A while back someone asked me, "What are the 'Railroad Passes'I've been reading about? And what exactly is a, Electronic Rail Pass?" Since I haven't seen this topic raised here, I thought I'd bring it up. The railroads used to issue rail passes to employees and certain special VIPs. A rail pass gave the bearer rights to ride the company's trains (when there were passenger trains) with certain restrictions. Generally, they went to other railroaders and the family of railroaders, with a few going to 'friends of the railroad' etc., etc., etc. Many of these passes have become sought after by collectors. Now, a model railroad is not something that you can ride. Well, maybe you can.... A large number of model railroaders created a rail pass to mimic the operation of the prototype. They are given to other model rrs or exchanged with other model rrs just as they were done with the prototype railroads in years past. Many times, the recipient will call and visit the railroad when they are in the area. It is just one more point in common with those who love the rails and try to re-create them in their own layouts. The passes are collected by some just as the real ones are/were and just as the QSL card is collected by radio amateurs. The NMRA has had a pass exchange for years where individuals have created rail passes for their railroad and wish to exchange them with other modelers. If you are an NMRA member, you can find more information on that program at: http://www.getnet.com/~dickg/nmra/sigs/PassExchange.html and in the NMRA Bulletin. An electronic (or virtual) pass is exactly the same as the others. It represents the model railroad and gives you passenger rights (the right to visit) on that railroad. It may be displayed electronically on screen, or printed out in an appropriate size for display in the layout room, etc. They may be exchanged and collected. As with QSL cards, you exchange with or request from the originating railroad and do not get a copy from someone who has one. They are collectables. That's all. It just gives us another way to enjoy the hobby. There are a number of sites that have Electronic Rail Passes. Too many to list and I certainly don't know them all. I have sent out 50 E-Passes since I created one. If you go to http://cid.railfan.net/eci_new.html you may see a sample of my pass as well as those that I have received. My pass is about 550 x 300 or so in size and can be printed on a color printer should you wish a hard copy. It is a fun addition to the hobby that crosses all scales, but it is not necessarily for everyone. Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://cid.railfan.net/eci_new.html == == East Central Indiana Railroad ==
I too would like to encourage you all to make an e-pass for your railroad. They are fun to collect and exchange, and it is a great way to make new "train buddies" (as my wife calls us). ------------------ Robert Ray The NP & UP N-Scale Railroad
I can only agree with Roger and Robert. It is a good way of saying "Thanks for visiting my site" by sending an E-pass. Since January 1999 when I started my site, I have issued 53 E-passes. If you go to My sample page you will find a sample of my E-pass from SR&WF. --------- Helge Sandy River & West Forrest Railroad
Feel free to visit my site and apply for an E-Pass ------------------ http://users.bigpond.net.au/railroad2000
Thought I would throw in these URL's of past discussions on this topic for reference. http://www.trainboard.com/Forum56/HTML/000037.html http://www.trainboard.com/Forum63/HTML/000003.html ------------------ Ship It On The FRISCO! | IAMOKA.com
Oops. I didn't realize that the topic had been so thoroughly covered before. I wouldn't have brought it up again. Sorry. Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com === NMRA track gauge. "Don't do trains without it." === [This message has been edited by rhensley@anderson.cioe.co (edited 07 August 2000).]
Not a problem Roger. I only throw that out as a reference to continue the duscussion or to resurrect an old thread also. Feel free to discuss all you want. By the way, an excellent post to start the thread! ------------------ Ship It On The FRISCO! | IAMOKA.com [This message has been edited by E-8 (edited 07 August 2000).]
Feel free to visit traiN'ternet web site listed below and apply for e-passes (2 different e-passes for two different model railroads) traiN'ternet : http://www.trainternet.org
This is a great idea...and thanks for bringing it up again, since I am relatively new here ! When the CSW is up and running again after my move, I fully intend to look into this. As for my website, if you have not yet visited, please do, my wife and I decided to build it in the the style of a railroad time table. I have several old time tables and the web design mimics these. You can see it at: http://www.jstrainstation.homestead.com There are lots of pictures, so it takes a while to download...Happy Modeling!! John ------------------ The Colorado and Southwestern, Top of the Rockies! http://jstrainstation.homestead.com [This message has been edited by JCater (edited 26 August 2000).]
Since this thread is still alive, I thought that I'd mention that I just revised my E-Pass pages to add a couple more passes and update a couple web page and e-mail addresses. Yes, I altered the look slightly and made the URLs active. Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://cid.railfan.net/eci_new.html == == East Central Indiana Railroad ==
