Can any of you direct me to maps that have detailed RR names and locations of the lines running East from Chicago for the 1900-1920 time period? Are there good topos available somewhere? Did Indiana and Illinois issue good RR maps then? Were there employee timetables that gave good detailed maps? WJPowers

NKP1155 -

The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum had a map of the state of Indiana for sale at one time. This map dated to about 1900 as I recall. For instance, it did not show the predecessor of the Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana line as it was not completed when that map was originally printed. But other railroads in Indiana are all there. I believe that we still have that map available for sale from our gift shop.

Les

All of the United State Geological Survey topographic maps - both the 15 minute and 7 1/2 minute quadrangles - are available for free download at:

http://nationalmap.gov/historical/

The site is a bit difficult to navigate, and works best if you already know the name of the quadrangle of interest, but once you get the hang of it, there's a ton of useful information available there.

/s/ Larry
Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.

I hope replying to a February 25, 2015 post isn't too late.

A very useful source of older maps featuring railroad routes can be found here:

http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/

In your case, you're seeking an area east of Chicago.

Go to the URL above, and type "Gary, Indiana" in the upper left window labeled [Find a Place].

A general map of the area east of Chicago will be displayed on your screen.
Hover your computor mouse pointer over the center portion of the map and left click on the map.

A timelime from about 1900 to 1990s will appear below the map area.

You'll see that a 1900 map of Tolestan (the upper icon) is available.
Left click on the upper Tolestan icon and a PDF file of the map is made available for
download at the left. The download comes in a zip file that contains the PDF map file.
It's fairly detailed. Take a look!

John

If you could access one of the late Don Ball Jr.'s books such as "America's Railroads" Though mostly pictures, there are maps of all across the country. They show only mainlines so, if you're looking for a small town branch line chances are, ten to one, you won't find it. They're at least good for picture reference of the 50's through 70's.

NKP 1155 -

I checked at the museum today, and confirmed that this map is still in stock. It sells for $7 and is about 24" x 30". Can be ordered on-line from our gift shop.

Les