Rail conversion - the indisputable facts by E.A. Gibbins, C.M.I.L.T.

A site aimed at bringing a sense of reality to those obsessed with converting railways to roads who cannot see the wood for the trees.

& rebutting their claims with fact & figure.

A series of problems has occurred with this web site, some of which are inexplicable.

1. In the initial stages, the files/pages for the site were drawn up on MS Word & then converted to HTML. This appeared to be OK. However, the PC version included photos within the text, when this was uploaded to the Internet; the photos appeared as blank rectangles. The only solution was to use PowerPoint for the photos & for a link to be provided from text page to photo & back again. This was clumsy, but appeared to serve the purpose. However, complaints were received and continue that the photos could not be accessed by all browsers. Discussion with a PC retail expert revealed that systems not exactly compatible with the source – including that used by the retailer - could not access them. The solution is to install a new programme designed to create websites, which the retailer warned would take “six months” to create. This solution was deferred.
2. Another problem arose – which did not occur with a second website using the same language – in which the hyperlinks became mixed, incorrectly directing a user to the wrong page and making it unreadable. This necessitated re-writing the pages on the PC in a way that was excruciatingly slow.
3. This web site then became limited to a maximum capacity by the provider, and this caused problems with the photos which were prolific consumers of capacity. This may only occur because PowerPoint is used. But that is not clear.
4. The limit – which was easy to inadvertently breach – led to text being left out, and sentences even becoming incomplete, and therefore unreadable. Text that was OK on the PC became unsatisfactory on the web.
5. The most recent complaint is that the home page indicates the number of people accessing the site & includes an invitation to open a message. How this crept in is a mystery. No counter was ever installed by me on this site because they seemed to present unacceptable conditions.
6. There may be a virus. There is no technical help available from the provider as the site is free. Hence, problems remained unsolved.
7. It is, therefore, planned to incorporate the information from this site into another site which will use the new website maker programme which has been acquired. The existing text will have to be subject to a rigorous anti-virus check to ensure it is reliable before transferring to the new site.
8. My other site (www.transportmyths.co.uk) will be tested with the new programme. This site has become unwieldy and needs editing before adopting the new programme. Thereafter, it may become the home of the information hitherto on this site. Alternatively, if the new programme is effective and the other site is too big, it may prove easier to re-create this railconversion site using the new programme. Time will tell.
9. As soon as possible, an announcement will be made on this page. Meanwhile, please refer to my book “Railway conversion – the impractical dream” copies of which are available in libraries and some booksellers may still have copies.