Ezdays' train articles

[ezdays]

Back in late 2006, the publisher of a monthly newspaper in Tehachapi, California contacted us looking for someone to write a monthly column for their newspaper. Tehachapi is a train town, and is noted for the nearby "Tehachapi Loop", and they wanted to add a regular article about trains in their paper. Since I was already writing a newspaper column and had a love of trains, it was a natural thing for me to take on. My first article appeared in Jan., '07. About a year later, the paper changed hands and the new owners eventually changed formats to magazine size. I continued to write articles about anything to do with trains, both model and full-scale, until the beginning of this year. At first they said they would publish every other month, but then they temporarily suspended publication altogether, I’m sure as just another victim of the current economy.

I was posting these articles on my blog at Zealot until about the time chaos and confusion hit and it just wasn’t worth the effort to continue there. I’ll start from the beginning again here, so some of you that had read my articles over there, may have to wait a while before I get to where I left off. I will try to post one a week, more or less depending on how well my memory and attention spans are at the time.

Just one note, as is most stuff on the Internet, these articles are copyright protected so I would appreciate your asking me for permission prior to using or copying any of their content.

Oh, BTW, the name of my column there is, "Along the Line".

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day Jan, 2007
Introductions

First impressions are important, it may be the thing that cements a relationship or can make or break a business deal. Honesty and experience enters into it as well, but as long as you think someone is being honest with you, all other things can be dealt with, regardless. This is my chance for a first impression, honestly, so let’s start by getting to know me a bit. I’m a writer of sorts; I like to write about things that might be of interest to others, bits and pieces of what I’ve learned along the way, especially historical stuff. I’m an engineer by trade and a model railroader because retirement has blessed me with the time to devote to such tasks. I have an understanding wife that is pleased that I can hunker into a corner for hours on end working on my models and not become a nuisance to whatever it is she does. This has worked out well for us these past 46 years and there’s no reason to change our ways now.

How does someone go about choosing a hobby? Well, I’ve always had an interest in railroading. Not that I was able to get personally involved, but growing up in New Jersey, we had trains running not that far from our house, freights mostly, heading to a rather large yard between us and the Hudson River. We had the Erie Railroad running passenger trains nearby and a short bus ride connected us to an elevated railroad that eventually made its way into the subway system in Manhattan. In the fifties, this was a major way to get around and we rode the trains often. I remember when I was stationed in Colorado and took the Burlington California Zephyr to Chicago, then switched to the Pennsylvania Railroad while heading home on leave; but the significance of all this didn’t register with me until recently. Most all of the railroads of that era are long gone, referred to as “fallen flags”; lines that have either disappeared, or more likely, have merged several times over. So goes the steam engine as well, but we still have an opportunity to ride behind one of those 100-ton behemoths thanks to the efforts of train restorers and the many excursion trains throughout the country. Anyway, over the years I took on an appreciation for things that would never be commonplace again. No, we’re not talking eight-track tape players or dial phones; these things may hold a place in someone’s collection, but not mine. If you choose to become a train buff and collector, just how many old steam engines, cattle cars or wooden cabooses can one fit in their back yard? Now you can see why I chose model railroading. I also considered radio-controlled airplanes as a hobby, but we live in the desert and driving 20 miles to stand out in the 110-degree heat to fly models didn’t impress me as a way to enjoy myself. I’d rather create; I can build an entire town, a towering mountain, a horse pasture or a major railroad empire and not need to worry about building codes, right-of-ways or tax assessments. I can create an industry and be assured that it thrives by also creating a user-base for its products. Mostly though, I can collect miniature, working replicas of these great machines without cluttering up our domain. I’ve got drawers full of rolling stock, freight cars of all types and vintage, and I can cross the steam generation with modern diesels because I’m not bound by the constraints of time. What’s great is, my homeowner’s association isn’t even disturbed by all this, there’s not one outward trace that this vast empire is in their midst. Although I can guess that they’d get a bit testy if they saw a full-size 4-6-4 engine parked in our yard.

