Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

We have recently updated our map image of abandoned railroad lines across North America. As there is no singular source of abandoned railroad corridors across the United States, let alone other countries, this project, now over 8 years in the making, is a way of creating an interactive, crowd-sourced repository for where abandoned railroad corridors exist, and we are incredibly proud that this map and data have been useful to numerous individuals and organizations, who are looking at ways of reusing these rights of way, creating trails, and re-linking urban and rural communities through alternative modes of transportation. There is an incredible opportunity within this data to rebuild strong, vibrant communities after the mistakes, intentional or otherwise, of transportation policy in the mid-late 20th century. You can view information on each single line on the interactive version of our map  here : Though we've rebranded to Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit, rest assured this d...

What a difference two years makes. I say that primarily because about two years ago, we visited the  Model Railroad Garden  at the Chicago Botanic Garden , and I am just now sharing my experience there with you all!  The Model Railroad Garden is an upcharge attraction when visiting the Botanic Garden, which itself used to charge only for parking, but now charges admission per adult, but nonetheless, quite worth it in my opinion, despite its relatively small size in comparison to some of the other exhibits. I first visited the Model Railroad Garden when I was about 10 or so, and it definitely connected my love of trains with the love of the outdoors and picturesque landscapes. The outdoors and manicured gardens offer a sense of realism that many railroad models just can't replicate, but that's not to say I enjoy exhibits like the Museum of Science and Industry's Great Train Story any less interesting. A Santa Fe model in action at the Garden, one of numerous 2 gauge scal...

The Milwaukee, Menomonee Falls & Western Railroad , a subsidiary of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (also known as the Milwaukee Road) began service in 1890, and quickly became known by the nickname of the Bug Line, running between Granville and North Lake, WI. ( Right of way ) Milwaukee, Menomonee Falls & Western Railroad Depot  at  Menomonee Falls. (Wisconsin Historical Society) This nickname, "Bug Line," is believed to have originated from the small size of the train and the frequent stops it made along its route, resembling the pattern of a bug crawling along a grapevine. When it comes to old timey railroad nicknames, I must say it's pretty obvious that the 19th century had more of a vivid imagination with regard to operations than we do today.  In addition to the main line, a track serving businesses along the Menomonee River in Menomonee Falls also existed west of the river, as shown below in a Sanborn Map. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Menom...

Hi everyone! We're back after another long hiatus, and a bit of a directional change to some of our content is coming, as we are going to focus primarily on lands moving forward. The railroad industry and public roads have plenty in common with opening up vast swaths of land in this country for development, so there will certainly be a lot of things to talk about regarding transportation and its intersections with land development, but with that in mind, I wanted to discussing logging railroads, and one of the most successful land developers across the 20th century, that being the Weyerhaeuser Company.  The Weyerhaeuser Company 's history intertwines with the development of the American West. Founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser, the company began with a massive land purchase from the Northern Pacific Railway , acquiring 900,000 acres of Washington state timberland. This marked the beginning of what would become one of the largest sustainable forest products companies in ...

The New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Railroad Company (NC&F) was a pioneer in the history of American railroads. It was opened in 1831, making it the first railroad in Delaware and one of the first in the US. It ran for about 16 miles from New Castle, Delaware, on the Delaware River, to Old Frenchtown Wharf , Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was intended to provide a faster and cheaper alternative to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, which opened in 1829 and connected the same two bodies of water. However, the NC&F faced competition from other railroads and canals in the region, and eventually became obsolete and abandoned. ( Right of Way ) Some sources, myself included at times, have labeled this as the first railroad abandonment in the United States, being abandoned in 1859. However, it is not even the first right of way to be abandoned in the State of Delaware, as that distinction belongs to the Dulaney Railroad . One could argue that this was the first comm...

The Pleasant Prairie Power Plant was a coal-fired power station that operated from 1976 to 2018 in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, owned by We Energies. Located at 8000 95th St in Pleasant Prairie, the plant was capable of producing 1,190 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 900,000 homes. However, the plant also emitted millions of tons of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants, contributing to climate change and health problems. Michael Sears photo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In 2018, We Energies decided to shut down the facility and switch to cleaner sources of energy, such as natural gas and renewable energy. The closure was part of a larger trend of coal plant retirements across the country, driven by environmental regulations, market forces, and public demand.  What initially sparked my interest in the area was the now-abandoned railroad tracks that served the plant. View of the site and side tracks on our Abandoned Railroads ...

On December 30, 1903, Chicago witnessed one of the worst disasters in its history, and the deadliest theatre fire in the United States. Chicago's early history is unfortunately rife with fire incidents, and this would occur just over three decades following the Great Chicago Fire. The theater was located at 26 W Randolph St in Chicago, on the site where the James M. Nederlander Theatre now exists today. The Iroquois Theatre, a lavish and modern venue that opened just a month before, was packed with more than 1,700 people, mostly women and children, who came to see a matinee performance of the musical comedy Mr. Bluebeard.  Little did they know that a spark from a stage light would ignite a fire that would engulf the theatre in minutes, trapping and killing over 600 people in a horrific scene of panic, chaos, and carnage. The Iroquois Theater before the fire. (Unknown photographer) The Iroquois Theatre was built on the site of the former Hooley’s Theatre , which itself was destroy...