I will be the first to order it…
Well, if there is such a book published, I hope that they do not use colors that those of us color challenged can interpret without going nuts! The Ohio map was a really bad one for me!
I would buy one.
A good book of maps would be worth it, particularly if it had traffic density and number of trains per day.
ed
It would be more handy than dragging all the magazines out every time you wanted to see one.
It would be an interesting and informative book, but how would one organize it? The maps cover such a wide variety of subjects, areas, etc., that it would be hard to make rhyme or reason of it.
Also, some of those maps are already outdated–the only constant is change. So do you, the editor, make them relevant to the reader (yes, you read maps!) at the time of publication, or run some potentially misleading information?
(I like the maps, and I’d probably still buy it. Back when Mr. Ingles was editor of Trains, I suggested to him that the Magazine should publish a railroad atlas with the degree of information they had on a map of Iowa in a then-recent issue, showing current and former lines, place names, and the like. He said that it would be prohibitively expensive to produce. He was probably right–look how many volumes a complete set of SPV atlases takes, and those maps are produced in black-and-white!)
Color blind? Thats instresting…I am writing a book on railroad maps so how would I acomodate people like you? What % of people are color blind and how does it work?
Well the old maps provide historical data…
Throw in a bit of pertinent history involving each map, and I think you’ve got a book that would interest me! It would seem more likely to be a candidate for a Trains Magazine special publication magazine-type book, as the potential customer base would somewhat narrow-us.
I don’t think they ever did a map of the month for the best hobo routes.
That would be the BNSF Hi-Line.
Get your tramp stamps in Washington,Hop on the Hi-Line to Montana and then get them there too.
Then go to the Twin Cities and get them
before going back toWashington.
The RT took 10 days and paid $330 per month in stamps.
This was in the early 1980s and none of those three states cross checked with each other.\
I was working with the homeless in Portland at the time and I met some one of a kind Hobos/Tramps those years.
The best time I ever heard of and believed was 41 hours from Lowell Jct/Everett to MSP.
kurt
If such a book is produced, make it at least the size of the DeLorme state atlases, please. Or include a magnifying glass, like the one I often use for the Trains maps. Sometimes there’s just too much information crammed into metro areas on most Trains’ “Maps of the Month,” IMHO
If Trains did publish a book (or booklet) of “Map of the Month”, I’m sure they would make it of the highest quality. This means useful, relevant information (no problem, even with the snapshot in time consideration), and legible, easily understood graphics. I’m partially color blind myself (reds, browns sort of merge), but would still find value in having all the “map of the month” collection in one place.
The biggest problem I see is the fairest sales point. Given an 11 X 11 inch format (no smaller; larger better!), 50 (?) maps, and some sort of thematic grouping system, I would expect such a book to have a list price between $50 and $70 USD.
I would purchase it in this price range, but probably not higher.