A point that I have not yet seen raised is another value of the 0-6-0 sectioned at Steamtown. When it is not in maintenance, you can see an almost identical locomotive (BLW shop switcher #26) operate. Is that not an approriate educational technique?



Steve

Yup, I think it's appropriate. And I'm intrigued by the statement many posts above that there are "12 preserved Kanawhas." If someone had, say, an operable 2-8-4, a big band saw, and were given one of the many less-than-well-cared-for Kanawhas that cover the northeast half of the country, you could make quite a pairing. I'm not saying I'd actually slice and dice one, but it's intriguing. There are even more C&O K-4s than there are Merchant Navies. I knew that was a common survivor when we were at York, and seeing it carved up didn't give me the willies like the pictures of the high-efficiency 4-6-4 at Mulhouse. Although, where else can you see internally-finned tubes?

As a half measure, Marty Knox cut open some condemned live-steam boilers for our little museum. Not quite the same thing as the steamtown exhibit, but it does have the virture of being small enough to pick up and point at. Actually they're not all that much smaller than one sectioned engine no one has mentioned yet: the Welsh colliery 0-4-0T at the Toronto science museum. And the Rocket replica at the Museum of Science and Industry is sectioned as I recall.

Any one who thinks what happened at Steam Town was a good idea I hope will never hold power in any railroad preservation socitey, The only people who understand what is going on in there are people who are train fans and already know how it works (I learned from watching a video with a simple CGI animation that worked well. Case and point about understanding my step father coulden't figure out where the water went! That locomotive looked in good shape and I know a lot of places looking for a steam locomotive and the fact that my Tax dollears went into doing that sickens me.

Another thing to consider is whether sectioning is education or entertainment. I agree that the average person has no idea how a locomotive works, either steam or diesel. However, I do not believe that sectioning is going to go far in explaining how they work. You could cut a diesel locomotive in half, and still nobody is going to understand what they are looking at. The greater effect will simply be the gee-whiz factor of cutting something open to see what’s inside. An animated graphic with verbal explanation would show what is inside and what it actually means.

If all the parts were modeled on SolidWorks, they would be captured in a 3D model database that could be backed up and preserved forever as archival information. For the interpretive display, the final assembly of the locomotive could be exploded, and then a graphic virtual fly-through tour could be conducted through the cloud of thousands of individual parts just to give an idea of the enormous complexity of a locomotive.

Next, the cloud of parts would begin to reassemble into specific sub-assemblies. Wheels would press onto axles, wheelsets would combine with truck frames, bolsters, etc. to form the tender trucks. The narrative would explain the function, weight, and capacity of the trucks. And so it would go--- boiler wrappers, rivets, tube sheets, tubes, firebox components, grates, main frame, drivers, suspension components, all coming together as sub-assemblies and being explained as they do. And then the sub-assemblies would come together as the final assembly. Preferably, this graphic display should be large, but maybe not necessarily full size.

No matter how it is explained, nobody is going to be able to assimilate and retain all the knowledge. That level of education is not possible or necessary. But they can assimilate it at least temporarily as it is happening. This graphic presentation may only take ten minutes, but the experience would simply overwhelm the interested viewer with its clarity and scope. In the days when locomotive builders sectioned locomotives for sales and maintenance demos, they did not have cad models.

The biggest problem I can see is that you might have to disassemble some of the locomotive in order to measure the parts so they could be modeled in SolidWorks.

Wow, with all that's going on in the world, the fact a steam locomotive was sectioned as an educational display is what worries you about your tax dollars?

On another note, I find that those who ARE NOT involved in the operation and the running of historical steam locomotives are those the most appalled. Of course the "Fans" are the first to be appalled or questioning of things they don't understand because they simply are not doing it. It's a very common and myopic view found outside of the circle of "doers" as opposed to the do not's. Nothing wrong with that but it does strike me as rather interesting. And how PERSONAL it's taken. It's a terrible offense on decency and American ideals to show how the machines of the past actually work and do so in a way that is not jeopardizing the locomotives that DO run. Folks, a steam locomotive can serve many services, the least of which is doing 79mph on the mainline with a 18 car excursion. Mind like parachute.

