What has RMWeb done for you? Was, how did RMWeb come about?

[RedgateModels]

I'm also one of the old BRM forum converts. Back in the day it was Graeme King who talked me into starting my first "neverwazza" BR standard 8F. 

 

I saw the posts urging Andy to "stick with it" when the first server/isp issues hit and when it was sorted I took a look, the rest is history and I never went back to the old BRM forum surviving the great Pipex disaster and other glitches along the way

[LNER4479]

I was aware of RMWeb for a while and several people kept pointing me towards it but, not being a 'yoof of today', I was wary of joining, put off by the 'tell all' nature of Twitter/Facebook and the inevitable slanging matches that seemed all too prevalent on other forums (or should that be fora?)

 

However, the temptation eventually proved too great and, having been a member for over 18 months now it's looking like my best decision of the decade. Not only is it nice when fellow modellers take time to recognise what you've done (a compliment I hope I repay) but I've met some really great, like-minded people over the last year which has been the greatest joy of all. And mercifully free of the slanging matches so that we can all get on and enjoy our shared hobby

[Buckjumper]

 

Not so much reset. IIRC the transfer of member details from the previous incarnation failed to complete and we members of the 15% club had to sign up again.

Yes, thanks Nick, that sounds more like it. The old days: you never knew if RMW was going to fall over mid-post

[Buckjumper]

surviving the great Pipex disaster

Poopex, dear boy, Poopex.

[beast66606]

I visited the old BRM forum most days. That's where I saw Andy's invitation to have a look at his new "experiment".

March 2005? Was it really that long ago?

I had hair back then.

 

So did Andy.

[jwealleans]

RMWeb 2.0 (I think) via the BRM forum for me.   That was the yellowy coloured one with a Spamcan at the top, I think - or was that just my unfortunate choice of 'theme'?  2006?

 

It's come on a bit since then.

[beast66606]

I joined around the 2005/6 time, I think I found it via google, I wasn't in the first wave from BRM but joined soon after and I've been my easy going self ever since. We've seen some real flare ups over the years but nowadays things are a lot calmer, yes there is an odd spat but nothing compared to the "good" old days - those people have (been) moved on and it shows in the general ambience of the forum.

I am blessed with special dual use invisible ink (I think I started that one) - on one hand people like to repeat the answer I've already given and on the other people are able to read words which aren't actually written   (Again this doesn't happen so much these days)

 

I do read other forums and whilst there are undoubtedly useful things out there, the depth of knowledge on here covering a vast range of subjects, with people willing to help, makes it the only one for me.

[gordon s]

Whilst leaving us open for all sorts of banter (or should that be abuse)    , curiosity got the better of me and it would appear ER's started up around Feb/Mar 2006 and is still going strong…:-)

 

Even then I'm not sure that is still the first version of RMweb. There were several upgrades/crashes in the early days…or should I say years. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

....I would be much more concerned if there was no heat in an e-forum as that might indicate that it was dying through indifference/apathy. The key indicators for me are  the quantity of heat and that there is also considerably more light.

 

Dave

[Rivercider]

I think I found RMWeb, probably in 2008, by chance while browsing the web.

I was an occasional lurker for some months before joining in 2009, then lurked for some more months before my first posts,

 

cheers 

[eastwestdivide]

I think I stumbled across it via the small layout scrapbook (carendt.com), but didn't expect it to become a version of Friends Reunited: I'd lost touch with an old trainspotting friend who I'd met at the end of a platform, only to discover that he was on here - under a nickname of course, but as our interests kind of overlapped, the content of his posts eventually gave him away. So I met him again at the end of a virtual platform!

Aah, bless.

[Andy Y]

surviving the great Pipex disaster and other glitches along the way

According to Management Bolleaux Pt1 we don't have problems, we have opportunities. In that case I had several insurmountable opportunities with some server hosting companies. On paper their bandwidth and drive specs made it look as though they should be able to handle the site; the reality of beating a server up with ever-increasing traffic levels has meant ongoing changes to servers and also between hosting providers to move way beyond the realms of what normally may be required for a small enterprise; we've gradually moved from a world where I'd have to rant at sub-standard support to get any joy at a higher level through to the current excellent relationship with Dediserve who do actually understand the site and its needs whilst being accessible to the degree that a director may respond to a query out of hours which has given us the best performance and stability we've ever experienced.

