Slip Switch Track

I am tired of wasting time responding to his inane drivel. The humiliation is all his.

Terry has quite a lot to hide, as it happens. Ask him why his employer closely monitors his internet usage these days.

Mark obviously doesn't want to participate any more in Terry's self-aggrandizing bullshit. If he was genuinely interested in discussing information or ideas he could quite happily do so via e-mail or telephone, as do many others. As for seeing my layouts, he lives quite close to me, and has an open invitation to visit me at any time he cares to. End of story.

Reply to
Mark Newton
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Mark, I would love to see your layout. Anyone who thinks John Allen's work was not that good and intimated that he can do better. I would love to see the layout. I live in Canada, 200 miles north of Toronto. Where abouts do you live?

Reply to
wannandcan

BTW, my coreect email address can be found on my webpage.

Reply to
wannandcan

I think the hobby followed the prototype, but why did the industry do this?--I don't know. Either is a descriptive term, though, and not likely to cause confusion.

An interesting example. The term is descriptive in that it defines a job where the person has something to do with switches. It could be a switch repairman, a towerman that throws switches at an interlocking, or what I did, or something else.

I was a member of the Switchmen's Union of North America. I pulled the uncoupling levers on cars, applied/released hand brakes, threw switches (turnouts) on the ground, gave hand signals to the locomotive engineer (locomotive driver in the U.K. and, perhaps, elsewhere) to direct his movements, etc. Some folks in North America would call this a "brakeman's" (another descriptive term) job, and it was. The difference was: a switchmen worked only within the yard limits and the brakemen only outside the yard limits. So the difference in terminology was a creation of the North American labor unions and unlikely to be carried to other countries.

I believe that in the U.K., "brakemen" are called "guards," but not sure if there is an equivalent to "switchmen." I'm not even sure the terms "switchman" and "brakeman" are used on prototype railroads in the U.S./Canada any more. I understand "brakemen" are now called "assistance engineers" on at least one railroad.

I have no clue what terminology might be used in New Zealand.

In general I agree, but it must be done very sparingly and only if the term is central to the argument. Look how much text it to explain "switchman" although it could be reduced for a quicky definition. Mostly we must depend upon readers to know the lingo.

I tend to agree, but the context of the usage is very important. For railroad workers and those operating on my layout, I think there is a certain charm to calling a cubical diesel shop "the roundhouse." This term was originally used to describe the circular buildings, built around turntables, used to house steam engines. The "roundhouse" became "the place where they house locomotives" rather than a describer of the shape of a building. In fact, "the roundhouse" may include the fuel track, the ready track, or any other track that is designated just for locomotives. If I write an article for a prototype railroad journal, I would not use the term "roundhouse" and would confine the term "diesel shop" to the building used to repair and inspect locomotives.

One supposedly descriptive term that I would like to see die is "wide cab" because it is purports to be descriptive, but is a lie. "Wide cab" locomotives are the same width inside and out as any other cab.

Paul Welsh

Reply to
Paul Welsh

Where did he stand when he was playing baseball?

Reply to
Roy Wilke

...........................

I have often asked users of the term "wide cab" if a locomotive with a wide cab can pass another that also has a wide cab, or even if a wide cab can pass a "regular" cab locomotive. One fellow responded that the wide cabs are wider ~INSIDE~ and have much more room inside. I asked him if he had somehow confused a locomotive with a tardis, but I don't think he knew what I meant. LOL! Same size outside, but much larger inside. Neat trick eh? Those lads at EMD are always coming up with them.

Reply to
Froggy

If I have 2 blocks east separated by insulators, can I include the device in the two blocks west (like a crossover) or should I make it a miniblock? (isolated from other blocks)

Jim Stewart

Reply to
Jim Stewart

He kind of crunched over behind me....He was an INTERNIST.....

Jim Stewart

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Had to be on first.

Reply to
John Miller

Would it be a Zeppelin? :)

Reply to
Roy Wilke

Been There, Done That, Works Great

I have also used CO2 as a pressure source

Howard R Garner

Reply to
Howard R Garner

Any relatively inert gas will work well. Nitrogen is probably the cheapest, and is used by many professional artists. With ANY of these, provide adequate ventilation, as they are asphyxiant gasses (they displace oxygen). Using them in confined spaces (like a room) invites disaster.

In the long run, a compressor is the cheapest alternative, but all the inexpensive ones make considerable noise.

Dan Mitchell ==========

Howard R Garner wrote:

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

Do you seriously maintain that I alone, of all the rail modellers in the world, am the only one who reckons the G&D is overrated? Of course I can do better. Anyone can, even you, by simply observing reality and reproducing what they observe in miniature.

Which Allen manifestly DID NOT DO.

Allen's layout was a caricature, a cartoon in 3-D, the embodiment of his fantasy world, it was many things, but it was not a great model railroad.

Sydney, Australia. Pack your bags if you wish.

Reply to
Mark Newton

bottom line was

terminology the

Sounds to me like you were a "yard(s)man".

The "guard" is the senior member of the train crew.

New Zealand railways used a mix of US, British and homegrown technology but organisationally the terminology mostly came from Britain. Westinghouse brakes became standard so long before I existed that "breakmen" and the like were long forgotten.

Of course, your explanation brings up new queations - "interlocking" and "tower" are, I assume, a "signal box"? Why two different names?

We call them all "Loco depots".

I agree, but you're about as likely to see that one disappear as I am to see "consist" disappear.

At long last, the English speaking modellers are dropping "points" to describe "turnouts", a mis-term that was given by tinplate manufacturers way back in the 1900s!

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

On UK/Australian/NZ railways, the guard would be the equivalent of the conductor on a US railroad. The equivalent of a switchman would be a shunter.

Reply to
Mark Newton

I have a model of one of those - the prototype was powered by a BMW petrol aircraft engine and a propeller! It held the absolute rail speed record for 24 years. (230 km/hr)

There are plenty of (industrial) locos in the world powered by gas (as opposed to gasoline/petrol).

Regards, Greg.P.

Reply to
Gregory Procter

Post or send your address, someone my wife works with expects to be in Sydney for about a month, sometime in August or September, and will no doubt have a weekend available to stop by. They thoroughly enjoyed our, just getting started, track on foam layout. They'll undoubtedly be extremely impressed by your layout.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Newhouse

Paul, it is NOT a good idea to post your adress on an open forum like this. As to emails, with the assortment of email search bots on usenet, I would suggest that addresses be emailed to the recipient. and that email address be written in a form that can be understood, but not simply cut and pasted. Otherwise you open up your email to all sorts of SPAM.

for instance, my email can be retrieved from my homepage. or I would say it is

bill (underscore) annand (at) muskokacomutes (dot) com

The above can be understood by any reader, but a searchbot will overlook it as it is not in correct email format.

Reply to
wannandcan

Paul,

In some cases, the term "brakeman" has been succeeded by "utility man," though the functions are the same. A utility man works in the yard, though I've worked as a brakeman on a local, and as switchman (utility man) in the yard.

CSX generally calls the utility position a "switchman."

Dieter Zakas

Reply to
Hzakas

As in:

newhouse at rockhead dot com

which you can find in the reply-to of the header???

The bots all send to "rockhead.com@" which is blocked.

I presumed that Mark was bright enough to NOT do something as stupid as you are assuming.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Newhouse

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