Large Scale Central

Abandoned Rails

Prototypes
#1

If you are like me: retired and don’t have a life.

I found this site:

http://www.abandonedrails.com/

Then I load Google Earth and look for the old rail beds, stations and such. I’ve found old water tanks, bridges, tunnels etc. Kinda fun thing to do on a rainy day.

#2

When was the last time you saw rain, its been hot out lately. Great site!!!

#3

Chuck Inlow said:

When was the last time you saw rain, its been hot out lately. Great site!!!

Chuck, its been exactly 8 days since the last rain, here in beautiful Deer Park, WA.

#4

John Bouck said:

If you are like me: retired and don’t have a life.

I found this site:

http://www.abandonedrails.com/

Then I load Google Earth and look for the old rail beds, stations and such. I’ve found old water tanks, bridges, tunnels etc. Kinda fun thing to do on a rainy day.

Now that was interesting! There’s a lot of old abandoned rail lines around me and the ROW’s are still in evidence. Over the years I’ve managed to find out a bit more about them, and that website helps a lot.

Thanks for posting it…:wink:

#5

Chuck Inlow said:

When was the last time you saw rain, its been hot out lately. Great site!!!

yesterday

#6

Now that is a neat site. It is fun to poke around and I’ll have to remember to check it before our next trip - there just might be something interesting nearby.

#7

Steve Featherkile said:

Chuck Inlow said:

When was the last time you saw rain, its been hot out lately. Great site!!!

Chuck, its been exactly 8 days since the last rain, here in beautiful Deer Park, WA.

News this morning said we are 17.36" over our average for this year in Eastern Tennessee. Been one rainy year and still have rain forecast for the next week.

#8

It is much easier to see the ROW out west in the deserts on Google Earth.
I lose a lot in the treed or mountains.
You can see the water sidings and wyes.
Some, like the Tonapah & Tidewater, you can almost follow the entire route, from North to South.
Then if the route happens to pass thru a town,
and close enough to a highway Google has gone to street level, you can switch and get a view of a station or water tower.

#9

John Bouck said:
It is much easier to see the ROW out west in the deserts on Google Earth. I lose a lot in the treed or mountains.

True; but if you know where to look and you choose the right elevation and angle to view from, the newer growth trees can point out the route of the right-of way. I spent and entire weekend last winter finding the long unused and overgrown ROW of the East Broad Top south of Orbisonia to Robertsdale, PA. I was quite surprised to be able to see the curvature of the roadbed in the middle of a densely forested mountain area.

#10

One of my projects for this summer is to follow the ROW of the now abandoned Deer Park Central Railroad, a logging railroad that ran north out of Deer Park, WA. Scroll down to page 6 of the pdf (page 378 of the collected newsletter) to read about it. I went there a couple of years ago and found a spike half buried in the dirt. Perhaps I can do better, next time. Since it crosses private land, I’ll have to get permission from the owners.