Great maps. How do you create a map with Google maps. I have not yet discovered how to draw on google maps, add a comment to the drawing (generally an abandoned rail segment, an unpublished spur, or an unpublished siding), add text to the statement, and then publish it so all can see.
You apparently have solved that problem. Can you give me some insight as to how to do that?
Ed, thanks for the question, and perhaps I’ll add a FAQ area to this site at some point.
To create a google map, you need to use Google My Maps https://www.google.com/maps/d/. From there you’ll be able to create different maps using different base maps as backdrops. I prefer the satellite backdrop since it allows me to seamlessly look for abandoned rail lines.
You can also change the privacy settings of the map to allow it to be viewed by the public, which allows them to be embedded as well. I maybdo a more robust tutorial at some point, but Google My Maps is user friendly enough that many of its features can be learned simply by playing around with it.
If you have any other questions please let me know!
One of the most fascinating maps I've seen are the Ancient Courses of the Mississippi River by cartographer Harold Fisk for the Army Corps of Engineers . The maps (they run up and down the Lower Mississippi River), show the present (c.1944) course of the river, as well as how that course has changed over time through stages. The river changes course continuously, as do all rivers, and especially so in the case of when major floods, earthquakes, or other disasters that may alter the river occur. Fisk is as much of an artist as he is a scientist, as these maps are incredibly beautiful and yet perfectly convey how the Mississippi River has changed over time. 1944 Fisk Map of the Mississippi River (Plate 32, Sheet 6) ( Amazon Link ) The maps represent the Meander Belt of the Mississippi, according to Public Domain Review , and are primarily focused on the last several millennia of changes. As the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers are the primary rivers of the third largest river system
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent. BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i
The Frying Pan Line was a spur line built by the Milwaukee Road to serve downtown Beaver Dam, WI. As it was a loop line that served the downtown area of Beaver Dam, it was given the "Frying Pan" nickname. It was less than two miles in length from Beaver Dam Jct. on the mainline to the loop downtown, and thus is an interesting little spur line perfect for discussion from us. Beaver Dam on the 1914 Sanborn Map , with the majority of the Frying Pan line visible. (Library of Congress) It was built late in 1882, and used some of the right of way of the never built Beaver Dam & Baraboo Railroad, which was an early ancestor of the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee constructed a line northwest of Beaver Dam as opposed to heading south and west towards Baraboo, and thus the "Frying Pan" served the Beaver Dam manufacturing concerns, while the mainline bypassed the majority of the town. Fact on the "Frying Pan" line from Beaver Dam's 175th Anniversary Brochure
Great maps. How do you create a map with Google maps. I have not yet discovered how to draw on google maps, add a comment to the drawing (generally an abandoned rail segment, an unpublished spur, or an unpublished siding), add text to the statement, and then publish it so all can see.
ReplyDeleteYou apparently have solved that problem. Can you give me some insight as to how to do that?
Ed Bradford
Pflugerville,TX
egbegb2@gmail.com
Ed, thanks for the question, and perhaps I’ll add a FAQ area to this site at some point.
DeleteTo create a google map, you need to use Google My Maps https://www.google.com/maps/d/. From there you’ll be able to create different maps using different base maps as backdrops. I prefer the satellite backdrop since it allows me to seamlessly look for abandoned rail lines.
You can also change the privacy settings of the map to allow it to be viewed by the public, which allows them to be embedded as well. I maybdo a more robust tutorial at some point, but Google My Maps is user friendly enough that many of its features can be learned simply by playing around with it.
If you have any other questions please let me know!
Andrew
I have abandoned air fields for you. Where should I send them? (.kmz)
DeleteEric, Please use the same submitter as for the abandoned railroads map! - https://forms.gle/qt6daZ1ADkYXdusv6
Delete