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the Gulf of Mexico. This survey was accomplished in two and one-half years 
by stereoscopic study of 1 :20.000 scale photographs supplemented by field 
checks as necessary. With old ground survey methods, only a good start could 
have been made with the same personnel in the same length of time. 
An example of such saving in time and money in railroad engineering 1s 
now going on in Canada. The new railway from the St. Lawrence River to 
Knob Lake at the new iron ore development is being built from about 12 dif- 
ferent points, using air strips chosen from air photographs. Much preliminary 
line for the new railrod has been laid out from the aerial photographs. 
Making the most of engineering manpower. 
At the 1952 meeting of the Western Association of State Highway Officials, 
Mr. Raymond Archibald, Chief of the Western Headquarters of the U.S. Bureau 
of Public Roads, expressed alarm at the growing shortage of engineers and pro- 
posed ways by which more engineering can be done with fewer engineers. His 
timely remarks are presented in the August 1952 issue of Better Roads magazine. 
This recent article shows how highway departments can fight the shortage of 
engineers by making short-cuts, developing improved methods, and taking every 
possible step to conserve the energy of the technical staff. He urges, among other 
things, the use of aerial photography to conserve engineering manpower. 
Conclusions. 
1. Photo interpretation is comparatively new in highway engineering. During 
the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in the application of 
photo interpretation but maximum benefits have not been realized from its 
use. 
2. Objectives in highway and railroad engineering are broadly: 
(1) Interpretation of geologic and soil patterns 
(2) Study of land forms (topography) and land use (culture) 
(3) Making of maps (planimetric and topographic). 
3.  Trained personnel and special short courses are needed for maximum use 
of photo interpretation in engineering for highways and railroads. Photo 
interpretation may solve, in part at least, the growing shortage of engineers. 
Time, manpower, and money are saved over old methods and results are 
often superior. 
In summation, experience since World War II has shown that more effect- 
ive use of air photo interpretation methods fosters a better understanding of 
mutual engineering problems. Such use furthers cooperative relationships in 
obtaining better engineering results. Consequently, there is a great future in photo 
interpretation in highway and railroad engineering. Its use in these fields is 
practically unlimited and its application will, no doubt, continue to grow and 
expand. 
Acknowledgements. 
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the State Highway Department mem- 
bers and others who cooperated in furnishing the information on which this 
  
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