How we research model railway guides

Our source order

1. Original photographs, drawings, timetables, diagrams and records with a known date and archive reference.
2. Museum, heritage body, railway company or public archive catalogues.
3. Specialist books and society publications that identify their evidence.
4. Community posts as leads to verify, not final proof.

What a source can and cannot prove

A photograph can support visible details for the place and date recorded. It may not establish the opposite side, original colour, later condition or an entire fleet. A drawing can support dimensions only if its scale, revision and subject are clear. A model-box description is evidence about the product label, not necessarily the prototype.

Current commercial information

Retailer pages, catalogues and forum posts can change. We do not treat an old page as proof of current price, stock, product specification, delivery or retailer status. Readers should check the manufacturer or retailer directly before buying.

AI use

AI may help organise notes, compare headings or detect inconsistencies. It is not used as the source for a locomotive number, livery date, museum opening time, product release or quotation. A factual statement should trace to a human-published source that readers can inspect.

Corrections and uncertainty

Where evidence conflicts, the guide should say so and narrow the claim. Corrections should identify the changed statement and source rather than silently replacing one confident assertion with another.

Use this method with the prototype research worksheet and scratch-building plan.