User talk:Pi.1415926535/Archive 3

This is an archive of past discussion threads on User talk:Pi.1415926535, from October 2012 (the end of Archive 2) to August 2013. Please don't modify it. If you wish to revive a discussion, please start a new section on my main talk page and link to the discussion here.

Commons

Hi. You left me a message about adding images to Commons istead of simply EN WP. It make perfect sense. I just wasn't sure what to do when it prompted me for a login on Commons. I'll look into Unified Login. Very Best. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 04:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your good work and kind comments on my talk page about moving the MBTA related images I added up to Commons. I haven't had a moment to fully look into the Unified Login, I apologize. I will do so in near future. Thanks also for your comments about the plaque in South Station. I too had passed it a million times and always wanted to record it. Finally, actually during the Thanksgiving holiday, did take the photo, although with my phone camera, it's a little crooked. ;) Best Wishes and many thanks. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 03:19, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your information on my talk page. I didn't realize there were that many plaques. I wonder if anyone has a comprehensive catalog of such? Best Wishes. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 18:07, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Actually I haven't heard of such a formal catalog in Boston. Maybe there are some local railfans who would know. Ah, old style tile signs. I think someone published a book in NYC a long time ago with photos and captions of the NYC tiles. Or many of them. Best wishes. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 20:32, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Still apologize for not doing the unified login yet. So thanks for moving the images into Commons for me. Bests. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 07:18, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind reply. I'll look into it soon. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 15:24, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

"Login unification complete!". --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 16:20, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

On another note, did you ever see, at the extreme south end of the Chinatown station Orange Line heading to Forest Hills, there seems to be an abandoned exit. Maybe it was for some exit further south on Washington Street or Kneeland Street? Just a thought. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 15:24, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

See this: http://forgotten-boston.com/MBTA/hiddenentrances/hidden.MBTA.html --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 17:59, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks very much for your help and suggestions. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 04:40, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

- - - -

Very good work on the MBTA plaques. I'll see if I can drum up some more. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 05:05, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

Green Line D Line ghost stop?

Thanks for that comment! I've pondered this endlessly, and cannot come up with any reasonable explanation. In the 1980's I took the Green Line D daily, and the commuter rail never. So unless Yawkey station used to serve the D Line, this is not the answer. I clearly remember the game-day packed-like-sardines experience on the D Line. But I also thought there was some special ghost-stop on the D Line somewhere around there, that was usually skipped... Maybe my memory is just defective? Is there any online video or google-street-view version of the D line corridor available?-96.237.4.73 (talk) 18:50, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

(See my response here.) Pi.1415926535 (talk) 00:21, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

Cape Cod service

Didn't know if you'd seen this yet; I've stubbed it: CapeFLYER. Mackensen (talk) 00:05, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

I noticed it since I have Template:MBTA watchlisted. I've got a few days of less insanity coming up, so I'm hoping to fill out the article. Contradictory news stories make it difficult, though. Cheers, Pi.1415926535 (talk) 00:08, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

Re NJT ridership numbers

Well, I'm not particularly interested in updating them, but it actually sounds like a great bot task or some sort of semi-automated task. I don't have AWB or any such thing, so I'd have to do it manually. I don't have time for that, sadly. Check in at WP:NYCT if anyone wants to handle it. oknazevad (talk) 01:45, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

Amtrak System Map

Hi, The Amtrak system map you worked on (thanks for that, by the way!) is a bit out of date now with the new Amtrak services to Norfolk and Brunswick, Maine. I'd like to see it updated, and I'm willing to do the work myself if you're busy, as long as you can point me in the right direction with regards to how to do it. Thanks! yoman82 (talk) 07:01, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, that's on my to-do list. I've got a bit of a backlog at the moment, but it's #2 in my maps queue. Thanks for reminding me!

