Wikipedia:Peer review/Auto Train (Amtrak)/archive1

Auto Train (Amtrak)

This article was a fac several months ago, but was rejected while we were still working on it (part of WikiProject Trains) before all comments/objections could be addressed. As one of the contributors, I feel it would benefit from WP-PR before resubmission as fac. This article should have broad appeal to WP readers, including young people and families and may offer an educational opening of a reader's interest into other WikiProject Trains articles. From what I can see, with the exception of William N. Page (which is about one of the founders of the Virginian Railway), we have never had a featured article about Trains (yet). All help would be appreciated. Thanks. Vaoverland 01:43, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

Is there a general article about auto trains? These things are hardly limited to the US. If there is, it should be linked; if not, it should be created, even as a stub to resolve the question of what it would be called. Also, I think the intro is too long; I'd just have the first para above the TOC. Paragraphs are a bit short - feels bitty. Too many pictures - remove some; maybe try left-aligning some to disperse among the text. Finally, why is it in the "Defunct railroad companies" category? It's still running isn't it? Rd232 20:06, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Auto Train is an Amtrak service. Auto-Train Corporation, now defunct, originally but the idea into motion. This article should not be in defunct railroad companies category. As far as the principal writers know, it is a unique service in the U.S. and perhaps anywhere else. Amtrak's Auto Train service apparently works economically due to these factors:

• 1. There is a sufficient volume of customers.
• 2. The customers are willing to accept a single departure and a single destination point.
• 3. The customers willing to pay a premium price in order to avoid driving and have the use of their own car at destination.
• 4. The customers do not choose to travel via commercial airliner despite lower costs and travel times offered.

Thanks for the review and tips. Vaoverland 18:09, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)

It's not unique. I have friends who've used such a service in Germany (though now defunct I think); I'm fairly sure it still exists in France. Certainly the Eurostar service (UK-France) has it. Rd232 11:08, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The guaranteed objection it would get at FAC is that it has no references. Print references would be ideal, see what your library has. Reliable online sources that you have used for information could be formatted as a reference as per the guidelines at Wikipedia:Cite sources. 2. I think the lead section is the right length, as they are generally recommended to be 2-3 paragraphs. 3. The flow of the text is generally choppy as there are too many very short paragraphs. Either expand them into full paragraphs on their own or merge them with others. - Taxman 19:51, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)

Actually, auto trains through the Channel Tunnel are run by the tunnel company itself and have special terminals at either end of the tunnel (Eurostar is the name of the passenger trains London/Paris or Brussels, a separate company). There are others like it in Europe, mainly Switzerland, all of which are different (rather more links in motorways) from the long-distance auto trains the article is about. Maybe "car carriers" could have a separate section in the article. There is a useful article to be written here but perhaps Amtrak's Auto Train isn't the right hook to hang it on (as a survivor, it ought to be in there, of course). There are still large numbers of these in Europe (although only one in England) and always have been -- summary listings in the Thomas Cook European Timetable. Are there any in Japan or India, I wonder? (given the state of the latter's roads, I'd have thought there would be a good market for them). Australia & South Africa may also have them. Canada? - LennieStar 20:21, Jan 1, 2005 (UTC)

The name of the article has been changed to more accurately reflect a focus on Amtrak's current Auto Train route and service amd the history preceeding it. I do not know enough about the other similar services on other continents to write a section about them to include in this article. Vaoverland 02:28, Jan 5, 2005 (UTC)