"Agricultural Implement & Paint Dealer" - Part 1 - Researching

I need to get started on this since I've committed to doing a clinic on how I research and model prototype specific structures for the Mid Atlantic Railroad Prototype Modelers (MARPM) meet at the end of next month. 
The series of blog posts for this project will not include all the photos/diagrams/etc... from the clinic - think of this as an overview of the project. For a more in-depth description consider attending the MARPM.

While I have some typical New England buildings left over from prior layouts that I will be using on the Richford Branch, I certainly plan to model some signature structures. The first of these is this "Agricultural Implement & Paint" dealer, which still stands in Enosburg Falls, Vermont. 
I've known about this building, with its unusual front corner door, for a number of years. In fact, I first noticed it in an early issue of the CVRHS Ambassador when it appeared in an article on the Richford Branch. 
Sanborn Maps label the structure as Agricultural Implement & Paint." What the name lacks in pizzazz it makes up for specificity. Reviewing the maps over the years show the building was originally L-shaped with peaked roofs. At some point between 1920 (the date of the latest Sanborn Map on the LOC website) and 1960 or so when the Ambassador photo was taken, the building received a flat roofed addition that converted the footprint to a rectangle from an "L."
Some places change radically from year to year or decade to decade, meaning the opportunity to a building from the 19th century standing relatively unchanged is pretty rare for some parts of the country. Luckily for me, rural Vermont is not one of those parts. 
A quick wander around the streets of Enosburg Falls on Google Maps streetview show the building still stands, and is remarkably unchanged. I did screen captures showing all the sides of the building. I've included those below:

This view shows the rear of the building. You can see the original "L" footprint.

 "Trackside" perspective (the building was located directly
alongside the Richford Branch mainline.) The angled front door is 

visible to the left. 

Compare this Google Streetview with the b&w 
photo above to see how little the building has changed. 

Full in the knowledge that I need to come up with a better name for this thing, I thought I had enough information to get started on the model. 
I have two more potential sources of photos/information to check for this structure. 
The first is the history of Enosburg Falls (if you've seen the video layout updates on my YouTube channel you've seen this book). 
I also need to check the Central Vermont Railway in Steam, Volume 3, DVD which features a trip in a van up the Richford Branch to see if this store shows up at any point. It's surprising what shows up in that video - for instance, the only overall photo I've ever found of the Richford plywood plant happens to be in that DVD. 
If anything turns up in either place I'll do a post highlighting what I've found. Otherwise, the next post in this thread will show the approach to site planning and mocking up the building. 

Sheldon Junction Bridge

Richford Local crossing Missisquoi River, John Krause photo

It's been a number of years since I've bought bridge kits. The scenic highlight of the new layout, as on the prototype, will be the crossing of the Missisquoi River at Sheldon Junction. The railroad crossed the river on three through truss bridges. At least it was three until June 29, 1984. On that date the last four cars on a B&M/CP detour train derailed, and in the process destroyed one of the spans beyond repair. 

Ian Stronach photo

That derailment was really the end of the Richford branch as a railroad line - as the tracks were abandoned east of that point and the damaged span removed. 
I've seen photos of the bridge - such as John Krause's photo above and Ian Stronach's photo shown to the right. 
I figured the bridge looks close enough to the Central Valley Truss bridge that I'd simply order three of them and build them up. 
But in the years since I've bought a bridge - or seriously looked at bridge kits - Central Valley has added to their product line by offering their "classic" bridge as an Eastern Gusseted or Punch Plate bridge. Great, knowing my luck I'll pick one of the three, guess wrong and find out only after it's installed on the railroad!
Google to the rescue. 
Even the railroad tracks are long gone the Richford Branch right-of-way is still there - as a bike trail. And Google Maps

Google Street View of the Sheldon Springs bridge. 

offers a street view from the bike trail taken from the bridge. 
A few quick clicks and I was able to determine the original Central Valley Pratt Truss bridge is the closest to the prototype. I was also able to use the map

to determine the length of the span - the Central Valley bridge is 150 feet long, meaning three spans measure 450 feet. Google Maps indicates the river is about 370 feet or so across - but that's today's bike trail - as shown in the John Krause photo above, the abutments weren't located on the edge of the river, meaning 450 feet or so should be close enough, and ought to make for an impressive scene. 
Naturally, guess which version was nowhere to be found at Timomium last weekend!

