jeff train: Research

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miðvikudagur, 24. desember 2014

Local Histories as Reference

Although the internet can be a great resource sometimes I think we've become just a little too dependent on the "Google Machine." Sure, "Googling" is a great start whether you're shopping or researching how a 200 year-old building looked in 1954, but it's not the only way to get from "here to there."
I've found local town histories are one resource that many modelers overlook. Although in many cases the railroad history in these is thin on details (if not outright incorrect!) they often have wonderful vintage photos and lots of details in the text that may seem a little too down in the weeds for a history not centered on one town or city.

Two of the Arcadia histories I've found useful.

The most obvious source of these are the small format photo books published by Arcadia Publishing. I have the books on most of the towns along the CV, including Essex Junction and White River Junction (which is actually located in Hartford, VT).

The History of Waterbury is a little heavier on text with fewer photos - but there are some images useful to the model railroader such as this shot of Pilgrim Plywood.

Although not as readily available, detailed town histories can be obtained either through local historical societies (which usually are the publishers and distributors of these books) or located and purchased through online book sellers such as Amazon and Alibris.
Most of the ones I've located are reasonably priced, so I simply purchased them. If you locate one that's truly rare the price may be a little steep - especially if you're unsure of how useful the information in the book may be. If you don't wish to purchase the book you try to borrow it through interlibrary loan. Another possibility is to stop in the town library next time you're in the area you're modeling on a research trip - you might find other sources there like old maps and newspapers.
I've had the Acadia books and the Waterbury town history book shown in the photo above for a number of years.

I thought this might make a worthwhile blog post when I was trying to uncover photos of different sides of some of the buildings in Randolph - and not having a lot of look with online searches. I also wanted to find any photos of the Randolph Furniture factory.
After exhausting my usual sources I resigned myself to having to use a commercial model as a "filler" and turned my attention to some of the other buildings. As I was researching the Brigham Gelatine plant I came across an article online from the Randolph newspaper. Although the article was about plans to convert the Gelatine plant to a condo, there was a small photo in the article that credited Wes Herwig's Early Photographs of Randolph Vermont, 1855-1948.
I'd never heard of this book, but a quick search on Amazon revealed a copy for sale. Less than a week later it arrived. It proved well worth the price. There wasn't a single picture of the furniture plant, there were four or five, along with lots of photos of the other buildings in town. (Ironically, there were no pictures of the old coal and ice building, perhaps one of the best known structures in Randolph).

Randolph Furniture. Eventually this would become part of the Ethan Allen Company.

I hope my chance encounter with this book inspires you to check with the local historical societies in the areas you're modeling. You never know what you might uncover.

sunnudagur, 13. maí 2012

A Two-Legged Wye?

Not sure if it's akin to a three-legged dog. The riddle: "When is a wye not a wye?" The answer: "When you only model two legs of it."
Adding a wye to a model railroad is usually a source of frustration and trauma. Sure, a small wye - one that has nothing in the center, can be a fairly straightforward addition to a track plan. But what about those times where the wye has "stuff" - buildings, sidings, and the like - inside?
The wye at Essex Junction was unusual since there was a cut off track (I�m not sure what it was called) that ran between two legs of the wye. Along this cut off track were several industries. Since I didn�t have the depth for the �outer legs� of the wye, I decided to focus my efforts on this cut off track. In essence, I'm modeling two of the three legs of the wye and not connecting them together. (On the prototype, the "missing" leg formed the branch line to Burlington, about 8 miles west of Essex Junction.
Losing the wye is not a problem for me - and trying to include the complete wye was causing all types of track planning issues.
Besides, I�m more interested in the industrial switching possibilities than in modeling the several blocks of commercial and residential buildings that would be required if I wanted to model the complete wye.
In a previous post, I mentioned how I�d switched the position of the trainshed and wye. I also found I had to flip the orientation of the wye itself � a mirror image of the wye. Luckily these changes are almost �transparent to the user� � you have to be pretty familiar with Essex Junction to pick up on the differences between my now-developing layout scene and the actual prototype. The main goal, in my mind, is to capture the overall look of the scene.

