Talk:Rail transport modelling

Proper spelling & terminology
Rail transport modelling is wrong in any case, since the word "transport" is a verb, and its noun form is "transportation". Also, the word "modelling" is a misspelling. This should all be written as "Rail transportion modeling", and to grossly simplify and clarify the term and the title of the article should be "Model Railroading".98.67.107.32 (talk) 20:10, 20 July 2010 (UTC)


 * ... an old comment, somewhat biased - but I was equally flabbergasted by this lemma (and others, like rail transport modelling scales) using the term "rail transport modelling". As the first sentence of the article shows, no-one uses this term - so why is it selected here? Is the only reason to avoid the perennial wars about "railroad" vs. "railway", along the lines of: "Ha, no-one (in the model railway/road scene) ever uses "rail transport", so we can hi-jack it from the grown-up railroads/ways, and the discussion will end." A legitimate decision, but, let's say, somewhat interesting (an nice example of why Wikipedia is obviously part of the social media sphere). Re "modelling" or "modeling", the jury is still out - but well, it is, no-one (here) argues any longer to change it.
 * But ... "not a problem!": At least six alternative wordings lead here, so anyone can search for their favo(u)rite term! User:Haraldmmueller 09:32, 27 June 2022 (UTC)

G-scale and G Guage?
There are now articles for both G-scale and G Gauge, I assume they're in need of merging? Bryan 02:25, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * Besides, the term "G Gauge" is wrong. In its original conception, G Scale was modeling meter-gauge equipment on 45 mm (Gauge 1 compatible) track, with a definite, associated scale. Use of "G Gauge" is wrong. Yes, other manufacturers have used 45 mm track to model all kinds of narrow gauge equipment, but the name for this track gauge is "Gauge 1". &mdash;Morven 06:31, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)


 * I've now added a bit more to the article G scale (and removed the dash) and redirected G Gauge to it. &mdash;Morven 06:55, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)

New WikiProject Trains
I've started a new WikiProject: WikiProject Trains. I'm inviting all Wikipedians who are interested in trains and railways to take a look and decide if they want to get this going. Thanks, &mdash;Morven 23:39, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Why is that page at Rail transport modeling while that is not even listed as a possible term for this at the top of the page? Rmhermen 15:44, Apr 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * The term is a neutral alternative to the American and British names, and consistent with rail transport instead of railway and railroad.Duncharris 09:56, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * But Wikipedia is not in the business of making new terms - if no one uses this term we shouldn't either. So, is this term in use anywhere? Rmhermen 13:28, May 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * see Wikiproject trains there's a disuccsion somewhere. Duncharris 21:44, May 16, 2004 (UTC)

Three-rail, plus a category?
Two things: One, can someone clarify the comment about Trix Express in the first paragraph? Here in the States, there are plenty of three-rail systems that can run multiple trains independently on one loop of track. People have been doing it with Lionel setups since the 1950s using block systems. Blocks aren't even necessary when using modern (since the mid-1990s) Lionel, MTH, and other contemporary O scale 3-rail trains. Three-railers argue that it's easier to do multiple trains on one loop with three rails than with two.

Secondly, is there a Wikipedia category for model railroading/railways/whatever we want to call it? There are now articles for all of the common scales/gauges and numerous manufacturers, and I plan to write up even more of the manufacturers as I locate information about them. I'd like to pull them together in some way but don't want to unilaterally create a category. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. (I don't think I would, but I want to make sure doing so wouldn't interfere with someone else's project.) --Dave Farquhar 18:56, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

"Märklin is the only brand using AC." WTF? My Lionels and American Flyer (3-rail) were all AC. 142.177.24.141 20:40, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)


 * Correct you are. 2-rail S scale American Flyer is also AC. Maybe Märklin is the only European brand using AC, but plenty of American brands do. They're all larger scale (S or O, for the most part). Some of them fall more in the "toy trains" category and would be looked down upon by serious model railroaders, but some of the S scale stuff is incredibly detailed, and there are several manufacturers.

While we are at it.... It is hard to call DCC anything but AC (granted, it is a digital square wave, but that is still AC) 24.236.151.207 07:14, 8 April 2007 (UTC)


 * It almost seems like we may need an article from the European perspective and one from the North American perspective. Dave Farquhar 15:05, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Magazines?
Should "Model Railroader" magazine and others like it be added to this page as links? -- siliconwafer


 * Some modelling magazines are listed in List of railroad-related periodicals; perhaps there should be a separate list just for model railways.   Tabletop (talk) 02:34, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Bogus?
"Gauge 2 using track of gauge 2" (50.8mm) was one of the standard model gauges in 1909." This edit is from the ISP of a consistent, sometimes furtive vangal. Is this fact bogus? --Wetman 04:26, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * It's true that Gauge 2 was in use in 1909, yes, but it was in fairly widespread use from 1891 into the 1920s. I can't think of anything special about 1909, unless that was the year Lionel introduced Standard Gauge. Also, Gauge 2 is *not* Wide Gauge, although the two are related. Lionel created a gauge that was 1/8" wider than Gauge 2--whether this was deliberate or accidental has never been proven conclusively--and called it Standard Gauge and trademarked the name. When Ives and American Flyer introduced Standard Gauge trains, they called it Wide Gauge to avoid infringing on the trademark.


