This is the engine cut open at Steam Town: http://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomo ... splay=1392
Simply put, there's no reason to cut open a diesel or electric engine for display because there's no marvel for most folks into how it runs. Most people understand the idea of a diesel engine powered electric motors to move something, as they understand electric power running through lines to a large motors to turn the wheels. Just tell them it's a large version of a Lionel train and they get the idea. But a steam engine, well, hardly anyone (who doesn't work on them) really gets how one of those things work. But once you cut it open, it'll never run again. Plenty of engines that nobody thought would have run again have been put back into steam. You just never know if someday someone might have taken a "Basket case" of a locomotive and put it back into operation if you hadn't cut it open.

".....hardly anyone (who doesn't work on them) really gets how one of those things work."

P51, you hit it exactly.

When there is little effort made to share and perpetuate the knowledge, the knowledge base is gradually lost, and so is the appreciation of the significance of the artifacts. And this is one of the fundamental problems with the railroad enthusiast world right now. There is a preoccupation with pretty photography that often is only appreciated by other railroad enthusiasts, and a much lower level of attention being given to presenting information about the railroad industry in ways that capture the interest of the general public.

PC

I was appalled by the sectioned 0-6-0 at Steamtown.

And now it is one of my favorite exhibits.

Whenever I take someone new to trains to the park, that is one of our first stops. I have yet to see anything that conveys HOW a steam locomotive works while also demonstrating the mass and scale of the machinery.

I am not suggesting #1361 be sectioned, but some smaller more common locos? I am all for it if done well.

Rob

Balderdash.

I've heard the self-proclaimed "walking encyclopedias" say that the generator/alternator is a "clutch."

There is just as much "marvel" in a diesel locomotive as in a steam locomotive, and there's just as much need in 21st-century New World Order to explain a diesel as there is a steamer. If you need to have a steam loco explained to you, you probably need to have a diesel explained as well--and probably even the concept of flanged wheels and steel rails.

Seriously, how many folks can even relate to a Lionel train anymore? In spite of "Thomas", those who really "get" railroading today are still in a distinct minority. Just go talk to the folks I encounter that believe all railroads are government-owned, or that even the B&O Museum, Baltimore Streetcar Museum, etc. are run by the local or state government, or even sophisticated government employees who commute on MARC every work day that insist that CSX is required by Federal law to clear their railroad for MARC trains.

If your target audience is only those that don't "need" to have the concept of a diesel-electric locomotive explained to them, you are dooming yourselves to an increasingly shrinking demographic--and that will be, in part, your fault that said demographic is shrinking.

Just this week, I had to explain to someone who worked NEXT TO Amtrak's Northeast Corridor that electricity for the trains goes through the catenary, not just through the rails. And this was someone with a high-school diploma that formerly worked as a jet mechanic.

There seems to be a popular belief that if it can’t be steamed again, it has no value, and is therefore expendable. Yet a static display of an engine that can never be steamed again is still an impressive attraction. And even if an engine is missing parts for a cosmetic display, the parts can be made, mocked up, or found as replacements. Restoration for static display of a derelict locomotive will entail cost, but I assume that creating a sectioned display done well will also incur a considerable cost.

That cost may not be so apparent because the job is basically done with a cutting torch. But considering all the planning, layout, cutting, grinding, sanding, cleaning, priming, painting, lighting, signage, possible powered motion, etc., I suspect that the overall cost would be quite substantial. It would not reach the point of matching the cost of operational restoration, but it would surely compete with the cost of a full cosmetic restoration.

Another point about sectioning: While it does show the internal workings, the display becomes a bit of an artistic abstraction in which the correct perception of the outer appearance and purpose can be diminished. What I would do is restore the candidate for sectioning, and create full size graphics as a backdrop. That way the visitor can absorb the full context of the artifact, including the internal explanation. It would be important to make the graphics the same size as the locomotive.

Another option would be to simply save the candidate for sectioning for another day, and create the graphic section backdrop for locomotives already on display.

The idea that folks today know what makes a diesel locomotive work is just laughable. At the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis I've been asked if the hoods of a Centennial were where the baggage was kept. So many people have absolutely no idea of mechanics at all. Just removing or opening the hoods of a diesel and labeling the innards would be a good, non-destructive idea.

Sectioned locomotives are fine by me. It is nice to see the scale of the interior components and to be able to say "look at this" and actually point to locomotive components as opposed to pointing to a big hunk of black metal and saying "in here is this and that".

But, a little part of my soul also dies when a cutter is taken to a locomotive, whatever the cause. And sectioned locomotives take up lots of space, and cost a lot. So, the question of the day. Why not build "scale models" to be sectioned? Build a replica 4-8-4 in a reasonable scale, and build it sectioned. Its small enough, you could easily through a small motor in to make it actually move. Put a scale person in to give an idea of the locomotives size.

