Once again Kalmbach has dropped the ball. They are selling a 2018 US Railroad Map. However, after I got the map I noticed the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad and Coos Bay line are missing. The fine print say not all lines are included. How many other lines are missing in the other 49 States?
I haven't seen this map. In the past, I've done a couple of rounds with Kalmbach about putting out a decent map or atlas of American railroads. The SPV atlases were unheard of in those days, but those maps have everything a fan and historian could want, except for some minor inaccuracies that they would correct when they knew about them. The major thing they lacked was any illustration of the highways one woul take to find all of those interesting spots.Without knowing what market Kalmbach is trying to fill with a "railroad map", I can't really say much about this one. However, your mention of missing railroads make me think that it would leave a lot to be desired, since space to put railroad lines into a map, particularly out west, should be available. I'm sure I wouldn't buy it.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Carl, I understand that map makers will put some errors in intentionally--to catch people who copy maps and then sell them. One SPV map has something like "former coarse of river" on it; I think that the map maker mispelled the word intentionally.
Of course, any unintentional error, especially one of importance, shouldbe corrected if it is possible to do so.
Johnny
Someplace, I have a decades old Rand McNally rail atlas. It was nothing sophisticated, although these days it has value in figuring out who was running which line. I think it was dated in the mid-1970's.
Of course, at the time, the plethora of shortlines we have today didn't exist.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The SPV atlas for North America are the gold standard for railroad atlas. They have twenty volumes covering the USA and Canada. Problem is that they are going out of print. The english company that produces these books is no longer going to update and have new editions.
I don't think Kalmbach dropped the ball. The item description explicitly states that the map only depicts the routes of 30+ Class I and regional railroads (https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/poster/83030). According to the Association of American Railroads, there are close to 600 railroads currently operating in the United States. Doing the math, that means approximately 570 railroads are not depicted on the map. That said, I think that Kalmbach could have produced a more useful product if the map would have at least included all of the Class II railroads operating in the US (like CORP).
I work with rail GIS data for a living and I must say that creating an accurate national map of all 600 railroads would be a daunting task. Some industrial and terminal railroads are so small that it would be impossible to depict them on a national scale map. Another difficult issue is depicting joint ownership, trackage rights, and haulage rights. There are places in Chicago where 6 of the Class I's, Amtrak, Metra, and a local Class III railroad all operate on the same stretch of track. This level of detail would be impossible to show on one national scale map. Lastly, everything is in constant state of flux due to line sales, abandonments, mergers, etc., etc.
A very good (and free) set of rail map resources are some of the detailed PDF format system maps that the Class I railroads have posted out on their websites. Many of the Class I maps also depict their Class II/III railroad connections. Here is an example for BNSF: http://www.bnsf.com/ship-with-bnsf/maps-and-shipping-locations/pdf/carload_map.pdf (This map clearly shows CORP and the Coos Bay line).
Many of the Class IIs and some switching/ terminal roads also have maps. Here's the link to one for the Western New York and Prennsylvania RR, LLC - right on its home page, and 'zoomable', with some rough topography shaded in, even!
http://www.wnyprr.com/
- PDN.
The interactive GIS map on the FRA website should show all:
http://fragis.fra.dot.gov/GISFRASafety/
Don't hang your hat on the quality of the federal stuff. Sadly the FRA GIS is very poor. What's worse is the STB's version. Since Staggers, the feds no longer care.
Survey grade GIS doesn't exist. Cartographic GIS is rare and most GIS is a cartoon composed of wild guesses by button pushers.
GIS = Get It Surveyed. Railroad Comment: Garbage-In Standard. (from "Garbage In - Garbage Out" comment on data integrity...)
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