Prototype References

NOTE: You may have arrived here from one of my other model railroading websites. This is not an accident; I've consolidated reference information here so that I'm not maintaining multiple resources with the same information across multiple sites. Links open in new tabs/browser windows.

Photo Collections

• Along the Rails: Scenic Views Along the Railroads — a Webshots album
• Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County — fascinating resource for favorite modeling subject matter
• Central of New Jersey Information — roster and location photos
• Conrail Caboose Photo Archive
• Dave's Electric Railroads — electric railroad, interurban, and streetcar photography from many eras
• David Plowden — official site of one of my favorite photographers
• Eastern Western Rail Images — where photography from the East and the West meet
• Existing Railroad Stations in New York State
• Fallen Flags and Other Railroad Photos — an endless supply of reference images
• Funnel Fan — photography and information about Pacific Northwest Railroading
• Houghton's RailImages — photos of Boston & Maine, Bangor & Aroostook, and other New England lines (beware the dreaded background music on the home page! Best to start from here: B&M, BAR, Conrail, D&H, Green Mountain, MEC, P&W, VTR, N&WNY, Shortlines)
• Kahndog Publications — book publisher website
• The Lawrence & Houseworth Albums — historical photographs
• Layout Design Special Interest Group — help for layout design concepts
• List of New Jersey Railroads — it is what it says
• LocoPhotos.com — got locos? How about 50,000+?
• Logging — steam in the woods
• Maine Rail Photos — Larry Goss shares his photos
• MEC Mountain Division in Detail — a Picasa photo album
• Model Railroader Magazine — that which originally inspired me to pursue the serious side of model railroading
• National Model Railroad Association — it may not be for me, but don't let that stop you from joining
• NERAIL — new England Photo Archive... ~50,000 photos!
• North East Rails — over 15,000 photos, concise histories and comprehensive rosters for Central New Jersey, Reading, Lehigh Valley and eleven others
• Ohio Railroad Photography — railroad photography by David and his son
• The Project Gutenberg eBook of The New York Subway
• RailcarPhotos — got railcars? as in tens of thousands?
• Railpace Newsmagazine — one of my favorite railroad periodicals
• RailroadForums.com — another endless sea of reference photos
• Railroad History Archive — "almost gone"
• Railroad Maps Collection — a great reference
• Railroad Pictures Archive — nearly a million images
• RailwayStation.com — vintage railroad images
• Reading RR Diesel Roster — self-explanatory
• Tunnel Tour of New Jersey — there's more than you might think
• VirginiaTech Imagebase — over 12,000 museum-quality period reference images, mostly of the Norfolk and Western, from the 1880s to the 1920s
• William McFadden's Railroad Page — interesting and diverse galleries

Railroad-Specific Resources

• B&O RR Photo Tours — voted top B&O history website
• Bedford And Bloomfield Branch — a (formerly) narrow gauge shortline with character
• Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad — a Maine shortline that could almost be modeled in its entirety
• Black Diamonds to Tidewater — the Old Company's Lehigh and Central Railroad of New Jersey in the Anthracite Region
• Black River and Western RR — principal real-life inspiration for the vast majority of my modeling
• Central New England Railway — real-life counterpart to my fictional Greater New England Railroad (WR&N Version II).
• Central Railroad of New Jersey — my #1 road
• Chicago "L" — the single most interesting mass transit railroad (to me)
• Consolidated Rail Corporation — the railroad you love to hate
• Edsanders.com — railroading in New Hampshire Today
• Gerald's Railroads Of New Jersey — covering just about everything that moves in the Garden State
• Hoboken Shore Railroad — So... What's the Hoboken Shore?
• Indiana Harbor Belt Archive — no idea why I like this railroad, but...
• Lehigh Valley R.R. — my #3 road
• New Hope and Ivyland RR — another real-life inspiration for the WR&N
• New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois Railroad — nothing to do with NJ!
• North Stratford Railroad Company — in the heart of beautiful New Hampshire
• Penn Central Railroad Online — for those intrigued by that strange time
• The Pennsylvania Railroad: The Philadelphia & Erie, Erie & Pittsburgh, and Chautauqua Branches
• Rahway Valley Railroad — ending service in 1992, this was one of the most successful shortlines of the Northeast
• Raritan River Railroad — history and images of the RRRR (also see Tom's RRRR Page)
• Reading Company Technical & Historical Society — almost everything you ever wanted to know about the Reading, my #2 road
• The Reading's Perkiomen Branch — obscure little bridge line
• Western Maryland Railway — photogenic

Technical Information

• Geared Steam Locomotive Works — loads of information on Shays, Heislers, Climaxes, and a few you've probably never heard of...
• Mike's Railroad Crossing Website — yes, a website devoted exclusively to railroad crossings
• The Paul Knutson Railroad Signal Collection in WI — one man's collection... at his home!
• Railroad Data — how far apart are mainline tracks? How thick are grab irons? How heavy is rail? Invaluable everyday information.
• Railroad Signal Site — signals to suit every occasion
• Railroad Signaling and Communications — images and information
• Rail Specifications — a reference for rail weights and dimensions
• Railroad Turnout Drawings — accurate templates in HO and N, courtesy of Randy Gordon-Gilmore of ProtoTrains

Return to the Links Index for:

• James River Branch
• T Gauge Headquarters
• White River and Northern