Yes, many of the fallen flags are represented on my empire, as is one fictitious one, the Canyon State Railroad. Many modelers pick a name for their railroad, others like to model specific lines. Some take pleasure in accurately modeling an era; the 1950’s seem to be a popular time to model. Maybe because that was when diesels were replacing steam engines and it allows modelers to run both types without fear of loosing accuracy. Some groups thrive on running “operating sessions,” where the operations of a real railroad are precisely followed. Me, well I guess I model the current era, plus I’m happiest creating scenery and structures, making the miniature world look real. As I said, I’m not bound by time and like to mix the old with the new. Just ride the countryside right now and that’s what you’ll find, 100 year-old Main St. buildings with a modern gas station on the corner and down the street from an 1800’s farmhouse. That describes my layout, what I like to represent. Even so, I’m not sure how I can justify a steam engine pulling a consist of Santa Fe passenger cars there, so for now I can run them when no one else is looking, and they make fine displays the rest of the time.

I hope that I’ll have more of an opportunity to talk about railroading, models and maybe just a few things about what goes on in other parts of the west. I sometimes jabber on about things around Arizona, but why not? I’m proud of this history and heritage and the railroad plays an important part of that. I’ve lived in California for a while too, but I’ve not been in Tehachapi or through the loop. Still, I know if there’s one thing that ties us together, it’s the railroad.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day <printed on Feb, 07>.

Defining a railfan

There’s nothing that can get some people’s juices flowing more than seeing a half-dozen engines pulling a mile of freight cars down a track, or perhaps watching an old Baldwin engine pulling an excursion train out of the depot. These people are called “railfans” or in some parts of the world, “trainspotters.” They all have a common interest in prototypical, or full-scale railroading. Railfanning in itself is a hobby, and for most purposes, model railroading as a hobby stands by itself, but it’s hard to draw a line between them since most modelers are railfans. The converse is not always true; there are railfans that for one reason or another, do not model. You can find railfans taking pictures of everything from trains and train stations to the most miniscule piece of operating hardware they can find. Their goals are not always the same though. A true railfan might be all about taking videos of anything that moves on the rails, while another might simply be interested in old steam engines or maybe the trains of one particular road. There are those that have another objective, for instance, taking still photos of nothing but old train stations wherever they can be found and before they’re reduced to rubble by progress. The ultimate railfan can be found restoring an old museum-piece engine. For those whose interest is modeling, there may be other motives; taking pictures of anything railroad so they can go back home and duplicate what they see on their layouts. Regardless, these are close-knit groups and thanks to modern technology, they use every means to interact and share what they know. By that I mean, there is a network of railfans and modelers that are interconnected through clubs, organizations, individual contacts and by the Internet. I’d venture to say that if vintage steam engine were to be headed for the Loop tomorrow, and just one railfan knew the schedule, thanks to this network, there would be literally dozens of others there to greet it by the time it passed by.

There are spots around the globe that are considered “railfan hot spots.” It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Tehachapi Loop is one of them. We have another here in Arizona around Winslow. We went there last summer and spent a night in the restored La Posada Hotel, built in the late 1920’s and is one of the few remaining original Harvey Houses. While in the restaurant, there were trains passing outside our window every few minutes, what a railfan’s delight. Cajon Pass, Donner Pass and the Harbor Subdivision near the Port of Los Angeles are other spots that attract railfans in California.

A Railfan will be satisfied by being able to see and record an event, but more so if they have a chance to participate. For most, their ultimate goal is to ride a train. To ride in a cab would be better than winning the lottery for a few. Taking pictures is a close second. I’m not a railfan in the true sense of the word in that I don’t go out of my way to visit a rail yard nor do I spend hours waiting for that vintage train to make its way past me just to get that once-in-a-lifetime photo. That doesn’t mean I don’t get excited when I have an opportunity to fire off a few camera clicks when I see something worthwhile, but I’m a modeler first and a railfan by default. I’m one of those that are as interested in the surroundings as much as the trains because my passion is to create a piece of life that may or may not exist elsewhere or that is ever changing. A modeler has frozen time, they’ve brought together things that never existed side-by-side but could, and they’ve brought life to things that previously existed only in their minds. I don’t know if some people would understand why someone would want to take a picture of a drainage culvert, a switchbox or a dilapidated old freight car, but a railfan would and especially a modeler. If you see someone shivering in the freezing cold near the railroad tracks with camera in hand, have pity on them for they are in all likelihood modelers or railfans and probably could use a bit of professional help. Yes, they’re a bit crazy, but they’re a patient lot and they’ll be the ones that keep railroad memories alive for future generations to appreciate.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day <Printed in March, 07>. Toys or not

