Standard and Nonstandard Railroad Shop Buildings

[kylebig4]

I was looking at the Railroad Valuation Report for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad and noticed in the section that lists buildings, there are Roman numerals afterwards, which I assume indicates a standard building type. For instance, Tool House-- Type XIV or Freight Station--IVa, how do I find drawings for these "standard" buildings. Also, there are buildings that are marked "special" instead of having Roman numerals. I assume these were specifically designed for the site. How do you track down blueprint or drawings for those buildings? Anybody have any tips? I have some photographs, but would prefer actual drawings or blueprints. I'm modeling the Big Four yard at Wabash Indiana if anyone has pictures or is also interested in the Big Four yard at Wabash Indiana.

[orsonroy]

I'm assuming that the valuation map was from around 1919, which is when ALL American railrods had to create val maps for the USRA. That puts the structures in question in the pre-NYC control timeframe. Good luck finding THOSE. I' modelling the P&E, which at the time was controlled by the B4, and I've got a LOT of P&E data. But I've never seen ANY P&E or CCC&StL structure diagrams. You'll have to start hanging out with NYC guys to try and find someone who does have that info. Chances are good that it's out there, but it'll take a few years of searching.

Since you're a B4 fan, you might want to join the VERY active P&E Yahoo Group, and perhaps even the Peoria-area rail group:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/peoriaandeastern/
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/PeoriaRails/

Both groups are very active, and are filled with friendly and VERY knowledgeable people. You might just stumble into someone who has some of what you're looking for!