Subject:
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Semi-ADMIN: Pause Train Reference Improvement Work in Good Shape
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.admin.database
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Date:
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Thu, 18 Mar 1999 06:04:25 GMT
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Viewed:
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1263 times
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A big friendly whistle blast to all... :-P
Summary:
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I've re-categorized all the 4.5v and 12v trains entries on the Pause
section of LUGNET. Check it out and let everyone know what you think (I
already know that 726 is missing -- we have no photo available).
Quick step-by-step:
1) Jump to http://www.lugnet.com
2) Type 116<enter> in the Set Search Box
3) Click on the 4.5v Trains link // this lists all the 4.5v Trains
entries on Pause
4) Type 727<enter> in the Set Name/Number Search Box
5) Click on the 12v Trains link // this lists all the 12v Trains
entries on Pause
6) Click on various category links
More Hairy Details than you probably want:
-----------------------------------------
Thanks to a great many individuals, including Matthew Bates, Huw
Millington, Tore Eriksson, Todd Lehman and the various folks who have
scanned in early brochures, the Pause reference on LUGNET is now a whole
lot more useful to the LEGO trains enthusiast looking for information on
the 4.5v and 12v trains lines (I'll spend any necessary time soon
cleaning up 9v -- but that should be fairly easy compared to the early
info needed for what's been done already).
I have recently spent some time compiling information from all over the
virtual map, and cleaned up the Trains references on Pause. I welcome
you Trains experts to surf over and take a peek, and report back any
problems you have, so we can get the last few details into place.
Here's the deal:
TLG originally launched 4.5 volt trains in 1966, these sets were
numbered in the 100 range (100-110 were motor accessories, 111 upwards
were Train Sets, 150 onwards were Train Accessories.
They released new items in 1967 and 1968, and then in 1969 (after the
118 Electronic Train was released in 1968) added the 138+ section for
Electronic Trains, and released the first of the 12 volt sets.
12V trains were in the 700 range, 700-710 accessories, 720+ Train sets,
locomotives, cars, 740+ transformers, 750+ accessory track.
One really nice attribute of the way TLG did it early on was that each
year meant incrementing the top number in a section for the new
releases, so numeric releases more-or-less are strictly increasing in
both the set number _and_ the release year. This makes release years a
lot easier to guess at by viewing them contextually with other sets for
which known release years exist.
Then in 1980, the two lines were mixed together (since 12v trains can be
viewed as a superset of 4.5v trains: same thing with a center rail), and
the color of the rails changed from blue to grey. The 7700's were
basically full train sets, low 7800's were accessory train cars, 7850s
for 12v Accessory Track, 7860's were 12v Accessory items such as remote
signals and decouplers.
The way I've decided to categorize is this:
Product Lines: (wrongly referred to as "themes" in RTL usage)
There are two main product lines, "4.5v Trains" and "12v Trains".
All the 1xx sets fit into the former, the 7xx sets into the latter. The
77xx and 78xx sets are mixed between the two. I thought it better to do
this way since TLG originally divided them into two camps, and I wanted
to keep that division; I kept away from making the 7xxx sets into a
product line of "4.5v/12v Trains" because it would make it impossible
to, say, show all the locomotive sets for the entire 12v range.
The categorization rule is, if there's a 12V motor or 12v track inserts
in the set, it's 12v, otherwise it's 4.5v; that places push trains into
the 4.5v category, unless a brochure showed otherwise.
Themes: (wrongly referred to as "sub-themes" in RTL usage)
There are no Trains themes. So I made some up (subject to Todd's
careful review, I assure you). I balanced the choices of "theme names"
between usefulness for searching, and not having too many to choose
from. Here's the final list that I've arrived at:
Accessory Elements
Accessory Track
Buildings
Train Cars
Locomotives
Train Set
Key:
- Accessory Elements: Usually parts-pack style add-ons (but 12v lights
fit here)
- Accessory Track: (self-explanatory)
- Buildings: Train Stations, Cargo Stations, Level Crossings
Note: I was going to use the above listed items as further categories at
one point, but backed off as it would have made them awfully small, and
keeping them together keeps from having a "Other Buildings" category -
this will all have to wait.
- Train Cars: one or more accessory train cars to be added to a train
set. Usually no track is included
- Locomotives: an accessory locomotive
- Train Set: a locomotive, cars, track, probably a transformer (12v).
Enough to get going on a train layout
So, it's now possible to, say, list all the 12v locomotives that have
been released. That'd be
http://www.lugnet.com/pause/search/?theme=12v+Trains,Locomotives
I find it all a lot more useful now; I hope everyone else does too.
Please play with it and report any inaccuracies you find (I already know
we lack an entry for 726).
A note on usage: Year values of the form "+xxxx" mean that I've found
the set in the brochure for year xxxx (usually 1973), but lack the
previous year's brochure to make sure it was actually new in year xxxx,
so they mean the set came out _at_least_ as early as year xxxx, possibly
a year or two earlier, but I can't be sure. Any brochure sightings
folks can provide would be very helpful with this.
Follow-ups set to lugnet.admin.database.
-- joshua
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