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

Page Turner:

Model Railways: Project Page - A87791700

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

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

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Just a thought for rewording;


Gauge

The gauge of a railway is the 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.

Although most countries have adopted standard gauge to allow trains to all use the same tracks, there are exceptions. Some nations still retain their original track gauge and some small private lines use a 'narrow gauge' track to allow smaller, cheaper equipment to be used, especially in remote areas.

Scale

A model railway's scale is the model's size when compared to the full-sized engine and/or track. Although most model railways are based on standard gauge layouts, modelling narrow-gauge railways is becoming increasingly popular. For instance, on a 00 Gauge track, if you use the track as a standard gauge railway, your layout is modelled on the principle that the gap between the rails is 4 feet 8½ inches (1435mm), and everything on your railway would be a seventy-sixth of the real size. However, if you use the same track as a narrow-gauge railway, you can model on the principle that the same gap is, for instance, now 2 foot, and subsequently run much larger models on the same size track.

Just as there is an advantage for real life railways to all use the same track gauge, it is also an advantage in the modelling world. When the British developed OO gauge they realized that they could use the existing HO track that was already available by adjusting the scale slightly.

In the world of model railways the terms 'gauge' and 'scale' are often used interchangably.

F S

Thanks Bluebottle and Florida Sailor

I have read your paragraphs and made some tweaks in the Entry A87791737 to hopefully clarify what's what in scales and gauges...

Please say if you would like me to make further changes.

I'm happy with that – but does it pass the Gnomon test?

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It's understandable now, but not very readable.

Another thing I've noticed. It says that British standard gauge is 4ft 8.5 inches (or whatever), and then says "Other countries have different standard gauges". This suggests that the British standard guage is only used in Britain. Isn't it true that it is used in many countries? I believe more than 50% of the World's railway network uses "British" standard gauge, although this can easily be checked.

Thanks Gnomon

I've broken up the sentences, so hopefully that is an improvement to readability, and I amended the sentence about British standard gauge in accordance with what Florida Sailor already said

Looks good, but I really think we need to say something about 'narrow gage' in the gage section, as we use it as a specific example in the next section.

It might be worth doing the maths for 4'-1 1/2" is to 1/76 as 2'-0" is to X... I've been crunching numbers all day, but I'll give it shot in a day or two if needed



F S

Thanks FS

I have amended the Scale and Gauge sections - hopefully that's OK

Does anybody have any further thoughts on this?

A87791719

As this will go directly to publication, a few bits of polish from me here.

Model railways are sometimes used to bring back nostalgic memories of times gone.

It's me being pernickety, but would you add another word to this sentence? either [times gone by], or [times long gone]

re-creating does not need a hyphen [recreating]

between a few minutes and a few hours.

it sounds better to say - either a few minutes or many hours.

and they provide good ways of indoctrinating the next generation into a love of railways

I'd be happier if the use of indoctrinating had single apostrophes around it, as I think you're using this word in a tongue in cheek way? But it's up to you. It's my personal reading of it. You may indeed be very serious.

This can be either to a strict timetable or just running trains at random.

This can be either run to a strict timetable or moving trains at random.

Model Railways are much more detailed ... remove capital R

I think I spotted a few more lower down the page too. Also capitals on the Model, as it's not a proper noun.

I'll take a look at the others in the series in separate posts.

A87798361

it's a terribly minor point, but you're using British English for this Entry, so it should be draught, not draft.

...large funnel-shaped smoke stack required to give the fire a proper draft. In Britain and much of Europe, where wood was relatively scarce, coke (a type of refined coal) was used instead.

I've proof read the other Entries in this series, and I have to congratulate you yet again. This is a super project and really made me *want to own a model railway. I particularly liked to read about the themes and the scenery. I could get quite lost if I had the time and space to build a miniature world like this!

Let me know when you're all happy with it, and the images have been applied. Bluebottle can see to that.

I'll put it into the queue for the Front page when you give me the heads up.

Lanzababy

I was hoping that this would hang around for at least another fortnight – the Southampton Model Railway Society's annual Model Railway Exhibition is being held on the 25th & 26th of January and I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to take some photographs. I'll happily apply pictures and images after then.

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That sounds a really good plan <BB< - we have quite a queue of Entries at the moment. There's no point rushing this at the last moment if we have a chance of further illustrative photos.

Hope you have fun!

Ooo Very tempted by the exhibition...

Thanks for reading the project Lanzababy - much appreciated

I'll address those amendments and give all the Entries another readthrough, as it is a while since I looked at this - hopefully that will be OK for everyone, and I'm sure the Project will be ready for the photos in two weeks' time

A87798361 Minor tweak made, and GuideML adjusted

On re-reading, I realised I'm not clear about a couple of things:

In the Mains Electric Locomotives section - "They started out as street cars"

Is that saying that trams were the first electric powered locomotives?

In the Piggy Back Wagon section - "In the US they are known as 'Container Cars' which carry only the freight box and not the lorry wheels."

What lorry wheels? Is that if you are comparing a train to transport by road?

Is that saying that trams were the first electric powered locomotives?

I don't know about the US, but the earliest electric railways/trams I know of is Brighton's Volk's Electric Railway, see: A34644224 Volk's Electric Railway and Daddy Long-Legs. This was an experimental tourist attraction. Blackpool's first electric tram was in 1885. The earliest actual commuter train, on the London Underground, was in 1890, Liverpool's Overhead Railway A13064780 in 1893 and the London to Brighton line in 1909. Discounting Volks as a tourist attraction and not a railway, trams were electric first (just).

But the Third Rail system came first, in the closing years of the 19th Century, followed by the overhead cables. The former Southern region of England, not only the Isle of Wight but also from Kent to Dorset, uses the Third Rail system, not just an area outside London.

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Here is a link to what I was thinking about on street cars http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstreetcars.htm

'Frank Sprague installed a complete system of electric streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, in 1888. This was the first large scale and successful use of electricity to run a city's entire system of streetcars.'

Here is a link showing a 'piggy back car.
Forgive me if I use US terms, I don't want to guess here the 'trailer' part of tractor-tailer semi truck is loaded on a flat carand is ready to be attached to a new tractor (cab and engine) when it is unloaded http://trucktrailers.blogspot.com/2012/09/fec-300657-flatbed-rail-car-piggy-back.html

A container is just a box with attachment points. they can be moved from railway the truck or ship. Here they are on on a railway http://railroadstrains.blogspot.com/2013/12/fec-72604-double-stack-container.html



Here they are carried on a ship http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/06/triple-e-container-ship-europe



To be carried by a truck, or lorry a tractor and carriage with wheels must be supplied, here is one on the road http://www.photographersdirect.com/buyers/stockphoto.asp?imageid=2375771

This photo of a lorry is taken near London, so I am sure they are used there, I just haven't seen them carried on a UK railway

They can also be used for storage on the ground.

F S

As I work in Southampton, one of the busiest container ports in the world, I've seen many, many, many freight trains carrying container after container after container. Trains longer than the eye can see, rattling slowly through the station when you're waiting for your train, and all you can see on the Up line 5 minutes later is the same train of container after container after container... So yep, they definitely exist in the UK.

I've not seen any piggy back ones. That wouldn't fit beneath the UK's bridges and tunnels which, with much of the network built in the 1840s and 50s, are much lower than in the US.

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