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Web Gem Award Program Standards |
The BasicsThe Webmaster or Owner is not required to be a user of TrainNet.org. Any and all railway oriented web sites, personal or corporate, are eligible for consideration to receive the Web Gem Award. See the list of Recipient Sites below or go to our International Railway Links to visit the most recent recipient(s). The Award is made for a specific site, so if the site materially changes its look and feel or the website is moved to a different domain (thus breaking our links to the site) the Webmaster or Owner is responsible for notifying Web Gem Team Chief Becky Morgan.
Our Web Gem Award is proudly listed on Railroad Award Sites.
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Minimum
Criteria
A web site selected to receive a Web Gem
Award must:
1. Be railroad/railway oriented, either
model or prototype.
2. Have an attractive overall appearance.
3. Be reasonably fast loading.
4. Be updated regularly.
5. Be grammatically correct with no misspelled
words.
6. Pass the Validity Check by the W3C Markup Validation Service.
7. Stimulate return visits and visitor feedback.
8. Self-nominated sites must contain a
link to either TrainNet.org or the International Railway Links.
Recommendations & the Decision Making Process
Anyone may recommend a web site (including their own) for a Web Gem Award by sending an email to Web Gem Team Chief Becky Morgan who will present the nomination to the TrainNet.org Staff for evaluation and voting. The recommendation must include the site's title, full URL and the Webmaster's name.
Although all TrainNet.org Staff may participate in the evaluation and voting process, a minimum of three members of the Staff must vote on the merits of the recommended web site. The evaluation period is 10 to 14 days after the nomination is received. Voting is done on a scale of 0 to 10 and sites being evaluated must receive an average vote of 7 to receive an Award. We pledge that we will evaluate all sites nominated for the Award in strict accordance with the minimum criteria and will provide the Webmaster of all nominated sites (successful or unsuccessful) with a detailed evaluation.
The Graphic
The Web Gem Award is a small animated GIF (only 5K at 85 pixels wide by 127 pixels high). It's also available as a non-animated 4K JPG file. The TrainNet.org Webmaster will send an email to Webmasters (or Owners) of recipient sites with the necessary HTML code for displaying the Award (sample version shown at the left) on their site.
The email also includes two alternate options for displaying the Award. The provided HTML code contains a link to the TrainNet.org homepage and those Webmasters who choose the alternate options are asked to include the link.
Advertising of the Recipient Sites
The latest recipients are highlighted on the top page of the International Railway Links and on the TrainNet.org homepage. Recipients who display the Web Gem Award graphic on their site will have:
1. A permanent link in the bottom half of the International Railway Links home page.
2. A link for two years in the top half of the International Railway Links home page.
3. A permanent link on the Web Gem Award Program Standards page (the page you are currently viewing).
4. A link for three years on the TrainNet.org home page.
5. A tempoary announcement in the Lobby of the TrainNet.org message boards.
6. A permanent message in the "General Subjects Forum" on the TrainNet.org message boards.
If a site chooses in the future to no longer display the Web Gem Award graphic the site will be removed from the list on this page and from the top page of the International Railway Links.
Recipient
Sites - in Alphabetical Order
3rd Planit Resourses - user supported info for the track planning software
American Railroad Engines With Pictures and Sound - Pictures and sounds from the steam engines of days gone by.
Association Luxembourgeoise des Amis des Chemins de Fer - French, English, Deutsch
B&O Railroad Photo Tours - Maryland photos (Steve Okonski)
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Network - (Scott Dunlap)
Bluebell Railway Preservation Society - The volunteer-run Bluebell Line was the UK's first preserved standard gauge passenger railway.
Bob's Railroad Photos - Amtrak, CSX and much more
C&PD Today - Railfan guide to the Norfolk Southern Port Road Branch, includes videos, pics and audio clips; maintained by Derrick Lapp (USA).
Cambridge Custom Transfers - UK model rail van and wagon transfers (decals) - stock & custom
Canadian Alco/MLW Page - A pictorial retrospective of ALCo, MLW and BBD diesel locomotives in Canada.
Central California Rails - Centered around Stockton, California (USA), 80 miles east of San Francisco and 35 miles south of Sacramento.
Coxter.co.uk - British rail photos & simulation info (Damon Cox)
Dave's Electric Railroads - trolleys, electric railways
Dave's Trains, Inc. - postwar Lionel trains with service & repair
Denver and Rio Grande Western - Jim Griffin's unofficial site
Don's Depot - rail photo collection
Electric Lines in Southern Ontario - Has links to many WWW trolley and museum sites
Epping and Ongar Railway History - Essex UK preserved railway (unofficial)
Fallen Flag Railroads of New Jersey - maps, rules, timetables
Foxbury & Kingham Branches - Cheltenham to Kingham Branch plus modelling, panniers - UK (Bob Brown)
GWR Modelling Site - UK's Great Western
Garden State Model Railway Club - New Jersey HO club / layout (Robert Savino)
Geared Steam Locomotive Works - North American locos
Geoff Cryer's Railway Pages - UK photos, drawings & movies
Greek Train Models - HO scale train models based on Greek railway prototypes.
Greg's Train Page - Based in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.
HOseeker - library and gallery of HO trains info
Hawaiian Railway - Educational, non-profit organization formed in 1970 to save what remained of Hawaii's railroad history.
