Go on to Google Earth and find Guildford. Travel along the railway west of here towards Reading). In Wanborough station (in the village of Flexford), you will see a freight train hauled by a EWS 66. So what?
OK, head half a mile further west and there's another one!
Big deal, two freight trains, where are we going with this, Tadders?
Go literally 200m further west (certainly within the same signal block) and there's yet another - this one double headed with another at the back.
I can only assume these are ballast trains doing engineering works.
I believe satellites take 90mins to make consecutive passes, so thought the single headed trains could be the same one having inched forward during that time, but they are different lengths. That is one hell of a lot of ballast! (and hosepower).
Come on, you can do better than this, so post your railway related Google earth observations here....
Great find! There are clearly some track relaying works going on as the double head/top&tail is a rake of track carriers and the other track has been taken up. There also seem to be rather a lot of vans on the bridge which I can take to be NR workers' vans.
I have my doubts that it is the same train coz the one at Flexford has two extra trucks behind it !!
Yes, defo a Sunday. Aldershot bus station and bus depot are both choc-a-block with idle buses.
Now go to Houston, Texas. Go north, past the airport to the city of Spring, Texas.
There are two sets of yards here, 5 miles long, totally filled with what look like passenger cars. (Probably more than Amtrak owns!).
Big as it is, Houston gets only three passenger trains a week, each way.
But actually these are car transporters, and each of them can carry three layers of cars. I guess in the good old days, these would have taken American cars from Detroit to all over the USA. Nowadays, they take foreign cars from Galveston or Houston to all over the USA.
Here's an odd double turntable for you. Hope the link works.
http://g.co/maps/jwpf2
Quote from: poliss on November 20, 2011, 05:25:21 PM
Here's an odd double turntable for you. Hope the link works.
http://g.co/maps/jwpf2
Remember seeing that double turntable before Poliss ;)
I always like to have a peek at Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb & zoom in on it ;D
The largest railroad classification yard in the world. Named in honor of former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey, the massive yard covers 2,850 acres, reaching a total length of eight miles. The yard is located in the midst of key east-west and north-south corridors, making it a critical component of Union Pacific's rail network.
Bailey Yard has 17 receiving and 16 departure tracks handling 14,000 rail cars every 24 hours. Of those, 3,000 cars are sorted daily in the yard's eastward and westward yards, nicknamed "hump" yards. Using a mound cresting 34 feet for eastbound trains and 20 feet for those heading west, the hump yards allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of 114 "bowl" tracks. Here they become part of trains headed for destinations in the East, West and Gulf Coasts of America, as well as the Canadian and Mexican borders. An average of 139 trains per day, comprised of raw and finished goods, such as automobiles, coal, grain, corn, sugar, chemicals, steel and consumer goods, including electronics, apparel and other retail products, are handled at Bailey Yard.
To keep America moving, train operations and repair shops at Bailey Yard are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fueling and service center processes more than 8,500 locomotives each month, using technology like overhead cranes and elevated work bays to maintain fluid operations.
On-site Car Repair
The on-site car repair facility annually replaces 10,000 pairs of wheels, many identified through an in-motion defect detector using ultrasound technology to inspect the wheel. This detector was developed by Union Pacific and is the only one in the world. Some wheel repairs even take place without the rail car ever leaving the track, minimizing down time.
(http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii377/upnick/bailey2.jpg)
I see it says Golden Spike Tower. I thought that was at Promontory Summit. Maybe it refers to something else?
Well spotted about the turntable Nick. :-) Not quite the same link. I had to Google Map search for this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ceOsEMKWJU
Moving pictures of Bailey Yard for those interested ;D
Not a train but a plane:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.521989,-0.126262&spn=0.00244,0.004823&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=19.038728,39.506836&vpsrc=6&hnear=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=18 (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.521989,-0.126262&spn=0.00244,0.004823&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=19.038728,39.506836&vpsrc=6&hnear=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=18)
:o
Quote from: Brooksy on November 23, 2011, 02:54:03 PM
Not a train but a plane:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.521989,-0.126262&spn=0.00244,0.004823&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=19.038728,39.506836&vpsrc=6&hnear=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=18 (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.521989,-0.126262&spn=0.00244,0.004823&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=19.038728,39.506836&vpsrc=6&hnear=Russell+Square,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=18)
:o
Good one that! Quite a landmark to look out for.
Here's an invisible level crossing: http://g.co/maps/uu9w3 (http://g.co/maps/uu9w3)
Leads to an embankment!
And a bit further up the line, a leisure company who's offices are apparently in the middle of a marshaling yard.
http://g.co/maps/drjn8 (http://g.co/maps/drjn8) And actually on the track!
Here is my explanation for the invisible level crossing:
Maps (including those overlaid on Google Earth) are generally sourced from, and copyright of someone, such as the Ordnance Survey. The OS deliberately puts very small inconsequential errors in their maps so they can immediately tell if a map has been copied from theirs, and take action against those in breach.
Of course this error may not be considered
inconsequential if you follow it religously
and find yourself in the path of one of these: :Class414:
Quote from: tadpole on November 23, 2011, 03:47:36 PM
Here is my explanation for the invisible level crossing:
Maps (including those overlaid on Google Earth) are generally sourced from, and copyright of someone, such as the Ordnance Survey. The OS deliberately puts very small inconsequential errors in their maps so they can immediately tell if a map has been copied from theirs, and take action against those in breach.
Of course this error may not be considered
inconsequential if you follow it religously
and find yourself in the path of one of these: :Class414:
LMAO! :smiley-laughing: :smiley-laughing: :smiley-laughing:
SatNav users take note! ;D
Have been doing some "armchair" train spotting using google maps and satelitte view.
