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Breakthrough in Google Maps

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This entry was posted on 11/27/2009 12:03 PM and is filed under uncategorized.

Google Maps is an indispensable tool useful in a lot of areas of life. Not the least of which is mapping out railroad routes. But after a railroad has been abandoned for a while, the railroad line ceases to appear on Google Maps, and this has sometimes made it difficult to find that long-lost right-of-way.

I have noticed lately, however, that Google seems to have started demarcating property lines on their maps. What does this mean to the casual online railfan? Well, since the land of abandoned railroad lines are still retained by their owners, the boundaries of that property are now indicated in Google Maps! So now, in some areas, finding that old abandoned route is easier.

Allow me to demonstrate using an existing article on my website, that of the Whittier Branch. Let's take a look at this area in Google Maps:

Google Map of Whittier, CA

Looking at the middle of the map, two gray parallel lines are visible as they run from top to bottom. Those lines mark the boundary of a small narrow property, and what other uses does a small, long, narrow property have other than railroads? That is in fact the former routing of the Whittier Branch! Following these lines to the south, they run adjacent to the Presbyterian Community Hospital turning to the southeast, cross Washington Boulevard, then make a 90-degree turn to the southwest, crossing Lambert Road and finally connecting with an existing railroad track near Slauson Avenue. This map confirms the routing I had estimated when originally plotting the Whittier Branch for my website back in January of this year.

Looking over other cities and towns in Google Maps, other parallel lines of this nature can be easily seen -- abandoned routes galore! So, fellow railfans, next time you need to find a map of an abandoned railroad route, Google Maps should definitely be one of your first stops, if it isn't already! (No, I do not work for Google or receive any monetary compensation from them! :) )

 
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    • 11/29/2009 8:50 PM Andrew Laverdiere wrote:
      You're right. Google maps is becoming quite nice by its addition of distinctive striped lines to mark ROW's. They're even marking some abandoned ROW's. However, the map side and the satellite photomaps still don't quite sync, and if you draw lines using just maps, it'll be off, like the new Alaska RR you just made.
      Reply to this
      1. 11/29/2009 11:12 PM Greg Harrison wrote:
        Hey Andrew, actually I used the Topo map on ACME mapper to plot the route. This brings up an interesting discussion about Google Maps that I will post to this blog soon. Until then, I may consider revising the map to match the grading as shown by the satellite imagery.
        Reply to this
    • 12/1/2009 5:14 PM Mitch Bailey wrote:
      I completed 1 map of the old Norfolk-Southern Batesburg-Edmund-Hardeeville syetm, which included much trackage that had been gone long enough not to show on Google or indeed any extant topo maps, e.g. the Terraserver free map service. This was especially true of the Perry-Batesburg "S&K" that was abandoned & taken up in 1933.
      Old topo maps, when you can find'em, might show the line. E.g. Terraserver has a section of map covering Clarkesville, Ga. to Clayton, Ga. dated 1955 that actually shows the Tallulah Falls line (http://www.abandonedrails.com/article.asp?id=85). Unfort, many are newer. Pity it's hard to find outdated topo maps!
      Sometimes the Google satellite view will show a quite old ROW fairly distinctly if it hasn't been obliterated deliberately, depending on the vegetation & topography. Once the tech of building RR grades got established, old ROW's were very durable & could persist neglected for many decades.
      When I worked on the Perry-Batesburg line on my map (http://www.abandonedrails.com/article.asp?id=96) I had to rely on satellite photo cues, locations of known artifacts, & information from my main documentary sources, such as mileages. Sometimes, the route was so obscure I changed line color to indicate I was less confident of that section.
      I had also gone back over the Sumter-Sumter Junction section of the former W&M Jimmy Summers had described (http://www.abandonedrails.com/article.asp?id=91) & could hardly find traces on the ground, even knowing where to look (GPS waypoints recorded pre-trip), but from the air, cutting across some Carolina Bays, it was easier to see than some active lines! Often I would put down the topo map & use the sat view.

      If the Google mapping supported setting positions by latitude/longitude, that would be better still (I think that's pending). Some services like the paid Terraserver, or mapping software accessories for GPS, will let you extract these locations, if you don't get them from GPS in situ.

      It is common for roads to follow old RR's and of course the "railroad parks" thru towns that once had abandoned lines are giveaways. Often you can link together distinctive features like connecting dots. In one instance I saw an odd anamolous contour on a topo map that suggested a cut in an otherwise lost route. (on the ground, it looks like a treeline in a ditch) When a contour juts out oddly with a uniform width & rectangular end, you're seeing a cut or fill for a road or railroad or some artifact.
      I like the various markers & the ability to link to pix. Maybe we could come up with custom markers to indicate crossings, stations, request stops, bridges, & other features Greg could host in the website to use in maps.
      Reply to this
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