Combining mapping with railfan sites

[Sawtooth500]

So I figured I'd share this here and see if anyone else was interested...

Obviously there are a ton of railfan sites out there on the internet. The sites are great and provide a lot of information. Being very computer saavy, the problem I've found is that none of them have any map integration.

Google provides a ton of free mapping tools. My point is, if you've taken a video or picture of some place, why post it on a web site and then provide a textual description of the place? Why not just overlay it on a satellite map where you can see the line, connecting lines, etc. You can even have entire lines overlayed on satellite maps and what's really cool is that for the vast majority of your abandoned lines (even lines that have been abandoned for 80-100 years) you can still see their grades on a satellite map and this can be traced out. Another really cool thing you can do is use google street view (where available) to look at pictures of crossings, it's a great way to find out if the rails look like they are still in use or not if you can't tell from a satellite picture.

So why am I writing all this? I own a web design company, and I can literally build anything you can imagine. I've been wanting to build a free web site like this for the railfan community for a long time, but I only live in the Chicago area and only have a good knowledge of the railroads around Chicago. I wouldn't want a project like this limited only to Chicago.

I'm looking for anybody who would be interested in being a Contributor for the site - I'd need anything ranging from photographs, to map tracing, to railroad knowledge, to articles being written. I'll do all the programming myself, but I need content. If enough people would like to take this project on with me, I'll get it started and actually get it moving off the ground.

Let me know your thoughts on this, and if the railfan community would find a railfan site totally integrated with satellite maps helpful. My email is [e-mail]