Let’s start with getting rid of the notion that we are “playing with toys.” Toy trains are something made of wood or plastic that I’d allow a one-year old to pull their blocks in around a room. OK, I’ll admit, there are metal toy trains that actually run, but they have little in common with what we refer to as “scale” trains, usually lacking the details and craftsmanship of model trains. It is almost insulting to have someone remark about an intricate model railroad layout as a toy, so please don’t even think that. What we are talking about here is someone’s dedicated effort to model things to scale, be it in the real or imaginary world. To a serious modeler, accuracy and detail are paramount. A modeler usually picks a scale that suites them for whatever reason. Mostly it has to do with how much space a person has to work in, how much detail the modeler wants and lastly, their physical ability to perform the tasks needed for that scale. Scale is a measure of size compared to a full-sized, or prototypical railroad. To really confuse the issue, we have “gauge,” which is the actual distance between the rails. Some people use the two interchangeably, but that’s not accurate since one scale can have several different gauges. Thinking about it makes my head hurt, but let’s talk about a few common scales anyway. The trains set the scale and everything else on the layout follows. Obviously, the larger the scale, the more detail one can get, but more room is required to achieve this detail. The largest common scale used by modelers is G, or one-twentieth of full size, mainly found outdoors. O scale is about half that size and was once the only scale manufactured. Some O scale is considered toy-like and is quite collectible. The most commonly used indoor scale is HO, or half O, followed by N, which is about one-eight G (see the picture for comparison). Z scale is smaller still.

As far as gauge goes, it’s defined as the inside distance between the two rails. Standard track gauge here in the US is 4’ 8.5”. Kind of an odd measurement but apparently it has its roots in England since our first trains were manufactured there. It seems like the early train makers were also carriage and wagon makers and this was their pseudo-standard. It gets a bit complicated, but originally, someone though the ideal wheel spacing for a Roman chariot was the width of two horse’s rumps side by side. Well, it continued this way from then on so that all wheels would fit in the ruts made in the roads by others. There are other gauges, narrow gauge is one, used frequently by logging lines, and is usually three or three and one-half feet. There are modelers that model exclusively in narrow gauge. Yes, everything else is still to scale.

When I first got into the hobby, I had to decide what scale I wanted to work in. HO was a good choice, lots of stuff available for it and it was easy to work with. I tried it and was pleased with the detail I could achieve, but with limited space, I just had to try something smaller. With N scale, I could get almost four times as much in the same space although I wondered if my body would allow me to work with parts that small. Well, working with small electronic parts all those years as an engineer paid off. My hands and eyes were still good enough to do most everything I needed to achieve a realistic-looking layout. The only downside is that I couldn’t get the close-up detail that I wanted. Some modelers use the “three-foot rule,” that is, if you don’t notice the detail looking from three-foot away, it’s not important. That depends on how meticulous you are. Figures of people are what suffers from detail most at this scale, but I guess I’m going to have to be satisfied with people that have no eyes, hands without individual fingers and pant legs with built-in shoes if I want to squeeze in as much as I can in the amount of space I have. I envy those people with large basements or attics that have virtually unlimited room for large layouts. Here in Arizona, these are not practical or normally an option, so we make do with what space we can find. That’s just one more challenge that makes this hobby more interesting and rewarding.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day <Printed April 07>. Choices

We all make choices in life, when it comes to model railroading, some of these choices are made right up front, some are developed as we progress. Sometimes we find that we have to alter the choices we made because they weren’t the ones we thought we wanted. The driving force for what we do chose has to be pleasure. Let’s face it; this isn’t like a job where one has to do things in a prescribed manner to obtain a given result. Not many choices in doing that, and all too frequently, not much pleasure either; but work is something we do in order to survive. No, model railroading is someplace one goes to escape the realm of the workaday world and has complete control over what they do there, and yes, it may be something we also do to help us survive. Pride is another motivating factor, the ability to show what one can achieve with dedication and skill.