If you're interested in making maps yourself, get a copy of Inkscape (a very good free, open-source vector graphics editor) if you don't happen to own Illustrator. It's easiest to start with making one of your own; starting with a complex map like the Amtrak map is difficult for someone like me who's spent waaaay too many hours on Inkcape. If you do want to learn, I can give you more advice later. Cheers, Pi.1415926535 (talk) 14:47, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

BPL exhibit until January 19, 2013 about the Orange Line

I visited this exhibit at the Boston Public Library, Copley Central branch, An Elevated View: The Orange Line, October 19, 2012 – January 19, 2013. It was nuanced but kind of interesting. Most of the photos were part of a photo project in 1986 or so. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 05:27, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

Quick note

Afraid I'm not seeing your email, so could you send it again? — Hex (❝?!❞) 08:35, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

Category:Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rail succession templates

You've done a lot of edits on MBTA-related articles. For a while I've actually considered splitting the Category:Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rail succession templates between commuter rail and rapid transit categories. How do you feel about that? ---------User:DanTD (talk) 14:34, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

That seems like a totally reasonable split. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 18:37, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Hyannis

Just a heads up, but there are actually two stations in Hyannis. One is the Transportation Center, which is equipped for handicapped service, while the other is the regular station. I am going to assume that the CapeFLYER service will be going to the former, since it was built for that express purpose, but I just wanted to let you know just in case there was any confusion. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 05:59, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

I know this is a cross-wiki post, but I think that all of the stops may be included before Middleboro, as cited by the Boston Globe here. I know it's a tad bold, but it would make sense since it would add up to the proper time and allow for others to board who aren't in Boston. I definitely want to be on the safe side here, but I just figured you might be interested in that. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 06:13, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Good catch on the location. It's double tricky since the platforms are, apparently, more or less shared.

If anything, the two-hour run time on the official page would lead me to expect an express. Current normal run time is an hour and two minutes on a full local; some folks on a railfan forum were reporting a test express made it in 46. The track south of Middleborough is good condition but mostly slow; a run time anywhere near two hours would mean expressing on the existing line. In any case, the conflicting media reports mean I'm comfortable waiting till we start seeing more verifiable word. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 06:20, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

I see you've been bold in terms of station placements, so would you be willing to update the map? I would do it myself, but I have zero map skills. Also, are you still interested in Did you know for that article? Kevin Rutherford (talk) 02:21, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

I have Inkscape already up. The boldness is based on FFM784 digging up an official saying that at least some trains will make local stops, which provides along with that Globe article some degree of confidence despite the otherwise varying media accounts. I am still interested in the DYK; I'll probably get to that tonight. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 02:26, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

That works, but are you planning on using the green for every map imaginable? I have no idea how I have survived my entire life on the Cape and not been sickened by that color. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 02:41, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

I'll probably keep the purple for the SVG map; it's brighter and more recognizable. If the CapeFLYER ends up taking MBTA CR colors I'll change the infobox templates. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 02:43, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad

Saw your comment about the Cape Cod & Hyannis. I collected some references at User:Mackensen/Stash#Cape_Cod_and_Hyannis_Railroad back when I was researching the service they ran to the Cape back in the 1980s (which ended in controversy, of course). Still haven't got around to the article but you might find these useful. Mackensen (talk) 21:36, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, thanks a ton! I just put my name on the waiting list for a Highbeam account. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 23:53, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

DYK for Newton Corner (MBTA station)

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 08:03, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Arts on the Line

hi, love your work, however, i would encourage you to upload it to flickr, where it will be safe from deletion. i have blogified the "arts on the line photos" here [1]. i will be discussing a public art fork this week. Farmbrough's revenge⇔ †@1₭ 15:37, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, but no thanks. Flickr is utterly terrible for fair use images; there's no provision to separate the author's copyright from whatever license I put my own work under. I use it for hosting private works, or my personal works not relevant to Commons, only. Right now you have no fair-use justifications - no attribution, etc - which makes your personal page a copyright violation of itself. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 20:54, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

Edit-a-thon

Hi -- glad to know you will definitely be there on Saturday! We have a number of people signing up on the Meetup.com page, in email, etc. so it will be great to have another experienced editor in attendance. -Pete (talk) 16:25, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Excellent! Any other experienced editors besides us, or mostly newbies? Pi.1415926535 (talk) 18:23, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

There should be a handful. Right now we have about 15 people signed up on Meetup and Facebook, not sure how many will actually come. I'm still getting some invitations out. I'm aware of 2 other experienced editors, but don't know much about the others, so there may be some surprises in there! -Pete (talk) 07:05, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

JFK/UMASS article

Thanks for your help on the JFK/UMass (MBTA station) article. I finally took a photo of that "DeVaughn Flyover" plaque. Best wishes. --- (Bob) Wikiklrsc (talk) 18:16, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

Ugh

Well, this is something that they just posted on their Facebook page, so I wonder what is up there. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 14:26, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

At this point I'm comfortable waiting till I have a paper timetable in my hand. Not looking very much like summer today, though. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 18:37, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

