Rail-Gen Support Page

April 2001

All correspondence to: rail_gen@yahoo.com

 

1. Introduction - Please Read

Rail-Gen is an email mailing list for distribution of REAL TIME gen on RARE and NEWSWORTHY workings in the UK. Once a posting has been made by a subscriber, all other subscribers receive this, almost immediately.

Rail-Gen is intended to handle RARE and NEWSWORTHY workings, so long as it's something that is known-of in advance, or is currently happening. If it's RARE, please ensure it is posted to Rail-Gen, even if also posted elsewhere. This will be appreciated by the large number of Rail-Gen subscribers who rely on Rail-Gen being the no.1 UK-wide mechanism for news of such workings.

When posting, please help everyone by using short, meaningful subject lines. This will especially help those who receive Rail-Gen on mobile phones via email alerts or WAP. For example:

"37042 rescues 1V35" or "2 x 56s on Kingsbury Oil"

 

2. Rules & Guidelines

There are a number of simple rules to follow when posting to Rail-Gen. These are in place to ensure that postings to Rail-Gen do not stray from the list's purpose. Repeated disregard for these will result in your ability to post being suspended, so, for everyone's sake, please take a minute to understand these.

Postings SHOULD be about...

1. RARE and NEWSWORTHY workings in the UK (loco-hauled, multiple units, passenger and freight).
2. Something that is known-of in advance, or is currently happening.

Postings SHOULD NOT be about...

1. Preserved railways.
2. Foreign railways.
3. Question or discussions.
4. 'Spotting reports'.
5. Voicing opinions about other's postings.

It is impossible to be absolutely black and white about the rules, and it is understood that there will be borderline cases. As a general rule of thumb in these cases, such postings may be made provided that you believe the information is of an unusual/interesting nature, and will be of great interest to others - but it must refer to a SPECIFIC WORKING.

Further Guidelines

Please ensure that you post short, concise, timely messages. In addition to the above, bad behaviour will not be tolerated. Any subscriber who chooses to post intentional abuse, offensive language etc will be unsubscribed immediately.

 

3. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
To subscribe to Rail-Gen:

Send a blank email to: rail-gen-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

New subscribers please note: ALL web-based/non-ISP addresses (eg Yahoo, Hotmail) will be UNABLE to post to the list when they are subscribed, for security reasons. This may be allowed at the administrator's discretion.

To unsubscribe from Rail-Gen:

Send a blank email to: rail-gen-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you are having difficulty with a subscription, or require help, please email Rail-Gen Admin at: rail_gen@yahoo.com.

 

4. Posting to Rail-Gen
Once your email address has been initially subscribed, simply send postings to rail-gen@yahoogroups.com. Please note that this address must be used for posting gen only, and only email addresses which are subscribed to Rail-Gen are able to post.

 

5. Mobile Phones

For the latest detailed information on using mobile phones for Rail-Gen, we recommend you visit the Mobile Rail Gen Reference Site at www.mobile-gen.fsnet.co.uk.

Receiving Rail-Gen on a Phone

Unfortunately, there are currently no reliable ways of receiving Rail-Gen as text messages on mobile phones free of charge across all networks.

Posting Rail-Gen from a Phone

This is possible by using either of the following gateways. You must, however, initially set a subscribed address against your phone number with the gateway. This is so that your posting can be seen to have originated from a subscribed email address - see below:

Andrews & Arnold

www.andrews-arnold.co.uk/faxtext/

To initially set your subscribed address against your phone number, send EMAIL email address as a text message to 07973577510.

To post to Rail-Gen, send rail-gen@yahoogroups.com Actual message as a text message to 07973577510.

Connectotel

www.connectotel.com/sms/ctsmsem.html

To initially set your subscribed address against your phone number, use the website above. When registering, it is suggested that you leave the name field blank; just complete the email address field.

To post to Rail-Gen, send rail-gen@yahoogroups.com Actual message as a text message to 07747782320. Please do not use commas within the actual message, as this can cause problems with the formatting of the message.

Excell

www.excell.to

To initially set your subscribed address against your phone number, use the website above.

To post to Rail-Gen, send EMA rail-gen@yahoogroups.com Actual message as a text message to +393334774753. Please do not use full stops within the actual message, as this can cause problems with the formatting of the message!

Please do not send any test messages to Rail-Gen - use your own email address to test these gateways. Also, please note that it is not possible to post to Rail-Gen via the Evolving Office gateway. Sorry.

 

6. To Contact Rail-Gen Admin
If you have any further questions, subscription requests or constructive comments, please email rail_gen@yahoo.com. Please DO NOT use the YahooGroups/eGroups address for anything other than posting gen.

Please be patient if you do not receive an immediate reply. Rail-Gen is managed by volunteers in their own time for the benefit of all, and at times it will not be possible to respond as quickly as you would like.

Many thanks for your understanding and support. Enjoy Rail-Gen!

 

Rail-Gen Moderators