There are good reasons why we immerse ourselves in a hobby or a pastime, mostly though, it’s either a diversion, a way to spend free time or it’s something we just enjoy doing. There are times that it can be profitable, but the opposite is usually the case, it can become expensive if we let it; still, these are choices we have to make as we go along. Just how much time and how much money we want to put into this activity all depends on our goals. Geese, this can’t get too complicated; after all, we’re talking about a hobby, not some structured career commitment. There are physical choices that have a large bearing on where we go with this hobby. Where do we put the layout, how much room do we have to work with, what scale do we want to work with are just a few things that determine the path we take. One has to work within the constraints that are there and adapt accordingly. For example if the only space available is in the garage or attic, heat and dust are factors, in a basement and we may need to protect against moisture. How much detail we want and how much space we have can determine what scale we choose. The smaller the scale, the more compact is our layout, but the harder it is to work with. We all start somewhere; for some it may be joining a club, while other jump in with both feet.

In my opinion though, the driving force in what we do in model railroading is doing what gives us the most pleasure. In my case, I love to model; love to recreate mini-scenes of everyday life, past or present. For people like me, the trains and tracks are there to add to the realism of the scene, they are supporting elements, not the main players. To others, the trains are it and the scenery is there to enhance the railroad experience. Some have elaborate layouts and run what is called, “operating sessions.” This is where several people get together and perform all of the operations of a full-scale railroad. They have schedules for picking up and dropping off cars, there are dispatchers, conductors, and engineers, all with jobs to do. They communicate by phone or computer screen, and it all may even be accomplished in “fast time”, or by a clock that runs at scale speed. This is serious stuff done on a large railroad layout, but it’s rewarding, otherwise, no one would do it since there’s nothing else to gain.

What kind of choices one makes to this hobby is like any other hobby, it all depends on the resources available and the desires of the one making these choices. On one end of the spectrum can be the collector who may never run a train, but has some of the most expensive equipment that money can buy. Another collector may enjoy the pursuit of tracking down bargains and not have a large financial investment in the hobby. Some may choose to have their layouts built for them while getting enjoyment from simply running their trains, while others choose to spend little and make their layouts from whatever materials they can find. Some of the finest models I’ve seen have been made from cardboard and paper, constructed in such a way that it amazes and tricks the eye. There is such a wide array of what one can do and the costs involved, the choices are endless, but the results are always the same, total enjoyment of a pastime.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day <May 07>Looking at steam engines.

Something that has always confused me, and probably many others is to try and identify an engine by simply looking at it. Yes, back in the days of steam engines, their basic identity was, and still is, by the number of wheels they have. Many steam engines have what is called a pilot truck at the front of the engine, usually with two or four wheels. The pilot truck is used to help steer the rest of the engine along the tracks. Next in line are the driver wheels. These are the large wheels we all associate with a steam engine and that are connected to the power cylinder by a series of rods and levers. These obviously are essential and usually vary in size and number by the physical size of the engine. Some of these wheels can be over six feet in diameter. Lastly, we have the trailing truck, which supports the weight of the engineer’s cab and firebox. As with the pilot truck, an engine may or may not have one, and if it does, there can be either two or four wheels attached. Both the pilot and trailer wheels are considerably smaller than the drive wheels and are not powered.

Now this description may sound like something you’d find in a technical manual, and my job at one time was to write manuals, but this is the easiest way that I know of to lead up to the next step, which is how they describe a steam engine. If you have ever seen something like, “2-6-2” when referring to a railroad engine, it simply means the number of wheels in the pilot, followed by the number of driver wheels, followed by the number of wheels on the trailer. If there is no pilot or no trailer, the number is then “0”, as in: 0-4-0, or 4-6-0, the latter meaning four pilot wheels, six driver wheels, and no trailer truck. Now some larger engines have more than one set of driver wheels and you’ll see something like, “4-6-6-4” to describe the fact that it has two sets of six driver wheels.
However, it doesn’t end there, not on your life. I guess to make things easier, or more complicated dependent on your point of view, specific wheel arrangements have names. At this point though, there is not much consistency since some arrangements go by different names dependent on who built them and for whom. For instance, a 2-6-2 built around 1900 is know as a Prairie, while a 2-8-2 built around the same time is called a Mikado, and all 2-8-4’s are Berkshires. When we get to the 4-8-4, we now have over eight different names for one of those; among them are, Northern, Niagara and Greenbrier. They complicate things even further by usually referring to engines by their road numbers to differentiate it from other similar engines. For example, a specific Union Pacific 4-8-4 with road number 815 would be referred to as: “UP 815.”

