(crossposted from the railfan.net forums)
I've always been way more of a roadgeek than a railfan; I'm only barely conversant when discussing our rail history. This is my ignorance and my oversight, though, and in the past few months I've found myself eager to correct my shortcomings in this area.
My background is in cartography, and I run a site called the Big Map Blog. I've collected, from Library of Congress, Perry-Castenada, David Rumsey Map Collection, and other, much smaller archives, many many historical rail maps.
Problem is: I don't have the historical knowledge required to comment on them with any kind of authority; or to provide any meaningful insight to my readership. While I could write pages and pages on, say, the history of U.S. Route 40, I can't even begin to tackle what's presented in these beautiful RR maps.
I think that those of you who haven't had occasion to see these maps will be pleased with them. They're all downloadable at the highest resolution; I pride myself on the site's transparency and openness -- these beautiful maps are in the public-domain, and I want to deliver them back to the public that deserves them, and to do so without putting any b.s. paywalls or barriers of any kind.
I'm hoping that any individuals with the time and the inclination can set me straight; either through email (I'd be glad to repost your information with whatever attribution/linkage you would prefer) or through the comment section on the blog.
Here's a small selection of the maps that I've put up so far. More maps can be found using the "railroad" tag: http://www.bigmapblog.com/?s=railroad
Map of the White Pass and Yukon Route, 1904
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... oute-1904/
Map of the Union Pacific Railroad (1888)
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... -railroad/
Terminals of the Chicago and North-Western, in Chicago – 1902
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/terminal ... n-chicago/
Map of the Santa Fe Railroad (1888)
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... -railroad/
Elevated Trains in Chicago – 1897
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/elevated ... n-chicago/
I'm very much looking forward to learning more about rail history; and I'm thankful for any and all information I can come across. I'm reading through these forums, and finding a lot of great history and a lot of toe-holds with which to begin some of my own research. Very grateful for that.
Many more are to be posted in the coming weeks and months. If you'd like to research more high-res maps on your own, here are a couple of good starting points. The Library of Congress and David Rumsey Map Collection pages:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
I've always been way more of a roadgeek than a railfan; I'm only barely conversant when discussing our rail history. This is my ignorance and my oversight, though, and in the past few months I've found myself eager to correct my shortcomings in this area.
My background is in cartography, and I run a site called the Big Map Blog. I've collected, from Library of Congress, Perry-Castenada, David Rumsey Map Collection, and other, much smaller archives, many many historical rail maps.
Problem is: I don't have the historical knowledge required to comment on them with any kind of authority; or to provide any meaningful insight to my readership. While I could write pages and pages on, say, the history of U.S. Route 40, I can't even begin to tackle what's presented in these beautiful RR maps.
I think that those of you who haven't had occasion to see these maps will be pleased with them. They're all downloadable at the highest resolution; I pride myself on the site's transparency and openness -- these beautiful maps are in the public-domain, and I want to deliver them back to the public that deserves them, and to do so without putting any b.s. paywalls or barriers of any kind.
I'm hoping that any individuals with the time and the inclination can set me straight; either through email (I'd be glad to repost your information with whatever attribution/linkage you would prefer) or through the comment section on the blog.
Here's a small selection of the maps that I've put up so far. More maps can be found using the "railroad" tag: http://www.bigmapblog.com/?s=railroad
Map of the White Pass and Yukon Route, 1904
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... oute-1904/
Map of the Union Pacific Railroad (1888)
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... -railroad/
Terminals of the Chicago and North-Western, in Chicago – 1902
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/terminal ... n-chicago/
Map of the Santa Fe Railroad (1888)
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/map-of-t ... -railroad/
Elevated Trains in Chicago – 1897
Map Link: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2011/elevated ... n-chicago/
I'm very much looking forward to learning more about rail history; and I'm thankful for any and all information I can come across. I'm reading through these forums, and finding a lot of great history and a lot of toe-holds with which to begin some of my own research. Very grateful for that.
Many more are to be posted in the coming weeks and months. If you'd like to research more high-res maps on your own, here are a couple of good starting points. The Library of Congress and David Rumsey Map Collection pages:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
http://www.bigmapblog.com – Interesting maps, Historical maps, BIG Maps; every day.
