FAIRPORT, PAINESVILLE & EASTERN

MAPS

 

 

Railroad maps are great for giving perspective—both historical and operational—and so to me they are very valuable.  The first map of the FP&E I collected was on a visit to the Yard Office back in 1983, when the Yardmaster was nice enough to give me a photocopy of the system map that the employees used.  It was just a black-and-white, line-drawing style map on a couple of legal-sized pieces of paper, but for me it was a treasure; for years it was the most important item I had in my small collection of railroad materials.  About 25 years later I finally came across another FP&E map: it was a blueprint-style system map from about 1928 that I won on eBay.  Since then, I have discovered more FP&E maps, including another system map that was included in the FP&E entry of some older editions of The Official Railway Equipment Register, as well as numerous maps that are part of the ICC records at the National Archives.

Below I present four FP&E system maps with some commentary about each one.  After you look over these maps, make sure to read the "Other Maps" section further below to learn about other kinds of FP&E-related maps that are available to view on the internet.

 

 

System Maps

 

Circa 1925-1926

This map appears in The Official Railway Equipment Register editions from 1926 and 1927.  The reason I have dated this map 1925-26 is because it is after the Diamond's cement plant was completed in 1925 (see my Diamond Alkali/Shamrock page for details), but before the FP&E's roundhouse/turntable and yard facility were constructed in 1926 (see my FP&E History page for details).

 

Circa 1928

This map appears in The Official Railway Equipment Register editions from 1928 until 1931.  This is basically the same as the blueprint-style map I won on eBay, but since that map is 22" wide and in color, it was easier to scan and present this smaller, black-and-white version here.  The reason I have dated this map 1928 is because it is after the FP&E's roundhouse/turntable and yard facility were constructed, but before the spur to the shale beds was deemed unfeasible (as discussed in my FP&E History page).  An interesting thing to note is the "wishful thinking" the map's designer had: all the blocks of land marked "Industrial Sites" never really materialized—only two industries established themselves on this section of the line, but they were both near Perry and they were both established several decades after this map was created.

 

February 1932

(Click on map to see it full-sized)

This map appears on the back of the FP&E's only Employee Time Table, published on February 1, 1932 (a transcript of which can be seen on my FP&E Time Table page).  There are two key things to notice on this map: it shows the furthest that the railroad progressed eastward (just beyond Unionville) and, using a dashed line, it shows the path that the FP&E would have taken to connect to the Pennsylvania Railroad's PY&A Branch if the ICC had allowed it (see my FP&E History page for more details).  According to valuation maps I've seen, the FP&E connection to the PRR would have been right at the north end of Austinburg Yard, at approximately milepost 116.5.

 

June 1966

(Click on map to see it full-sized)

FPE System Map 1966

This is the system map that was presented in ICC Finance Dockets 23980 & 23981 (the case where Norfolk & Western and New York Central fought over control of the FP&E).  This map was the basis of the employee map I was given in 1983; it was exciting to find out that the original version of the map I had treasured for so long was actually created the year I was born—and that it was in color!

I was able to get copies of this map from two sources: Randall Jackson (whom I discuss on my FP&E Operations page) and the National Archives (which I discuss on my FP&E Resources page).  If you would like to get your own full-sized reproduction, the easiest way is to contact a vendor who specializes in duplicating maps from the National Archives (a list of approved vendors is provided on the National Archives website here).  If you contact a vendor, this is the citation you will need to give them:

National Archives Textual Branch Doc. NWCT-134, [150/82/30/4] Box 3999 - ICC Finance Docket 23980 / Vol.II: Fairport Painesville & Eastern Map 15569-A / Lake OH (21 Jun 1966)

 

 

Other Maps

 

Valuation Maps

 

            Railroad valuation maps are very precise survey maps that show every detail of a railroad's track and property, segment by segment; like other railroads, the FP&E had to draw up and send valuation maps to the Interstate Commerce Commission—and these maps are now at the National Archives (along with all the other ICC records).  Getting copies of the maps is not easy: you either have to go to the Archives in person to make the necessary copies or you need to hire a researcher to do the work for you.  On top of the difficulty in gaining access to the maps is the added difficulty of dealing with the sizes of the maps: they are too big to be copied or scanned on normal equipment, so most likely you will have to take pictures of the maps with a camera (which is what a researcher did for me).  For those of you willing to spend the money, you can learn more about the National Archives and/or hiring a researcher on my FP&E Resources page (FYI: the valuation maps for the FP&E are filed with Valuation Docket 474).

