Is Research Rewarding to You?

[Green_Elite_Cab]

This hobby potentially requires a lot of research. Sure, you can model just trains as they are, but some of the fun is seeing how close you can get!


Personally, I find the journey agitating, but the end result of having some clear knowledge is fantastic, especially if its an unusual or unpopular prototype.

It makes all the hours slogging through misinformation, fuzzy internet photos, and reading seem worth it. Now, if someone else needs the information, you can put it out there.

The only thing I suppose dissappoints me is that I figure I do a lot of research on things, but how to share it in a meaningful way? I've toyed with creating a website (Juice Jack Resource, I call it) in the form of a wiki, but I've only made a few pages up to this point. I will link it if anyone wants to see, but I'd like to add a few more pages, lol.

I feel like, ultimately, not only having the knowledge, but spreading it is the most rewarding par.

[jwb]

I'd say that if you've begun the work on an info exchange type site for electric fans, go for it, put it up, see who might be interested and who might help out. You can get free hosting for the thing in various venues.

[e-paw]

""Personally, I find the journey agitating, but the end result of having some clear knowledge is fantastic""

[sailormatlac]

I do agree...

Sharing it is something else, but I once used my railway reseaches into my university paper. It was a way, through architecture as a media, to make it useful to people out of the train world. At first, all the teachers were against my idea, by the end they gave me 2 substantial scholarships that paid off my student debts. So yes, I find it reawrding. I had the pleasure to present my work to different peoples including municipal administration. Was it susccesful? To be honest, not that much, but I think it helped some people to see trains benefit for our area.

Until this day, I found out most of the time, what I learned in my hobbies was what gave me an edge over other people on some situation, much more that my "official" education.

Good luck with your wiki, maintaining website is a dedication.

Matt

[TTRAK_andrew]

G'day All,
As an answer to the initial question, YES! This is conditional on the ability to work out this research in a context where others can join in with extra information, positive suggestions, and some degree of `sharing of the journey'. If you visit my research thread on a railway goods (freight) yard that was entirely built over 20-30 years ago you may catch my meaning:
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I was able to join a web-site/forum that I knew had members with some existing knowledge/experience of my research focus and who would enjoy me bring my own extra input into the thread. If I had started only with a blog or stand alone web-page I would have missed out on a lot, and other people would have missed out also. Eventually I will be summarizing my research into a BLOG/Web-page and probably also a PDF document that will be `published' by the historical society of the suburban area where the goods yard was located. By the time I am ready to web-page there will be a fair few railfans in my part of the world already knowing of my research and able to `people google' other interested folks to it. I hope I will have also been part of a process of encouraging/educating other people into how to do their own research.

Regards, Andrew G.

[teejay]

When I was building my steel mill layout I did a lot of research ...steel mill operations ( mid 50's ) , Hulett Ore Unloader , Edmund Fitzgerald ore freighter etc . It was a lot of work but I liked sorting through Library of Congress sites , and numerous other links . I certainly learned a lot about the industry and how it operated . I have much respect for those workers .

Terry

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I'd say that if you've begun the work on an info exchange type site for electric fans, go for it, put it up, see who might be interested and who might help out. You can get free hosting for the thing in various venues.

Here is an "Example Page", on the Silverliner IV. I still need to add a table that lists to roster and road number changes, and I also need to figure out how to make a "data table" on the right hand side of the page where I can put basic information about ther cars.

I also need to add an "external links" portion, to some documents I found, like the Silverliner IV operators manual.

These wikia pages lack a "source" area like a regular wikipedia site, so I'll have to make one of those as well.

I'm going to try, as much as possible, to be able to back up every fact I can. there are a lot of assumptions and misinformation out there being posed as fact, and I hope I can put something together that is based in reliable information.


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[talltim]

I'm coming to the conlusion that I possibly enjoy the research more than the modelling...

[secondhandmodeler]

I don't think I would enjoy true 'research' into my little world, but I certainly enjoy learning how things were back in the day. I model my home town sixty to seventy years ago. The city has seen quite a bit of change in those years so I like to see how it use to be. My Grandparents use to have an antique store which sold old postcards of the area. My grandpa would show us the postcards and then drive us around and show us where those pictures were taken. I enjoy history anyway and learning about history that I have a personal connection to is very rewarding. Couple that interest in history to an interest in trains and you have a nice little hobby. I think that's why I've enjoyed creating the layout almost more than running the trains themselves. Now I can see an animated version of that history right in my living room.

[Sumpter250]

How, What, Where, When, Who, and the greatest question Why.
Yes, Research is rewarding to me.
Many times, research on a project leads to the start of another project, and always there's that AHA!! moment when the reason for something, completely different, comes out of that research, and makes it all worth while.
Yeah, I like learning.

[ngauger]

Same here. I begun reasearching the Baldwin locomotive Works in Eddystone, because I grew up abour 3 miles from there. that has led to may really interesting discoveries and lots of learning about the culture of both individuals and the business itself. I share it on my website :

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[railohio]

I'm coming to the conlusion that I possibly enjoy the research more than the modelling...

QFT

[Brakie]

Absolutely!

I enjoyed researching industrial branchlines using Bing and Goggle maps.The information gain was priceless.

[MountainMan]

Sometimes...if I actually find what I'm looking for. Fankly, I would rather research in a well-stocked library than on the 'net.

[Kev1340]

I have always enjoyed the research side of modelling. It was always in the library or site visits when I was modelling prototypes here in the UK, but now I'm modelling the Wisconsin Central the Internet has been an invaluable tool.

As of late research has taken a more prominent role for me - whilst waiting for a knee replacement op I'm unable to do work on the layout that involves standing, so I'm spending much more time on research.

The downside is I now have two future layout planned for when I'm more mobile again!

Cheers,

Kev