This old time photo of the wye area (I�m not sure when it was taken, but based on the locomotive I�d say this pre-dates 1920) shows a couple of key buildings that I wanted to include on the layout. The opening photo shows the area just to the right of the picture about. One of the neatest industries in Essex Junction was the Vermont Maple Sugar Co. (a signature industry for rural Vermont - sometimes you have to almost hit people over the head for them to get what you�re modeling � the sign is a step towards that goal) and the Baxter Brothers cannery.
I know both of those buildings were still there in the 1950s (they�re still there today), and I can get photos and enough information to model them. The other industries that were on that connector track inside the wye are a little more problematic. I hadn�t turned up any photos showing those buildings until I came across the UVM website that included aerial photos of Essex Junction in the 1930s. I do have footprints of the buildings from both the railroad drawings of Essex Junction and Sanborn Maps. I also managed to locate the buildings, as they appear today, in Bing Maps overhead views of Essex Junction.
I�ve adjusted the position of some of the buildings to better fit the layout space, but I have already built mockups of the Vermont Maple building, the Baxter Brothers cannery, and several of the other industries have been mocked up by taping pieces of various kits together.

föstudagur, 6. apríl 2012

Historic Photos of Vermont

I ran across a tremendous resource at the University of Vermont web site. A collection of historic photo graphs of Vermont, many of which show scenes familiar to railroad modelers of the state. I found two of them of particular interest:

The first was this view of Essex Junction that shows the industries located in the around the wye - this shot dates from 1930 (the dates on some of the captions have been questioned, but the presence of the Burlington & Lamoille RR trackage in the middle of the wye makes me believe the 1939 date.

Another neat find was this photo showing a close up of the Demeritt Company in Waterbury.

laugardagur, 5. mars 2011

Lay of the Lost Traveler

Essex Junction is the location where a short branch to Burlington connects to the Central Vermont�s mainline. Until the late 1930s, that branch didn�t end at the CV main, it actually crossed itt as the Burlington & Lamoille branch of the CV (named after the original B&L RR).

As one of the key scenes on my layout I've done a lot of research on Essex Junction over the years. One of the most interesting things to turn up in my research is the following poem. (I'm not particularly into poetry . . . oh heck, I can't stand it and never read it after I finished school and didn't have to . . .) But the following goes to show just how classy this blog is - not just poetry but 19th century poetry no less.

A number of railroad towns have been immortalized in poetry and song over the years, and Essex Junction is no exception. The poem, �Lay of the Lost Traveler� is said to have been inspired when the author, the Honorable Edward J. Phelps, left Burlington on the so-called �shuttle train� for Boston via Essex Junction. He stepped off this train in Essex and waited for the arrival of the mainline train. The usual shifting of trains took place and Mr. Phelps, without inquiring, got on board the train he anticipated would take him to Boston. In fact, he had reboarded the �shuttle� train which promptly deposited Mr. Phelps back in Burlington, his starting point. There, on his arrival, he penned the following:

The Lay of the Lost Traveler

With saddened eye and battered hat

And eye that told of black despair,

On wooden bench the traveler sat,

Cursing the fate that brought him there.

�Nine hours,� he cried, �we�ve lingered here

With thought intent on distant homes,

Waiting for that delusive train

That, always coming, never comes,

Till weary, worn

Distressed, forlorn

And paralyzed in every function!

I hope in hell

His soul my dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!

�Here Boston waits for Ogdensburg

And Ogdensburg for Montreal,

And late New York tarrieth

And Saratoga hindereth all!

From far Atlantic� wave-swept bays

To Mississippi�s turbid tide

All accidents, mishaps, delays,

Are gathered here and multiplied!

Oh, fellow man avoid this spot

As you would plague or Peter Funk shun!

And I hope in hell

His soul may dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!

�And long and late conductors tell

Of trains delayed or late or slow,

Till the e�en the very engine�s bell

Takes up the cry, 'No go! No go!'

Oh! Let me from this hole depart,

By any route so�t be a lone one,�

He cried, with madness in his heart,

And jumped aboard a train � the wrong one.

And as he vanished in the smoke

He shouted with redoubled unction,

�I hope in hell

His soul may dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!