Finding pictures or blueprints of industries

[Anonymous]

I have a few companies that I would like to model on my upcoming layout, but even though I have plenty of info. on what they manufactured, I have no idea of what the plants looked like or how big they were. Are there any companies that sell blueprints of factories in HO scale, or does anyone have pictures of firms in the Quincy, Ill area?

thanks in advance,
Christopher

[Anonymous]

Christopher:

I'd start with the Quincy city or county historical societies. Likely they have web sites and physical archives you could browse through. Period industry publications are also a good source: Iron and Steel Age for the steel industry, The Lamp for Standard Oil.

Not knowing your era or location I can't be certain but an old fashioned "field trip" to the Quincy area should yield surprising results and other leads.

Good Luck

Randy

[jrbarney]

Christopher,
If you get to the Quincy area, I would also suggest stopping by the local public library to enquire whether they have back issues of Quincy area newspapers. You may find useful photos there, or if they're generous, at the newspaper "morgue" of photos. And, just possibly, you might find plans at the building code office or its equivalent.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

Well, I'm in the same area of Illinois as Quincy, so getting there wouldnt be too hard.
Particularly, I am interested in modeling the following companies:
Knapheide Mfg.- makes truck and trailer bodies
Motorola Inc.-makes car radios for Ford and Chrysler
Gardner-Denver Co.-makes air compressors for industrial use
Moorman Mfg.-mills soybean meal

I do have a picture of the CB&Q station in QUincy, but not one which you could build a model off of.

[dknelson]

Don't ignore E-Bay. For whatever reason in the early 20th century there were often postcards made of factory buildings. For that matter, have you tried Google's "images" search engine for Quincy or the names of the industries? I have found some real gems on the internet on websites I never would have thought of on my own
Dave Nelson

[jrbarney]

Christopher,
If you go on the "field trip" Randy suggested, you might also want to visit the Chamber of Commerce for Quincy to see if they can provide any help. Also, while you're at the library see if they have a file of annual stock reports for the companies in which you are interested. And, if all else fails, you could try writing letters to the public relations department of the larger companies.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

Don't ignore E-Bay. For whatever reason in the early 20th century there were often postcards made of factory buildings. For that matter, have you tried Google's "images" search engine for Quincy or the names of the industries? I have found some real gems on the internet on websites I never would have thought of on my own
Dave Nelson

Tried that and found a pic of the Burlington and Wabash stations.

[XG01X]

I don't have anything on Quincy; but I have Pics of processors of corn and beans in Central IL.
Cargil @ Bloomington
ADM @ Decatur
Pillsbury @ Springfield

[philnrunt]

Ask the librarian if they have access to Sanborn Fire and Insurance Maps. These were made for insurance companies and are very detailed, usually showing every building and rail spur. I think if you try" fire and insurance maps" on a search engine, you can find out more about them.
Other companies made them too, can't remember their names.