Re: DSP&P 191-CRRM video

Posted by misterv on Jun 18, 2021; 9:50pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/DSP-P-191-CRRM-video-tp16627p16752.html

I agree with degg13.  The real value in a historical artifact like 191 comes from having it be operational, so that the machine can be experienced again as it once was.  The smell, the heat, the sound, the way it moves, etc.  All of these things are lost when the CRRM says "we can't make an authentic boiler".

Few people would know or care that the boiler isn't authentic.  After all, one made of steel with the same proportions could be readily fabricated in a boiler shop that knows what they're doing, like Stockton Locomotive Works.  It would look the same, but it would be safe.  The current iron and any other components that HAD to be replaced to restore 191 to operational status could be kept for reference, if needed.

The risk with having something like 191 be a static-only display is that the museum-going public isn't as interested.  "It used to run.." becomes "so what?" for far too many people.  In contrast, the impact of having 191 chugging around the CRRM track would be far greater.

And in the end, it's all about impacting people.  Without impacting people, CRRM itself may eventually dry up and blow away like the NG railroads themselves did.  How many people do you know that go to the Forney Museum to see their static displays?  How often do they go?

On the other hand, impacting people would mean that 191 and other historical treasures could be USEFULLY preserved, and that more preservation could ultimately be achieved.