blue prints

[Anonymous]

Just a little poll I thought may intestest people on how important blue prints are to modelling

[IRONROOSTER]

I have a number of books with drawings if I need them. There is so much available in print that having them on the web is not a requirement. Of course it's always handy if some one wants to set up a repository of plans since they would all be in one place. With the copyright and cost issues I don't think this can be easily done.

Enjoy
Paul

[sledgehammer]

I think it would be nice to have them on the internet . the hours I keep I don't have time to go and get them. If they where on the internet I could look at them at night when im looking at the MR forums.

[orsonroy]

I'm all for the free sharing of data over the 'net, and absolutely love sites like Fallen Flags and the NEB&W database, which provide a gigantic wealth of railroad information that couldn't be collected (affordably) in a lifetime of digging.

The problem is, who's going to pay for all that bandwidth? I've been slowly but surely collecting and digitizing data on my favorite midwestern roads (NKP, TP&W, C&IM, P&E, P&PU, IC), and I've got well over eight GIGS worth of scanned photos, timetables and track charts. I've got another two gigs worth of pre-1960 freight car photos. Finding a site to host and allow for lots of data transfer isn't cheap. Heck, the Fallen Flags site almost shut down last week for lack of money.

And then you run into copyrighting issues. Sure, I could scan in every MR-published car and engine blueprint in my collection (I've got 1970-today) and start passing them around online, but how long would it be before MR complains? Frankly, I think that MR should do this for us proto and scratchbuilders in the hobby, but make us pay a nominal fee for the privelidge.

[Fergmiester]

It would be really Nice! Canadian Railway Modeller has plans by O-SHO-ME. you can send away fro them but the enternet would be so much nicer. Books are a good source but if you were to publish a book with every engine plan there was then it would come in volumes.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think it should be important.

[Anonymous]

They are actually PLANS. Blue print is an outdated method of making copy prints; if anything current copies are called white prints. There are way too many models of locomotives out there - you did not specify steam or diesel.

If a plan has already been published somewhere, it is always possible to buy a copy of the book or magazine in which it was originally offered. Who would want a book with ALL the plans it it anyway? Maybe all the plans for one particular railroad, but not for the thousands of other ones.

Bob Boudreau

[tatans]

Years ago I phoned a draftsman at a large Canadian Railway Company and asked if they had any original working drawings of steam locomotives, he said they were sort of clearing out the steam drawings and he would send me some, I heard nothing for a month then arrived this massive roll of large blueprints about 25 pounds(actual blue prints) of working drawings of steam locomotives, I believe they were cleaning out their files and said '''Why don't we ship a pile of this stuff to this guy" Well I was happy to receive them, recently I met fellow that worked there and he told me they burned roll after roll of original inked linen drawings of these old locomotives.(Blue backgound,white lines= blueprint------White backgound,blue lines=bluelines)