Other characteristics can be used to describe a steam engine. A small 0-4-0 may be called a “switcher,” usually used to move cars around a freight yard. Then there’s a “shay.” This type has unusual outboard cams that drive the wheels and is used to navigate the tight curves of a logging line. Another variant is the type of fuel used to power the engine. Earlier engines used wood to fire the boiler. As time passed, there was coal, then oil. Many older engines were converted from one to the other. Lastly, they frequently use the foundry that manufactured the engine in its description. Most prevalent of these were the American Locomotive Company, Lima Locomotive Works and the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Probably, the thing that impresses me the most is that these giants were all produced in the USA by skilled craftsman. It is amazing what was accomplished with the technology of that era, and that most all of these engines that exist today are still capable of running, some built well over 100 years ago.

I hate to admit it, but I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all this. There was a time when I could call an automobile by make and year simply by looking at it, but not anymore; nowadays, I’m lucky if I can identify my own vehicle in the mall parking lot. The same applies to my ability to identify steam engines, so I guess I’m going to stick to counting wheels and be satisfied that I know how to do that.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day < for June 07>Stations and depots.

There are very few vestiges left of railroading as it once was that we are allowed to see. Neglect, indifference, progress or the lack of the realization that once something is gone, it’s gone for good, all contribute to this unfortunate circumstance. This is most apparent with the one thing that we have long associated with the railroads, the passenger station. These once were the pride of the railroads and to the communities alike, a hub for travel; the interface with the rest of the world. There was a time that small towns fought for the privilege to have the railroad stop there, and every town along the way had a local station. The larger and more important the town was, the bigger and more ornate the station could be. The anatomy of a station is rather simple, a place for passengers to wait, a ticket counter, an area to get something to eat, someplace to hold freight and baggage and an area for the station master and dispatcher to work. Most frequently, there was an operator’s bay where they could have an unrestricted view of the rails. Lastly is the passenger and freight platform. As passenger service declined and the railroads has fewer and fewer stops, these stations, or depots, became a liability. Some were boarded up, some moved while others were torn down. The few that were left open went into disrepair.

A year ago, we spent a night in the La Posada hotel in Winslow, Arizona. The hotel is the largest of the remaining Harvey House Hotels built along the Santa Fe. It was built in 1929 and was considered a destination for vacationers. The adjacent Santa Fe station was alive with passengers heading to the Grand Canyon or other tourist spots; some were just passing through but stopped for a meal or an overnight rest. By 1957, the hotel closed to guests and the contents auctioned off. Both it and the depot fell victim to neglect. After serving as the operations center for the railroad for the next 20 years, the hotel was abandon and was to be torn down but it was eventually declared a historic site; so in 1997, restoration began and continues today. I hope it will eventually include the railroad depot, which is falling further into disrepair. The building itself is a solid as the day it was built, but that’s all. It is still in use, but the ticket counter is boarded up, two church benches are all there is in the waiting room, windows are broken and doors seem to hang by a thread. It looked like the last time the floors were cleaned is when a stiff wind blew through the open doors. At one time, this was the pride of the Santa Fe; today, it is the shame of our Amtrak system. Then there are those like the one here in Tehachapi, closed but begging for restoration. How long would it go on the way it was before it could not be saved? Fortunately, the effort to restore it is underway, but had it been a priority before this, maybe the restoration effort wouldn’t have been as extensive. Every year that work is delayed, things only deteriorate that much more. Be thankful that some people are trying to be good stewards of the legacy handed to them. It appears in this case, they arrived in time, but I suspect they could use your support to make that a sure thing.

The stations in Tehachapi and Winslow are not unique. Throughout the country, our national treasures are being dismantled and there is little effort to come to their rescue. Once they numbered in the thousands, now there are but a scant few left that are worth saving. They are, for the most part, in the way of progress and cost money to either restore or move to a safe location. Some are even being sacrificed for the sake of entertainment. I know of one station in a remote area that was used in a movie shoot years ago. The water tower was blown up during the shoot, but that footage never made it into the final cut of the picture. Now all that remains is the tower stand and an old decrepit station that will defy restoration even if it presented itself. That cannot be fair, so let’s err on the side of what’s right when it comes to preserving history, we won’t get another shot at this.    

