A Quiz

1. You've been interested in railways for:
   1. A year
   2. A decade
   3. Half a century
   4. You remember when the Great Western used broad gauge!
2. When going to the footy (other states please make the necessary adjustments) you cheer for:
   1. The players
   2. The ball
   3. The umpires
   4. The train you came on
3. Your speech might naturally contain words like:
   1. A ride on Puffing Billy
   2. An ARHS Special for the last train to Beech's Forest
   3. The speed given by 73 inch driving wheels
   4. Going home "pass" after working an Up Long Island freight
4. Have you ever:
   1. Watched a movie with a train in it
   2. Waved to a passing train
   3. Rode the footplate
   4. Driven a major express engine
5. Your bookshelf contains a copy of:
   1. Thomas the Tank Engine
   2. Newsrail or Railway Digest magazines - at least five years worth
   3. The Electric Railways of Victoria
   4. All of the above
6. You can tell apart:
   1. The full consist of the Southern Aurora circa 1960s from Thomas the Tank Engine
   2. Heavy Harry from No 3 Steam Crane
   3. A VR S-class diesel from a South Australian 930-class
   4. VR's streamlined S302 from TGR's streamlined R-4
7. You spend your free time:
   1. Reading railway-related novels
   2. Playing with model trains
   3. Entering technical details into a database of railway equipment
   4. Behind a welding mask playing trains at 1:1 scale
8. Your greatest dilemma is:
   1. Whether to buy a model train or the latest rock CD
   2. A model of a GM streamliner or J559
   3. HO scale or N
   4. VR livery... or Great Northern Rail... Hmmm.
9. The first thing you do when arriving at Spencer Street station is:
   1. Look around for the person your 45 minutes late to pick up
   2. Find the right platform
   3. Buy a cup of Mark Twain's favourite railroad coffee
   4. Pull out your notebook and jot down loco and carriage set numbers
10. The number 16 accurately describes:
    1. Your age
    2. The number of major steam trips you've taken
    3. The number of seconds it takes for you to utterly confuse an audience of lay-people with a speech full of technical terms
    4. The number of hours every week you work with a railway society
11. Your array of model trains:
    1. Consists of one loco with scratched paint, running around a circular track
    2. Includes a siding and loop for shunting operations
    3. Includes a few signal boxes, trees, and other features
    4. Looks like Maryborough through the wrong end of a telescope
12. You can comprehend:
    1. "... The fireman shovels coal onto the fire to make the engine go"
    2. "... The steam is introduced to the cylinders to turn the wheels"
    3. "... Smaller wheels increase the tractive effort at the expense of reduced top speed"
    4. "... West Coast Railways' modifications to the front end of R711 give a marked increase in fuel efficiency and traction horsepower"
13. When buying a car, the most important feature you look for is:
    1. Antilock brakes, Passenger side air-bags
    2. CD Stereo so you can play steam sounds while driving
    3. Designed for easy conversion to Standard Gauge
    4. Trick question, you Go By Rail!
14. When ordered to write an essay, its subject is:
    1. Strictly what the teacher requires
    2. "Bent" a little to include a few railway-related examples
    3. Heavily influenced by your knowledge of railways
    4. Purely and simply about your favourite railway topic
15. When you find yourself awake at 4 a.m. it is usually because:
    1. You're watching the late movies on TV
    2. You drank too much coffee late in the day
    3. You don't think it's a big deal if you sleep until 11am, even if it means that you'll get that big red spot on your forehead from sleeping at your desk
    4. You're only a few hours from having Heavy Harry back in steam again

Ratings:

Give yourself: For each question answered (a), 5 points; (b), 10 points; (c), 25 points and (d), 50 points. Total your score and find your ranking from the following table:

Score	Ranking
0-100	GET DOWN! TRAIN SURFING IS DEADLY! And besides, shovelling your remains into the body bag will give me blisters.
105-250	You're the sort of twit who complains about soot in the eye
255-400	Someone could mention "VicRail" or "VFT" and you could still follow the conversation
405-550	You know railways like the back of your hand
555-700	Your dreams run on 50kg/m rails
700+	Drop me an email, I might want to consult you about something!