File talk:Amtrak network map 2016.svg

Data sources

The following were the data sources used for the map: Pi.1415926535 (トーク) 05:27, 31 July 2016 (UTC)

• States and coastlines: US Census / TIGER
• Amtrak routes: US DOT BTS
  • The BTA dataset had a number of errors and anachronisms that needed corrected. These included the Conn River Line reroute of the Vermonter; terminal trackage in Brunswick, New Orleans, San Antonio, Portland, and Norfolk; and a total lack of the Canadian sections of the routes.
• Stations: US DOT BTS
  • Again, this dataset also requires correction. This includes a lack of Brunswick, Holyoke, and Norfolk rail stations; anomalous stations at Frederick and Guthrie; and abandoned stations at Amherst and Fair Haven.
• Water: Natural Earth 10m datasets

Metro area highlighting

The markings for urbanized areas seem a bit odd. Is there a particular population threshold you're using? I don't see anything for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for instance, even though its metro population is over 250,000. —User:Mulad (talk) 19:25, 18 August 2016 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I don't have a good population-based dataset. This uses the TIGER UAC10 dataset; I used the land area (ALAND) field with the cutoff set at ~65 square miles. Looking at the dataset now, it appears that Sioux Falls comes in just slightly below that cutoff at 64.23 square miles. I'll upload a version with it reset to 50 square miles; however, if you have a suggestion of a good urban areas dataset with a population variable, I'll use that instead. Pi.1415926535 (トーク) 20:55, 18 August 2016 (UTC)

Scale

Few problems:

• Glitched
• Missing Kilometers

--Thespaceface (トーク) 05:56, 18 December 2016 (UTC)

Updates

@Pi.1415926535: Hi there! I was wondering if this map could be updated for 2018. I know service to Roanoke started October 31, 2017, but I'm not sure if there were any other additions that should show up on the map. Unfortunately I don't know anything about editing svg files, but I would be interested in learning! Thanks! –Daybeers (トーク) 22:59, 28 March 2018 (UTC)

@Daybeers: This map is a doozy to deal with - due to its complexity, it's only really possible to do the geographic editing (stop changes, route lines, etc) in GIS software, followed by cleanup in an SVG editor. I haven't updated it because it's a whole lot of work to do so. I don't have think I have access to ArcGIS any more, though I may be able to work with my map file in QGIS instead.

If you want to make great maps, I highly recommend downloading QGIS and learning it, though it does have a steep learning curve. (I'm not an expert and unfortunately won't be able to teach you much, but there are books and online guides out there.) Should you learn GIS and wish to take over development of the map, I will happily provide you with all my files. Cheers, Pi.1415926535 (トーク) 23:27, 29 March 2018 (UTC)