Comparison

Rail Guide vs Historic Aerials

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Rail Guide

Explore detailed maps of active, historic, and abandoned rail lines across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Includes milepost data for most routes and points of interest. Stay updated on map changes via the official Facebook page.

Highlights
  • North American rail line maps
  • Current, historic, and abandoned lines
  • Milepost data
  • Points of interest
  • Map update notifications
Features
Read full description

Maps of current, historic, and abandoned rail lines plus points of interest in the US, Canada, and Mexico with mileposts for most lines. Follow facebook.com/railguide for map updates.

About

Historic Aerials

Explore historical aerial imagery across the US to see how landscapes and neighborhoods have changed. This app provides spatially accurate, orthorectified imagery, allowing you to pinpoint historic features and research property history. It's a powerful tool for researchers, enthusiasts, and professionals investigating the past.

Highlights
  • View historical aerial imagery across decades
  • Compare past and present imagery
  • Spatially accurate orthorectified imagery
  • Obtain geographic coordinates for historic features
  • Explore property history and land development
  • Research historical land use and environmental change
  • Discover abandoned roads and forgotten places
Read full description

Turn your phone into a virtual time machine. Explore historical aerial imagery from across the United States and see how landscapes, cities, and neighborhoods have changed through the decades. HistoricAerials lets you view historical aerial photography and map imagery from multiple decades directly on your mobile device. Instantly compare past and present imagery to understand how land use, development, and property boundaries have evolved over time. Because HistoricAerials imagery is fully orthorectified, locations shown in the imagery are spatially accurate. You can obtain precise geographic coordinates for features visible in historic imagery, even if those features have disappeared today. This makes it possible to locate forgotten structures, former industrial sites, abandoned roads, historic homesites, and other lost features directly in the field using GPS. This powerful research tool is used by: • Metal detector enthusiasts searching for old homesites, historic schools, and forgotten locations • Environmental consultants conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments • Archaeologists researching historical landscapes • Surveyors and engineers studying land development patterns • Oil & gas professionals locating historic well sites and legacy infrastructure • Real estate professionals investigating property history • Urban planners analyzing land use change • Historians and researchers exploring the past • Property owners and land investigators Key Features • View historical aerial imagery spanning multiple decades • Instantly compare past and present imagery • Fully orthorectified imagery that is spatially accurate • Obtain geographic coordinates for historic features and locations • Explore property history and land development patterns • Research sites for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) • Analyze historical land use and environmental change • Discover abandoned roads, rail lines, historic structures, and forgotten places • Frequently used to research historical land use in property boundary and land use disputes • Perfect for archaeology, metal detecting, environmental consulting, and land research • Access the HistoricAerials imagery library from anywhere HistoricAerials hosts the largest online collection of historical aerial imagery in the United States, allowing anyone to explore how landscapes, properties, and communities have changed over time. Now you can carry this virtual time machine with you wherever you go.

Screenshots

Rail Guide3 screens
Historic Aerials4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rail Guide at 100% against Historic Aerials's 23%. Rail Guide also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Historic Aerials's advantage is ratings volume (94 vs 27). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rail Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 94 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Rail Guide's written reviews are positive against 23% of Historic Aerials's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Rail Guide versus Historic Aerials: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRail GuideHistoric Aerials
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (27 ratings) — better3.1 (94 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better22.9% of reviews
Number of ratings2794 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB40 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRail Guide LLCNationwide Environmental Title Research, LLC

Customer experience

Rail Guide

All ratings21 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Historic Aerials

All ratings94 ratings
Positive47.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative46.8%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive22.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative75.0%

In-app purchases

None

Rail Guide

No in-app purchases

None

Historic Aerials

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rail Guide free?
Rail Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Historic Aerials free?
Historic Aerials is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rail Guide or Historic Aerials?
Rail Guide is rated higher. Rail Guide averages 4.8 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while Historic Aerials averages 3.1 from 94 ratings.
Do Rail Guide or Historic Aerials have ads?
Both Rail Guide and Historic Aerials show ads.

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