Noticed that google satelitte and streetview do not match, for an example of this,
go to "exeter st davids" follow the line north over the level crossing and into the yard.
You will see a long line of carriages (mail train?), open wagons and a virgin train heading
towards the station.
However if you change to steetview and look towards the track where the virgin train is,
you will see a short train of clay wagons, these are not on the satelitte view.
Why the difference?
Reuben.
Google Earth is done via satellites, whereas streetview is done with cars taking photographs.
Quote from: Tank on November 29, 2011, 09:32:30 PM
Google Earth is done via satellites, whereas streetview is done with cars taking photographs.
The higher detail shots in google earth are aerial survey not satellite, hence the more limited coverage
Ok i am sorry for adding another comment to this posting, and i apologise to the forum admin for reviving an old posting.
As i said before "i have been doing some armchair trainspotting", and i have come across something really strange.
Start at Exeter St Davids, follow the mainline north away from the station, at the junction stay right, after a short while
you will see a steel bridge over the river next to a power pylon, go on a bit further and the river loops back beside the line,
a bit further on there is a "hst" on the down line heading towards Exeter.
You will notice that this train only has one power car at the back, there does not seem to be a power car or locomotive at
the front.
Any ideas why this is? fault with google satelitte perhaps?
Reuben.
Quote from: Reuben on November 30, 2011, 10:01:44 AM
Any ideas why this is? fault with google satelitte perhaps?
Reuben.
The images are taken over time and matched in software to give nice edges. Thus if the HST was moving it may well have only been there for one of the images.
Wait till this page loads, then press the up arrow and watch summer change into winter in an instant.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Lower+Mill+Farm&hl=en&ll=53.809977,-0.618775&spn=0,0.022509&sll=53.810148,-0.617761&sspn=0.001964,0.005627&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.810051,-0.618621&panoid=csEvwCl_FM-EvRPadQXO5g&cbp=12,201.34,,0,0
Quote from: EtchedPixels on November 30, 2011, 02:42:27 PM
Quote from: Reuben on November 30, 2011, 10:01:44 AM
Any ideas why this is? fault with google satelitte perhaps?
Reuben.
The images are taken over time and matched in software to give nice edges. Thus if the HST was moving it may well have only been there for one of the images.
Looking at the image itself, it does appear to be a photo-stitch error. The coach is at an angle and the end is slightly blurry - and you can see shadow behind it where the sun is shining from (presumably the car behind it that is cropped off). Also you can kind of see a bit of sleeper shining through the car that is shown, presumably part of the blending process.
If I am right and this train is on the down track, it is the leading power car and at least two cariiages that is missing.
That's good spot though Reuben - and exactly what this thread is for!
Quote from: poliss on November 30, 2011, 02:54:04 PM
Wait till this page loads, then press the up arrow and watch summer change into winter in an instant.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Lower+Mill+Farm&hl=en&ll=53.809977,-0.618775&spn=0,0.022509&sll=53.810148,-0.617761&sspn=0.001964,0.005627&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=53.810051,-0.618621&panoid=csEvwCl_FM-EvRPadQXO5g&cbp=12,201.34,,0,0
Very neat. How on Google Earth did you find that???
My free range eggs had an address on the box, so I was checking that the hens were actually allowed to roam free. The postcode on the box got me close to the farm, but I had to wander around the roads to locate it. That's when I came across the summer/winter scene. I did find hens in a field just around the corner. ;D
Google streetview is also useful for finding out if model shops are real places too.
hi all
going back to the OP i'm not 100% sure but i don't think google updates it's images every 90 minutes.some of their images are years old.i found this out when looking down on my old house.my friend who lived opposite was having a lot of building work done and the view showed his house in it's old state.
cheers
alan
the historic imaging time line is useful, large areas are covered by 1945 aerial photos.
ok so they are a bit fuzzy and not very zoomable but still nice for working out old depot layouts.
not sure which side took them, us or them ;o)
Quote from: spurno on November 30, 2011, 06:49:43 PM
hi all
going back to the OP i'm not 100% sure but i don't think google updates it's images every 90 minutes.some of their images are years old.i found this out when looking down on my old house.my friend who lived opposite was having a lot of building work done and the view showed his house in it's old state.
cheers
alan
Whoah! I'm certainly not saying google earth updates every 90 mins, like you say: some of the images are years old, but each orbit of a satellite takes 90 mins, so it could be that adjoining bits of the map are 90mins apart. Having said that, I have no idea are taken by consecutive passes anyway, so they could be hours or days apart. Presumably many passages over a given spot are useless because of cloud.
You folks in the UK must have a different Google Earth than we have in Australia, where I live a neighbor that hasn't lived in our block of flats for over 12 months still has his car parked in the driveway ??? ???
It seems that most of you are unaware of the fact that by far the majority of the satellite images were taken, in the late fifties, by Soviet space cameras.
I know this to be true because the shots of Manchester have the sun shining in many areas, and as we all know, this last happened in 1959 ! ;D
Quote from: m1racleman on November 30, 2011, 09:57:27 PM
It seems that most of you are unaware of the fact that by far the majority of the satellite images were taken, in the late fifties, by Soviet space cameras.
I know this to be true because the shots of Manchester have the sun shining in many areas, and as we all know, this last happened in 1959 ! ;D
Crikey (http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/vishenka/d_sunny.gif) (http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/vishenka/d_sunny.gif)
I am currently making a model of an Avro lancaster Bomber. Don't worry - it is 1/144 scale and will grace the sky above my layout soon... but while looking for pics to use for paint schemes I found this on Google Earth. I didn't actually find it myself...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/ (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/)
Pretty cool though - what are the odds?
wow!
:o
Probably en route to drop a few Tallboys on Leyland, which would improve the looks of the place :evil: