I'm trying to figure out a way to estimate the number of miles of red line, which represents railroad tracks, from the image I've attached. Does anyone have suggestions or methods for doing this?
3 Answers
If you're set on using the image, one approach is to count the red pixels representing the tracks. Then, you can divide that number by the width of the line in pixels. After that, calibrate miles to pixels using a known distance from the map, like the mileage between Seattle and Miami.
Instead of estimating, you might find that the actual data for those tracks is available as shapefiles or KML files online. It could save you a lot of time trying to measure it yourself.
You should definitely check out OpenStreetMap or Tiger line files. They both contain information on railroad tracks. Depending on the level of detail you're looking for, one might be better than the other.
Just keep in mind that using a 2D representation can lead to inaccuracies due to distortion, so the estimated number might not be perfectly accurate.