Links

Railroad History/Maps:

AbandonedRails.com - A website that has helped extensively with finding and tracing abandoned
lines.

An Atlas Obscura Article About The Map.


Brief History of New York City Transportation - A brief overview of the development of the New York City Transit Network, from horse-drawn carriages to today's subway system. Thanks to Cindy and Liam Powell for the link!


Denver Rails - As the name suggests, this page has some great info and history on the railroads of Denver, Colorado and the Western US.

Directory of Railroad History Research Locations (Railway and Locomotive Historical Society)


FRA Rail Map - This is a comprehensive map of the active US Rail Network, including railroad crossing information and safety data.

Industrial History - Blog, notes and maps by Dennis DeBruler. Extremely thorough information!

Library of Congress - Collection documenting the Beginning of American Railroads and Mapping.

Mississippi Railroads Google Earth Maps - A fantastic collection of created active and abandoned railroad maps by Tony Howe.

Rails and Trails 


Rail Map Online - A similar project to ours, with much more accuracy in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition, they have a terrific viewer for kml/kmz data, which can come in handy when comparing new and old maps, among certainly other uses.

Railmap.xyz - An ongoing project to map the active passenger routes in the United States.

Railways Archive - A great resource for British Railway history including train wrecks.

Southeastern Illinois Railroads - David Cantrell's website full of information, links and maps on railroads that ran in the Southeastern part of Illinois.

STB Railroad Map Depot - "The Surface Transportation Board’s Railroad Map Depot is the agency’s clearinghouse for geospatial data, including interactive maps of past and ongoing cases before the Board."

Texas State Historical Association - An invaluable resource for many of Texas' early railroads.

University of Georgia Rare Map Collection - Rare transportation maps.

University of Alabama Railroad Map Collection - Maps of various railroads, particularly in the Southern US.


General Railroad Information:

 Rail Serve - A listing of rail related links and information.
Other Maps/Links:

David Rumsey Map Collection - One of the largest collections of topo maps, as well as some historic geocoded maps.

Historic Aerials - This site has probably helped more than any other with regard to finding abandoned railroad lines for my map. In addition to historic aerial views, it has an extensive collection of topo maps as well.

Library of Congress Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection - Highly detailed maps of urban areas from the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Some maps are also available from the University of Illinois.

Official Map of the Lincoln Highway - An incredible resource on the many different alignments the Lincoln had throughout its lifetime.

Route 66 Map Online - A simple, yet highly detailed, map of the entire Mother Road.

TrailLink - A resource focused entirely on rail trails and bike trails across the United States.

University of Illinois Historical Maps - For Illinois related historical maps.

University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - An amazing resource for historical maps of all kinds!

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - Digital Map Collection

USGS Topographic Map Viewer - Some more historic topo maps can be found here that aren't on historic aerials.


General History:

Illinois Digital Archives

South Cook Explore - An excellent website devoted to the history of the southern region of Cook County and adjacent areas. This site has Google Maps devoted to historic sites in the area.


Railroad Museums/Depots: 

 Illinois Railway Museum

Fox River Trolley Museum

The Museums at Lisle Station Park

Utah State Railroad Museum (Ogden City)

New Buffalo Railroad Museum

And Many More on our Railroad Points of Interest Map!

If you know of another link that should be on here, please contact railtrace91@gmail.com

Popular posts from this blog

The Underwater Water Slide: Fly Over at Durinrell TikiBad

Image
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image:  XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat tha
Read more

Railroad Vocabulary: A List of Words and Phrases Used in the Industry - Updated February 2024

Image
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent.  BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i
Read more

The Abandoned Route 66 in McCook, IL

Image
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not.  One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would
Read more