Unanswered Questions

An early photo of the Missisquoi Pulp & Paper plant in Sheldon Springs on the CV's Richford Branch. 

Researching railroad history can be a rewarding and fascinating past time. 
As a rule, historians focus primarily on "macro" examinations of their subject. And railroad histories for many years were the realm of classic economic or business historians. I remember reading the railroad books in the local library when I was a kid. You know the ones, page after page of board meetings, earnings, revenue and (mostly) losses. The one thing they all had in common were the "plates" in the middle of the book where there might be a photo or two of a train hidden among the portraits of the railroad's presidents. 
But even those type of histories seem to fall out of favor about the time the railroads were going into the toilet - basically the late 1960s. Frankly today most of the work in railroad history isn't been done by "professional" historians but by amateur historians. Whether this constitutes "real" history is a question I'm not going to touch. 
Historians who subscribe to "Cliometrics" - basically the application of statistical methods and analysis to history - tend to study industrial and transportation history. As a rule the more data, the more valid the resulting statistical analysis will be.  And large industries, such as railroads, have generated a lot of data that Cliometricians, as they call themselves, love to chew on. 
Back in my grad school days I took a business history class. My paper for that class was a look at the effect of the railroads that would eventually become part of the CV's southern division had on several "sub regions" of New England.  In doing the research I turned up some fascinating and obscure references - including a paper on the economic impact of the Amherst & Belchertown Railroad (told you it was obscure!) published in the early 1930s that Bernie Kempinski obtained for me from the Library of Congress. 
As we were packing up stuff this spring I came across my old paper and flipped through it. I realized two things: First of all, the paper really was pretty good, with a sound premise and valid research to back up my thesis.  
Second, and more to the point, there's little or anything that would be of use to a modeler attempting to duplicate those lines. 
Instead of focusing on the macro, modelers, and amateur rail historians, tend to focus on the micro. 
As I'm researching certain elements of the Richford branch I've come up with several questions I've been unable to answer such as:

1. I know the motive power used on the branch in the 1950s and later. I'm having difficulty determining which engines ran on the branch prior to that time. 
2. The Enosburg Falls station was an interesting building with some intricate trim. I can't determine when the structure was torn down. 
3. The Missisquoi Pulp & Paper Co. had it's own in-plant railroad, complete with a small engine house. I know they used a Track mobile to move cars around in the plant in later years. What, if anything, came before the Track mobile? 
4. I've located a couple of vintage images of the paper mill buildings, but would like an overall shot of the "river" side of the mill taken in the 1940s/50s - something more current than the one shown above. (see update below)
5. How was the Canadian Pacific interchange traffic at Richford handled? Did the Richford local bring those cars to the CP yard? Or did the CP come to the CV's yard to fetch them? Or is it something that changed over time? 
6. Did anyone ever take a photo of the Richford plywood plant from the CV yard during the time period I'm modeling? I've seen one photo that appeared in Ed Beaudette's book. the only other image is a quick glimpse in a "CV in Steam" DVD from A&R Productions. 

I'm noticing a trend in the information I have been able to uncover. Most of it seems to be from an earlier era than the 1950s. Does that mean an era shift is afoot? Don't know - ironically, I can't find a lot of railroad photos from earlier than that time period on the branch - a few, but not many. 
Somewhat frustrating is the fact that the vast majority of my reference material is in storage at the moment. Since I didn't start researching the branch in earnest until a few months ago it's entirely possible the answers to my questions are buried in the storage containers. 
In meantime, I'll do what I can and and keep piling up the questions.
Finding the answers is a lot of the fun of prototype modeling.

