The title says it all I'm looking for a cheap but reputable source for railroad atlases from between 1920 and 1960 not that they have to be made in that time frame but their content shows the trackage in that era... I'm interested in western US possibly Canadian prototypes...
Thanks!
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
The answer kind of depends on how much detail you seek. There might be some available as downloads. I myself want paper when it comes to rail atlases because I travel with them.
The 1928 "Handy Railroad Atlas of the United States" issued by Rand McNally was reissued and somewhat amended by Kalmbach maybe 30 or 40 years ago, maybe more. I have seen it at swap meets offered by book dealers. Don't expect to pay $4.98 which was Kalmbach's asking price, however. Still ... they're out there for those that look.
Since the general trend since around 1940 has been to remove trackage, not add to it, the Steam Powered Video Comprehensive Railroad Atlases of North America for Colorado & Utah, Mountain Plains, and Pacific Northwest are probably the ones you are looking for. They show abandoned trackage but are not always real clear on dates of abandonment so it pays to be a knowledgeable railfan. But for the most part the track should be shown if it was in place in the years that interest you.
Unfortunately for you and others interested in the western states, Richard C Carpenter has not gotten to those states in his series of deluxe volumes of rail atlases, hand drawn and color coded, and all dated to 1946 so that they capture America's practical peak of rail. Published by Johns Hopkins University. His goal was (still is?) to do the entire USA as of 1946.
Some do not care for his style and manner of presentation; I do. They are NOT cheap. $75 a volume, with a volume usually covering a couple of states, although I paid less for one with a slightly damaged cover. To me those are the Rolls Royce of rail atlases, with the proviso that not everybody likes Rolls Royce either! You need, or at least benefit from having, "regular" maps and Atlases such as DeLorme to make practical use of them, but they make for fascinating study.
I understand that some effort is being made to continue the series based on his papers and work. Maybe someday they will get to the Pacific Northwest states.
Dave Nelson
Until your book(s) arrive, try this.
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?lang=en&lat=53.083301544189&lon=9.6000003814697&zoom=10&style=standard
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
You will want to dive into the world of GIS for decent maps. none of the maps below require ArcPro or ArcGIS to see them. Digging will reveal a lot of data not found even in the steam power maps. USGS topographic quadrangle maps have routes laid out. Along with industrial areas and such in detail. Being that they are updated every so many years, a progression can be found. So you can get topo maps for the time period you want and they will show the routes along with owner names. Some of which are long lost to history along with the routes. Also shows alignments long lost.
Also use open street map which has railroad data. It too can be usefull because it shows routes in a larger map area than the quadrangles. More general overview really. Less detail But useful to see how the line went from A to B. Http://extract.bbbike.org
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
The major railroads usually showed a very condensed map or chart of all their lines in the Official Guide, a monthly publication throughout the decades that interest you. Obviously it would take some effort to put the pieces together since each railroad generally showed only its own lines, but the associated listings of stations by subdivision will probably be far more comprehensive than any overall atlas. It depends on what you are actually looking for. I haven't checked, but I am sure you can find old issues for sale on the usual sites.
BATMANUntil your book(s) arrive, try this.
That is a cool map! I had to zoom way out to see where I was heading, I got lost at sea swimming from Germany to the US.
Mike.
My You Tube
That is a decent map. It is missing branchlines at least around Lockehaven PA.
The best thing is to use multiple maps from many sources to get a complete picture not every source will have a one stop view of everything
Wolfie
I was surprised at how detailed it is. I know of a lot of the changes made around Vancouver and was surprised to see them done on the map. Some of the abandon lines have been gone so long that it is hard to believe they were ever there in the first place. Considering the terrain, it is obvious why they were short lived.
First off, NVSRR your signature is hilarious, one of the more creative ones I've seen...
Second I really just need mainline maps because I'm planning to over lay the maps of the predecessor roads over each other to create a system map for my NWP-SWP System... I would like a level of detail though as far as track arrangements but details such as every station along the way is unnessesary...
Then the track diagrams from the open street map site are what you want. They have the track layout but not the stations and such to any detail
How does the one you suggested work?