Alternative to terraserver

[ndbprr]

Google has just brouight on line a sattelite picture system to rival Terraserver. You find the area you are interested in on a typical computer generated map and then click Sattelite view in the upper right part of the screen to view it. Unlike Terraserver these are in color and the shot I looked at of North Philadelphia station was outstanding in clarity and detail. Here is the URL:
http://Maps.Google.com

[steveblackledge]

Well, that's GREAT
nice one
If you are modelling a specific prototype yard or track or anything like buildings this is the place to go, just don't forget to click on "Satelite" in the top right

[jsoderq]

Don't know what you guys are seeing but I checked sevreral Michigan areas and they are just crude stylistic maps. Definitely not sattelite imagery. They may be software derivatives but the roadways are way too wide in proportion to the city lots and many of the streets are generic, i.e. straight where they are really not.

[davekelly]

Way cool!! I love how easily the map and imagery scrolls, makes zeroing in much easier than terraserver!

jslderq,

Once you get the drawn map where you want it, to to the top left and click on "satellite."

[Dough]

Over on the Trains side of the forums their was already a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of the Google site versus Terraserver.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=34827

[Anonymous]

A poor alternative to terraserver, in my opinion.

So far, I haven't seen anything in this service relative to my area of interest that surpasses the terraserver site. The satellite image of my neighborhood will zoom in only close enough that I can make out the path of the roads. The Terraserver images zoom in much further. There, I can definetely recognize my house. There may be some localities where the Google images might compare, perhaps in urban areas, but it has a long way to go to catch up if the areas I've looked at are any indication.

Wayne

[SpaceMouse]

This is a new concept to me. I'll have to check it out.

Does it do 19th century yards too?

[dehusman]

Spacemouse : There were no satellites (other than the moon) in the 19th Century.

No satellites, no satellite photos.

Dave H.

[SpaceMouse]

It's always something.

[davekelly]

Whichever is better for different areas is secondary to me. The fact that there are two good sites to check out is a definate plus.

[MisterBeasley]

Comparing my house in Massachusetts on the 2 sites shows the Google images are somewhat newer than the Terraserver ones, but still several years old.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

Whichever is better for different areas is secondary to me. The fact that there are two good sites to check out is a definate plus.

I'm going to have to change my tune on this. Checking further in comparing the two, I think it will be a case that one will have to check both sites. Terraserver clearly shows my Lake Placid office and cars in the lot but Google's site shows the town from such a distance that it looks like a bad impressionist painting. However, 8 miles awaiy, Google shows Saranac Lake much closer & clearer than Terraserver.

Hopefully this will be a healthy competition, leading to better results on both.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

I only recently learned about satelite photos and topo maps, but have had some success with Topozone.com. Unfortunately, I think you need to register (and pay) to use their satelite photos. Is this true with Google or Terraserver?

I have found that RailwayStation.com's North American Railroad Map program is very handy for locating specific regions. It allows you to zoom in on the section of railroad you want and it will link you dirrectly to that part of the map or ariel photos with Topozone (and I think Terraserver; again, I've only just begun to experiment with this).

[Anonymous]

I read about in on CNN.com, and I tried it. I couldn't get it to zoom in far enough but I'll have to experiment around some more, because the article had a clear picture of the White House as an example, and it was quite zoomed in. Another search you may want to try is Amazon's www.a9.com which delivers webpage, and picture results at the same time and has a feature (I think) with satellite. As an experiment I tried searching A9 for Los Angeles Union Station, and got lots of nice prototype pix, but also some strange ones, such as the station urinals... uhhhhhh? Who would take a picture of that? Anyway the Google thing does deserve a chance from everyone. -thefox-
BTW, the link to the CNN article in case you want it is
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/04/05/google.maps.ap/index.html

[Anonymous]

Well, I've known about Terra Server for eight years and it has set a pretty good standard. I zoomed in on the AT&SF yards in Alburqurque, N.M. with the Google version and got some pretty comperable satalite images. Same with the Kansas City Union Station. Both of which were newer shots. But, the terra server topo maps have much more detail when it comes to rr tracks and the number there of. Plus, for all of us railroaders, the topo maps are 20 to 25 years old, so we can see some of the older lines and yards. Now this probably won't last long before they get around to updating it, but for now it really rocks.

Personally, I have gone and downloaded those little terra server image squares and put them together in photoshop to make maps of the areas that I would like to model some day or have as inspiration to draw from. Once I have all the map squares that I want, I flatten the image and convert to a jpeg. Now I have 10 or 12 maps of different AT&SF yards or wyes or interesting stretches of track like the Raton Pass. Currently my largest map goes from Belen N.M. to Rosario N.M. It is not at the most detailied level of the topo settings, but anyone who knows that area knows that that is a huge stretch of land.

Anyway, its more than my two cents, but there you have it.

Jellen3

[Jetrock]

The Google satellite maps are a fun toy to play with--just killed an hour or so looking for aerial shots of local right-of-way. Not super high resolution, and it was missing close-ups of some things I wanted to look at more closely, but a fun toy.

SpaceMouse: Here's some worthwhile and free research material on 19th Century California railroading:

http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Exhibits.html

[davekelly]

Jetrock,

I know the feeling! The autoscroll thing is great. Traced the trainline from my mom's town up to NYC and then some of the commuter routes in Philadelphia.

[AntonioFP45]

NDBPRR,

Thanks a lot for that link! I just got through exploring my old neighborhood in New York. Also can see that famous, 4 track mainline of the Northeast Corridor. Brought back a lot of fond memories! I like the fact that the rail lines are included!

Thanks very much![:D][8D][:)][4:-)][C=:-)][C):-)][tup]

[ndbprr]

Having played with also for a day it is obvious that their library of images isn't complete. It appears the best course of action is to go to both and make comparisons. they each have something to offer.

[Anonymous]

I'm looking forward to trying both of these. I always use USGS Quad Maps for my research about rights of way.My interests lie on the DL&W in the late 20's

[Anonymous]

Not for satellite photos, but for old maps of selected areas I recommend the following tool:
http://historical.maptech.com/

It currently has digitized old maps of areas in 14 states, often several maps of the area are available. It may be of use to some here.

Wayne