Railroads

I am interested in many facets of railroading, including:

history,
signaling and interlocking towers, and
safety and operating practices

Chicago area interlocking towers are of special interest, since I have been fortunate enough to observe operations inside several of the century-old interlocking towers that protected, and in some cases continue to protect, Chicago's numerous junctions and crossings.

Interlocking Towers

I maintain two of my late father's projects: the Page of Towers which includes schematic diagrams and photos of numerous Chicago-area interlocking towers, and his memoir, My Best Summer Job: Working EJ&E Towers in 1963.

Fort Collins Railroad Map

A map of the modern day railroads of Fort Collins, Colorado, including the BNSF street-running on Mason Street. I make no guarantees of map accuracy, and welcome changes and additions.

> Click here to view

Denver Union Station
Area Railroad Map

A map of the railroads in the area of Denver, Colorado's Union Station.

> Click here to view

Chicago Rail Locations

I am currently creating a set of overlays that can be used with Google Earth, using open source mapping data. It shows current and abandoned mainline trackage of railroads in Chicago and northwest Indiana, separated by ownership, subdivision, and showing major yards, junctions, and interchange points. Check back here for updates.

Indiana Harbor Belt

Another mapping project. My map of the modern-day IHB railroad appears in the book Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad in Color, published by Morning Sun Books in 2011. The book can be purchased on Amazon or from Morning Sun.

Essays

Why Watch Trains?
The question has often been asked of me, "Why do you watch trains?" Curious people have inquired why I might spend my vacation chasing mile-long coal trains across central Nebraska instead of catching a plane to some warm, humid paradise.

Photo Essays

I'm not much into doing photo essays at the moment, but figured I would leave these three originals as they are. You can find better photos at most of these locations by just doing a quick web search... but if nothing else, they give a taste of mainline railroading in the West, and I guess that was more-or-less their purpose in the first place.