Although they are not in the same league as the full-color valuation maps at the National Archives, there are some FP&E valuation maps available for viewing on the official Lake County website.  The maps are black-and-white versions and do not show very much in the way of track details (mainly because these maps are larger in scale than the typical ICC valuation map)—but I think they are still worth looking at.  To view the maps, go here, click on "Railroad Valuation Maps," then click on "Individual Pdfs."  There are 6 maps for the FP&E, and I have written the following quick guide/commentary for them:

These four files/maps show the FP&E circa 1928:

"fpe rr1.pdf" = Western Division (NYC connection at Painesville to B&O connection at Fairport)

"fpe rr2.pdf" = Perry Division (NYC connection at Painesville to Perry)

"fpe rr.pdf" = Perry Division (Perry to Madison Township)

            "fpe rr4.pdf" = Close-up of the beginning of the Perry Division

The first three maps taken together form a 'geographically correct' version of the 1928 system map shown above.  You will notice in these maps that the FP&E divided their line into two divisions—the Western Division and the Perry Divison—and that they had separate mile markers for each division.  Although later "milepost 0" for the Western Division was Grand River Station (as shown on the 1966 system map), according to the mile markers on these maps the beginning point was the NYC connection in Painesville.  Another interesting thing to note is that a lot of the property on the Perry Division that the FP&E bought originally belonged to the Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula interurban transit line.

These next two files/maps show a 'swap' of property between the FP&E and Diamond Alkali in 1937:

"FPOE RR.pdf" - property the FP&E conveyed to Diamond Alkali

"fpe rr3.pdf" - property Diamond Alkali conveyed to FP&E

These maps illustrate how the FP&E realigned their main line—something I mention briefly on my FP&E History page.

 

Tax Maps

 

The official Lake County website also has tax maps for the entire county, which show property ownership boundaries, names and dates.  There are no track details, but again these maps are neat to look at.  To view these maps, go here.  On the webpage, click "Lake Navigator 3.0"; when the new webpage opens, at the top of the webpage click "Archived Tax Map."  Another new webpage will open; at the bottom select a volume in the Volume field, enter a page in the Page field, then click the "Search" button.  The result will be both current and older maps of a specific area in Lake County available to view.

Now you may ask, "Scott, how do I know what volume and page to put in the fields?"  Well, I happen to have listed below each and every volume/page combination that the FP&E shows up in.  The left-hand alpha-numeric code is the volume, the right-hand number is the page.  So now go have some fun!

FP&E Western Division (from west to east):

14A     24

14A     23

14A     22

14A     26

12A     59

12A     54

12A     53

12A     51

12A     52

11B     40

11B     42

11B     39

11B     38

11B     29

FP&E Perry Division (from west to east):

11B     29

11B     30

11B     31

11B     32

11B     33

3A       4

3A       12

3A       11

3A       18

3A       17

3A       26

4A       35

3A       34

4A       44

4A       43

3A       43

4A       53

4A       52

3A       52

3A       63

3A       72

3A       82

3A       81

1A       12

1A       13

1A       5

1A       8

2A       11

2A       12

2A       13

2A       8

2A       6

2A       3

1A       71

1A       68

1A       70

FP&E Rayon Branch (from west to east):

11B     42

11B     43

11B     44

11B     45

11B     46

11B     50

 

NOAA Maps

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a section of their website devoted to historical nautical charts of ports all over the United States—including Fairport Harbor.  These maps have great details for railroad tracks that surround any given port, and Fairport Harbor is no exception; you can see the western-most portion of the FP&E, and in many of the maps the western portion of the Diamond Alkali/Shamrock complex.  To view these maps, go here.  Once the webpage opens, in the "Title" field type "Fairport Harbor," then click the "Search" button.  The result will be a list of charts of Fairport Harbor going all the way back to 1901 that you can view and download.

The following charts will be of most interest for FP&E and Diamond Alkali/Shamrock 'fans' (it's neat to see the progression of the facilities and tracks over time in these charts):

YEAR

NOTES

1912

 

1917

 Note how the Diamond's dock—built by the FP&E but then sold to Diamond Alkali after it was

    completed in 1917—changed the topography of the area along the Grand River compared to 1912

1924

 

1937

 1935 shows the same details for the Diamond plant, but doesn't show as much of it as 1937

1940

 1943 & 1946 show the same details for the FP&E and the Diamond as the 1940 map

1956

 1949 & 1953 are missing tracks that reappear as they should in 1956; 1959, 1963, 1965 and

    1967 all show the same details for the FP&E and the Diamond as the 1956 map

1971

 

1978

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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Created by Scott Nixon

July 2009

Updated: October 2010, June 2021