This Topic is for anyone looking for a map they can't google or whatever

I'll Start by asking for a Heber Valley Railroad Map

Within the last 5 years many more maps have been uploaded to the Internet.
Being a map aficionado, "I know this".

If you've not looked for a certain map in a while, try again.

Here in Michigan, I always wanted to view the original government survey map
rendered when Michigan became a state in 1837. It's on the Internet now.

Often, a very good map is buried at a website that can be difficult or time consuming to find.

You have to utilize more savvy search terms. It's not good enough to simply type, "Map".

The term "Right-of-Way" produces pretty good results depending on what you're looking for.

A very good example of right-of-way maps is here: https://www.co.grand.co.us/571/Original ... -Maps-List

The link below demonstrates an excellent example of a map "upload".
http://hcapps.co.hendricks.in.us/DataWa ... Index.aspx
The maps are huge, and not worthless thumbnail/screen shots.

I wish you an adventure in your search for a good map of the Heber Vally Railroad.
Someone has posted something somewhere. You just need to find it.

John

This topic points out one of the gaps in the internet. Whenever I hear it said that the internet has made it possible to answer just about every question, I know that that is not necessarily true, especially when it comes to very specialized topics like railroads. It can be very frustrating to track down reliable information.

Thank You for Chiming [in] on this subject Paul. Thank You.

John

Give this USGS link a try - https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/ ... /-118.0988

Enter the location to search for the correct map. The date range is between about 1890 and current. It takes a bit of playing to get familiar with how to navigate, but there is a huge amount of information that can be gleaned. You can also compare maps from different dates to see what has changed.

We Thank you for suggestions, but we'd better specify

A Detailed Map of The Tourist Railroad with all the sign stops including Decker as there are several marked sidings between Heber and Vivian

This is the best map of the Provo Canyon Branch I know if. It shows the parts of the line that were abandoned by the DRGW and the parts now under the dam though. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe ... 43117&z=11

This one lacks some details, but does show the modern alignment the tourist line follows: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe ... 29197&z=12

As someone who's always the designated map expert wherever he goes, I'll add my views:

Maps of a preserved line's route are more useful to train-chasers than riders, and thus are a very low priority for a line to offer on a website.

Virtually every excursion line in the U.K. offers for sale a "guidebook" of some kind that offers a history, a route map with highlights along the route, and maybe a roster, photos, etc. The Strasburg RR sells their "Road to Paradise" book aboard the train (or did--do they still do so, now that the author has passed away?).

There are also guidebooks for longer lines such as the Durango & Silverton; it's hard to find a used book store without a long-ago-used copy around here.

For the not-casual rail enthusiast or historian I cannot recommend strongly enough the Steam Powered Video (SPV) railroad atlas series. Not online but well worth the money. In a similar vein, the DeLorme state atlas series are well-used by rail enthusiasts for good reasons.

And Google Earth and Google Earth Pro are powerful tools if one knows how to use them properly and are aware of the occasional lag time between changes and posting. Just a half-hour ago I was on Google Earth looking for a brand-new railroad terminal for which there was NO evidence in the satellite or Street Views taken less than a year ago! (I think I found the chickens those trains are feeding, however....)

So, maybe I'm now an old geezer, but if you're expecting every volunteer excursion line to have an app for your trackside chasing or onboard perusal, you might be taking the "better products for free instantly available on smartphone" mantra of American consumerism a bit too far.......