Most of us are appalled by the sight of rust on our beauties. But rundown trains can be a photographer's favorite.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/425158@N25/pool/
Like this one here at the Western Railway Museum.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sp8254/372974118/

So what do you think? Is there an upside to having a few junky ones around?

As long as the rustbucket is a diesel, I'm all for it.

I'm with Steaminfo on this one. The only good diesel is a dead one.

If there were no junk locomotives around, I would have nothing to do. :)

The entirely stupid and downright asinine "steam vs. diesel" division rightfully cast aside............

............. you know, there are people who think graffiti is "art" as well.

Just because SOME people think rusty/abandoned trains are cool photography subjects doesn't mean we need to perpetuate any of the "junk yard" syndrome any more than we already do. Just as some people will insist it's not railroading without a steam locomotive, whereas most of the patrons/riders probably don't give a fig.

I would be all in favor of allowing the public discretely controlled access to rusty exhibits or "pending projects" on the back tracks or sidings if they ask, but there's no need to make it a starring attraction........

Well folks, I have never heard of rust being a good thing...steam or deisel. I hate rust personally.

Rust=Rot=Scrap

Anthony

If it is a legitimate exhibit and rust is appropriate in context, maybe.........Glover Machine Works lost all its contextual atmosphere when it was recreated in small (no problem) but sterile (MAJOR disconnect) form in Kennesaw. NOTHING like the reality it is supposedly interpreting.

A logging line engine shed out in the woods - a shortline roundhouse with piles of good rusty iron just where it was left, as in Jamestown, by all means.

A rusty park hulk stripped and rotting away in the back 40 in no context isn't an exhibit, it's just a junkyard.

dave

Although a rusty, decrepit, relic is usually not something that should be on public display, exhibits that are too clean and shiny can look "unreal". The California State RR Museum is quite splendid, but it's much to neat and clean to provide the "ambiance" of "real railroading". I am reminded of Henry Ford's recreation of Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory at Greenfield Village in the late 1920's. When the project was completed, Ford proudly showed the building to Edison, who observed that it was 99.5% accurate. Anxiously, Ford inquired about the 0.5%, and Edison said "We never kept it this clean."

Perhaps, gentlemen, we would be well advised to cease the "diesel bashing". It is petty, and reflects quite poorly on the persons who perpetuate it.

If one is interested in "preserved railways" (as the name of this site/board indicates), one should have the simple good manners to not denigrate the interests of others who may frequent the site.

There are subjects/specialties in this field that I have absolutely no interest in, but I do not "bash" them, or those who are interested in those subjects.

I would respectfully suggest that the site administrators pay a bit more attention to this sort of behavior.

Thank you,

Howard P.

Sigh.....It would appear that in these highly politically correct times, humor actually has passed away.
To those of you who have their feathers ruffled, stop taking yourselves so seriously and recognize when remarks are just made for the purpose of injecting a little humor.
As is the case of "bashing" of any kind, there also is no room on the forum for pompous remarks and global sized egos.
Let's keep it civil and upbeat.
As for rust, it is Mother Nature's way of reclaiming things. With my experience in restoration, rust is an evil thing and should be dealt with even before it starts. Once it starts, it feeds upon itself, looks terrible and makes restoration much harder. Get the jump on it.

The problem with "it's just a joke" is that many of us--especially those of us who have been in the pits and shops long enough--have actually run into "railfans" who, totally without any context of humor, literally packed in their cameras and ceased all "rail enthusiasm" as soon as the last steamer was retired from their hometown railroads, or more recently when a merger gobbled up their favorite paint scheme.

The record for such obstinacy is probably held by the Trains Magazine subscriber who, when Trains mailed out their first "all-diesel" issue sometime around 1963 or so, mailed back his copy torn in two, along with a note stating "How dare you send me this pornographic garbage through the mails!!" and demanding the cancellation of the remainder of the subscription.

These types are no better than the fools that state in all seriousness "If it's not the PRR/a Chevy/Budweiser/organic/acoustic, it's garbage".

The main problem is that diesel bashing jokes are just not funny anymore.

--
Will

As penance, I took my little 27 month old granddaughter who loves trains to the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Jackson Street Roundhouse, where we took a caboose ride behind a Northern Pacific SW1200. She could see the engineer from our seat in the caboose, and tried to relate what she was seeing to what her daddy does (engineer on a Class 1).

After the caboose ride, she was treated to a cab tour of the GN 400 "Hustle Muscle", and spent two hours in the museum's children's play area.

I also admired the Dan Patch while I was there, and an SD-9.

A good time was had by all.

And my compliments to the MTM folk. Really superb job.

The "Diesel bashing" simply comes from, or came from, the perception that all Diesels are the same, look the same, run the same. Once an in-depth look at car bodies, prime movers, and retirement specifics are analyzed, those thoughts go by the board. Everyone has their favorites, and while I "blame" General Motors for all those cookie-cutter F units and Geeps, as the cause of steam genocide, I think it's safe to say that the Diesel alone didn't shove the steamers into oblivion.
Steam locomotives will always have personalities of their own, individual tweaks from the back-shop, and a life that Diesels don't engender, at least not to me. Still, what happens to the remaining Sharks, PA's and FA's, matters to me. And why F-M didn't fair better in preservation, at least in the states, is a case for mourning in its own right.

Bashing Diesels? Sure. We do it to state the case for returning to a time we can barely touch today. Don't take it personally, or if you do, take a nap.

I really don’t need to defend myself as far as the “diesel bashing”, but I will explain my stance.
I grew up in a Frisco family. My Dad entered engine service in 1916 and was still running when killed in an auto accident in 1964. He loved running steam and instilled that in me by being a consummate storyteller. I also accompanied him to the roundhouse from the time I could walk and while he conducted BofLE business, I would climb all over the engines in there and get in the way. We both usually caught hell when we got home for me being filthy and greasy. It was a great time and a great experience for an impressionable young lad. Making several trips in the cab with him only fanned the flames. But there were dark clouds on the horizon.
My beloved steam engines started disappearing, and a couple times when Dad got home from a run, we got in the car and went over to the right of way to see a funeral train of dead engines heading for the scrap yard. It was a heart-rending experience for both of us. The end came on the Frisco when I was 12. Steam was brutally ripped from me and replaced with boxes. Dad didn’t like them and neither did I.
With the end of steam the decay progressed. Roundhouses, coal chutes, water tanks, depots, interlocking towers, neat right of way and finally even cabooses disappeared. Motive power was boxes painted different colors, the property looked unkempt, people lost gainful employment (yes I know, progress) and the pride in being a railroader slipped badly.
I was fortunate to be involved from day one of the 1522 restoration and served as an officer and engineer from 1988 until her last run in 2002. I was able to live a dream and log over 5000 miles at the throttle and understand now what the old timers felt. Now she is retired and so am I.
That’s my story, I’m sticking to it and now you know why I don't like diesels.
There will always be preservationists, and my hat goes off to them for gathering up diesels and other equipment and lavishing care on them. The damned things broke my heart when I was young and I won’t forgive them.