 * While it's a true fact, I don't think it adds anything, especially in the context it has been placed. Discussion of Gauge 2 vs. Standard/Wide Gauge belongs in the Wide Gauge and/or Toy train articles. It's been more than 70 years since either one was widely used. --Dave Farquhar

History of the hobby?
Does anyone know where I can find information or an essay about the history of Model Railroading? Stbalbach 18:47, 1 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately I have no readily available info, but if you find some, please write a section about it in the article. Thanks! --Janke | Talk 07:50:50, 2005-09-02 (UTC)

Landscaping
This is an important part of model RR building! I invite you all to add to the section I just created. Regards, --Janke | Talk 19:42, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Northlandz
Isn't Northlandz the one with largest amount of track?


 * If you allow the larger Live steam gauges into the "competition", the winner is Train Mountain in Chiloquin, Oregon, USA. with 25 miles (40 km) of track... --Janke | Talk 08:03, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Next in line would most likely be the White Creek railroad in Cedar Springs, Michigan with 5 miles. (and a modern track plan) 24.236.151.207 07:21, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

How many?
A discussion in a webforum tried to answer the question of how many model railroaders there are, worldwide, but found that extremely difficult. The world total is estimated at around 2 million, but the hobby is dying all across Europe, so it's hard to say for sure. If anyone has any kind of referenced data, it'd be a welcome addition to the article. --Agamemnon2 09:07, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Celebrity modellers (was: Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Hanks???)
Where the heck is the evidence for this? Citing sources when making outrageous claims is a GOOD THING TO DO people.-- ▫Bad▫ harlick♠ 08:21, 30 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree with harlick♠, I have never heard of Whoopi Goldberg as being involved in Model Railroading. However Phil Collins (the musician) is an avid Model Railroader, I will add him to the list but not until I can cite it.  The NMRAs website has many additional public figures:  Winston Churchill, Tom Brokaw, Joe DiMaggio, Walt Disney, Merle Haggard, Elton John,  Michael Jordan, Bruce Springsteen, and Donald Sutherland in addition to Tom Hanks.  The site states that these people are or were model railroaders  --Bozokansas 18:40, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Here are cites for Phil Collins and for several others. Whoopi Goldberg has a preference for travelling by train wherever possible, but isn't a modeller and may not be strictly a railfan either. Dbromage 04:02, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Can anybody find a cite for Tim Allen, Yul Brynner, Jools Holland, Rick Schroder or Jay Leno? They have been mentioned as celebrity modellers many times in online discussion forums whenever this topic comes up. Dbromage 04:10, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Dbromage, this has NOTHING to do with Railroads... <_<

Spin off list of celebrity modellers?
The list is growing so it may be worth spinning it off into a new "List of notable...." article. Each person could then get a one liner about their type and level of interest and any published articles about their interest, e.g. several have had their layouts featured in magazines. A similar proposal is being discussed for a "List of notable railfans". Any thoughts? Dbromage 02:30, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I absolutely agree - in fact, I had thought of suggesting it some time ago. The list clutters the article. --Janke | Talk 06:14, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Only major issue is the exact wording of the name/title. I don't think it should be "List of notable model railroaders" as not all are American. Dbromage 07:01, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Double Oh or Double Zero?
In my cleanup of 00 disambig page, I came upon OO gauge. The article mixes zeroes and letter O's throughout, and the O scale article does the same in a couple spots. I would like to cleanup them both to use the same character (except in notes about usage), but I know nothing about model railroads. Can anyone tell me which character to use? Google seems to prefer the letter O. Thanks. - grubber 23:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Since the original gauges/scales were 2 1 0 00, it would seem that the digit 0 is more correct historically than the letter O. Murray Langton 14:48, 1 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I really got no input on this, here or at OO gauge, so I'm using Google's preference and changed the characters to the letter O in the article. - grubber 05:07, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
 * AFAIK, it's letter O, not number 0. HO means "Half O". In the US, the letter O was cahnged to 0. In Sweden, HO is called "Hå-noll", which means H-zero. So, as we can see, the praxis varies. Thats why we have redirects... ;-) --Janke | Talk 13:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The article mixed the two all over the place, and I thought it is best that one or the other is used consistently, with notes about alternate usage. I didn't get much feedback here, so I picked the one that was more popular by Google. - grubber 15:59, 8 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Well done! --Janke | Talk 16:08, 8 March 2007 (UTC)


 * A buddy of mine put me onto Google... If you want to know whether or not something is valid and it's something you know nothing about... then just use Google. For example, you find out that the two characters 花 and 華 both mean "flower" in Japanese, but since you dont know Japanese, you don't know which one to use... Well, Google returns more hits for the first one, so it's probably the right one. It's naive, but it works... sometimes! - grubber 16:49, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi All

The letter Oh in scale/gauge ratio naming conventions should not be used. The correct character to be used in all of this is the numeric zero.

