The Home page shows the most recent post in each of the four categories: Modeling, Prototype, Photo of the Week, and Saturday Slanguage. Clicking on one of the boxes will take you directly to that article. We can't promise that the home page will be updated right away, but it will be updated as soon as possible. The blog posts are scheduled to go up automatically, but I can't do that on the website.
The Blog tab obviously leads right here.
About Us talks about, well, us. It's basically copy/pasted from the old website, but I've made some changes and included the photos that you have all come to recognize.
News is both website news and modeling news. James and I have signed up for the e-newsletters that many manufacturers offer, and as we get those we will update the News page to show what has recently been announced and what has recently come out. Since we both model exclusively HO scale, that section will only show HO scale models. These posts will not go on the blog, so keep checking back on the website for updated info on the HO scale market.
Calendar is, well, a calendar. It shows when articles go up each week. It also shows other events. Right now it has my itinerary for my July rail trip posted as well. If any of you live near the Amtrak routes I'll be on, it would be cool if you can get out and take a photo of my train as I go by!
Prototype Info is a big one. This is where all our prototype articles go. It is divided into three subcategories. General Info is where we post articles such as James' article on couplers or my article on safety. Passenger Railroading gets the articles about passenger trains, such as trip reports. Freight Railroading gets James' stories of working for the BNSF.
Modeling is another big one. That is also divided into three subcategories. Tutorials and How-Tos have our articles on building kits and other projects. That is where we post articles such as my article on weathering a covered hopper or James' article on upgrading sound for an SD70ACe. Product Reviews have all our past product reviews, including James' review of the Athearn Genesis SD70ACe or my review of the Sergent Engineering couplers. We are going to try to post more of these in the future, they seem to be a popular feature. Our Models talks about our own model railroads, past and present. I have also posted articles about some of my friends' model railroads.
Photos is the only section that is not yet complete. Since I am not home, I do not have most of my photos with me. I'll finish that section when I get home. It will have photo albums of various project we've done, trips we've gone on, and it will also have all the past Photos of the Week.
Glossary is the same glossary we had on the old website. However, it will be expanded to include many more terms than it has now. You will be able to browse terms based on model railroading, prototype railroading, reporting marks, and railroad slang. If you have any suggestions for things to include in the glossary, contact us and we will include it. The goal is for this to be as complete as possible, so it is a reliable reference for our readers.
Links is a collection of links pertaining to railroading. They are divided into categories based on what you might be looking for. As with the glossary, contact us if you have any suggestions for links you want to see included in the list. The goal is to have it be a reference point for people looking for other railroad-related websites.
Clicking the Like button will make you "like" our page on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, please do this. It helps us see how many readers we have, and it lets us interact with our readers better. In the future, we want to have Facebook-only features to promote traffic on our Facebook page.
Clicking the Send button will let you send the page you are on to a friend on Facebook. The button is unique for each page, it will automatically send that page and not the homepage. For example, if you are reading an article and know someone who has been confused by that particular topic, you can click that button to send the article to that person.
Commenting is a feature on the articles. You need to have a Facebook account to post a comment, but you do not need to "like" our Facebook page. When you post a comment, it will post to that article and also to your Facebook news feed. Unchecking the "post to Facebook" box will make it not post to your news feed. We encourage you to leave that box checked, because that way other people can see the comment you made and visit the website or respond to the comment. If you see one of these comments posted in your news feed, you can leave another comment without going to the website and it will automatically post in both places. In the near future we will synchronize the commenting with the blog, so when you post a comment on an article on the website, it also goes on the same article on the blog, and vise versa. Please do not abuse the commenting. Keep your language clean, be friendly, and do not post spam.
Well, that's it for now. We have other cool features planned for the future, so stay tuned, and start looking at the website! The blog is the best way to see articles as soon as we post them, but some things will go on the website that do not go on the blog, so make sure you watch both! And please advertise the website to your railfan friends!
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