h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Model Railways: Project Page - A87791700
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

Authors - Bluebottle U43530, Florida Sailor U235886, Skinnylinny U197750 aka Researcher U216547, Tavaron da Quirm U1314679
Sub-editor - SashaQ U9936370

This is a Flea Market rescue by Bluebottle, Florida Sailor and Tavaron da Quirm based on original Entries by Skinnylinny (details are in the Project Page).

There are eight Entries in the Project.

A87791719 - Introduction
A87791728 - Glossary
Scales and Gauges - A87791737
Baseboard Locations - A87792105
Themes - A87792114
Layout - A87791746
Scenery - A87791755
The Trains - A87798361

Please review the Entries and post your comments in this thread, including the Entry numbers for ease of reference.

All aboard!

oh how I wish my older brother were a member here. He'd be in his element. He had a cratefull of locomotives, track, carriages, a signal box, even little people waiting for trains. We younger ones were never allowed to touch it, though I do remember him letting me work the turntable while he watched. I dread to think what that collection would be worth now. I remember there was a Sir Nigel Gresley train, real handsome it was.

I'll try and read the project if time allows

GB

Anybody else interested in model railways, or just fancy reading about them?

I'd love to read about model railways, but not just at the moment. I'll try and give them a thorough going through, maybe this evening or Tuesday.

A87791719 - Model Railways: Introduction

The first section, MOdel Railways and Train Sets, seems to say the same thing over and over again. I think it should be rewritten to make the point once that there is a difference between a train set and a model railway. If you have to have a number of paragraphs that provide examples of the differences, that's OK, but each should reinforce the main point rather than stating the main point again as if for the first time.

Choice of words:

"between a few minutes to a few hours" -- with "between" you should always use "and", so this should be:

between a few minutes and a few hours

Since 2009, however, the series has been made in CGI, but the original models are on display at Thomas Land at Drayton Manor. -- this would be better without the first "however", because it makes the first part of the sentence contrast with the previous sentence, and then the "but" makes the second half contrast with the first. we don't need this double change, so just omit the word "however".

"Although originally unsuccessful in getting a train to travel the full length in 2009, in 2011 the challenge succeeded." -- this should be reworded to avoid the awkward "in 2009, in 2011". I suggest:

His original attempt in 2009 to get a train to travel the full length failed, but in 2011 the challenge succeeded.

Of course model railways isn't a uniquely British hobby. --> Of course model railways aren't a uniquely British hobby.



-- this doesn't seem right. The sequence of events as described here is:

1. Modeller discovers one of components is beyond repair
2. Modeller realises that it is merely upside down
3. Modeller throws kit across room

Surely what you meant was 1, then 3, then 2. In that case, it should be:

Every now and again, the common railway modeller may throw a kit of a model train across the room after discovering one of the components is beyond repair, and then realises that it was merely upside down


a single-minded one-tracked train fanatic -- I think that should be "one-track".

A sentence went missing from that reply. When I said "this doesn't seem right", I was commenting on the sentence:

"Every now and again, the common railway modeller may throw a kit of a model train across the room after discovering one of the components is beyond repair and then realising that it was merely upside down"

A87791728 - Model Railways: Glossary

Fire-box - I'd say that you get the fire-box in a steam engine.

Funicular - I think you should mention that the trains are driven by ropes, since "funicular" means "by rope".

Mod-roc - you should say what mod-roc is used for. The description you give suggests it is for patching up injured modellers

The thin section of rail whose position can be changed to change the selected route on a set of points -- reword to avoid "be changed to change". Perhaps:

The thin section of rail which can be moved to change the selected route on a set of points

Thanks Gnomon
SashaQ, I think most of Gnomon's suggestions are sensible, thorough and easy enough to amend without further comment from me. I'll only say anything regarding the points raised that I think need further comment.

A87791719 - Model Railways: Introduction
'The first section, MOdel Railways and Train Sets, seems to say the same thing over and over again. I think it should be rewritten to make the point once that there is a difference between a train set and a model railway.'

Maybe we could change it to something like:

Model Railways and Train Sets
It is possible to assume that anything that contains a small train must be a model railway. Nothing could be further from the truth! But what is the difference between a model railway and a train set?

Train Set
Train sets are toys, model railways are to-scale models. Train sets are generally primitive in comparison. A railway played with by a toddler is definitely a train set. The best way to think of a train set is to imagine a little train (which more often than not looks nothing like a real one), perhaps on a track, with a child pushing it round the living room floor making Whoo Whoo! and Chuff Chuff Chuff noises. Almost anyone you know will have owned a train set in childhood at some point.
This is not to disparage train sets, which are often more robust and easier to assemble than a model railway, and they provide good ways of indoctrinating the next generation into a love of railways and, by extension, model railways.

Model Railway
A model railway is essentially a scaled-down version of a railway that is too small to transport a personA small-scale railway that can carry passengers is a miniature railway.. They can be anything from exact scale models of, say, King's Cross Station, to models of an entire imaginary railway. On these, the owner runs, crashes, and gets mad with their very expensive train(s). This can be either to a strict timetable or just running trains at random.
Perhaps the main difference between model railways and train sets is the price. If you could pick it up for under £20 at a jumble sale, it's a train set. If it costs £80+ it's a model railway. A secondary difference is the detail. Model Railways are much more detailed than the average wooden train set. Another difference is that train set engines are either battery-powered or need to be pushed, whereas a model railway is usually mains powered, although some run on diesel or even live steam.

