I was looking at the FRA Safety Map today. I entered ZIP code 55068 and then zoomed in. Near the top in red letters it states RADIO CENTER.
What is Radio Center?
What is Radio Center?
FRA Safety Map
- Thread starter JASII
- Start date
UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2
Member
Hi, I tried the same thing on my own zip 64131.
The red lettered points with red circles around here are former railway features which may or may not still exist such as Gann Lumber, Missy Spur, Prospect, Union Station, etc.
When I was growing up in the 60s my dad and I went to Gann Lumber quite often (for DIY household projects) where they had boxcar-loads of lumber or whatever. But they haven't been there in forever.
I would guess RADIO CENTER in your area is the name of a junction, siding, spur or station, which are what all the features in my zip are.
Hope this helps
The red lettered points with red circles around here are former railway features which may or may not still exist such as Gann Lumber, Missy Spur, Prospect, Union Station, etc.
When I was growing up in the 60s my dad and I went to Gann Lumber quite often (for DIY household projects) where they had boxcar-loads of lumber or whatever. But they haven't been there in forever.
I would guess RADIO CENTER in your area is the name of a junction, siding, spur or station, which are what all the features in my zip are.
Hope this helps
UPCoffeyvilleSubMain2
Member
Thanks for posting, I learned something as a result!
Honestly, I didn't even know about this cool interactive map until an hour or so ago.
My wife and I have a few different hobbies. Two of them are ATVing and e-biking. Some ATV trails are on old railroad line. Some e-bike trails are on old railroad lines. I also have an interest in GPS and maps, so when I found this website, I thought it was very nice!
My wife and I have a few different hobbies. Two of them are ATVing and e-biking. Some ATV trails are on old railroad line. Some e-bike trails are on old railroad lines. I also have an interest in GPS and maps, so when I found this website, I thought it was very nice!
Is it a red dot with red text? If so, those are freight stations. Quick googling around I cant find a definitive definition. Sometimes it corresponds to timetable locations and sometimes I have no idea.
Another good source of maps is the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Specifically the North American Rail Network Lines map.
217
Sporadic E enthusiast
Wescott, Minnesota was once Wescott Station. In 1931 it was renamed "Radio Center".
Radio Center Site
In mid-December 1927, the National Battery Company announced it had received permission from the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to build a new station, with the call letters KSTP, operating from a transmitter site to be constructed three miles south of Wescott. In 1928 at the recommendation of a university professor, the Wescott area was selected to be the site of the National Battery Company’s radio center. The site was selected because it was considered to be high and dry. But by 1930 the opposite turned out to be true, and the center was moved. The center in Eagan first used the call letters KSTP which later became the company name. The first transmitter was constructed in 1928 in Wescott, Minnesota, a city renamed "Radio Center" in 1931.
Radio Center Site
In mid-December 1927, the National Battery Company announced it had received permission from the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to build a new station, with the call letters KSTP, operating from a transmitter site to be constructed three miles south of Wescott. In 1928 at the recommendation of a university professor, the Wescott area was selected to be the site of the National Battery Company’s radio center. The site was selected because it was considered to be high and dry. But by 1930 the opposite turned out to be true, and the center was moved. The center in Eagan first used the call letters KSTP which later became the company name. The first transmitter was constructed in 1928 in Wescott, Minnesota, a city renamed "Radio Center" in 1931.
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I don't know about any standards, but I can say that some of the points for shortlines in my area are completely off. The Class 1 points are usually right on or very close. The shortline data is much less reliable. I would imagine it all depends on the data provided by the railroads themselves.
They are latitudes and longitudes in the format of DEGREES.decimal degrees. Additionally, positive numbers are assumed to be in the northern or eastern hemispheres while negative numbers are assumed to be in the southern or western hemispheres.
These locations are provided by the railroads. I imagine that much of the lat/lon data was determined many years ago by surveyors using analog locating methods. IOW, the locations may be a little off in a world that gets its location data using satellites. What you see on the map is the lat/lon plotted on maps generated using data from the U.S. Geologic Survey.
I checked a handful of grade crossings in my area by converting the lat/lon to degrees minutes seconds and then looked them up on Google Maps. For the most part, they were spot on.
