Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. A typical railway (or railroad) track consists of two parallel steel (or in older networks, iron) rails, generally anchored perpendicular to beams (termed sleepers (Commonwealth except Canada) or railroad ties (U.S. and Canada) of timber, concrete, or steel to maintain a consistent distance apart, or gauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are usually then placed on a foundation made of concrete or compressed earth and gravel in a bed of ballast to prevent the track from buckling (bending out of its original configuration) as the ground settles over time beneath and under the weight of the vehicles passing above. The vehicles travelling on the rails are arranged in a train; a series of individual powered or unpowered vehicles linked together, displaying markers. These vehicles (referred to, in general, as cars, carriages or wagons) move with much less friction than on rubber tires on a paved road, and the locomotive that pulls the train tends to use energy far more efficiently as a result.

General

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Rail transport is an energy-efficient and capital-intensive means of mechanised land transport. Rails provide very smooth and hard surfaces on which the wheels of the train may roll with a minimum of friction. As an example, a typical wagon can hold up to 125 tons of freight on two four-wheel bogies (termed "trucks" in North America). Fully loaded, the contact between each wheel and the rail is the space of about one U.S. ten-cent piece. This can save energy compared with other forms of transportation, such as road transport which depends on rubber tires on pavement. Trains also have a small frontal area in relation to the load they are carrying, which cuts down on air resistance and thus energy usage. In all, under the right circumstances, a train needs 50-70% less energy to transport a given tonnage of freight (or given number of passengers), than does road transport. Furthermore, the rails and sleepers distribute the weight of the train evenly, allowing significantly greater loads per axle / wheel than in road transport, leading to less wear and tear on the permanent way. Rail transport makes highly efficient use of space: a double-track rail line can carry more passengers or freight in a given amount of time than a four-lane road.

As a result, rail transport is a major form of public transport in many countries. In Asia, for example, many millions use trains as regular transport in India, South Korea, Japan, China, and in European countries. However, outside New York City, rail transport as a form of public transit in the United States is rare. Few major U.S. cities other than New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia can lay claim to any significant use of local rail-based passenger transport; Amtrak is the only nationwide passenger rail system in the country. In Canada, the government-owned VIA Rail system provides a limited level of intercity service at prices that are usually higher than air travel or bus service, however Vancouver's SkyTrain light rail network receives millions of riders every year.

More on [ Rail transport ]

Kids and model railroading

Introducing young ones to the hobby
Phoebe Vet Fri, 08 May 2009 20:34:05 -0000
I started my grandchildren by buying Bachmann's Thomas the Tank Engine in HO.  Later I added Hogwart's Express.  Now they prefer the REAL trains.
Safety Suggestions for Children
J&S RR Fri, 22 May 2009 19:49:49 -0000
     I am currently involved with HO Scale modeling as a family project.  I have found that this hobby has really enhanced "family time" and brought us all closer together. My main partner is my fiance's little girl (Skyler) who is 6 yrs old.  I am very suprised at the level of accuracy such a young child has to details in general.  The best example I have is scratchbuilding trees.  I have difficulty in identifying the trees I have built and painted compared to the ones she has built (I actually have to mark them to see who made what).  Needless to say I am very proud of the talent and patience shown by such a young child.       The main purpose of this thread is to discuss the more subtle safety precautions involved with HO scale modelling.  Obviously, all benchwork will be conducted by me, so no powertools for Skyler yet.  I want very much to keep her interested in this hobby and make it as fun as possible, as it affords so many ways to enhance being a family.    Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Thomas Mad Bomber 'widescreen' & extra scenes
rollingstockvid Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:55:14 -0000
Please enjoy a very reworked Mad Bomber, now in 16:9 wide screen, new music, new character with extra scenes linking onto the second episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F6ckqYfg9A&feature=channel_page Thank you.
episode VI
Gino Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:53 -0000
This one is a little more low key, because Michael is really mellow.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJoxIJYEaA
Looking for a good, short, inexpensive HO steam switcher.
HolbrookBill Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:10:23 -0000
My eight year old son and I attended the local train show last weekend and when we got home he pulled out all my old train stuff. We found a small place in his room to put up a 2' x 4' switching layout and I've got the board together and even have some track in place.  The biggest problem, though, is that with the track plan we have, there's not a lot of room for cars and an engine on the sidings. I have a 70's Mantua 0-4-0 tank switcher that would be the perfect engine for switching this track IF it ran well ( and it NEVER ran well as a switcher ). Even an 0-4-0 with a tender is a little too long for this layout. I'm looking for something similar in size, and it HAS to be a steam engine ( so my son says ). Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use? I'd like to keep costs down, but I'm willing to pay a little more for quality... It also needs to be pretty smooth, since I know that if the engine is jerky and/or too fast that he'll lose interest.  THANKS!  
2yr Old w/train addiction
HEdward Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:38:48 -0000
Every chance he gets, Kevin lines up his toy cars, trucks, and whatever he has that has wheels, into a train.  If I go to the basement, both boys follow and insist that I run the train.  The poor old Marx engine has had more miles put on it this year than in it's prior history.  If they wander off to do other things, I'm still not allowed to shut off the train or they throw a fit.  At the LHS they have 3 Thomas tables near the back of the store.  In the front window there's an HO display layout.  Kevin looked in the window, locked onto the scene and resisted going around to the door to go inside.  When inside, he gave us a hard time getting him away from the layout.  finally, we pried him away and took he and Eddie to the Thomas displays.  After twenty minutes while Mommy sat with them, Daddy was done shopping and it was time to go.  One would think we were torturing a dozen babies with the noise they made.  Back at the car, I let go of Kevin's hand for a second to open the door and he immediatly turned his attention to heading back to the store.  Good thing I've got long arms. 

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