UPDATE: 

Scratch #4 off the list above. It's too cold to go out for lunch so I spent my lunch surfing - I stumbled across this photo on the UVM web site showing the Sheldon Springs paper mill. Look closely in the area of the mill in front of the hillside in the closeup image below and you can see the tower and horizontal covered walk visible in the vintage photo above:

CV List of Industries and Facilities Located at Stations

Ten or 15 years ago Jim McFarlane and I were going back and forth by email - I was asking Jim if the railroad maintained a central list of customers. My purpose was to determine what industries were in specific towns along the line. Jim was thinking I wanted a list of all the customers who shipped via the railroad - which would have numbered in the thousands (he was thinking of each less than carload or LCL shipment as a "customer"). No matter, there was no "master list of customers." 
A few weeks later an envelope appeared in my mailbox with three documents and a short note from Jim reading "Marty, is this something that answers your question?" 
What Jim had sent me was three copies of a document called "List of Industries (Served by Private Sidings) and Facilities Located at Stations on the Central Vermont Railway and Montpelier and Barre Railroad." Quite a mouthful! (the exact title apparently changed over the years!)

One was from 1945, one from 1959, and the third from 1965. 

A page from the 1945 book is shown below: 

The 1959 book is a little different. Each page contains a list of individual railroad customers who were responsible for maintaining a siding or some portion thereof. Included was the name of the customer, a brief description of the type of business ("Feed mill", "Manufacturer of xxx" etc ...), and the length of track (right column in view below) that customer was responsible for maintaining. 

Keep in mind when the list reads "Siding length 50-feet" that does not mean there's a dedicated 50-foot long spur off the main - it merely means that particular customer was responsible for paying for the upkeep of that length of track - quite often there would be several customers located along a single siding, with each customer responsible for the maintenance of a certain portion. 
The listing also indicates the customer's name - I believe it's whomever the railroad would bill for the service. In the Enosburg Falls listing above, "Issac Brown" is shown as a Retail Petroleum Dealer with a siding length of 40 feet. 
Look on a map of Enosburg Falls and you'll note there's an oil dealer - Standard Oil Co. of New York - located on the double ended siding across from the depot. The engineering department plats make no reference to "Issac Brown." I'm fairly certain he was the owner, or at least the manager, of the Socony dealership in Enosburg Falls, Vt. 

Local Histories as Reference

Although the internet can be a great resource sometimes I think we've become just a little too dependent on the "Google Machine."  Sure, "Googling" is a great start whether you're shopping or researching how a 200 year-old building looked in 1954, but it's not the only way to get from "here to there." 
I've found local town histories are one resource that many modelers overlook.  Although in many cases the railroad history in these is thin on details (if not outright incorrect!) they often have wonderful vintage photos and lots of details in the text that may seem a little too down in the weeds for a history not centered on one town or city. 

Two of the Arcadia histories I've found useful. 

The most obvious source of these are the small format photo books published by Arcadia Publishing. I have the books on most of the towns along the CV, including Essex Junction and White River Junction (which is actually located in Hartford, VT).

The History of Waterbury is a little heavier on text with fewer photos - but there are some images useful to the model railroader such as this shot of Pilgrim Plywood. 

