RAILROAD.NET News, Site and Content Updates

[Jeff Smith]

With due respect and deference to M&E and Mssr's. Norman and Stephens (welcome to the railroad.net debate club where we are very polite!) I appreciate all input. Amtrak is listed as a Class I by Wikipedia (yes, not the most reliable, but still correct in this case) based on route miles.

And yes, Amtrak is a heavily-trafficked thread, but as a category, commuter seems to be the highest trafficked and thus I gave it the top spot as a category. My methodology was the info category, then active rail. Based on traffic, that put Commuter on top, then freight in order of Class (and short-lines seem to generate more interest than the BORING Class I's, Amtrak excepted). After that I put railfanning. Now, some of the railfanning by region are pretty popular.

After that, Fallen Flags, Employment (which is very well-trafficked by newbies), a category now called tech which I'm still assessing, equipment (also well-trafficked, but which doesn't make sense to move up), and general discussion, which has some highly trafficked forums like Model.

Now, I'm happy with the methodology of the order, even if some of the higher traffic areas are down the page, with the possible exception of Amtrak.

Amtrak is a passenger railroad, but doesn't really fit into commuters IMHO. It would fit into a category with HSR, but not railfanning by region. I don't want to push Commuters too far down the page. I think I have an idea how to put it back at the top.

Anyway, keep the input coming, and thanks!

[David Benton]

my 2 cents worth , lump Amtrak , hsr , via rail , and the commuter lines all together as simply passenger rail . the commuter headings all tell they are commuter forums anyway .

[oknazevad]

Agreed. Amtrak and Via have more in common with the commuter operators, and putting the passenger stuff together is logical. I was about to suggest the same thing.

[mtuandrew]

True - I'd forgotten to mention VIA, but all of these seem like they'd be natural partners in a "Passenger Rail" forum.

[Jeff Smith]

Amtrak, ViaRail, and High Speed Rail have been moved to the top forum under the new heading "Passenger Rail". Please note the new guidelines for HSR. Thanks for your input.

[Jeff Smith]

Just want to remind everyone to check our Events page; lots of new listings in the last week!

http://www.railroad.net/events/index.php

[Jeff Smith]

News! Two New Forums Added:

Providence and Worcester Railroad, a Class II regional provider. Topics here were generally under New England Forum, but I'm trying to separate out some of the higher level / popular railroads.

Housatonic Railroad, a Class III short line in W. CT. A fairly popular topic also in the New England railfan forum, and one of my favorites.

Of course, general topics concerning railfanning and not specific to either of these railroads should stay in the New England Railfan forum

I also welcome a new moderator to the New England Railfan forum, MEC407, in addition to Ian. The New England Railfan Forum is one of our most popular, and Ian has done a terrific job with it.

MEC407 will also moderate the two new forums.

Thanks!

Jeff Smith
Site Admin

[Jeff Smith]

After a minor hiccup, the two new forums are free and clear to navigate. Enjoy!

[Jeff Smith]

Update on railroad.net operations:

First, a newly posted article for Hot Times on the Hot Iron: http://www.railroad.net/articles/column ... 201105.php

Thanks to JD Santucci for the contribution. We've got some other articles in the works, so if I've contacted you, don't think I've forgotten.

The web designer has also redesigned and updated the looks of the main page and some of the other pages (articles, photos, events, etc.). And before you say it; the ads pay the bills.

You'll also notice links to railroad.net's Facebook and Twitter pages. We're still pushing the FB page, so be sure to "like" us.

https://www.facebook.com/RailroadNet

The issue with the reply buttons, emoticons, etc. is being looked at.

The spam wars continue. Wonder why you don't see any spam (except in rare cases)? Because new users are moderated, and that's where most of it is caught. Thanks to all for tips on catching it elsewhere. The spam wars take up most of my time on railroad.net

Enjoy!

Jeff

[Jeff Smith]

New article:

It's been up a while, is the latest edition of "Hot Times on the High Iron" by JD Santucci:

http://www.railroad.net/articles/column ... 201106.php

[Jeff Smith]

New article on the Trans-Siberian Railroad! http://railroad.net/articles/topics/the ... ilroad.php

And a somewhat more controversial topic? Or at least relevant to today's economic environment: http://railroad.net/articles/topics/rai ... l-hill.php

Also linked to Facebook, where you can discuss it: https://www.facebook.com/RailroadNet

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