It's official. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 22:32, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

And that doesn't make it any clearer, unfortunately. Comments on the Facebook page and railfan forums indicate that at least the Friday outbound is a normal all-stops local (normally skipping JFK/UMass and Braintree) with the train extended to Hyannis. I don't know what to put on the map and the various station pages - I've never seen one train run two overlapping services before. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 22:46, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

Big renaming error I can't fix

I recently decided to say the hell with it, and give Durham–UNH (Amtrak station) the name it deserves. Unfortunately, I forgot to take out the extra "station" in the name, and now I can't get rid of it. I also know you've tried to undo the vandalism of User:JHunterJ in the past, so is there any way you can fix things? ---------User:DanTD (talk) 15:09, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't know what I can do. I'm not an admin (they are). It's not worth taking to ANI or anything like that; perhaps the talk page for WP Trains or asking an admin who's dealt with train stuff before and understands the naming convention. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 15:35, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Looks like he brought it back, using WP:PRECISION as his argument once again. We can always use that to try to argue that it's specifically an Amtrak station(nothing to indicate MBTA wants to go there) and go back to the name it should have, but I doubt he'll listen. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 18:00, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Honestly, I wouldn't pick the fight. If he starts doing it to any other articles then it should be stopped, but I'm not going to get into a fight about one article. If you do, though, then I'll add a word in support of the adopted convention. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 23:04, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Foxboro/North Scituate MBTA

I'm surprised I got out of the Foxboro MBTA station without a flat tire, there was so much broken glass. And it's amazing how many names it goes by. Foxboro on the MBTA site, Foxboro Stadium on the sign at the station, and Gillette Stadium on google! Anyway, I got some new pictures of North Scituate MBTA station if they're useful. Faolin42 (talk) 13:44, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the great pictures of both! There's a couple stations that go by various combinations; Route 128 and Dedham Corporate Center are also serial offenders. I think Dedham, like Foxboro, has multiple names even on the station signs. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 05:24, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Providence Station HABS

Is this link for the correct building? The image-captions file says they're from 1982-1983 but Providence Station opened in 1986, and the building doesn't look anything like the pictures. Maybe it's the now-repurposed Union Station (Providence) complex. DMacks (talk) 02:04, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

You're entirely right; I've now fixed it. I got confused because Providence Union Station formerly (until I just corrected it) redirected to the modern station, which is generally not considered a union station. Cheers, Pi.1415926535 (talk) 03:32, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Downtown Crossing (MBTA station) article

You removed, without discussion, my photo of the gate on Temple Place to the head end of the Orange Line Forest Hills station in the Downtown Crossing (MBTA station) article. Creating a gallery where it is hard to fit things in in an article is precedented. You left the image I added as an orphan which wasn't my intention in taking the photo for Wikipedia. I've put in back in the article in another section. There is a place for a gallery, to boot. --- Wikiklrsc (talk) 03:51, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry if the removal came off as rude; given my too-terse edit summary I definitely understand if it came across that way. I've moved your image to Commons (where all free-use images should be anyway), so that's not an issue either way.

The location you moved it to is much better than in a separate gallery. I didn't feel it was worthwhile to add an entire gallery for just one picture, and until I go through the old Transit Commission reports to grab high-quality images from when they were building the station, there probably won't be enough good images for a gallery. (Like most of the underground Red Line stations, DTX has preposterously terrible lighting.)

Use of galleries is overall being somewhat depreciated; as articles are improved and generally lengthened, there is much more room for inline images. See WP:IG; "A gallery is not a tool to shoehorn images into an article". If there are more images than there is prose in an article, that's usually a sign that some images can be trimmed until the article is lengthened. The goal should be articles like Haymarket where (depending on what browser is used) the images roughly match the prose, rather than Park Street where the gallery is awkwardly separate from the prose. Galleries are probably best reserved for articles like Littleton/Route 495, where the horizontal arrangement is useful for showing a series of related images. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 04:42, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for your explanations and reply. --- Wikiklrsc (talk) 05:57, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

CapeFLYER stations

Should we be slapping "(MBTA station)" on the ends of these ones, or do you want to keep them as they are? I'm wondering if we should be even going so far back as to categorize the stations in Wareham, Sandwich, and West Barnstable as Amtrak ones, since they were last used in that capacity for such a task. Let me know what you think, as I wanted to get your opinion before I did anything. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 05:33, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

At this point, I'm leaving them be; the status is very much in flux. I currently have Buzzards Bay and Hyannis Transportation Center with the MBTA infobox headers, but I'm not sure on that. The CapeFLYER is explicitly not an MBTA service - note that the MBTA does not add it to their maps, but instead redirects to the separate page - so until and until the MBTA starts running service under their own name I'll hold judgement on those. (Depending on who you believe, we could see some rush-hour Middleborough service extended as early as next year, or not till the end of the decade). For commuter service Wareham might also get a park-and-ride dumped in the industrial area behind the Wareham Crossing mall (not in the 2007 study) or at County Road (in the study) which would complicate naming.

