NNG: Wikipedia... not a real encylopedia. Really?

As a university student I know using Wikipedia can generate interesting comments from professors. We are warned harshly not to use Wikipedia as a reference in papers.

Yet as a reference work containing a wide range of subjects& fields, it really is encyclopedic and is to be lauded for attempting to to be serious. Sure it's unreliable, but it's great for obtaining media content (i.e. pictures) for serious work and a great place to obtain access to important websites - most of my recently published respected textbooks have pictures that credit "Wikimedia Commons."

Oh, and yeah...except for my thesis project, I always cite some wild reference from Wikipedia just to see if the professors are really reading my paper.

And pulling it back to the railroads...I agree that D&S page is great, while the C&TS page needs some work - it's more of a triptyche than anything else.