Hornby Railways Collectors Guide - unofficial 1970-1988 catalog (Andrew Menner)
Houghton's RailImages - (Ken Houghton) Railroad photos, rosters and clipart
Independent Hi-Railers Eastern Division - New Jersey based O-scale modular club
Internet Trains, Inc. - Full service model railway store operating from Brea, California, USA.
John Fryar's Nickel Plate Road - A Tribute to the New York, Chicago, & St. Louis Railroad Company.
John's Alaska Railroad Web Page - photos, rosters, modeling
John's Swiss Railway Site - N-scale Swiss layout & photos including prototype (John Whitby)
Johnson's Depot - Johnson City Tennessee railway history
Kavanagh Transit Photos - Transit and Railroad photos
Kent & East Sussex Railway Operating Department - crew info - signal box simulator
Langley Miniature Models - UK mfgr of structures, detail parts, fairground items, people, etc.
Large Scale Trains - (George Schreyer) Garden Railway info & pictures
Laurell Trains - Model hobby site of Henrik Laurell in Sweden
Light Rail Transit Association - World-wide information & links
Little Orchard Railway - A 7¼ inch gauge miniature railway, deep in the Suffolk countryside, in the UK.
London and North Western Railway Society - UK
MDRails - Mid-Atlantic region (US) railroad photographs
Micro Layouts for Model Railroads - (Carl Arendt)
Miniature & Narrow Gauge Railways in Britain - (Marc Humphreys)
Mixed Traffic Net - British railway modelling & history (Australia)
Model Railroading by Bill Parisi - Island Valley Railroad - O-scale hi-rail
Model Railroading with DCC - hints, tips, installs, how to's, etc
Model Railroading with the Weathering Doctor - tips, photos, links
Mt Lyell Mining and Railway Co - Abt System - Tasmania, Australia
Narrow Gauge Circle - Based on an early day travel package offered by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.
Nashua City Station - Boston & Maine Railroad (Matt Cosgro)
Network Southeast - UK train operating company
Ol' Hook & Eye - history of the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad in Pennsylvania
Old Alabama Rails - Montgomery restoration project
On30 Modeler - Narrow gauge in O scale
Oyster Bay Railroad Museum - To preserve and communicate the historical experience of Long Island's (USA) rail transportation history.
Pacific Northwest Division, Toy Train Operating Society - photos, Links
Pieter's NS Quest - Netherlands model railway in Canada (Dutch, English)
QStation - ATSF, BN, & BNSF resources
R.P.N. Publishing - The School Car (book)
Rail Innovations - Canadian videos
Rail World Photography - Europe train pictures
RailServe: The Internet Railroad Directory - Providing rail information services to individuals, organizations, and businesses worldwide.
Railfan USA - Central Pennsylvania
Railroad Crossings - BNSF & UP photos (Brett Wirick)
Railroad Paint Shop - Loco & rolling stock drawings for download
Railwayana Collectors' Network UK - Mailing list signup
Ravenstone Model Railways - UK Model dealer new & used OO-gauge (Len Smith)
Robert Bryan's Photo Gallery - railroad photos - Maryland & Pennsylvania
Robert's Lionel Train Layout - Collector & operator of Lionel Trains (Robert Powell)
Royal Hudson 2860 - Unofficial Homepage of the Royal Hudson, based in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.
Save Grasselli Tower - Help save Grasselli Tower in East Chicago - a preservation effort of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana (USA).
Schedule Board - Model & railfan events in Southeastern Wisconsin
Seashore Trolley Museum - Oldest and largest electric railway museum in the world.
Shaun's Model Railway Project - N-scale layout
South Jersey S Gaugers - Delaware Valley club
Southerner - Maintained by B. Kimble
Sperry Rail Service (unofficial) - Modeling and prototype information about the Sperry Rail Service.
Steam Locomotive Information - Accumulating a massive body of knowledge about the steam locomotives of the world.
Stockholms Modelljdrnvdgsklubb - Oldest club in Scandinavia, also owns one of the largest model railway layouts in Sweden; layout is built in HO Scale with two-rail traction; Stockholm, Sweden (Svenska, English).
Sulka.de Eisenbahn - Covering eisenbahn - chemin de fer - railways in Deutschland, Frankreich, Marokko, Polen, Portugal & Wales.
Surviving Steam Locomotives Photo Archive - State-by-state listings & photos
Tasmanian Railways - Australian Railway Historical Society (Tasmanian Division) site dedicated to all aspects of the railways in Tasmania, Australia.
Teetering-By-The-Well - 7 mm UK model layout
Tourist Trains Worldwide
TraiN'ternet - N scale modelling (French/English)
Trainman's Train Page - Australia Railway Info/ Photos
TrainPixs Network - Information, tips, hints, etc. about all aspects of the railfan hobby.
Trainspotting in Wales - (Erik Gray Ledbette)
Transit Toronto - subways, streetcars.
Trolley Museum of New York - Kingston, New York, based non-profit educational museum founded in 1955 (USA).
UTU Locals 1778 and 1923 - BC Rail
Ultimate Steam Page - Maintained by Hugh Odom
Valley N-Trak of Connecticut - Model railroad club
Vancouver TraiNgang - N-track modular railroad club - Canada
Web Lurker's DOME.main - history of all 236 dome cars built in North America
Western New York Railway Historical Society - Founded in 1980 to ensure that what remains of our Railway Heritage is preserved for present and future generations. Based in Buffalo, New York (USA).
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