okay guys here's one that i need your help with. i am humbly asking for the assistance of this community.

trains

tell me all you know about them (and don't be smartasses and be like "they go on tracks lol"). this is for a major project of mine (non-rpg maker!!) and i need to do some major research.

i don't necessarily mean any one specific type of train either (although subways and shit are less important than steam trains), i'm interested in learning absolutely as much as i can about the topic.

obviously my starting point is wikipedia, and it is fantastic for general stuff but my story is taking place ON THE TRAINS THEMSELVES and i really need to get the FEEL and stuff for TRAIN LIFE.

if anybody knows any good resources that really get into the detail of trains and their crews and how they're mangaed and how they work it would be seriously appreciated.

even more, if anybody has any experience working on trains or railroads or knows anybody who may be able to talk to me it would be seriously appreciated.

ty!!!

Go to the library? Or use Google? If this is a major project I'm not sure why you think HEY GW WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT TRAINS is a great idea. I really only see two outcomes: A person will either have been on a train and tell you something like IT WAS FAST, which you said you didn't want, or they will have incredible knowledge of trains (unlikely), but won't feel like typing out a report on them.

EDIT: Since you wasted all that time typing this instead of typing into Google, here:

http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/schoolzone/Info_Trains.cfm
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question275.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00450/steamanddiesel.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrailroad.htm
http://www.railroad.net/articles/railfanning/worktrains/index.php

I have a good knowledge and was on a steam train on Tuesday! Let me gather my informations and refresh my memory...

It's probably better if you ask us questions so we can tell you exactly what you need to know rather than unnecessary information on the use of shunters etc.

Go to the library? Or use Google?

Yeah those are obvious, but they can't really give the personal feeling and stuff associated with what I'm looking for. As well as the "what if" kind of things. It's easy to find out how they work and that kind of thing, but the actual life of someone who lives and works with trains is more personal and you can't get that from a library or google. sorry if that wasn't clear!!

It's probably better if you ask us questions so we can tell you exactly what you need to know rather than unnecessary information on the use of shunters etc.

good idea!!

some general things that i'm interested in (for the story)

• LIVING on a train (cooking, eating, sleeping, etc).
• personally-owned trains (owning your own train for the fun of it (or freelance cargo shipments??? idk) rather than working on a company's train)
• could a single person operate a train? maybe not realistically but with enhancements/machines etc how plausible/possible is this??
• autopilot/cruise control????
• if we lived in a world that was far more spread out than it is and we didn't really have cars and stuff, and everything between cities was pretty much trains, how would train tracks work? in terms of being interconnected and stuff, and rail switches and the like (or even is this plausible at all?)
• trains cannot TURN right?

that kind of stuff. i'm VERY much intersted in the whole possibility of living on a moving train.

see the problem is that i came up with this world and story without knowing much about trains themseles. and by now i have invested so much into the story and characters, and it's time to actually DO SOMETHING with this and i realize that i don't know enough to make it realistic in any way!!

also in response to an ovious answer: I plan to take a steam train trip at some point. There's a local steam train ride thing that's somewhat of an amusement thing for people. I did it when I was a little kid, I remeber. I'd like to take a ride on that and spend some time talking with the crew.

i hope that helps this topic have a but more function

LIVING on a train (cooking, eating, sleeping, etc).

Cooking - food on trains is usually prepared beforehand and kept heated (or cooled) on the train in the buffet car.

Eating - Said food (mostly snacks and drinks) can be bought from the buffet car, but on longer journeys a full-course meal can be served in the restaurant cars. I've done this before and the quality of food is usually pretty great for food in transit!

Sleeping - only on stopover journeys! A lot of the long distance European trains have beds on them, I don't have any experience of them though so you may want someone else to fill you in on this.

personally-owned trains (owning your own train for the fun of it (or freelance cargo shipments??? idk) rather than working on a company's train)

I have never heard of this happening! Rail transport is an expensive business so I wouldn't be surprised if this was pretty impossible. I don't think this is much of an option!

could a single person operate a train? maybe not realistically but with enhancements/machines etc how plausible/possible is this??

Again, not that plausible. Operating a single engine is a two man job (driver and fireman), and with a whole train there also used to be a brake van (caboose in the US), and that's where the conductor and train crew work from. That's at least 4 people on a goods train (no need for a conductor), and at least 5 on a passenger train.

autopilot/cruise control????

