Template talk:Infobox Railroad

Usage

Template	What it makes	Notes
{{Infobox Railroad}} talk	Template:Template other	Parameters: railroad_name - The legal (official) name of the railroad (example shown uses Chicago and Northwestern Railway) logo_filename - The filename of the uploaded image of the most well-known (usually the current) company logo (Chicago_and_Northwestern_Herald.png); Note: Use logo_filename=No image.png| and railroad_abbr=| if no logo has been uploaded railroad_abbr - The most common abbreviation for the railroad's common name (C&NW) marks - The railroad's official AAR reporting marks (CNW, CNWS, CNWZ) locale - Where the railroad has operated or still does operate ([[Illinois]], [[Iowa]], [[Kansas]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Missouri]], [[Nebraska]], [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Wisconsin]], and [[Wyoming]]) start_year - The year the railroad began operations ([[1865]]) end_year - The year the railroad ended operations (1995) gauge - The track gauge(s) used by the railroad (4 [[foot (unit of length)|ft]] 8½ [[inch|in]] (1435 [[millimetre|mm]]), some 3 ft (914 mm) gauge branch lines) hq_city - The city where the railroad's headquarters are located ([[Chicago, Illinois]])

Why the move?

Why was the template moved from Railroad to Infobox Railroad? I can understand consistency with Infobox Biography, but who's going to update all of the train articles that use the template over the old name? slambo 00:03, Mar 2, 2005 (UTC)

They don't have to be changed; the old name can still be used. --SPUI (talk) 13:45, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Rail gauge vs. track gauge

I don't think rail gauge is the correct term for the infobox. When I see "rail gauge" I think of the weight of the rail itself (i.e. 70 pound per foot) while "track gauge" refers to the distance between the rails. slambo 20:49, Apr 8, 2005 (UTC) Okay, the article is titled "rail gauge", but it still doesn't sound quite right. slambo 20:50, Apr 8, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for adding the above comment, I almost missed that due to the misleading edit summary and the edit being marked as minor. I think we should either use "track gauge" or maybe just "gauge" (although the latter might be ambiguous). JYolkowski 21:01, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Since no-one's disagreed, I'm reverting. JYolkowski 23:32, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

System map?

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
File:Red copyright.svg DM&E
File:DME and ICE route map.JPG DM&E/IC&E combined route map as of 2002
Reporting marks	DME
Locale	Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming
Years of operation	1986 – present
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm)
Headquarters	Sioux Falls, South Dakota

I've been thinking it might be helpful to add a system map parameter to the template. It would appear in the section just below the logo image and would look something like the example shown here. Thoughts? slambo 11:30, May 19, 2005 (UTC)

You can always hack it into the logo caption with a horizontal rule separating it. --SPUI (talk) 13:43, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, but that seems a bit klugey. It seems to me that a route map should be included on all articles about railroad companies. slambo 15:13, May 19, 2005 (UTC)