Prototype research in the 21st Century, A.K.A. "The Internet rocks!"

In this post-9/11 world, it can be difficult for a modeler to obtain the information he needs through good, old-fashioned research, such as visiting the site and shooting pics.  Many of the industries served by rail receive shipments of dangerous chemicals and thus are not too friendly to the public; arguably for good reason. I no longer railfan anymore, haven’t since 2005, when I was hassled by the police. So in many cases I’ve had to adapt my research habits.

Enter Google Streetview.

Recently I was filling out car cards and waybills for the CSX Chickamauga. I use the four-sided waybills touted by David Barrow, Tony Koester, and others ( I’m thinking of converting to switch lists but that is another story for another blog for another day…). It occurred to me that I didn’t know what the BASF plant on Polymer Drive in Chattanooga receives by rail, and I wanted this information to complete an accurate waybill. I could’ve rocked on without it just the same, but I figured it was worth a shot to try and find out. The BASF plant is represented on my layout by a staging track; I knew from my field research that this plant produces products for the carpet industry, since I have seen Shaw Flooring trucks backed up to the loading docks there while driving by. Luckily the house track that CSX uses to store cars for BASF closely parallels Airport Road, and a quick stroll in Google Streetview revealed the tank car numbers. The images are not clear enough to obtain the UN numbers from the placards, however. No big deal, I’ll just cruise on over to http://www.rrpicturearchives.net and see if I can read them there. Sure enough, I found the exact cars and was able to read their placard numbers; UN 2055 and UN 1010, which is Styrene (Monomer) and Butadiene, respectively. According to Wikipedia, both chemicals are commonly used in the manufacturing of carpet backing. BINGO!  I had my answer. Google searches on the BASF operations in Chattanooga more or less confirmed my findings.

So, in short, with the Internet I was able to find out information that I would likely otherwise not be able obtain, a least not without possibly jeopardizing my blemish-free criminal record, or at the very least having to explain myself to some puzzled police officer. As a bonus, I learned a bit about the manufacturing process of carpet. At the very least, it made for a very interesting Sunday afternoon.

I have referenced Bing Maps and Streetview many other times during the construction of the CSX Chickamauga, obtaining measurements for everything from location of street markings to observing the location of trees and street signs, to plotting the ridgeline of my backdrop, and even observing the shape and estimating the dimensions of bridge railings. All without leaving the comfort of my home. These services are truly indispensible and should be prominently located in the research arsenal of any modern modeler.

Isn’t the Internet awesome? :-)