This is from the historic fact that when the Gauges 3, 2 and 1 were prevalent before the second world war and a smaller one was introduced they used the progressively smaller number of 0 (zero) as in Gauge 0. When the scale and gauge was halved for the new table top railway (literally half Gauge 0) the term H0 was used. The second character being a zero.

The confusion has set in with the pronounciation of this zero as Oh as in reciting a telephone number in the UK.

The situation has not been helped in that Hornby-Dublo was used as a brand name for a 00 range of models.

All naming conventions should reflect this use of the number zero.

Examples used in the UK market are as follows: 0 gauge, 0n16.5 gauge, 0n14 gauge, 0n9 gauge, 00 gauge, 00n9 gauge, H0 gauge, H0n9 gauge and 000 gauge. Other ratios of course are G, S, P4, EM, P87, TT, N and Z which are not affected by this.

The use of the term 'scale' is rarely used in the UK. The most popular UK model railway magazine and longest in print Railway Modeller, along with its sister magazine Continental Modeller, use the above terms correctly when describing a particular scale/gauge ratio which can trace its origin back to Gauge 0.

Thus all naming conventions within Wikipedia should in this context change to use the number zero instead of the letter Oh.Adrianmc 19:13, 30 May 2007 (UTC)


 * The notion that the historically correct version is the more correct one in the present day is completely ludicrous. Furthermore, as it stands, some articles reflect one style, some the other. So, Adrianmc, if you're going to start moving pages willy-nilly like you did with OO scale, kindly do so across the board. --Agamemnon2 19:49, 30 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Hi will do, but I thought that a start should be made on those scale/gauge naming conventions that are mainly found in the UK and not elsewhere.Adrianmc 06:01, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

List of notable rail transport modellers
I have spun off a List of notable rail transport modellers with all the names from the previous list plus a few more. Tabulating the lists seemed like a good way to go so more information and references can be added, showing that it isn't a trivial interest/hobby. Dbromage 05:42, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

History Lesson?
Someone should really include the History of Model Rail Transport.

Expanding on "Control" section
Shouldn't there be some mention in this section, not only of how the trains are controlled, but how the layouts (i.e. points, etc) work? IN the case of the points, there should be a mention of how non-mechanical versions work, then how turnout motors can be attached. Just basic stuff like that needs to be included. MichaelHenley (Talk-Contribs) 02:25, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Voltages
Should mention voltages! Tabletop (talk) 03:48, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Where's underground and trams?
Being also part of trail transport, tram and underground trains are also collected. But the article has no info on that side of modelling. --Klaus Bertow 01:55, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Manufacturer's country and flagicon?
Should the country of each manufacturer be identified by a 🇩🇪 🇩🇪? Tabletop (talk) 03:46, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Scales and Gauges
Just looking through the article, I noticed that some parts were quite wrong. For a start, O, HO, OO. They do not have numbers in them. The correct term (As it is on Hornby and Bachmann's websites) is OO, not 00 or O not 0 or HO not 0. Second part, Just because G scale is not actually G Gauge, someone has changed all of them entirely. Again, O, OO, N are all Gauges. Rant Over. Tpxpress (talk) 09:04, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Layout standards organizations
I added Sipping and Swithching Society of NC since they have developed a lightweight and quick-to-setup module and T-TRAK, because it is a module that is easy to carry in a small car, and quick to set up. [User:Joecyclist|Joecyclist]] (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:13, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

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Source
I found this while looking for something else entirely. Uncle G (talk) 08:34, 24 April 2021 (UTC)

Searching for reference(s) regarding early use of signaling light multiplexing
Hi, in our article on Charlieplexing, in early 2013 an IP added a note that similar multiplexing techniques (obviously not named Charlieplexing, a term coined in 2003) were used in complex model train signalling applications for train layouts ("It was used as a method of switching signal lights to show track polarities.") at least as far back as 1972, vaguely and unspecifically referring to 'Model Railroader' magazine as a source (possibly either some 1972 or 2012/2013 issue). This isn't implausible, even if light bulbs with diodes rather than LEDs would have had to be used at that time as LEDs were almost non-existent, but we need historical references of some sort for that claim. For context, today, Charlieplexing is in fact used for this purpose, and "signal multiplexers" are available from various vendors including Viessmann (since about 2008) and Bogobit (probably others as well). I thought that editors over here might have first-person experiences with track signaling in model railroading in the 1970s or later, or have access to archives of old magazines where this might have been discussed as a trick to simplify cabling. So, if you find any sources supporting the claim, please add them to the Charlieplexing article. Thanks. --Matthiaspaul (talk) 17:26, 11 June 2022 (UTC)

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"List of rail transport modellers" just links back to the article
If there's no list, or no separate article, should the section be removed? 24.29.210.35 (talk) 17:02, 7 February 2023 (UTC)


 * There was a list, but it has been removed. I'll remove the circular link. Janke | Talk 20:55, 7 February 2023 (UTC)