geographical pictures and roster shots. There are lots of excellent pictures of locomotives and rolling stock at http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nkp/nkp.html, with enough background to give you an idea of the typical terrain and features of the NKP. Except of the W&LE, the main stem NKP was about as flat a railroad as you could get. The main features were large cities like Cleveland and Buffalo, steel mills, heavy industry, mixed in with countryside and farming areas. Google Cleveland history and they have one section that has pictures of every NKP grade crossing in Lakewood, OH. There are lots of resources out there.
 
SpaceMouse said:
A book you might be interested in Tony Jester's book on track planning. He models the NKP, but what is more important is the discussion of Layout Design Elements, LDEs--basically stretches of track or scenery that are interesting in one way or another.

I'm guessing that you have a certain section of the railroad you want to model and you know the era. What I would do is head to your local library (a university library would be better), get on their computer system and look up Sanborn Insurance Maps for the area. They will no only show you the track layout, they will show what types of businesses were in that location . Here's a small sample from my town in 1950.

indianasanborn01.jpg


As for scenery, I would Google photos from the areas you decide upon. I've got lots of good pictures that way.
Click to expand...

Did you mean Tony Koester?
 
Remember, too, that NKP was known for fast freight service not industrial or local switching. They were a PITA to roads like NYC and Pennsylvania that headed west along the Great Lakes corridor from New York to Chicago and beyond.

Nickel Plate provided a stern test for the major roads. Even their passenger service ran as tight a schedule as any other major rail company. And with the speed and power of their Berkshires, during the later years of steam power, they could make it happen.

Here is a site that I use a lot: http://www.nkphts.org/districts.html

Bob
 
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