Must Have Apps for Ipad for LD Train Travel

[amtraknovi]

just got my Ipad and wondering if there any helpful apps to have related to train travel? I have got the Amtrak app but that is about it. Taking the SWC and CS shortly.

 

[AlanB]

I'd get MotionX GPS, the paid version, so that you can follow along on the maps where your train currently is. The paid version allows you to preload the maps, so that even if you don't have a data connection, you can still see the maps. The free version only allows you to download one map and you would need several small maps, rather than 1 big map.

 

[AlanB]

I'd also suggest a PDF reader so that you can bring along the time tables and if you have a scanner, you can bring along the frequency pages from OTOL. Another App that I like is the free version of Documents 2. This App allows me to setup a small spread sheet where I can track the arrival times at the stations along the way, record consists and other notes.

 

[sitzplatz17]

There's also an app called rail maps, unfortunately you do need an Internet connection because it works with google maps. I've really enjoyed it for some rail fanning and it's free too.

 

[CHamilton]

I have an Android app called Speed that tells me how fast I'm going, which is great fun. Haven't tried it, but it looks like there is something similar for the iPad called Speed Box.

 

[AlanB]

I have an Android app called Speed that tells me how fast I'm going, which is great fun. Haven't tried it, but it looks like there is something similar for the iPad called Speed Box.

Motion X will also report speed, altitude, and a few other things. It's all rolled right into the App. You can even email yourself the readouts at the end of the trip if you like.

 

[gatelouse]

There's also an app called rail maps, unfortunately you do need an Internet connection because it works with google maps. I've really enjoyed it for some rail fanning and it's free too.

I couldn't find this on the app store; is this one for Android?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I believe Google's "My Tracks" app is available for most systems. It's free and although it uses a network connection to display live maps it doesn't need them to work. Basically it uses your GPS system to record all or part of your trip, including maximum speed, average speed, elevation, etc. Then you can upload the trip and show it to other folks who can see it mapped out for them. If your GPS signal is strong and stable it can even show you specific tracks your train took. Pretty cool for a free app. I've also tried Navigon's paid Mobile Navigator app but found it focused way too much on vehicular travel. It had a hard time understanding rail travel and kept trying to put us on whatever roads it could find in the area.

 

[D T Nelson]

I highly recommend Evernote.

Evernote has versions of its app for all the popular mobile platforms, and apps (or do you say "programs?") for Mac OSX and Windows computers. You create an account, and anything you put in Evernote on your computer is automatically synced to your iPad. And vice versa. And you can access your account via the Evernote web site. A free account allows 60MB of syncing monthly; for $5 a month you get unlimited syncing.

When traveling, I put all my travel documents in Evernote on my computer -- scans of tickets, timetable PDFs, hotel reservation PDFs, etc. -- and I automatically have them on my iPad and iPhone. On the Mac, once you install the Evernote app, the option "Save PDF to Evernote" is added to the PDF options in the Print dialog. So if, for example, you make a hotel reservation and it says "Print this confirmation for your records," you can choose Print > PDF > Save PDF to Evernote, and that confirmation page will be automatically synced to your iPad, iPhone, or anywhere you have Evernote. (I cannot say if Save PDF to Evernote is an option on Windows computers, but I would hope so.)

Evernote will let you take pictures and then does optical character recognition on the picture, so if e.g. someone writes a note on a napkin, you can just take a photo of the napkin and then that note will be in your Evernote database and will be searchable. I don't do this, but I have friends who snap pictures of their receipts in Evernote and find that helps them keep track of their expenses.

You can clip web pages to Evernote. You can type notes directly into Evernote, or copy and paste from other programs.

It's really powerful.

 

[Ryan]

The built in iBooks app does a great job of handling all the PDFs.

If you take a lot of pictures, there is a program called GeoLogTag that takes a track and exports a GPX file that you can import into Aperture. Then Aperture will automatically match pictures to locations based on time, so you know where your pictures were taken. I know it works with Flickr and a bunch of other programs as well.

 

[Texan Eagle]

iLookOutTheWindow

 

[AmtrakBlue]

iLookOutTheWindow

:giggle: But, but, what am I looking at? Must Google my location...if I have GPS to tell me where I am.

 

[Hanno]

iLookOutTheWindow

Is there an app for that?

 

[AlanB]

I'd get MotionX GPS, the paid version, so that you can follow along on the maps where your train currently is. The paid version allows you to preload the maps, so that even if you don't have a data connection, you can still see the maps. The free version only allows you to download one map and you would need several small maps, rather than 1 big map.

They just dropped the price on the iPad version by a buck, so now is the time to grab it if you want it!