FOLLOW UP NOTE ON THIS ARTICLE.

It was mentioned when I wrote this that the depot in Tehachapi was being renovated. Well, renovation was well on its way when llast year it caught fire and burned to the ground. I believe it was kids playing with fireworks that did it in. The building was over 100 years old at the time.

[e-paw]

Your quite the author . I realy enjoyed the article explaining a rail fan , very true.

[ezdays]

Your quite the author . I realy enjoyed the article explaining a rail fan , very true.

Thank you kind sir. :oops: I write another monthly article for a newspaper in Ohio. Those are all about life in Arizona. I've been doing that one for about seven years now. Before this, the only things I wrote were technical manuals, technical proposals and a few technical articles for magazines. Boring material at best so writing for newspapers is a whole different way of writing.

I'm hoping that the newspaper in Tehachapi will start publishing again, but right now it doesn't look very good that they are going to.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day <for July 07> Passenger service.

Last month I talked about the demise of the passenger station. Well, it’s obvious that’s closely tied to the need to support passenger service. Should we all turn to the airlines and blame them for all this? True, they did step in and push aside that which was the mainstay of our country’s transportation system for over 100 years, but can you blame them? I really doubt it. One thing I learned early in my business career was that a good product could market itself, but sharp salesman could do wonders, even for a bad product. What I really think happened is that the railroads failed to keep their passenger service product attractive, and they lost interest in marketing what little they did offer. The airlines simply seized the opportunity and left the railroads in their dust. Add to that, the increased popularity of the automobile and the results were inevitable. The automobile didn’t move on a pre-set schedule, and it went where you wanted to go. Airplanes, well, they got you there a lot quicker; regardless, there’s always been something attractive about going by train. You were pampered, you could relax the entire trip and you got to see sights that you wouldn’t by traveling any other way. If you had to travel overnight, there was the convenience of sleeping in a Pullman car.

Passenger service began in localized areas in the early 1800’s. I would venture to say that traveling was uncomfortable and dirty at best, but it beat the alternatives of that era. After completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the west was now accessible. Treks that used to take months were reduced to weeks and eventually days.

Actually, passengers began to decline around 1920 when people were moving about the country in automobiles and more roads were being built to accommodate them. That trend was changed somewhat a few years later when Burlington introduced its modern, sleek Zephyr. This style-setting stainless-steel train boasted such innovations as air conditioned cars and recessed fluorescent lighting. Its diesel locomotive cut the Denver to Chicago trip in half to less then 14 hours. By 1939, there were some 90 streamlined diesel trains operating throughout the country. There was a marked increase in passengers during this period, but it would never again reach the level of the 1920’s. By 1936, the Santa Fe had inaugurated its Super Chief from Los Angeles to Chicago. Dubbed “the train of the stars,” this train had it all and commanded a premium price. A year later, the Super Chief II made the 2227.3-mile trip in less than 40 hours, hitting speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. There were club cars, sleeper cars, dome cars, elegant dining cars and even a barbershop to accommodate the most demanding passenger. This was the beginning of the end. During the war years, passenger service was at a record high, most passenger trains were busy transporting our troops while other forms of transportation were restricted by the unavailability of gasoline and other rationed commodities. An excise tax was added to discourage the public from using train service though. Schedule delays and crowded stations also kept people at home. After the war, the railroads made an effort to upgrade their tired and worn cars, but producing them was slow and passengers just didn’t return in pre-war numbers. By the 1950’s, the decline was evident. Schedules and services were cut, prices increased and there was little advertising to attract customers. The railroads turned to the more lucrative freight service for revenue. In 1962, the government finally eliminated the wartime excise tax, but it was too late. Railroads were duplicating service and competing against each other. There were numerous bankruptcies and mergers, until finally they gave up and turned passenger rail service over to the government. Amtrak was formed in 1972. Now there’s a delightful premise, the federal government would try to succeed where private enterprise could not.

