Operations: Data on industries, shippers, cargoes for early 20th century

[NevinW]

I model the Tonopah and Tidewater RR in Goldfield Nevada.  I am far enough along to start planning for operating sessions. A problem has arisen in filling out the waybills, is that information, even plausible information about industries (besides mines) shippers, consignees, and cargoes is extemely limited.  Databases that I have found so far list industries and shippers for the 60's, or 70's or 2015.  I am looking for information that would provide plausible names for shippers, consignees and cargoes for the western US that might be found in Nevada around 1910.  

Real information about Goldfield is almost impossible to find except for a few T&T and T&G waybills that show up for sale on Ebay.  Any suggestions about where to look for this kind of information?  Anyone who has set up operations on a turn-of the-century layout have any suggestions on how to set this up is more than welcome to comment.  Thanks, Nevin 

[dknelson]

Some of the prized sources I have used to learn more about the industries in my modeled city are various local histories, some of them published from time to time by the local newspaper(s) to celebrate significant anniversaries of the city's existence.  The bicentennial in 1976 also caused many communities to publish a local history.  In many of them the local industries past and present get a chapter.

Old City directories can be a great source of information -- naming industries street by street.  

In your case, if there a chance that a Nevada library or university has old local newspapers on microfilm (or whatever digital preservation has replaced microfilm)?  Back in those days the doings of local business seemed more of a news item in the eyes of the newspapers. 

I see that there is a Goldfield historical society.

 http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/

Have you explored what they might have?  They mention having a 1907 Goldfield city directory that could be a (no pun intended) gold mine of information about local shippers,.  And their website mentions that the Central Nevada Museum has some stuff.

Sometimes information about shipments can be gleaned from materials contained in the files and reports of the state railroad commissioner.  I found this library reference to reports of the Nevada railroad commissioner going back to 1908.

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011159776

 

This is not the kind of information that often can simply be found complete and ready to use.  It takes some serious detective work which becomes one of the joys of period modeling.

Dave Nelson 

[NevinW]

dknelson

Some of the prized sources I have used to learn more about the industries in my modeled city are various local histories, some of them published from time to time by the local newspaper(s) to celebrate significant anniversaries of the city's existence.  The bicentennial in 1976 also caused many communities to publish a local history.  In many of them the local industries past and present get a chapter.

Old City directories can be a great source of information -- naming industries street by street.  

In your case, if there a chance that a Nevada library or university has old local newspapers on microfilm (or whatever digital preservation has replaced microfilm)?  Back in those days the doings of local business seemed more of a news item in the eyes of the newspapers. 

I see that there is a Goldfield historical society.

 http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/

Have you explored what they might have?  They mention having a 1907 Goldfield city directory that could be a (no pun intended) gold mine of information about local shippers,.  And their website mentions that the Central Nevada Museum has some stuff.

Sometimes information about shipments can be gleaned from materials contained in the files and reports of the state railroad commissioner.  I found this library reference to reports of the Nevada railroad commissioner going back to 1908.

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011159776

 

This is not the kind of information that often can simply be found complete and ready to use.  It takes some serious detective work which becomes one of the joys of period modeling.

Dave Nelson 

 

David:  Thank you for your reply.  This is excellent information and I will put your suggestions to use.  - Nevin

[dehusman]

Sometimes large public libraries may have "business directories" that list various businesses in a city or state.  If they have one for your area or area, that would give you names and products but not necessarily whether they were rail served.  Sometimes old Official Railway Guides or Official Railway Equipment Registers have ads for rail served industries, most of them are associated with supplying railroads.

Railroads also issued "shippers guides", lists by stations of all the customers served by the railroad.  Finding them, outside of historical societies, is difficult.

Sanborn insurance maps are a vaulable resource for locating industries and determining if they were rail served.

There are also the line of "Images of America" books written about various regions and cities, many of them will have maps, descriptions, drawings and photos of older industries.

Google Books has been an invaluable resource in finding information on the 1900 era for me.

Lastly, search engines or E-Bay can be used to look for images of a particular city.  It may take a lot of searching but they are often very helpful in finding information.  Searching E-bay I have found prints of overview maps from the 1876-1890 era of two of the cities on my prototype.  E-Bay has been very helpful in finding lots of stuff, from rule books, to pictures of engines to pictures of the steam tugboats that operated the car floats on my prototype.

[DSchmitt]

https://watt.rrisig.org     Railroad Industries Modeling Special Interest Group 

["JaBear"]

My curiosity got the better of me so I’ve had a bit of a look around the internet and one thing that would seem to be certain, is that everything, I mean everything, would have to be shipped in and for a population of over 20,000 in 1907 that would be a fair bit of freight. Not wishing to be rude to any natives of Goldfields, but what an arid inhospitable place.

 

From the Goldfields Historical Society site that Dave Nelson linked to, I see that “In the 1907 Goldfield Directory it lists... Saloons 49, Restaurants 27, Barber Shops 15, Bakeries 6, Assayers 54, Attorneys 84 (try finding one of those around here today). Brokers 162, Cigar Stores 14, Grocers 21. Hotels 22, Laundries 17. Doctors 40 (another hard group to come by), Undertakers 10.”

 

(My slightly warped sense of humour wonders how many cigar boxes would fit into a boxcar and how many box cars of cigars would have been required monthly to satisfy the demand from the 14 cigar stores!)

 

And from one of the photo on the Societies header I see that Wood-Sullivan Co, plumbing and hardware, would be at least one customer, the only other name I could discern form the other photo was the Hotel Esmeralda.

 

I must admit that I was surprised by how substantial the railroad facilities were, the freight house is not small but then going back to my premise that how everything including building materials would have to been bought in, I guess I shouldn’t have been. Even more substantial was the roundhouse, maintenance and icehouse, another commodity to be bought in. I see, using Google maps satellite view, that the turntable pit is still visible.  

 

http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/fundraisers.html

 

http://www.urbaneagle.com/TT/TT-57.jpg

 

http://www.urbaneagle.com/TT/TTphotos.html

 

Good luck in your search.

Cheers, the Bear.