United States Railroad History

[John_Wilda]

Updated to be current 5/2025:

I have added a section to my website that I wanted to share with everyone. It’s not much, right now but it is growing! (Since I can’t build trains, I might as well research them!) If you are interested in Eastern US rail history (as, most of my material is based in New England), then you’ll enjoy this page. In addition, I’ve written my own section about rail history in the are I grew up. If you like studying old maps, and seeing pictures of railways past, please see [Railroading History: Northampton, MA]. Just today I went for a walk along a very old section of track and I added the matching section to that page my new Northampton page.

(Since I am moving, a Rhode Island section may eventually show up!)

Please feel free to suggest additions or let me know what you think!

[Signalman (Tom Stephens)]

John

You are making the assumption that the RR started pulling up the rail. Maybe it was somebody else.

Some people might find a use for it in their construction projects. I could think of a few.

Tom

[John_Wilda]

That’s a fair point, Tom. I have made adjustments. Thank you!

[John_Wilda]

Since last posting here, I have made tremendous progress on the historical section of my website. There is now a list of places I’ve visited with information and research done on each location, a map of historical sites, and other resources.

Yesterday I had a unique opportunity to explore a disused train station in Westfield, Massachusetts before it is remodeled (again) into a cafe. My job recently bought the building, so I went and took some photos and measurements.
More can be found on my page for Westfield, but here’s a few of my favorite shots.

The building itself!

This is perhaps my favorite part: an old Boston & Albany RR black board. It used to be on a wall upstairs, but (I assume) the insurance company stored it in the basement. The owner of my company saved the piece & made it a part of the contract to buy the building. He’s making sure it stays where it’s meant to be.

Another great shot: These are the old tunnels that run under the ROW for passengers to get to different platforms. The city sealed them off years ago.

The older construction can be seen here…

[smcgill (Sean McGillicuddy)]

Have you talked him into putting a train up along the ceiling yet ?

[John_Wilda]

Not yet. I’m going to repliate my Tandem Box Car, I think. Then, maybe I’ll suggest it to him.

[John_Wilda]

It’s been a while since I shared anything new here. So, I’ll share progress on one of my side projects.

I may have mentioned it before, I honestly can’t remember how long I’ve been at this. In any case, this is attempt No. 4 and this time I am making progress much faster than previously. Below is a portion of my Railroads of New England “family tree”.

As of this post, I am slightly over half way through Ronald Karr’s The Rail Lines of Southern New England, which I am using to guide me through this project. After I complete this book, I’ll be moving onto The Rail Lines of Northern New England and using a few other books for reference and cross-checking. Then, I will add any modern changes to the bottom of the diagram at the end, at which point, it will include railroads from the entirety of North America.

Ultimately, since the project is so large, it will be searchable, with zoom, scroll, etc. once I am far enough along to release it that way. For now, this screenshot is meant to show the size of what I am hoping to accomplish.

I’d love feedback on this project! I think I’ve been staring at it for too long… 😵‍💫

[Cliff_Jennings]

Super impressive, John! Soldier on!