Although not as readily available, detailed town histories can be obtained either through local historical societies (which usually are the publishers and distributors of these books) or located and purchased through online book sellers such as Amazon and Alibris. 
Most of the ones I've located are reasonably priced, so I simply purchased them. If you locate one that's truly rare the price may be a little steep - especially if you're unsure of how useful the information in the book may be. If you don't wish to purchase the book you try to borrow it through interlibrary loan. Another possibility is to stop in the town library next time you're in the area you're modeling on a research trip - you might find other sources there like old maps and newspapers.
I've had the Acadia books and the Waterbury town history book shown in the photo above for a number of years. 
I thought this might make a worthwhile blog post when I was trying to uncover photos of different sides of some of the buildings in Randolph - and not having a lot of look with online searches. I also wanted to find any photos of the Randolph Furniture factory.
After exhausting my usual sources I resigned myself to having to use a commercial model as a "filler" and turned my attention to some of the other buildings. As I was researching the Brigham Gelatine plant I came across an article online from the Randolph newspaper. Although the article was about plans to convert the Gelatine plant to a condo, there was a small photo in the article that credited Wes Herwig's Early Photographs of Randolph Vermont, 1855-1948. 
I'd never heard of this book, but a quick search on Amazon revealed a copy for sale. Less than a week later it arrived. It proved well worth the price. There wasn't a single picture of the furniture plant, there were four or five, along with lots of photos of the other buildings in town. (Ironically, there were no pictures of the old coal and ice building, perhaps one of the best known structures in Randolph).

Randolph Furniture. Eventually this would become part of the Ethan Allen Company. 

I hope my chance encounter with this book inspires you to check with the local historical societies in the areas you're modeling. You never know what you might uncover.

Historic Photos of Vermont

I ran across a tremendous resource at the University of Vermont web site. A collection of historic photo graphs of Vermont, many of which show scenes familiar to railroad modelers of the state. I found two of them of particular interest:

The first was this view of Essex Junction that shows the industries located in the around the wye - this shot dates from 1930 (the dates on some of the captions have been questioned, but the presence of the Burlington & Lamoille RR trackage in the middle of the wye makes me believe the 1939 date.

Another neat find was this photo showing a close up of the Demeritt Company in Waterbury.

Lay of the Lost Traveler

Essex Junction is the location where a short branch to Burlington connects to the Central Vermont’s mainline. Until the late 1930s, that branch didn’t end at the CV main, it actually crossed itt as the Burlington & Lamoille branch of the CV (named after the original B&L RR).

As one of the key scenes on my layout I've done a lot of research on Essex Junction over the years. One of the most interesting things to turn up in my research is the following poem. (I'm not particularly into poetry . . . oh heck, I can't stand it and never read it after I finished school and didn't have to . . .) But the following goes to show just how classy this blog is - not just poetry but 19th century poetry no less.

A number of railroad towns have been immortalized in poetry and song over the years, and Essex Junction is no exception. The poem, “Lay of the Lost Traveler” is said to have been inspired when the author, the Honorable Edward J. Phelps, left Burlington on the so-called “shuttle train” for Boston via Essex Junction.  He stepped off this train in Essex and waited for the arrival of the mainline train. The usual shifting of trains took place and Mr. Phelps, without inquiring, got on board the train he anticipated would take him to Boston. In fact, he had reboarded the “shuttle” train which promptly deposited Mr. Phelps back in Burlington, his starting point. There, on his arrival, he penned the following:

The Lay of the Lost Traveler

With saddened eye and battered hat

And eye that told of black despair,

On wooden bench the traveler sat,

Cursing the fate that brought him there.

“Nine hours,” he cried, “we’ve lingered here

With thought intent on distant homes,

Waiting for that delusive train

That, always coming, never comes,

Till weary, worn

Distressed, forlorn

And paralyzed in every function!

I hope in hell

His soul my dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!

“Here Boston waits for Ogdensburg

And Ogdensburg for Montreal,

And late New York tarrieth

And Saratoga hindereth all!

From far Atlantic’ wave-swept bays

To Mississippi’s turbid tide

All accidents, mishaps, delays,

Are gathered here and multiplied!

Oh, fellow man avoid this spot

As you would plague or Peter Funk shun!

And I hope in hell

His soul may dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!

“And long and late conductors tell

Of trains delayed or late or slow,

Till the e’en the very engine’s bell

Takes up the cry, 'No go! No go!'

Oh! Let me from this hole depart,

By any route so’t be a lone one,”

He cried, with madness in his heart,

And jumped aboard a train – the wrong one.

And as he vanished in the smoke

He shouted with redoubled unction,

“I hope in hell

His soul may dwell

Who first invented Essex Junction!”