[PRCo] Re: Penn Pilot

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Some of us have been using this resource for two or three years now.  Two
series of photos are available; two aren't yet ready.  The latest is about
1971.  The 1956-61 and 1946-52 are not available, but that 1937-42 bunch is
a very valuable lot. 

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Fred
Schneider
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 5:26 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Penn Pilot

Give you guys something to play with all weekend (if the wives don't have
something more important).

Penn Pilot has a series of aerial photographs of the entire state of
Pennsylvania taken starting in 1937 and going up to the present.  The  
earlier 1937-1942 stuff is very high resolution.   I can actually  
pick out the trolley cars on a print of Lancaster city (3 miles x 3
miles) that measures about 3 feet by 3 feet.  So I'm certain if someone is
nutty enough to do it (and are not all railfans nutty?), then you should be
able to look at the aerial photographs of Allegheny and Washington and
Fayette and Washington counties in 1940 and find the streetcars.

The first link leads to the home page.

The second link leads to a page I was looking at in Lancaster  
County ... one of the April 24, 1940 views.   I can guarantee as I'm  
typing that you will have to paste it back together because it will be split
by the time you get it.

I took one of the big prints of Lancaster City to the Lancaster County
Historical Society today and when I left, one of the research girls was on
line looking at Penn Pilot to see what else she could  
find and marveling at the detail.   I suggested that she would be  
deserting her work and look at Lancaster from the air 68 years ago  
all afternoon.   She said, "Probably."



http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu/

http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu/cgi-bin/mapserver?map=..%2Fhtdocs%
2Fmapserver%2F40%2F42071%2Fm79080.map&layer=doqs&layer=countyu