Animated map of US railroad and population growth

Name: Animated map of US railroad and population growth
Availability: InStock
Author: carstonh

by carstonh·Jul 16, 2026·1 point·0 comments

Visit Project View on HN

AI Analysis

●●SolidRabbit HoleEye Candy

Watch rail networks explode 1850-1900 while population maps shift in real-time.

Strengths

•Combines two correlated datasets to reveal interdependence between infrastructure and demographics.
•Timeline scrubbing lets users explore specific decades of US expansion visually.
•Clean MapLibre implementation with smooth data loading and toggle controls.

Weaknesses

•Read-only visualization; no data export or custom dataset upload capability.
•Limited interactivity beyond timeline scrubbing and layer toggles.

Post Description

This map shows population of each US county over time, from the US census. It also shows the US rail network over time, with data from Jeremy Atack at Vanderbilt. I think it's interesting to see the interdependence between them. And the fact that the US rail network was substantially complete by 1900.