Yesterday I announced the new “Explore” feature for Lebanon Railroads. Using this new map it is possible to trace the CL&N’s route all the way from Cincinnati to Dayton. Today I’m going to provide a brief tutorial on how exactly you can do it. I’ve also included a number of screenshots that provide a visual example of just how to do this.
First start by clicking the “Explore the CL&N” link on the upper-left side of the screen. This loads up a map of southwestern Ohio as well as loading the CL&N Routes and Points of Interests. The screen will look something like this:
Start by zooming in on the portion of the line you wish to view. For this tutorial I’m going to zoom in on the Court Street terminal area. I prefer to zoom in by using my scroll wheel to scroll upwards, however it is also possible to use the zoom controls in the upper-left corner of the map.
Next I will switch from the pure 2D map view to the satellite, or “Aerial” view. To do this click on the Aerial control on the blue upper control bar. This loads up a detailed image of the Cincinnati area from above. The red lines represent the original Cincinnati, Lebanon, and Northern route and how it related to the other roads and buildings in the city. The route is drawn as it was at the time of its abandonment. Other colored lines represents railroad eventually made part of the CL&N system, including the Dayton, Lebanon, and Cincinnati as well as the Middletown and Cincinnati.
To scroll, you can click the map and drag it in one direction. You can also use the directional arrows in the upper-left part of the map.
In addition to the routes, I have also added a number of points of interest in and around the right-of-way. These are represented by numbered thumb tacks. Hovering your mouse over these points shows additional details including construction and abandonment dates and possibly a photo. Clicking the photo will load it in a new larger window.
There’s one last trick you can use with this feature. Next to aerial is another view, called “Bird’s Eye”. By clicking this, you can load a detailed isomeric perspective of the scene. For instance, in the scene pictured below you can view the retaining wall that was built behind the CL&N roundhouse. This shows up a lot easier in the Bird’s Eye view than the aerial view. You can use these different angles to pick up details along the CL&N line.
I hope this tutorial starts you on the right track to exploring this feature. I hope to further integrate the map with the blog’s articles in the future.
