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Information about the Great Northern Railway, Picture Postcards, Books  and other relatively boring details...

Turnouts

This section on turnouts may sound boring, but I found it simple, to the point, and easy to understand.

The following is from the C. Frank Allen book RAILROAD CURVES and
EARTHWORK, published in 1931 by McGraw-Hill. Page 79.

A turnout is a track leading from a main or other track.

Turnouts may be for several purposes.

1. Branch Track (for line used as a Branch Road for general traffic).
2. Siding (for passing trains at stations, storing cars, loading or unloading, and
   various purposes).
3. Spur Track (for purposes other than general traffic, as to a quarry or
   warehouse).
4. Crossover For passing from one track to another, generally parallel).

The essential parts of a turnout are: 1. The Switch, 2. The Frog, 3. The Guard Rail.

1. Some device is necessary to cause a train to turn from the main track; this is called
the "Switch."
2. Again, it is necessary that one rail of the turnout track should cross one rail of the
main track; and some device is necessary to allow the flange of the wheel to pass this
crossing; this device is called the "Frog."
3. Finally, if the flange of the wheel were allowed to bear against the point of the frog,
there is a danger that the wheel might accidentally be turned to the wrong side of the
frog point. Therefore a Guard Rail is set opposite to the frog, and this prevents the
flange from bearing against the frog point.

Freight Connections (with other Railroads) of the Great Northern Railway and its Junction Points

The Great Northern Railway, Butte Division

1940 Butte, Montana

Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (via B., A. & P.)

Northern Pacific Railway

Union Pacific Railroad

1940 Helena, Montana

Northern Pacific Railway

1940 Great Falls, Montana

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad

1940 Havre Montana

Junction

1940 Shelby, Montana

Junction

Postcard of the Empire Builder in Montana.

Postcard of Empire Builder along Puget Sound.

Postcards from the time period that you model are an excellent way to gain information
about trains and train stations.

Books from which I gather some of my information:

Libraries and Historical Societies are excellent sources for information.

Bibliography 

Allen, C. Frank. RAILROAD CURVES and EARTHWORK. McGraw-Hill, 1931.

"GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO." The Official Railway Equipment Register LV.4

New York: Railway Equipment and Publication, Oct. 1940. 584-91.

The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc., Railroad History 143.

Boston: Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, 1980.

The Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States,

Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. New York: National Railway Publication,

1962.

Wood, Charles, and Wood, Dorothy. The Great Northern Railway, A Pictorial Study.

Edmonds, Washington: Pacific Fast Mail, 1979.

Wood, Charles R. Lines West. New York: Bonanza Books, Crown Publishers,

Superior Publishing, 1962.

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