As a newbie to this I notice that modelers "model" their layouts after the real thing. I am wondering where one goes to find out more about a particular "line" they would like to replicate? For example we have trains that run from Chattanooga, Tn to Summerville, Ga. (tours) and back. How would I go about modeling that?
Your help and advise is appreciated.
Tennessee Valley Railroad:
http://www.tvrail.com/
Suggest you write to them regarding your interest. Contact information:
http://www.tvrail.com/pages/contact-us
This Tracks Ahead video has a segment on the Tennessee Valley Railroad
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tennessee+valley+railroad
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
I model a specific slightly blurred point in space-time, the Upper Kiso Valley in Central Japan in September, 1964, The visible track spans about ten kilometers, not a journey across several states.
For information I rely primarily on my own photos, field notes and support documentation acquired at the time (I spent most of that month in Agematsu) and on the timetables, topo maps and tourist-type data I picked up on the spot. The most useful information was acquired by riding the lines (JNR and Kiso Forest Railway) and talking to people who worked for them.
If I wanted to start replicating that data today, the job would be difficult. Agematsu has changed, the JNR has changed, the Kiso Rintetsu hauled its last logs in 1975...
If you have a particular rail route in mind, the first thing to do is travel along those parts you can reach. Then you can start research on the towns, what the railroad did there, specifics of track arrangements, buildings and rolling stock... Be aware that if you want to dig into all the details the process rivals developing a Doctorate level history thesis in time, cost and difficulty.
Chuck (Modeling a few square kilometers of Central Japan in September, 1964)