 

One of the things which drives that demand is the hosting of images, many other similar sites do not provide the ability to self-host leading to a reliance upon third party image hosting sites which I've seen some pretty alarming results of. But it was the imagery which became a distinguishing factor from a technical point of view in the earliest days. At that time most activity within the hobby in the UK was on Yahoo groups, Pat's MREmag and BRM's forum which had no such capabilities. It was only personal sites that featured imagery and in the main there was little opportunity for dialogue.

 

Of course the most important component is the membership and their content without which it would be nothing and everyday there's still something useful or surprising with genuine innovation, support for the inquisitive and the means to be abreast of the news. Growth continues all of the time and last month showed via Google's Analytics that it was a record month with over 170,000 unique visitors. I take that figures with a pinch of salt though as I know apart from dynamic IP addresses that readers use multiple devices to access the site from the PC at work, the laptop at home through to tablets and phones on the move so I notionally divide that figure by 3 (although as more tablet users happen I think it may be nearer 3.5) to get a more accurate feel for how many people use the site. You can do the comparative work to look at those figures compared to magazine circulations and it does give an answer to the question of how useful RMweb is within the hobby, particularly in the UK. It's a while since I looked but RMweb was ranked by Alexa as third in the hobby in the world behind Atlas and Kato's website. Yes, that has happened due to the collective activity starting with a wish to have a forum which included pictures.

[Neil]

I'm sure that we've had a similar thread not that long ago, but without the added value of the 'how did you hear of it' part. I'm therefore less surprised than I might have been to find out that it was 2005 when I first signed up, and it would be in November after meeting a couple of friends at The Hull MRS show who suggested that as I had one of those new fangled computers I might like to take a look. Through the forum I've met some brilliant mates, had some spectacular bust ups, spent an awful lot of works time browsing and seen some amazing model making. I miss the 'clubiness' of the early days (I have done for a while - search for ship of fools) but the current size of the forum, the depth of expertise and breadth of knowledge it contains offsets the loss of intimacy.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I came in via the invite on the BRM site - another 15%er thus the rather unmanageable handle as I couldn't recover my 34C tag - but kept on looking in on the BRM site until it eventually closed. Some folk never migrated off it, and when it closed - were, as far as I can tell - gone from online involvement...

 

It's the mix on here that makes it stand out, it's a diverse and populous city rather than a small and specialised 'village'.

[Grafarman]

For me it was a recommendation from a (guest) member of RMweb that I might find the answer on here to a particular modelling query. 

Once on the site I stayed; over three years now, and it seems I'm never off it!

Certainly being a member here has revolutionised my modelling attempts and given me greater confidence to 'try' new things; without it I'd still be assembling trainset-like roundies on the dining-room table with RTP buildings and loo-roll tube tunnels - oh wait, wasn't that last weekend?!

 

 

 

David

[Jock67B]

I found the site when posing a question on loco shed interiors to the Safari search feature on my iPad Air - one of the suggests led me to the subject being discussed on RMWeb and I must say I'm very glad. At first I found the whole site rather daunting (as mentioned before, I am an old f*rt who did his engineering degree using a slide rule! and that is me on right of the name plate in the picture c.1954) but as time goes by I feel that I have found an entertaining and supportive group of people and I now visit several times per day. An example is the kind help offered by 'ian@stennochs' when I posted a query on the 'Railways of Scotland' section in 'Forums'. Here is a consummate modeller - look at some of his scratch built locomotives on my post there to see what I mean - who took the time to assist a late returning novice to the hobby without seeming in the least patronising. Phil Taylor, busy or not took time to promptly explain a query when I finally discovered which part of RMWeb to post on and several members quickly corrected my action and pointed me in the right direction. The general feeling I get, with few exceptions, is that we should enjoy our chosen hobby to the best of our abilities and however you found the site, it is full of people who have most of the answers you might need. I for one am simply delighted to have found it and long may it continue to grow !!!

PS how does Andy Y find time to produce answers so quickly - he must live at his terminal?

Thank you all and Kind regards,

Jock67B.

[bike2steam]

Not so much reset. IIRC the transfer of member details from the previous incarnation failed to complete and we members of the 15% club had to sign up again.

 

 

Likewise, but have had to sign up after 're-incarnations' twice if I remember correct.

A friend recommended I try this forum way back when, I can't remember, but in it's early days.

