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Obtaining Information about Pittsburgh Steam Era Railroading

D dpgOGR Forum Member

I have taken a whole new approach to my layout. I had started the design with the approach of having a small town, an industrial area, farming and country, and a rail yard. The first realization is that my layout was too small. I had planned on a 61/2 foot by 14 foot. I now know that I need to make it bigger and this will involve removing a wall in my family room and dealing with a support post. The advantage will be a bigger layout but also one that I will be able to walk around all four sides.

 

I have started looking at old photos of Pittsburgh and saw a documentary on TV that took you in the cab of a modern day coal train from Greene County PA up through Pittsburgh and around the famous Horseshoe Bend near Altoona to a power plant. I found it fascinating to watch.

 

While this means I have purchased the wrong accessories and such for my original design I now am really interested in designing a layout that would be realistic to Pittsburgh PA. I already had signage and such but want to know where to get research data for the train routes that crossed the city and their main purposes.

 

Are there any online sites that might show the routes of the old trains and also photos of the buildings and equipment they encountered along the way?

 

Any suggestions for a starting point will be appreciated. I have also just sent in my membership to the Fort Pitt Division of the TCA hoping to meet others there that can help.

 

Thanks!

Dave

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BT Becky, Tom & Gabe MorganOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Pittsburgh has an incredibly rich rail history. Depending on the era, you have all kinds of possibilities.

Google Earth is your friend. Check for the historic view option of the part of Pittsburgh you're looking to model. This might help, too:

http://www.steelcactus.com/PGH2005HOME.html

Here are some nearby coke works:

http://patheoldminer.rootsweb....y.com/fayshoaf3.html

This site has a lot of information:

http://home.comcast.net/~Vagel...lHeritage.htm#rrhist

Also check the Heinz Regional History Center, which has extensive photo collections, and you'd probably like the Carnegie Science Center Miniature Railroad--they're about to go into holiday mode if memory serves me correctly.

 

There are also several Yahoo groups dedicated to the history of the Burgh and vicinity, and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington not only has a selection of Pittsburgh streetcars, but a lot of good material about theinterurban system.

 

--Becky

D dpgOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Becky, Tom & Gabe Morgan:

Pittsburgh has an incredibly rich rail history. Depending on the era, you have all kinds of possibilities.

Google Earth is your friend. Check for the historic view option of the part of Pittsburgh you're looking to model. This might help, too:

http://www.steelcactus.com/PGH2005HOME.html

Here are some nearby coke works:

http://patheoldminer.rootsweb....y.com/fayshoaf3.html

This site has a lot of information:

http://home.comcast.net/~Vagel...lHeritage.htm#rrhist

Also check the Heinz Regional History Center, which has extensive photo collections, and you'd probably like the Carnegie Science Center Miniature Railroad--they're about to go into holiday mode if memory serves me correctly.

 

There are also several Yahoo groups dedicated to the history of the Burgh and vicinity, and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington not only has a selection of Pittsburgh streetcars, but a lot of good material about theinterurban system.

 

--Becky

Thank you very much for the information.

 

I work in downtown Pittsburgh so one day I can stop at the Heinz museum. I also live about 10 minutes from the Trolley Museum in Washington

 

Thanks again it will make a great start!

Chris DChris DOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
trolley museum is a must!  there is such rail history all over the region, many books about greensburg, pittsburgh, and small towns in the region. lots of rail history.  If you model the old PRR main line there are cool things about that in books.  Originally Posted by Becky, Tom & Gabe Morgan:

Pittsburgh has an incredibly rich rail history. Depending on the era, you have all kinds of possibilities.

Google Earth is your friend. Check for the historic view option of the part of Pittsburgh you're looking to model. This might help, too:

http://www.steelcactus.com/PGH2005HOME.html

Here are some nearby coke works:

http://patheoldminer.rootsweb....y.com/fayshoaf3.html

This site has a lot of information:

http://home.comcast.net/~Vagel...lHeritage.htm#rrhist

Also check the Heinz Regional History Center, which has extensive photo collections, and you'd probably like the Carnegie Science Center Miniature Railroad--they're about to go into holiday mode if memory serves me correctly.

 

There are also several Yahoo groups dedicated to the history of the Burgh and vicinity, and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington not only has a selection of Pittsburgh streetcars, but a lot of good material about theinterurban system.

 

--Becky

 

P prrjimOGR Forum Member

Slight change of advice, but with the addtional space, consider making the layout around the walls rather than an island.    Make the tables/shelves/benchwork about 30-36 inches wide so you can reach across to the wall.    My experience is this gives you a lot more real estate for track and scenery.   Also, on an island layout, when you look at it, you see the whole thing - - all views even if they represent some miles away.    However, when working around the walls, when you look at a section of the layout, the rest of it is behind or beside you, so you don't see it all at once.   It reinforcess the idea that the trains travel from place to place as they go around the layout.

G3750G3750OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER
Originally Posted by prrjim:

Slight change of advice, but with the addtional space, consider making the layout around the walls rather than an island.    Make the tables/shelves/benchwork about 30-36 inches wide so you can reach across to the wall.    My experience is this gives you a lot more real estate for track and scenery.   Also, on an island layout, when you look at it, you see the whole thing - - all views even if they represent some miles away.    However, when working around the walls, when you look at a section of the layout, the rest of it is behind or beside you, so you don't see it all at once.   It reinforcess the idea that the trains travel from place to place as they go around the layout.

That's an excellent point.  More than 30" deep in a scene is wasted space.

 

George

F fmbugmanOGR Forum Member

Routes I would get from the library "SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America Northeast".  Truthfully everything else (online) when it comes to routes has been a pain and not worth the effort with vague landmarks on not so great maps in my opinion.  It covers the obscure (West Side Belt Railroad) to the alphabet soup around the town (PLE, PWV, BO, PRR NYC, PMY, BLE, WPR, PMR, MTR, PLW, URR and so many more). 

D dpgOGR Forum Member

OP here,

 

Thanks to everyone that has responded! I now have much more information then I knew was available. I've just started moving stuff out of the family room and it is going to be a long process. Anyone want a mint condition Air Hockey Table or a early vintage large screen TV?

 

Regarding the layout around the walls I understand but once I have the room emptied and the wall torn down I will post for advice. I will have to deal with a woodburner stove and multiple doors that will make an around the walls layout difficult

 

Thanks again to everyone!

 

Dave

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