Which Files?

Mike,

Neat tool.  Which files did you use?  There were several types and I wasn't sure which ones you used.

Steve

Use the 7.5 x 7.5 size

The 7.5 x 7.5 sizes are larger in scale.  Attaching a pin to the location you want makes it easy to choose the right map (nice feature BTW). 
Once you have a map, just add a new pin in an adjacent area on the web site.

In Adobe Reader the maps are 22 x 26 inch nominal size and hold up well at 400% enlargement on screen.  Reader allows you to define an area for copy and paste (it's called Take a Snapshot) or you can print the area that is highlighted (choose FIT in page setup).

lo and behold they have maps of Denver in 1957

Are the 1957 era maps available for most areas?  I've used USGS maps a lot but haven't kept track of the dates available. A usgs map along with google earth should be very handy when trying to re-create what was there in 1957....DaveB

There are 7.5 series maps

There are 7.5 series maps back to the late 1940's in many urban areas.  In many small towns and rural areas the oldest 7.5 maps may date from the late 1960's.  The smaller scale  15 series maps are generaly early 1900's but there are some  late 1800's. While less detailed than the 7.5 , the 15 series is still often useful.  Other smaller scale  series are good only for determining  main features.

The presentation of the recent 7.7 series maps is very different from the older maps.  I find them virtually useless., but fortunately there is Google Maps, Google Earth, and Bing Maps.  The few 2012 maps I have looked at also appear to have a lot of mistakes.  For instance the map for the area I live the roads are hard to pick out and some are not shown  correctly. It appears that it was drawn based on misaligned photos ..

EDIT  Went to the USGS site and dowloaded the latest version of the 7.5 series map.  The misalignment has been corrected and the roads are now clearly shown and more accurate, but still not all correct.

It appears that it was drawn based on misaligned photos

The one's I've used lost their accuracy where lots of trees or heavy brush covered the view. A road might be ok where it entered and left the trees but sketchy in the middle of them....DaveB

Which file

Map date

Cutting and pasting maps

Nice

This is a great way to learn where the tracks went. How does it look in Google Maps? How much of this is still there, or if it's not still there, can you see where it used to be (often the case when you look from the air).

note I do use the TERRAGO TOOLBAR

The Terrago is free and will let you download the PDF files

http://info.terragotech.com/download/terrago-toolbar

Converting pdf to other formats

Don't use a screen shot.

Better results can be obtained by opening the pdf in a photo editing program. The file can be then saved as a a jpeg or any other format available in the program. I use Corel Paint Shop Pro.  In PSP the  default resolution for opening a pdf is 72 dpi but that is too low for enlargements.  I usually change the setting to 200 dpi.  

Once in a while PSP fails to open the a particular pdf, in which case I use GIMP. GIMP is a free program popular with people who build paper models.  So far it has never failed me.