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A good map?
A good map?
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Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
A good map?
Posted by
Anonymous
on Thursday, July 14, 2005 10:04 AM
Hello
I'm planning a small railroad that's "semi-prototypical" and I have been thinking about what freight I should be hauling. The era is late 1930s and the location is somewhere along the New York - Pennsylvania border.
Now, my idea is to get a good school atlas in order to find out what natural resources I can find in different parts of North America.
a) Is this a good idea?
b) Do you have any recommendations on any good atlases?
c) Would I be better off with an atlas from that time?
/Peter
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Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
Posted by
Anonymous
on Thursday, July 14, 2005 12:38 PM
You might find an encyclopedia useful. Their entries about states will include industries and natural resources.
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csxengineer98
Member since
October 2002
From: US
2,358 posts
Posted by
csxengineer98
on Friday, July 15, 2005 1:46 AM
check out this sight...will hit exactly what your looking for
http://historical.maptech.com/
it has maps from the USGS ..some dating back to the 1900s... and alot in the 30s and 40s..
csx engineer
"I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel
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BRJN
Member since
July 2004
From: Ft Wayne IN
332 posts
Posted by
BRJN
on Friday, July 15, 2005 8:50 PM
Hmmm, where along the state line did you have in mind? If you are between Erie PA and Buffalo NY, you can grow grapes and haul out Smuckers Jelly (memory of a vacation 10 yrs ago). If you are in the hills above Finger Lakes, you have a lot of bituminous coal and LCL freight to the small towns. If you are near the New Jersey end, you can haul anthracite coal and tourists to the Catskills.
I agree that an encyclopedia would help you more than an atlas. As a child, I had an Encyclopedia Brittanica c. 1966 and it had industrial products and natural resources listed in each state's entry.
Modeling 1900 (more or less)
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Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
Thanks!
Posted by
Anonymous
on Saturday, July 16, 2005 5:13 AM
That was good suggestions. The link to the historical maps was great! BRJN, your ideas for cargo has given me much food for thought.
I'm off to the library on monday.
/Peter
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Mark300
Member since
March 2002
From: Collegeville. PA
210 posts
Posted by
Mark300
on Saturday, July 16, 2005 8:41 PM
The area of the southern tier counties of New York State and the northern tier counties of Pennsylvania were home to alot of great railroads during your time frame allowing for a lot of choices.....The Erie, the Pennsylvania, the New York Central (NYC), the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (DL&W), the Lehigh Valley (LV), the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) as well as served marginally by the New York, Ontario & Western(NYO&W) and the Lehigh & New England (L&NE).
There are alot of interesting towns and small cities too offering transfer and mixing possiblities.
A great mapping resource is SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Northeast Edition, by Mike Walker and published in the UK by Ian Andrews - ISBN 1 874745 10 2.
Hope this is helpful.....and welcome to the forum.
Mark
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