Found this on a friend's blog.

http://sarahgarmire.com/2012/11/11/tie-fork-utah/

Anyone have any idea what this thing is? Looks like somebody took a drawing from a kid's book and built it full size. Was this a sculpture of some sort?

I think I can safely say this thing has never turned a wheel, since the connecting rods would not allow the wheels to turn. The cab is wrong, the boiler's wrong, the pistons are under the cab steps. There's a smokestack in the tender (I'm wondering if they have a BBQ in there?) The fist thing you notice is the oddball piping on the boiler, sort of an air cooler.

What strikes me is that the details, while incorrect, all seem to have some origin in real railroading. The valve gear would obviously never work, but you can see it got inspiration from the real thing. Looks like somebody put some serious work into this.

I'd be curious as to the history of this arts and crafts project?

I think it's a great candidate to restoration for mainline excursions. ;)

A quick Google check found this bit of information:

http://www.original-creations.com/Locomotive.html

Interesting that the artist had an existing interest in railroading but still ended up creating something so abstract.

It appears that the "locomotive" can be moved along the rails. I wonder what sort of braking mechanism it has so no one moves it when they're not supposed to?

The photos do seem to imply it may have moved along the rails, but I'm still of the opinion that the wheels can't turn. Check out the connecting rods on the left side. It sure appears they won't do much moving without binding up.

As for being abstract, it's not really. It's quite plainly a steam locomotive. Most folks won't realize it's not accurate. It's a reasonable representation.

You want ABSTRACT? Check out Tacoma's Locomotive Sculpture.

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMJW ... Washington

There are photos that show her rods in different positions which makes me think it can roll... it would be interesting to watch it move.

Rob

I'd love to see what the plate on the side of this thing says. I agree with Bob that it looks like a kid's drawing of a locomotive come to life. Yeah, there will be people who won't know it's not a art piece.From the positions of the upper rod and whereit's connected, I think it would roll. I quickly made a copy of it on cardstock with some pins and got it to move easily. Clearly it's a wacky design, but I'd also bet it'd roll. Note how clean the piston rods look, either it's chrome plated or it's moved recently when the photo was taken.

It appears that the question of 'rollability' of the locomotive is put to rest on the artist's page showing construction and installation at the rest stop...some photos show the artwork under cover and others out on the turntable.

sc 'doc' lewis

Why does my usual comment about unlikely events, "What have you been smoking lately?" come to mind? One can't call this "railway preservation", but it's certainly an intriguing piece of "steam-railroad-inspired artwork" and someone put a lot of effort into it.

Here's the picture that makes me say "It'll never work!". Of course, that is based on the rods having tight rod bushing. It's quite likely they don't, and so who knows.

However, if this was a normal loco with two axles, you'd have big problems.



In your mind's eye, rotate the right hand drive wheel clockwise. What will the left wheel do? On a tightly bushed engine, the rod is going to exert a force to the right. It won't move over top dead center (which in this case isn't on top, but to the left at 90 deg from vertical). It has no option but to rotate counter clockwise, since that's the direction the connecting rod is pulling it. Obviously, at some point, that's going to be an issue. Sooner or later, and my money's on "very soon", things will reach a point where the rods binds up and the wheels slide.

So, how did it get in there? Well, there are several options. They show it being placed by a crane, with the rods removed. It's also quite likely that she doesn't have nice tight rod bushings and maybe there's enough slop for things to move around as needed. These aren't real drive rods, just decorations, and it doesn't move, so very loose rod bushing are a non event. Also, this thing doesn't weigh much, so it could easily be slid along the rails.

But I'm still not totally convinced you could roll it too far with the rods on.

Are you sure about that? They've built a fake roundhouse (with actual rounded walls) a fake locomotive, and laid out the track in a manner to imitate a turntable.

I don't know what the plaque says. Maybe it says "Your tax dollars at work, enjoy this object de' arte" or maybe it says "This sculpture honors the railway tie production plant that gave the town of Tie Fork it's name" (I have NO idea if it has anything to do with railroad ties, this is purely an imaginary scenario).

Is railway preservation only preservation when the artifacts are real and authentic? Can something fake still educate the public and preserve the legacy of the railroad?

Where do draw the line? All original parts? (Sorry, FRA, this loco didn't have air brakes or a second water glass when she was built, so she's not getting one now!) Fake paint schemes? Train robberies? Fake steam locomotives powered by Infernal Combustion? Thomas the Tank engine?

I've seen several photos of this.... locomotive now and it's in several different places. How often does this thing get moved around, and how does that happen?

I think we're missing a larger point here....somebody built a new roundhouse and turntable and succeeded since they didn't know all the reasons why it can't be done or afforded that we - in our infinite wisdom - use to prevent us from even trying.

Can somebody nearby contact the people who built it and find out how it was done, how it was funded, and what it cost? There will be plenty of time to disprove it despite its existance on this forum later.....but I'd kind of like to know the details first.

dave

Dave, nobody, including me, is questioning the existence of the sculpture. I am questioning whether the wheels can roll, purely as an interesting discussion.

Based on the info on the website that was linked to, it's a Utah State rest area, and was funded by the Utah DOT. In other words, your tax dollars at work, probably even those who don't live in Utah, if there was federal funding involved.

Since it's the state DOT, money is no object. I can't speak for this project, but the next time you visit the Mt Rainier Scenic RR, be sure to head down the street and visit the public restrooms. This building "restoration" (they gutted it) cost $4 million. It contains 7 toilets. So this is your chance to sit on a toilet that cost over a half million dollars!

Oh, by the way, they don't even flush. That's right, even though there's a fancy sewage treatment plant literally right across the street, this Elbe rest stop has pit toilets like you'd find in a campground.

My point? They don't play by the same rules the rest of us do...

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Elbe ... 50184.html

A bit of Googling has discovered that the Tie Fork, UT rest stop really is Railway Preservation.





No, the sculpture isn't authentic. Yet it is still preserving the railroad heritage in the area. Not only that, but it probably gets more visitors than many railroad museums.

http://blog.udot.utah.gov/2010/07/do-the-locomotion/

This thing brings to mind (for me, at least) Doc Emmett Brown's contraption that he built to return to present time from the 1880's in the final episode of "Back to the Future"

A bit more info on the visitors center
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13786595

The construction cost doesn't seem to be available online. However, this document indicates the value of the buildings was $1.9 million. I don't know if that included site prep or not.

http://www.edcutah.org/documents/Constr ... er_002.pdf

Can the typical railroad museum build a station and covered area that roughly resembles a roundhouse for $2 million? I'm going to say that they probably can.