This is a bad idea! Well, not so much nowadays, but if you're going for something period you might want to read up on that accident (that article is just an overview really) and the railroader culture of that time!

if we lived in a world that was far more spread out than it is and we didn't really have cars and stuff, and everything between cities was pretty much trains, how would train tracks work? in terms of being interconnected and stuff, and rail switches and the like (or even is this plausible at all?)

My guess is a bit like this, but on a larger scale! It's actually quite plausible. As long as there's good administration and organisation (as well as the manpower) behind it, rail switches and such wouldn't really be much of an issue.

trains cannot TURN right?

Well, no, in the sense that the trains themselves don't have steering. However, you have not accounted for curves in the track! That is how trains change direction. Junctions are done with points, though these can cause problems and accidents if they're not managed properly. For turning trains round at a station or engine shed, turntables are used.

also in response to an ovious answer: I plan to take a steam train trip at some point. There's a local steam train ride thing that's somewhat of an amusement thing for people. I did it when I was a little kid, I remeber. I'd like to take a ride on that and spend some time talking with the crew.

Arrive at the station early and chat with them on the platform. Driving and powering a steam engine is a gruelling business and I'm sure they don't want to be questioned while working.

Bear in mind my knowledge is mostly of steam railways so don't be surprised if some of this information is a little bit out of date!

• LIVING on a train (cooking, eating, sleeping, etc).
• personally-owned trains (owning your own train for the fun of it (or freelance cargo shipments??? idk) rather than working on a company's train)
• could a single person operate a train? maybe not realistically but with enhancements/machines etc how plausible/possible is this??
• autopilot/cruise control????
• if we lived in a world that was far more spread out than it is and we didn't really have cars and stuff, and everything between cities was pretty much trains, how would train tracks work? in terms of being interconnected and stuff, and rail switches and the like (or even is this plausible at all?)
• trains cannot TURN right?

my uncle is a freight train driver so i can answer these

you could live on a train but idk why you would want to?? nobody could visit or anything

you could own a personal train but you would also need your personal track! only one train can go on a track at one time in one direction between two stations (like, el paso to tucson or something) for obvious reasons. you couldnt do freelance freight because your train would collide with other trains (do you even use your brain?) and each railway company owns the various stretches of rail

generally there are crews of four but a freight train can be operated by an individual

freight trains have autopilot

if everything was more spread out there would still be cars... traveling via highway is much faster than rail

and uh trains can turn did you think they just went in a straight line everywhere!?!?!?

traveling via highway is much faster than rail

I would like to contest this! I dunno what rail transport is like where you are but over here the same 300 mile journey that would take 5 hours 20 by road would take 4 hours by rail.

thanks guys this is some good information. so far the world is shaping up in more detail, things are being refined, etc.


train tracks are public, owned and operated by the government (this eliminates the largest problem by far-- which is train tracks being owned by companies which kills the idea of personally-owned trains, which is what the entire story is based on). trains have radio contact with "operator" stations who run the switches and keep tabs on where trains are, and the operatros could also link trains contact with each other. tracks would also be painted in a way that signifieis the direction so we dont have to worry about crashes

plausible?


lars holy shit that is a pretty cool forum (actually they seem kind of  ​) but useful!!! i did not know it existed

you got me a warning for FOWL language :o

Painted to signify the direction? What are they going to repaint the trains everytime they need to turn?

the tracks

also what would call someone who owns and runs their own train. originally i was thinking CONDUCTOR but that doesn't really work, as i've since then found out that ENGINEER is the one who actually does stuff, and conductor is more of staff for passgener trains. engineer doesn't really seem right, either though. this is quite a dilemma because the title was originally "the conductor" and now it has to be "the _____"

the tracks

Oh, I read it as trains. Sorry, although it still doesn't make much sense because trains move back and forth on tracks often.

I suppose, but it's pretty easy to say "HEY THIS TRACK IS GOING EAST THE TRAIN MUST BE GOING EAST"

I guess at a train station where there are a number of tracks, but then it's really no different than painting a "B TRAIN" or "N67 TRAIN" on the side of the carts. Also it would be more reasonable than painting the entire track.

speaking of sleeping on trains, I remember 6 of us in a room the size of our house's smallest bathroom. That was fun.