No reason that the facts should be any different whether its Bill Withun or Larry the sleeveless guy, one would expect the writers to get it right. The fact that they don't reveals that the producers don't care; good writing costs money, and they expect the program to be consumed by mindless boobs, anyway. Says a lot about the high regard in which they hold their audience.

Mr. Storzek -
What did you just call our customers??????? I guess that is why we must now consider putting up signage which says "Park your car here" and "Please walk this way" and "Buy your ticket here" and "Have ticket ready, board train here" (big arrow), and, and, and....

"Please walk this way" .......Brings visions to my head of Marty Feldman as "Igor" in "Young Frankenstein".....maybe you could include instructional video..........(ducking and running for cover....crawling under a GP30)..............:D

Well I think we have all noticed that *most* of the public are morphing into "Abby Normal" type people anyway. We don't have time to hold their hands, but if we want their business......
I guess we'll have to "walk this way" to bring them in and maybe, just maybe, lighten their wallets.

I thought "Abby Normal" was a description for all us "Rail Preservation" types........

Thank you very thank you, Good Night!

Amen. The bottom line is that TVRM looked really good and the shtick wasn’t nearly as irritating as the Extreme Trains show ever was. Larry is a funny guy (I met him years ago and he’s NOT like that in real life) who probably understood most of what was going on but was doing what he does best; clowning around. The “talking head and stock footage hour” shows are what almost killed The History Channel a while back. People like us love the stuff but the majority of people want to be entertained. Without an audience, you got no show, people. Plain and simple.
But having done a segment myself for a (non-RR-related) History Channel show a few years ago, I can personally attest to getting thing messed up on camera and not noticing it until after the show has aired. I made a slight misquotation of a caption on something I was talking about and they showed the real caption with my voice over, showing for sure I wasn’t recalling it correctly. It was a very small error but one anyone could have made as I was answering a question I wasn’t totally prepared for. I can also imagine the fireman not correcting Larry after he’d said “degrees” a few times on camera. I wouldn’t have, either.

In defense of the general public: The reason a place like TVRM exists (I would assume) is to educate the general public. Yes a railroad museum is there to educate. Imagine that...some people don't know how to board a train or buy a ticket. They need to be instructed in how to accomplish those feats. Smiling faces, docents...signs...whatever it takes.

Professional organizations should not poke around on web-forums and make fun of their paying patrons. It is just wrong.

T7

Steve, IIRC 610 has a MAWP of 220, but generally the pops are set around 210, though when we were using the older Kunkles that turned out the be oversized, they varied a bit depending on various factors - they had a mind of their own and feathered and leaked at anything over about 195. Thanks to J David for a conversation had with Mark Ray about 10 years ago at a TRAIN or ARM or RPCA meeting about Kunkle valves that got us on the right track. Turns out the pop valve size was the same as the older locomotive styles (like Ashton or Consolidated), but their designed relief ability was several times that required for the steaming capacity of 610's boiler. We ended up with the smaller valves that we are still using and have had much better service from.

Best,
Mike

This discussion was jump started by comments about History Channel seemingly watering down programming (as well as their focus on historical accuracy) to gain audience (and of course the associated advertising revenue.) Why would they do that? Because the majority of their audience wants to be be challenged and elevate their knowledge? The market base for History Channel is expanding not because of intellectual educational programming, but because they are focusing on entertainment. If the program is entertaining, but is on the History Channel, why not make it educational in a "sneaky way" so the viewer doesn't realize it. One way to do this would be to have accurate historical facts thrown in. Not hearsay or consensus.

I agree that it is the job of historical groups to educate. I also think railroad museums are attempting to put forth a noble effort. I was referring to an unfortunately rising percentage of the general public who look at signage but don't read/understand it. No offense was intended. Have you negotiated a four way stop lately? It can be frustrating.

TVRM and the 610 got some nice PR, Larry was being Larry and it is a plus.
What I can't stand about the History Channel, ID and the others in their group is the artsy-fartsy camera work.
Extreme Trains was nearly unwatchable with the camera work and the guy with his face in the camera waving his hands all the time. Sorta like a Gerbil on speed.
I cringe every time I see there's going to be something on about railroads because it's rarely accurate. Like the Big Boy built to pull a 5 mile long train at 100MPH.

Well, I've watched this show before and I don't think it's intended to be a documentary and any one subject. To me, it seems to serve as a little teaser to maybe peak a little interest in the subjects covered. The viewer can then look into it further, if he or she is so inclined. Then, we got'em!

What you have to keep in mind is that old saying....there is no such thing as bad publicity. I watched it and felt it was well done for what it was. My wife even enjoyed it, in fact she was the one who had control of the remote (as usual!) at that point.

My business partner was a Navy pilot and then a private pilot for many years. He knows his airplanes. He too finds the faults in just about any show or movie which involves aircraft. Its not just trains. Its just the way it is. We should be happy for the coverage and how good TVRM looked.

J.R. May

I'm reminded from this thread of an idea I've occasionally thought of. Many of us here have probably seen TV shows that follow the restoration/renovation of a classic car from heap to show quality. It would probably be great PR for steam restoration to do one on the restoration of a large steam locomotive to operating condition.

Obviously, it has to be a project that will certainly be completed, and in a reasonable length of time. This means it has to be a project that has the funding and professional staff to do the job. My guess would be that one such project would be the restoration of SR 4501 for the new NS steam program. We can be as sure about this one actually being completed as is possible about any steam project. It would be good PR for both TVRM and NS, as well as preservation in general. It would also introduce a new generation of mechanically inclined younger males to the preservation hobby.

Flame away.

Paul-no flames! Your thoughts are great.

Cable TV's "Speed Channel", or whatever it's called, features several car rebuilding/restoring etc shows. Recently I saw a rusted hulk of a 1969 Dodge Charger get restored to pristine condition. There is a demographic that likes both tools and horsepower, so I see no reason why an entertaining and educational (not mutually exclusive) segment doing an overview of 4501's restoration would not be both interesting and potentially successful.