Tagging specifically as (former) Amtrak seems counterintuitive when there are current services using them; there's also the potential problem of Hyannis. The Cape Codder used Hyannis Train Station, but should it return (no longer out of the question, given that the recent expansion of SLE service to New London means that Connecticut River bridge slots are no longer unattainable) it would certainly use the intercity-designated Hyannis Transportation Center.

So I'm going to go ahead and take advantage of the fact that redirects are cheap. Former Amtrak stations get Amtrak redirects, CapeFLYER stations get MBTA and CCRTA redirects, Cape Cod Central stations get CCCR redirects, and stations that were around in 1968 get NYNH&H redirects for posterity. (That'll also allow adding s-line templates to everything without pesky redlinks). I'd recommend keeping the parenthetical postfixes off for the time being, but should you decide to add them to any of the stations, I believe you're able to move over redirects. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 13:40, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

CCRTA redirects will only be for South Station, Braintree, Middleborough, and the three southern stops; I'm debating whether to have the CapeFLYER s-line under MBTA or CCRTA, but for now I'll just keep it as MBTA to avoid the work of creating new s-lines. I'll remove the CapeFLYER templates from the other commuter stops since they're not considered CapeFLYER stops by the CCRTA.

Oh, and I'll go ahead and add CC&HR redirects for the Cape Cod & Hyannis, too. Might take me a little while to get all the s-line templates up and running but they should look quite nice when they're done. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 16:16, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Crap. Amtrak appears to have used a site at Oak Street in Taunton. I'll need to start a short article to not have a redlink. Stand by to stand by. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 17:08, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Maine

Maine is no longer part of the Union. :) Damotclese (talk) 16:00, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Aw, but I liked Maine! And I haven't even gotten to ride the Downeaster yet. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 16:37, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

2nd Annual Wikimedia New England General Meeting

You are invited to the 2nd Annual Wikimedia New England General Meeting, on 20 July 2013 in Boston! We will be talking about the future of the chapter, including GLAM, Wiki Loves Monuments, and where we want to take our chapter in the future! EdwardsBot (talk) 09:34, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Hey, you're famous

Can I get your autograph now? Also, feel free to bug them and ask that they correctly license you and link to the image. See you Saturday! Kevin Rutherford (talk) 16:18, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Graphics help needed

Your help is needed with some simple line graphics for the Rapid transit article. See the "Network topology diagrams needed" section of Talk:Rapid transit for details. Anticipating your assistance, Reify-tech (talk) 15:48, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

I'm in the land of bad wifi for a couple days, but I'll be glad to help when I get back. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 00:04, 27 July 2013 (UTC)

Template:Talkheader

A friendly suggestion to add the {{talkheader}} template to the top of the Talk page, whenever you notice that it is missing. I don't know why it isn't automatically included on every Talk page, but it includes some boilerplate new editors should know (notably, to add new sections at the end). It's not worth going to every single Talk page to fix this, but I add it whenever I see a Talk page that lacks it. Just something to add in while you're making a sweep through a number of articles. Cheers! Reify-tech (talk) 18:12, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I noticed you adding it. I'll start putting it on whenever I edit a talk page. Right now I'm adding Bluebook ridership and stub sorting, but I'll add it when I clear the old templates from talk pages. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 18:16, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

Your input requested

I've opened what I suppose amounts to a centralized discussion at Template talk:Amtrak Cascades over the addition of rivers and other elements to Amtrak route templates. You'd raised concerns about the additions to {{Amtrak Acela}} previously. Best, Mackensen (talk) 22:20, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

I've replied there. For Amtrak routes - where in every case the line is separate from the service - it should be pretty clear-cut. Thanks for letting me know; I have the article watchlisted but not the template. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 22:42, 10 August 2013 (UTC)