Baldwin built (s/n 17881) in 1900, this 2-4-0 sits outside the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcwetboy/808708/

Converted by Dominion Steel & Coal Company (Old Sydney Collieries) from a 2-4-0T, number 25 was originally built for the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Company as their #8 "E.E. Bigge". The little Baldwin is rare on a couple of counts. First, it is probably North America's only surviving as-built 2-4-0T. Secondly, it is one of only perhaps 3 standard gauge 2-4-0's still in existance. And the 4 wheel tender is also rather rare. One would think that outside display of the engine will hasten her deterioration.

Les

That's Delson for you.

Joe

im confused..
is the point of this thread supposed to be "look at this..this stupid museum is keeping a display locomotive outside! what dolts!"

arent 99% of museum locos in the world outside?
sure, its not ideal..but usually its a necessity,
and its not that big a deal if the loco is looked after..
fresh paint once in awhile and everything..

so why is this "news" exactly?

Scot

Well I think its interesting how they have the locomotive displayed. It looks like its being well taken care of - which is news in railroad preservation.

The other key thing to this discussion is that Delson has several huge barns for equipment.so why is there anything left outside at all, I'm sure they could find a place for such an neat little engine.

Also, Delson has a habit of letting its outdoor stuff rot. For a period of time, engines such as the Jubilee and the Royal Hudson were looking quite lousy.

Joe

I think this locomotive is being displayed from a marketing standpoint. In our part of the country, seeing a tractor or combine elevated on a pole is almost commonplace - it grabs the attention of passers-by because its not a natural part of the landscape. Oddities on the horizon grab attention. Perhaps they could have chosen a less historic piece of equipment to get the same job done, but someone made that decision at some point in time and we just don't have control over that.

In a more personal example, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum uses our EMD Model 40 with large signs on the side that say "Train Rides Sat" and a big arrow pointing towards the museum. Is this historically accurate or the way in which I would like to ultimately see this piece of equipment preserved? No. Is it an effective marketing tool? Yes. I can't even begin to estimate the number of people that have come in off the highway to visit the museum because of that little diesel.

In another decision at HVRM (that I would classify it under marketing), I was one of the people that voted in favor of repainting our Erie-Lackawanna 310 in EL's yellow, maroon, and gray paint scheme even though it was not historically accurate. The reasoning - because a brightly colored locomotive is more noticeable and photogenic than a black and yellow switcher. Some people have been less than kind in their words about our decision. They would rather complain about the paint on the hood instead of enjoying the fact that an 1947 Alco is pulling their train. To me, this seems somewhat trivial.

Unfortunately, I think that many railroad museums (which are made up of mostly volunteers) sometimes lack qualified people in key areas. Marketing is one of those key areas and is necessary for the ultimate success for any type of organization. A railroad museum should be run like any other business - with decisions made in the best interest of the museum. I hate to say it (because I know how much grief I will get), but maybe this museum is on the right track.

Constructive comments are welcome...