A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide
The following instructions will help users to interact with the time-enabled map of the
opening and closing of railway lines in Ireland from 1835 to the present. The map presents
the chronology of the opening and closing of lines subsumed into the Great Southern
Railway (1925), and CIE Company (1945). Great Northern Railway lines are not included in
this version of the animated timeline railway map. Lines include Standard Gauge 5'3" and
Narrow Gauge lines.

First, download the Railway Timeline Map file (Railway Timeline Map Ireland.kmz)

Double click on the Railway Timeline Map Ireland.kmz file to open the map in
Google Earth

The map will display in the Google Earth viewer, and in the Places panel.

Click the small white triangle beside the folder layer titled “A National Animated
Timeline Map of Irish Railways” to expand this folder
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways by Ronan Hennessy 2012.
Funded by the Heritage Grant Scheme 2012 - Heritage Education, Community and Outreach
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide

The Time Slider controls will automatically display in the top-left corner of the map
viewer window.
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways by Ronan Hennessy 2012.
Funded by the Heritage Grant Scheme 2012 - Heritage Education, Community and Outreach
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide

See the Using the Time Slider in Google Earth instructions to learn how to interact
with the time sequence data.

The Stations layer is automatically loaded in the OFF setting. Click on the Stations
folder to turn on the Stations layer.
Note: The Stations layer does not have a Time component.
Using the Time Slider in Google Earth
The Animated Timeline Railway Map of Ireland is a time-enabled map. You can view the
changes in the railway network in Google Earth using the Time Slider. (Note: The time slider
feature is available only in Google Earth 5 and later.)
Using the Time Slider

To view the animated timeline map correctly when dragging the time-bars, or playing
(by clicking the Play button), ensure that the two time bars move simultaneously.

If the upper time bar move ahead of the lower time bar (so that a gap separates the
two bars), drag the lower bar up to meet the upper bar, and proceed to play.
Incorrect position of the Time Bars (separated)
Correct position of the Time Bars (overlapping)
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways by Ronan Hennessy 2012.
Funded by the Heritage Grant Scheme 2012 - Heritage Education, Community and Outreach
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide
Features of the time slider include:
1. Zoom in or out to shorten or lengthen the date range covered by your timeline. This
lets you to more easily see the different imagery that's available within a shorter or
longer period. Notice that as you zoom in or out, the Start and End dates on the
timeline change.
2. Click this to set options for the time slider (*see below to set options).
3. Click this to change the time range of data displayed to an earlier date.
4. Drag this to move the time range earlier or later.
5. Click this to change the time range of data displayed to a later date.
6. Play/Pause Timeline data sequence
*Setting Timeline Options
You can set options for the timeline display feature. Here's how:
1. In the time slider, click the settings icon (see above). The Date and Time options
dialog box appears. Options include:
o
Start and End date/time - Set the date and time for the start and end of the
timeline.
o
Display time in - Choose the appropriate type of displayed time.
o
Animation speed - Use this slider to set the speed of the animation that
occurs when you click the play button on the time slider (see above).

Loop animation - Select this checkbox to play your animation
continuously.
2. When you're finished, click OK.
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways by Ronan Hennessy 2012.
Funded by the Heritage Grant Scheme 2012 - Heritage Education, Community and Outreach
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways – User Guide
Viewing Stations along the Railway Lines

To switch on/off the Stations layer, click on the Stations folder to activate the layer.
Stations along the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR)
Touring on the Railway Lines

To follow the route of a railway line, choose a line (e.g. Galway – Clifden Railway),
and expand the folder for the railway line

Click on one of the line symbols
(e.g. the 3 small red circles connect by short
lines in the image above) – so that the layer (e.g. Galway – Oughterard) is selected.
When a line is selected, it is highlighted in blue in the Places sidebar (see image
above)

Next click on the Play Tour button
. The map view should zoom into the line,
and begin a tour following the route of the railway line selected.
A National Animated Timeline Map of Irish Railways by Ronan Hennessy 2012.
Funded by the Heritage Grant Scheme 2012 - Heritage Education, Community and Outreach