I noticed that within a minuscule amount of time I can see google links to mirror sites but I wont believe all of this until I have some download on my disk. It still seems too good to be true. Were talking the gov here after all...

Ta for the rep but I am just the messenger really. Whether we can do something useful with the data remains to be seen. I have previously written an app to extract contour lines on maps and try to turn them into DEMs with limited success. Its obvious that the maps were printed with random noise on them to deter this exact purpose. Look at the MUCH improved print quality of maps from the 1970's compared with modern ones... Not exactly in line with printing technology ! I saw a web site once where some PhD guy was extolling his thesis and programs to do this with some images which had most convenient contour lines in them. I mailed and asked a few pertinent questions and got a slightly more honest account of its ability. Basically in the printed form its very hard indeed to get 3D DEM from arbitrary 1:50K or 1:25K map images scanned off of a map. But if they are handing the data out free then maybe there's no reason to do any "selective availability" type stuff on the data any more... maybe. Well we will see shortly I guess.

Still seems too good to be true...