Scale models lose a lot of points on the "cool scale".

Well there might be some model locomotives available for sectioning by trolling for unfinished models from "dead steam". That is what a friend calls the hobby of building operable "live steam" locomotives, since so many of the participants die before they can get one finished.

PC

I think it's a given that someone is FAR more likely to understand a diesel or electric locomotive's operation easier than they'd understand a steam engine. Explaining how each works is much more simpler when you get to the non-steam concept. I've explained the basic idea of electric and diesel operation to plenty of kids and less-than-rocket-scientist adults and all of them have understood. Many of the same people get that "deer in the headlights" look when you try to basically explain boiler tubes, crown sheets and cylinders on a steam locomotive.
Still, there will always be those who don't get the most basic things. At a WW2 re-enactment, I was helping to unload a 105 MM field gun when a family came up and asked where the "bullets" come out of. We just stood there for a moment until one of the crew silently pointed to the end of the barrel. The father said, "Oh," and they walked off. They really didn't know. At the same event, we had a campfire going and another family came up and asked, "Is that a real fire?" and even put their hands up to it just to be sure. With people like that, you could spend a lifetime explaining things to them and they won't get it. But generally, people at thankfully a little bit smarter than that!

Well... I think the difference there is you're trying to explain different levels of detail. Saying "The boiler is like a big kettle that makes steam, and the steam pushes against the piston in the cylinder and turns the wheels" is somewhat equivalent in level of detail to saying "The diesel engine turns the generator that powers the traction motors". Getting into the detail of the boiler tubes and crown sheets is a bit like getting into camshafts and motor windings - not necessary to understand the basic concept behind the operation.

I can't argue with suggestions that some folks will understand mechanical explanations and others never will, but the major problem at most museums is that there isn't usually someone standing around who can and will explain such things to a visitor. Even when there are staff or volunteers on the grounds much of the time, there are far more times when no-one is around the area where a visitor is pondering such a question. That is why I am urging the use of labels and lights to provide at least some level of explanation for those who might take the time to read them. Of course it isn't as good as you or I might be able to provide, but it is far better than a silent steel exhibit just standing there, which is the usual alternative.

I think the rail preservation industry needs to get past the notion that every steam locomotive is a potential restoration to operation candidate. There are many good engines that had been restored and operated but now have returned to static display status, or worse. Wouldn't it be much smarter to keep those locomotives in steam instead of perpetuating this trend of operational restoration, use until worn out then disassemble and push the hulk into the back 40 while searching for the next candidate (victim).

Nobody at Steamtown is going to restore a second 0-6-0 to operation. But the educational value of sectioning the Spang, Chalfant switcher is quite apparent to anyone who has stood in the roundhouse next to a group of average visitors. To those opposed to sectioning, would you rather want to see that locomotive sitting out in the yard where nobody but you and a few other diehards even know it exists? In that case the sectioning continues, but instead of taking a section of boiler out, a section of the outer layer of the entire locomotive dissolves away every year.

What are we really here for? To keep around machines that we think are neat, or to educate the public?

"What are we really here for? To keep around machines that we think are neat, or to educate the public?"

A bit of both. I hate the sectioning of potential operable steam locos, but given the scenario you described, yes, there are far too many derelict hulks in museum yards, being slowly disassembled for parts and nothing more. These rusting eyesores might do better if given a simple spray of black paint every year or two. For whatever reasons, that seems too much to accomplish. Okay, find the worst remainder and intelligently section it.

Regarding Diesels, I do remember a General Motors Geep with plexiglass sides at the NY Worlds Fair (1964-65) which was very well done, and went on to a service life on the NYC. Perhaps opening a set of trucks, showing the traction motors, would enhance the exhibition. Cutting open a prime mover to show the parts motorized would be worthwhile. But, geez, do it on a locomotive that is plentiful and easily replaced. You wouldn't choose one the last two C-Liners for this, interesting as it might be, would you?

Another approach to this question that is non-destructive is to paint a steam locomotive in a variety of different colors to indicate what that part is or does. The Museum of Transportation in St. Louis did this with an 0-6-0 as seen at http://transportmuseumassociation.org/i ... events.jpg. There are two signs in front of it. One gives the color coding, which identifies the frame, brakes, firebox, and allows tracing of the water, steam, sand, air for brakes, electricity, etc. The other provides an explanation of what these parts do or are for. This is a workable compromise between a cut-away and doing nothing. And if it looks shocking, remember that it can be painted solid black again quite easily. Does anyone else have such an exhibit?