The rest is history. Fewer routes, poor service and little financial incentive fortified most people’s decision to drive or fly. If I wanted to travel by train, I haven’t got a clue where to get a ticket, and if I did, I have to drive over 50 miles to catch a southern route and over 100 to catch one headed to Chicago or Los Angeles; and I live minutes from the sixth largest city in the country. It shouldn’t be this way.

[ezdays]

Along the Line: By Don Day < for Aug 07>”Training” the Internet.

The Internet is an amazing place for the exchange of information and meeting people. It’s a scary place as well since, with its anonymity, you never know whom you are really talking to or if the information you’re getting is indeed accurate. Search engines can find hundreds and sometimes thousands of websites that have something to say on the subject you are interested in. There are chat rooms on every subject and level you can conjure up, and forums galore, dozens of them on any topic of interest. I’m in awe that every time that you go searching for something obscure, Google will find a bunch of sites dedicated to whatever it is you’re looking for, some include pictures. It seems like the places where I spend the most time though are the train forums. This can be a daunting task however since there are a lot of them to choose from. You can quickly be immersed in conversations or find yourself bouncing around to the point you forget what your primary responsibility is. Therein lies the danger, that’s why so many employers restrict Internet access on the job. I have to admit, I probably spend more time than I should on train forums, but on the other hand, I’m retired and folks like me are suppose to be free to do the things we enjoy. After all, our age forces us to do a lot of things we don’t like or want to do, so when we’re given a choice, we just go ahead and do what pleases us… if we are able that is.

Forums are just a place where people can gather and speak up on whatever the main topic the forum is there for. When someone has a new item to talk about, they can open up what is known as a “thread.” Others interested in participating can add “posts” to that thread, and so a conversation ensues. People all over the word participate, but the common language is English. One major pastime for me is model trains, so I tend to hang around those types of forums. Several model train manufacturers have forums, some of these tend to be a bit busy and if you skip a day or two, you can be inundated with hundreds of unread posts and new threads. Some forums have very little traffic; just a few posts a week. I guess it doesn’t take much to get a forum started, it’s attracting people and keeping their interest that takes some effort; sometimes a lot of effort. I know since I’m an administrator on one of the more active train forums on the Net. My job is to make sure that everything is running smoothly, that people act responsibly and that those “spammers” that show up to sell trashy goods are dealt with swiftly. Some forums deal with model railroading only, others with prototypical, or full-scale trains. Ours deals with both. The most exciting aspects of these forums are the ones that allow you to post pictures so others can see what you’re talking about. You can follow the progress of someone’s train layout as it is being built, you get to see what an actual train of a certain model looks like and you may even get to see a picture of the person you are talking to.

I have to say that I’m impressed. I get much more out of these forums than I give back. Got a problem with something not working or something that is broke? Not a big deal, post a question and you’re likely to get an answer within the hour. Can’t identify an engine or a freight car? Someone surely knows. Need advice on how to build your mountain or what’s the best technique to make a scale junkyard? You can count on a bunch of answers, all of them different but with enough information to formulate some great ideas of your own. Some people go to extremes though, to them accuracy is paramount. We call them “rivet counters.” Show them a picture of your scale engine that doesn’t have the right number of rivets on the side, a door in the wrong place or even the wrong shade of color and you’ll hear about it. These types aren’t much fun and have way too much time on their hands; after all, it is just a hobby.

[TrainNut]

Darn them rivet counters! Well written. I'm surprised you didn't work in a secret "plug" there somewhere for the old Gauge since the new one didn't exist yet... or is that a plug for the new Gauge since the old one didn't exist yet. I'm so confused.

[ezdays]

Darn them rivet counters! Well written. I'm surprised you didn't work in a secret "plug" there somewhere for the old Gauge since the new one didn't exist yet... or is that a plug for the new Gauge since the old one didn't exist yet. I'm so confused.

Thank you kind sir, I put a lot of effort in each article and I'm glad some of them looked like I did. I tried hard to stay gender neutral in my articles. :o Well, everything neutral that is. I didn't even show preference for either diesel or steam, touted any particular line, favored any scale, nor did I plug any forum. And I'm kind of glad now that I didn't, especially since Big Blue was not even on the radar screen at that time.