Proposed Lead and Storage Tracks to Serve Anheuser-Busch Columbus, Ohio

An early railroad plan to serve the new Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Columbus, Ohio.

This precisely detailed blueprint plan outlines two possible schemes for railway tracks to serve the massive Anheuser-Busch brewery and bottling plant, then under construction in Columbus, Ohio. Both proposals, presented at a scale of 1″ = 100′, show the tracks as they approach Schrock Road and Worthington-Galena Road. Important infrastructure, like switches, wires, and fences are all carefully noted. A small inset in the upper right offers an overview of the overall site plan, with an interesting note about an unused nearby ‘Industry Ball Park.’

The map is dated June 16, 1966 (shortly after ground was initially broken on the site) and is credited to the Office of the Division Engineer of the Southern District of the New York Central Railroad. Upon opening in 1968, the ~140-acre Schrock Road Brewery was capable of producing nearly 2 million barrels of beer a year and remains one of Anheuser-Busch’s major U.S. brewing operations (now around 10 million barrels/annually).