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A87791737 Scales and Gauges

I'm totally confused by this. You say that gauge is the distance between the rails, but then specify all the different gauges as 1mm = 1 foot, for example, which is a scale, not a gauge.

And you say OO and HO are different sizes but you can run HO trains on OO tracks which suggests they are the same size.

Well... with Model Railways you don't usually name a scale like 1:72 or whatever usual model scales are, but the scale is defined by the distance of the rails. The smaller the distance, the smaller the scale of the models.
Does that make sense?

So how can OO and HO be different scales but the same gauge?

A87792105 Baseboard Locations

No suggestions.

A87791728 - Model Railways: Glossary
I agree with Gnomon's suggestions. If FloridaSailor has nothing further to add, we could maybe change these to:

Fire-box
Found in steam-engines, a fire-box is like a home fireplace, having a grating to support the fire, a flue to remove the gas and hot air and ducts to provide fresh air to keep the fire burning. It is insulated to prevent its melting and to help direct the heat.

Funicular Railway
A railway on which trains ascend and descend a cliff in pairs. One ascends while the other descends, and driven through the use of ropes and cables, they act to counterbalance each other.

Mod-roc
A roll of plaster-coated bandage similar to the stuff used for making plaster casts around broken limbs. Modellers use this to sculpt hills, valleys and undulations to give their layout added realism.

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A87798361 The Trains

No suggestions

A87792114 - Themes

the historical history - isn't that an unnecessary and redundant tautology?

Both H0 and OO were designed in the early 1920s to be railway gauges that were about half the size of O gauge, with H0 standing for 'Half 0' and OO meaning 'Half 0'.

HO was designed to be roughly 3.5mm to the foot or 1:87 scale, which works out as 16.5mm gauge.

OO was designed to be roughly 4 mm to the foot or 1:76.2 scale, which again works out as 16.5 mm track.

At first glance this is a contradiction, but the explanation is that for both scales, there is a very big margin under the 'roughly'. In the early 1920s, the models weren't able to be made exactly accurate, and so both gauges had a large margin of error. The biggest inaccuracy of all is on the track and wheels. These are bigger than they would be if completely true to scale simply to make sure the models are unlikely to fall off the track.

It is because neither H0 or OO were accurately to scale that other scales, EM and P4, have since been developed as the ability to make model railways increasingly accurate has evolved. So H0 and OO are roughly, but not exactly, the same size and use the same track.

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A87791746 Model Railways: Layout

The official voltage in the UK and the rest of Europe is 230V, not 240V. It was changed a number of years ago.

[This is actually a fudge because they changed the nominal voltage but didn't change the actual voltage. It's actually still 240 V in Britain and 220 V everywhere else in Europe. ]

making sure that you centralise it on the cork --> making sure that you centre it on the cork

A87791755 - Model Railways: Scenery

Then, having removed it, place it in the middle of your contoured section of ground. -- I don't think you need "having removed it" here.

I lost track of your mountain-building method once you started talking about longitudinal and latitudinal - can you make it any simpler?

very unique -- you shouldn't say "very unique". Unique means "one of a kind". Something is either unique or not.

Scales and Gauges;

>I'm totally confused by this. You say that gauge is the distance between the rails, but then specify all the different gauges as 1mm = 1 foot, for example, which is a scale, not a gauge.

This is partially a case of the same term being used for two different things.

From the Entry

>>Gauge

The gauge is the inner distance between the two rails, from inner head to inner head1. British standard gauge is 4 feet 8½ inches (1435mm), a measurement based on the traditional width of a horse-drawn wagon and required by law by the 1846 Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act.

>00 Gauge

If you are just starting out in the world of model railway building in Britain, it is recommended that you start in the dominant and widespread 00, pronounced 'double-o', scale.

The first paragraph refers to the real-world practise of building railways with a standard distance between the rails so trains can use the tracks of other companies and even nations without having to load and unload the cargo. Most regions have a standard gauge.

This if further confused by some small private railways who can adopt a 'narrow gage' standard that allows them to use smaller cheaper stock, but they can not travail beyond their own tracks.

In Model Railways the terms scale and gauge are often used interchangeably.


>Funicular Railway
A railway on which trains ascend and descend a cliff in pairs. One ascends while the other descends, and driven through the use of ropes and cables, they act to counterbalance each other.

I have ridden on the Incline Railway at Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, which is billed as one of the steepest railways in the world - I am certain we were never close to vertical, I would suggest we use 'steep incline' rather than 'cliff'

I agree with the rest of the comments in this section.


>the historical history - isn't that an unnecessary and redundant tautology?


>>you should also know a few facts about the time period and history of it - the historical history if you have modelled an actual railway,

Might be better as;

you should also know a few facts about the time period and history of it - the historical record if you have modelled an actual railway,

Thanks for your time and comments

F S

Most of the funicular railways I've seen have been by the seaside, in places such as Bournemouth, Scarborough and Hastings, where they are used to go up cliffs and are often called 'cliff railways', but I'm happy to have that reworded. Steep incline is more accurate and shows that they aren't purely coastal in origin (most would probably originally have been mining related any way)

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