Hi all,
Does anyone have any info on UP's Ord branch in Nebraska in the 1950s? I am modeling this area and don't have a whole lot of info on track arrangements/facilities in the various towns. I do have a relatively good idea of the online industries (from ads in old newspapers), but nothing comprehensive.
If anyone has any information on anything related to this (photos or text) I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
A good start would be historical topographic maps from the USGS. They are (or should be) availble on line for free. I believe the whole country was done in the 1940s.
The track arrangements might not be exact, but they are typically pretty close. Sanborn fire insurance maps are also a good place to look (these are a bit harder to come by, search around for state colleges/universities, they sometimes have historic document collections).
I assume that a UP railroad historical society exists somewhere, they might have archives that may be able to help (typically they want you to join, but it is almost always well worth it).
On google earth you can typically find where tracks once ran. Street view allows you to get a close up of the buildings which will help clue you in to the track arrangements. Those ads likely have addresses associated with them, so you can at least get a start with the street address (does not always work, as the post office sometimes changes these things/google does sometimes get it wrong).
The free USGS historical topo site can be useful for general arrangements at a particular timehttp://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/
But these aren't perfectly accurate for the finer details.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
Thanks BMMECNYC and cuyama for the ideas and the link. I found some pretty good maps at USGS and they are the only ones I have found from the 1950s. I would agree, the maps do lack in some of the finer details, but they are a pretty good start. I have found some sanborn maps but not many.
I will try to track down some addresses from those ads.
It appears that the branch still runs to Ord. It appears that Ord may have been the end of the line in the steam era (there is a wye), but there may be another explanation. From satelite view it appears that the railroad ran NW roughly following route 11 to Burwell. I lost it there. It appears that the line was cut when the Calamus resevoir was built (picked up what appears to be the line after the resevoir).
Yes the UP line ended at Ord. The line to Burwell was a CB&Q branch that also went through Ord.
I am modeling the towns of North Loup and Elba, to the southeast, since I don't really have the room to do Ord justice.
OT
Is the line currently operated by a shortline? I grew up in GI. Spent some time as a boy messing around the Scotia chalk mines.
Your layout would be interesting to me.
- Douglas
Doughless,
The line is now operated by the Nebraska Central RR.
That is so cool that you used to hang around the Scotia chalk mines! I have done some research on them but haven't come up with much. Maybe you can fill in some gaps in my info. I read that a paint company from Omaha opened the mine in the 1930s and shipped blocks of the chalk out of Scotia in boxcars, but I never heard when it closed. Do you know? (I know it's a tourist attraction now). Also, do you know if they had their own siding, or did they use the Scotia team track?
Right now my layout is just a 4x8 of Elba and North Loup. I'm contemplating an extension to include Scotia, and hope to eventually build an around the walls layout and model the whole branch.
Union Pacific 428 Doughless, The line is now operated by the Nebraska Central RR. That is so cool that you used to hang around the Scotia chalk mines! I have done some research on them but haven't come up with much. Maybe you can fill in some gaps in my info. I read that a paint company from Omaha opened the mine in the 1930s and shipped blocks of the chalk out of Scotia in boxcars, but I never heard when it closed. Do you know? (I know it's a tourist attraction now). Also, do you know if they had their own siding, or did they use the Scotia team track? Right now my layout is just a 4x8 of Elba and North Loup. I'm contemplating an extension to include Scotia, and hope to eventually build an around the walls layout and model the whole branch.
GI was home to one of the busiest freight crossings at grade with the UP double mainline and BN's Alliance (powder river) branch meeting in the east side of town.
My time frame was the 70's and I was into the big mainline trains and didn't know much about Ord. After you research a bit, you'll know more about it than me. Sounds like you already do.
I figured the chalk mine had rail service at one point. I'll be interested in reading anything you come up with.
I'm a modern rail enthusiast and not so much a historian, but knowing how the current Nebraska Central line evolved from the former Ord branch would be interesting.
If you google "happy jack chalk mine" you find the tourist website about the mine (they offer tours). They have a page on history, but not much detail on train operations.
The Nebraska Central took over the Ord branch and 4 or 5 other branches (1 from BN/BNSF) in the early 90s I think.
I've done a lot of research on the Ord branch, and mostly just coming up short on specifics on lineside industries and photos from the 50s.