I like Ron's idea with Solidworks, it is as if you applied the approach of the Fairbanks-Morse Trans-Vue book on the OP engine to the workings of a steam locomotive. That book took the engine apart layer by layer, using color transparency pages.

But there is another way too. An instructor with a good PowerPoint presentation of 1920s through 1940s steam locomotive textbook graphics and locomotive manufacturer advertising images and performance charts can do a very credible job of explaining the workings of a steam locomotive, including the most common valve gear and auxiliary equipment, in just about 120 minutes.

PC

[quote="RCD"]Any one who thinks what happened at Steam Town was a good idea I hope will never hold power in any railroad preservation socitey, *** That locomotive looked in good shape and I know a lot of places looking for a steam locomotive and the fact that my Tax dollears went into doing that sickens me.[/quote]

Personally, I tend to believe that the ability to spell and the self-discipline to acquire knowledge of the issues before taking a position are more important leadership qualities. "RCD," did you read J. David's comments concerning the condition of the subject locomotive,to the effect that it was one of the worst he'd ever seen? Since you've just rendered an opinion in opposition to one of our foremost steam experts, who moreover actually did the job in question, perhaps you'll enlighten us as to your own qualifications.

This is a most interesting discussion. Earlier, I asked whether the "issues" some feel a sectioned steam locomotive presents - moral, ethical or whatever - also apply to rolling stock. Some years ago I proposed that a derelict wooden passenger car, in a collection having a near-duplicate in far better shape, could be exhibited in a manner that showed the construction progression from basic body frame to as-built car, then continuing through time to represent secondary usage, then work train service, and finally the starting condition, complete with appropriate props and mannequins to interpret each historical phase. The derelict car still exists, and in all likelihood will be scrapped, but I'll now rest easier in the knowledge that this outcome will prevent anyone from being "mortified" by such an exhibit, experiencing "a feeling of nausea," or accusing the organization of being "arrogant, tacky, and disrespectful."

Based on the lack of response to this question, I assume that the answer is that steam locomotives are uniquely capable of presenting moral and ethical issues (besides those within the control of boiler restorers and insurance inspectors), whereas Pullman cars or cabooses simply do not. Far be it from me to dictate that someone is not allowed to believe that steam locomotives, alone, are able to feel pain or hear us when we say "cross-section"; after all, your religion is your religion.

Next question: what do the arguments of the anti-slice folks inform all of us about our collective difficulty in defining our place within the wider preservation community, in the competition for public and private support dollars, and in the quest to simply have our interest be taken seriously?

- G.J.C.

Comparison with other museums: I recently visited the Golden Age of Trucking museum in Middlebury, Connecticut, one of the finest museums of any kind that I have seen. They have a beautiful collection of restored vehicles, a custom-built facility to house them, a play area with toy trucks for the kids, seats in the aisles so you can stop and relax while walking around the display floor, a toy truck display room, a superb gift shop, and also a fully equipped lecture room where they host weekend presentation events and show films on trucking. Yes, they have a sectioned truck cab, and they also have sectioned diesel engines.

Colorful, brightly lit, a place full of interesting displays and vehicles.

Oh yes, They also had a lot of people visiting the museum.

PC

I would call such overhearings a sign that the museum's interpretive efforts could be expanded. But hold that thought.


I absolutely agree getting the cars out of the weather is job one. (and the prerequisites: having land on which to build, and a railroad near which to buy land.) But look at the museums which have labored hardest to get their collection indoors - the pieces are crammed cheek to jowl. Where's there room to interpret?

For all those who are indignant as to our tax dollars funding the sectioning of the 0-6-0, I believe that the value of the sectioning was bartered, and resulted in the freeing up of another locomotive which is now restored and operable.