As I live near Blandford - deep in old S&DJR territory, this was part of my old signature, I had someone specially put it together for me, and others have used it since, but it was 'taken away', and I was no longer able to use it.

[marc smith]

I'm listed as being a member since May 2008
Which sounds about right to me...

I came across RMweb when searching for inspiration and moreover,
some photos, whilst building "Hendre Lane"

The forum kept coming up in my google searches,
and there seemed to be a lot of information, plans & photos,
so I joined, to find out more...

When I joined, I didn't quite know what the forum was all about (I hadn't really used internet forums much at the time)
And hadn't really got a grasp of the usernames etc
I didn't originally plan to use the forum that much
so I just joined using my own name

However, a short while after joining,
I found there were quite a number of modellers who were helpful, friendly, supportive
and who were working on very interesting projects

On befriending so many good folk - I just decided to keep my username,
as I'd got to know quite a number of people.....

I've looked at and joined one or two other forums in the meantime
but nothing comes close to rmweb, IMHO

I don't think we can ever really thank the likes of Andy Y and other admin folk enough
They must work tirelessly, keeping the forum running behind the scenes
I'm sure many don't realise just how much work a forum like this needs

Cheers all

An interesting thread, methinks

Marc

[DIW]

I was searching for information regarding the Metropolitan Railway, and one of the search engine hits was on a thread where the member known as 'Metropolitan' was having 'discussions' with other members regarding the ease or otherwise of creating a kit in white metal and brass. The discussion progeressed into the situation where 'Metropolitan' was inviting folk to contact him in the thread to register interest with regard to commissioning said kit, of a Metropolitan Railway tank engine IIRC.

 

That's when I joined in, although I am unaware of the commission actually happening? I certainly wasn't asked for any money!

 

I'm one of the 15%, so have no idea of when I joined as measured on the normal scale (day, month, year).

[sir douglas]

I heard about it back in the late summer of 2011, i posted an exhibition thread for the wakefield show in november on a railway forum (i cant remember it's name now) and a show "event" on facebook, a friend posted a link of his RMweb exhibition thread on the facebook page, i had a look and decided to sign up, I've now been on here nearly 3 years.

[Graham_Muz]

I've been a signed up member since early 2007 just a couple of months after I first exhibited Fisherton Sarum so a little too late for a full layout build thread.

 

I am not sure if it was the then malachite green Bulleid light pacific logo at the time that attracted me...

 

Apart from missing one of the latter ones, I have either attended, exhibited at or been involved with assisting Andy with the set up, of all the main RMweb events from the first one nr Derby, the fun and games at Chasewater (making up floor plans in my mind on the hoof due to 12" to the foot rolling stock not being where expected),  to all the Taunton SWAG ones, each one has been excellent fun with a great atmosphere.

 

I have made and met many friends on here, and like to think that it has assisted with the wider knowledge transfer of all things Southern and long may it continue.

[Mike Bellamy]

Joined way back in the early days when there were only a couple of hundred members and well remember the trials and tribulations Andy had with various service providers when you never knew from one day to the next if it would still be there or not.

 

My claim to fame in the early days was in helping Andy organise the first Members' Day at Mickleover, Derby on 7th July 2007. There had been plans to have an event at the Middleton Railway (I think) but these fell through and so I sent Andy a message offering our local Community Centre which he came to visit and we took it from there - a very successful day with members travelling from all over the country to meet with others who were already virtual friends - I recall Captain Kernow, Simon and others from Devon, Puds and Sunshine Coast (RIP) from Eastbourne and many many more. There's a photo somewhere with us all named.

 

Still visit two or three times a day but there's just so much now that I have to be a bit selective about what I  waste my time on  read.

 

Mike

 

EDIT - Hi Muz - you mentioned our Members' Day whilst I was typing my contribution . . . there were so many there that I can't remember them all !

[Welly]

I think I joined back in 2006, can't remember exactly when. I think it was being mentioned in ModelRail that got me joining here.

[RedgateModels]

 

 There's a photo somewhere with us all named.

 

 

This one

 

[jwealleans]

I am unaware of the commission actually happening?

It did... I have one.... it isn't built yet.

 

This is where you can obtain one and these are some of John Armstrong's construction pictures. I have seen some of it completed and a nice job he made of it.

 

He's having one of his periodic absences from these pages as far as I can see.