RYPN Litmus Test

In the online railroad content ecosystem, RYPN fills a role not coverd by boards like Trainorders, Railfan.net and the Dead Goat. 

There have been earnest discussions about what should and should not be posted here in the Interchange, so if I may, allow me to propose a guide to using the online railroad content ecosystem.

Each entry includes a sample post (written by yours truly) and a suggestion on where to put it:


"I am wondering why locomotives have sanders?"
- Trains.com, Trainorders.com

"How do I add sander piping to my HO scale such and such?"
-Trains.com, Trainorders.com

"How do I add sander piping to my O scale such and such?"
- OGR Forum

"I hate it when the commie socialist goverment spends my tax dollars on anything BUT it is OK for them to finance grants for sanders for narrow gauge locomotives crossing the Colorado-New Mexico border."
- Dead Goat

"I had an interesting experience getting the sanding pipes back in shape on old #1"
- RYPN

"The crew of #3751 didn't throw sand in the firebox to make big black clouds of smoke for my pictures at the exact point where I told them I would be standing."
- Trainorders.com

"I put down my camera and told the engineer he had no idea how to use sanders correctly, and I showed him what I would do if I were a railroader."
- Railroad.net

"Was there anything unique about the arrangement of sanding pipes on Lehigh Valley locomotives?"
- Railfan.net

"NS painted the sanders wrong on the Wattahoochie & Itchycutie heritage engine."
- Yahoo Groups

"Here is my 50-photo study of sand piles at the East Tourist & Western shops."
- Facebook

"Does anyone have perfectly lit 3/4 shots of BNSF Dash-9's where I can clearly see the sandbox hatches (and count the hairs in the engineer's beard)?"
-RailPictures.net

"You are so cranky, you must have sand in your..."
- private email


Notice that RYPN only comes up once, but that there are plenty of places for all comments. 

Let RYPN be RYPN.

:-)

Rob Davis
Tounge Firmly in Cheek

"LOL"
Any and all of the above.
Tom Coughlin
Stow, MA

.

All of the above:
"Like!"

Really good -- and a good ongoing topic, too, even if not strictly 'preservation' or 'adaptive reuse'...

One small item: the HO-scale comment should have been directed to the model railroader section of trains.com, as there were (and perhaps are) overlaps there. Model comments to full-scale boards and lists also happen fairly often in Yahoo (and other) Groups... but usually can be either redirected or suppressed with a little modac.

Might I add:

"But the use of sand as a traction improver can be improved in the following ways -- use rail washing before sanding; steam jets immediately after sanding; reapplication of flange and TOR lubricant; and better fast-acting positive traction control using... " [followed somewhere by a MEGO-inducing description of different kinds of material and its derivation] -- Yahoo group steam_tech...

... much as I might like to see such stuff 'adopted' to make preserved railroads work better, safer, or less expensively, and even though I could probably 'stretch' the definition of preservation enough to claim 'well, improved sanding would lead to less wear and tear on the equipment, etc., yada, <collective yawn in cyberspace>...


... But where would you put the negative-waves comments about sanding that probably WOULD come up on the recent RyPN ... <ducks for cover and dons virtual Nomex, but smiles, not serious...>

After some hot and heavy opinion heaving around here, including some stuff that "belongs" on Dead Goat, this is a breath of fresh air!!

We've been needing something to smile about--and to remind us of our own foolishness at times--and to remind us, we should all be friends here--

Yes, I like this thread.

A couple more:

"What would it take to get XY&Z #1234 restored for service in the new AB&C Steam Program"
-Trainodors

I don't know how many times I've seen that asked about a certain 4-8-4 about a mile from me. We're still waiting on that $2 million check to get started on her

One from our Facebook page:
"You people need to restore DE&F E8 # 97 next"

We don't own DE&F 97. And by the way, I don't think I have ever seen you at one of our work sessions...

Good thread

"Here's a cool old picture of a steam loco that's now preserved while it was still in service!"
--TrainOrders.com

"Here are lots of pictures/links to lots of cool photos/videos of old steam locos that were later preserved!"
--RyPN

People grousing that the moderators on Railpictures.net are too strict and reject everything not submitted by certain people
--RRPictureArchives.net, TrainOrders, the YahooGroup "Rejected Railpictures Photographers"

"Here are railroad videos [commercially shot and sold by others] I'm 'preserving' for the public by posting them here!"
--YouTube, with YouTube links posted to other groups/sites.....

"I've just discovered this surviving steam locomotive absolutely nobody knows about! It's hidden away in a park in Hardeeville/Nashville/Hagerstown/Portland/Cheyenne!"
--Trains.com and TrainOrders

"We're running this top-secret photo charter on the FG&H/PV trip on rare-mileage track. Price is $879/$5,959 deposited by PayPal to our Swiss bank account; don't tell a soul lest any freeloaders show up and happen to see it...."
--secret e-mail list requiring secure connections and encryption

"This topic should be banned, as we've discussed this in the past...."

"It will never happen. I talked to....."

"Look it up yourself..."

"The company is a business, and they are not interested in preserving heritage, so give up."

I would like to remind many of you that the goat has been a vehicle in the past to do some reporting on the C&TS with out certain filters placed on the news because of a sites bias. Having traveled to a few of the C&TS Commission meetings during the time of RGRPC I (Rio Grande Railway Preservation Corporation One), I would suggest you refrain from name calling as the role one has today may not match the one they had in the past or the future. Respectfully,
Robby Peartree

There's a 4-8-4 in the park close to here that was given a total overhaul and then put on display in 1950. I think you could wash the bird droppings off and light her off. I don't know why nobody has seen this before. It's in new condition.

I know for a fact that one of the Big Boys is going to be restored because my cousin's brother in law out west told me it's ready to come out of the park any day now.

How many engines are submerged in lakes, rivers and quarries? Someone should make a database of them.

wHy is evryune on here so iggerant whenevr I post anytnng? I try to be nice to you ignert jerks n that's whut I get. LI conducer.