12.5 NMRA Data Sheets

In 1987, the National Model Railroad Association published a 3-ring binder called the NMRA Data Sheets. It was an attempt to update the Standards and Recommendation Practices established by the Association,  standardize the data sheet formats and complete information incomplete or missing.

In addition to the standard and recommended practices sections, the binder had 2 inches of data sheets that covered the gamut of prototype and modeling areas of interest in the late 1940s through the early 1960s. Those subjects included everything from adhesives to bridge construction, scenery techniques, electrical fundamentals and basic wiring, locomotive and rolling stock types, to mention just a few data sheet topics. Do you want to know how a transister works, or what a thyristor is? There was a data sheet on the subject - D7c.43a2! 

Fortunately the model railroad and railroad modeling publications of the time expanded the knowledge base, vendors offered product and services that changed the 'build from scratch' to 'purchase' requirements of the hobby, and at some point the NMRA narrowed their publication focus to Standards and Recommendation Practices. The advent of the internet as a reference system also made this binder irrelevant.  

I found the binder fascinating, so fascinating in fact that the WWSL blog reference pages format was conceived as a method for me to collect prototype and modeling information necessary for my successful construction of the WWSL. 

I am not sure how successful that effort of melding railroad prototype practice to railroad modeling. will be but I hope a bit of theory and practice will make my efforts worthwhile to the WWSL and perhaps to your efforts as well.