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Happy editing! SuperMarioOdyssy101 (talk) 22:10, 22 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

August 2024

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  Hello, I'm Redrose64. I noticed that you added or changed content in an article, Isle of Wight Steam Railway, but you didn't provide a reliable source. It's been removed and archived in the page history for now, but if you'd like to include a citation and re-add it, please do so. You can have a look at referencing for beginners. If you think I made a mistake, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 15:52, 23 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

Thank you for reaching out to a newbie to Wikipedia - it seems I have not managed to follow some protocol ......
I did indeed study the editing/referencing info more than twice but was unable grasp it fully. I used visual editing on the initial text, and source editing on the table - which would only allow me to change the incorrect mileage if "convert" was removed too (NOT an intentional deletion!)
I have of course included a citation (which can be clearly read in the editing 'View history'); maybe some special method of uploading to Wikipedia is needed? I included it in the explanation box and submitted it, believing this was the process. Please read the very precise details of Miles & Chains which I have quoted from the Quail maps - if you don't know, this is the rail industry source document (used by contractors and Network Rail alike!) so is more than just 'reliable'.
I expect to be able to trust Wikipedia so please will you now help me correct the blatant factual inaccuracy where a sub-5 mile railway is described as 5.5? Thanks in advance. Ryderailer (talk) 13:58, 2 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
We don't put references in the edit summary. They need to be in the article itself, above I supplied a link to several help pages including Help:Referencing for beginners.
The convert template (see Template:Convert) is a commonly-used method for showing equivalent measurements without resorting to off-wiki calculations (which might go against WP:NOR). Source editor (SE) shouldn't prevent you from using it - SE is much less restrictive than visual editor (VE). I avoid using VE as I find that it's more difficult to get the desired end result.
As for Quail, it shows mileages for both buffer stops and platforms at both Smallbrook Junction and Wootton, and we can plug the figures into {{convert}} as follows:
  • Smallbrook Junction buffer stop (2.09): {{convert|2|mi|9|chain|km}} → 2 miles 9 chains (3.4 km)
  • Wootton buffer stop (6.75): {{convert|6|mi|75|chain|km}} → 6 miles 75 chains (11.2 km)
These can be sourced as: <ref>{{cite book |last1=Padgett |first1=David |last2=Kelman |first2=Leanne |editor-last=Munsey |editor-first=Myles |title=Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL |edition=4th |date=November 2019 |orig-year=1994 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-1-9996271-2-6 |at=map 20A }}</ref>
Now, Quail doesn't actually give the length of the line; if we carry out an off-wiki calculation, we get this length: {{convert|4|mi|66|chain|km}} → 4 miles 66 chains (7.8 km)
This is somewhat less than five miles. But passengers don't travel from buffer stop to buffer stop, they travel from station to station. Quail has these figures too:
  • Smallbrook Junction platform (2.17): {{convert|2|mi|17|chain|km}} → 2 miles 17 chains (3.6 km)
  • Wootton platform (6.11): {{convert|6|mi|11|chain|km}} → 6 miles 11 chains (9.9 km)
which gives us a length of {{convert|3|mi|74|chain|km}} → 3 miles 74 chains (6.3 km)
A lot less than five miles - in fact it's six chains under four miles. But which is the actual line length? What we need is a source that provides that figure explicitly. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 19:56, 2 September 2024 (UTC)Reply