Steve

My Feelings on this.
The sectioned locomotive at Steamtown is one of the best educational tools for both the uninformed and the semi informed visitor (the majority of the visitors at the park). I have lost count of the number of people I have brought over to the cutaway to explain how basic steam locomotion works. And, for some, the detailed workings of valve gear and the effects of wear, lap and lead. It is easy to see and understand in touchable 3-D.

The engine selected for the cutaway at Steamtown is a common type of locomotive preserved around the USA. It is not the last of it's type. It's worn out mechanically. The boiler is thin in many areas, the wheels are shot and the tender is rusted out.

I feel the engine is doing a great job inside right where it is. Rather than sitting outside in the elements letting them take their toll.

Thanks David for a wonderful educational tool.

Bruce Mowbray
Springville, PA
Lover of steam locomotives

[quote="George Jackson Churchward"

The derelict car still exists, and in all likelihood will be scrapped, but I'll now rest easier in the knowledge that this outcome will prevent anyone from being "mortified" by such an exhibit, experiencing "a feeling of nausea," or accusing the organization of being "arrogant, tacky, and disrespectful."

Far be it from me to dictate that someone is not allowed to believe that steam locomotives, alone, are able to feel pain or hear us when we say "cross-section"; after all, your religion is your religion.

- G.J.C.[/quote]

I did not accuse any organization of being arrogant, tacky, and disrespectful. I only said that, in my opinion, sectioning a steam locomotive to show what is inside, to me, comes across that way. I have great respect for the antique machinery and the values of the culture that created it. If I wanted to explain it to this culture, the last thing I would do would be to cut it in half just to show them what is inside.

While it is true that such an act could help explain it, it seems to me like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer (that is the arrogant part). Moreover, in this age of computer graphics, physical sectioning comes across to me as kind of old school. And while it is true that steam locomotives are old school, the audience to the exhibit is new school. That is why they need the explanation. I think they would respond better to an explanation that speaks their language.

I never thought that my suggestion would cause the palpable angst that has been expressed by numerous respondents. Having been through a few, very few, first-class museums, there are any number of these techniques that could be applied together - like mixing animated graphic video, with the actual artifact, or using hand-held "walkman" receivers to give the visitor a private explanation in multiple languages. It all takes money, and that is what most of the problems in the game come down to.

As for the personal problems or concerns of anyone who gives human qualities to inanimate objects, perhaps a bit of perspective from probably the best written drama EVER on network television might make a few people take a different view of how the rest of the World sees things like our little obsession. Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzRAmoKt ... =1&index=2

[quote="PaulWWoodring"]As for the personal problems or concerns of anyone who gives human qualities to inanimate objects, perhaps a bit of perspective from probably the best written drama EVER on network television might make a few people take a different view of how the rest of the World sees things like our little obsession. Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzRAmoKt ... =1&index=2[/quote]


Oh, yes, Paul. Required viewing. The moral and ethical equivalent of a close encounter with the patch-vested, weeks-since-last-bath foamer sub-variant at a crowded railroad hobby show.

This does bring to mind, appropriately enough, something I witnessed when I first visited NRM-York in 1988. As I rounded a locomotive - it was "Ellerman Lines" no less - I beheld an older fellow dressed in full pinstripe overalls, American engineer's cap and a red bandanna, apparently explaining it all to several companions. Needless to say, that experience has formed the basis for many humorous recollections over the years.

But now that it's been mentioned above in this thread that Bill Purdie used to go to York in the 1980's and particularly enjoyed using the sectioned locomotive as a teaching aid, I have to wonder if it was him, perhaps dressed like that for some kind of seminar or for a filming sequence?

- G.J.C.

One of the most entertaining parts of the sectioned Spang 0-6-0 at Steamtown is that the right side of the cab is cut away, and the engineer's old-style tin lunchbox inside the cab is also cut-away, revealing a Thermos and apple and wax-paper-wrapped sandwich. JDC does indeed have quite a sense of humor.....

Howard P.
Thin Sheets, CT