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Dover NH yard plan? Dream and design
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Frequent poster 821 posts edfhinton Frequent poster 821 posts
edfhinton

As I continue to refine my layout plan (and counting down to earliest benchwork start in just over two weeks), I am toying with changing one of my locations to Dover, NH.  I am at a loss, however, to find any sort of track plan information for what the yard layout there looked like in the 1950s.  I've seen some close-up-ish photos of the old turntable, but nothing showing enough of the track layout to know what amount of track for staging cars there was and in what formation. I've temporarily freelanced what I think was possible with a ladder theorized to the east of where the track leading to the turntable appears to have had to have been.  I've got the 4 wide of mainline and sidings that still can be seen from the satellite view today.  But I would love to be able to find out the actual configuration there of the whole yard.  While I have to compress length, it could make a decent yard for me that makes a much better endpoint prior to having track disappear under the layout to head to major staging and a hidden route back around to my helix for continuous running.  

Anyway, if anyone has any leads on what the full configuration was of the Dover NH yard, I'd love to hear of it - or for that matter any ideas on how else i would research it.

Thanks,

-Ed

 

 

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Proprietor - Northern New England Scenic (V3). N scale NH B&M Eastern and western coastal routes in the mid-1950s.

https://nnescenicmodelrr.com

 
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M.C. Fujiwara Frequent poster 629 posts
M.C. Fujiwara

Some Resources

The Dartmouth Digital Library has a collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, one set of which covers Dover in 1912.
As fire insurance maps, they don't always accurately place railroad tracks, but usually do a decent job, especially around rail-served industries.
Also a lot can change between 1912 and 1950

Historic Aerials website provides overhead shots as far back as there were airplanes.
Type in "Dover, NH" and you can see a 1951 overhead (though the quality and detail in the 1962 photos are better).

And the Dover Public Library has a few aerial photos that show tracks.

Unless somebody has a 1950's track plan, sometimes you just have to piece the scene together from various resources like a puzzle (which is part of the fun, too ).

Hope this helps.

--M.C. Fujiwara [Drunk]

​ My YouTube Channel (How-To's, Layout progress videos)

Silicon Valley Free-moN
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JerryC Regular poster 222 posts
JerryC

NMRO Track Charts

Although I can't say for sure, you may be able to find the info you're looking for on the NMRO Northeastern RR Track Chart Vol. 1 CD.  I have been meaninfg to buy this for months, but I have not gotten around to it.  For $12 including shipping it seems it would be a great source.  Here's the link to order:

http://home.comcast.net/~nmro/products-charts.htm

Jerry
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edfhinton Frequent poster 821 posts
edfhinton

Great resources

Those resources are a big help.  It's pretty clear from the Historic Aerials ones that where I theorized there could have been a ladder was an incorrect theory.  And it also showed me some industry sidings on the west side of the line that I didn't anticipate.

The NMRO track charts look worth getting too in the foreseeable future.

-Ed

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Proprietor - Northern New England Scenic (V3). N scale NH B&M Eastern and western coastal routes in the mid-1950s.

https://nnescenicmodelrr.com

 
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