If you have a static engine, wire the headlight, and cab lights to be on. Make fake smoke come out of the stack and sides. Allow the whistle to be blown with compressed air. Make it as alive as possible.
If you dont want people to ring the bell and blow the whistle have it activate automatically.

The Fort Worth and Western pulls the train thru a shopping mall at the stockyards, thats must look cool if you walking around.

Has any train ever put an open car infront of the engine, give those railfans an ear full.

adofmsu@aol.com

With your static engine, put it in a cheap pole building and cosmetically restore it stem to stern. Make sure all the lights work, install an air compressor and get the appliances to work. You could get her up on rollers and get the drivers to turn. Actually putting a loco on rollers doesn't have to be an expensive proposition.

The result would be a locomotive that looks and feels like she is alive, and your visitors will certainly appreciate the experience more.

http://www.todengine.org
jrowlands@neo.rr.com

Making static engine "come alive" is a good idea and achievable, but I'm not sure about making the wheels turn on rollers. My understanding is that for a boiler to be legally pressurized on compressed air, it essentially has to be as sound as one operated on steam. Perhaps someone more qualified will comment on this.

> With your static engine, put it in a cheap
> pole building and cosmetically restore it
> stem to stern. Make sure all the lights
> work, install an air compressor and get the
> appliances to work. You could get her up on
> rollers and get the drivers to turn.
> Actually putting a loco on rollers doesn't
> have to be an expensive proposition.

> The result would be a locomotive that looks
> and feels like she is alive, and your
> visitors will certainly appreciate the
> experience more.


ryarger@rypn.org

> Making static engine "come alive"
> is a good idea and achievable, but I'm not
> sure about making the wheels turn on
> rollers. My understanding is that for a
> boiler to be legally pressurized on
> compressed air, it essentially has to be as
> sound as one operated on steam. Perhaps
> someone more qualified will comment on this.

The thought that I get is for the rollers to drive the drivers through external power application, rather than using air in the boiler.

william.herbert@gsa.gov

> The thought that I get is for the rollers to
> drive the drivers through external power
> application, rather than using air in the
> boiler.

That might encourage people to get rid of "unnecessary drag" items, like pistons and valves. OK, I guess, as long as they are kept safe.

With some modifications, you CAN pressurize the cylinders without pressurizing the boiler, but either way you are talking a MASSIVE volume of air even just to loaf a small yard goat.

My thought other concern is adequate lubrication, its rather too easy to forget or use too little (Either through human error or cost cutting)....I suppose you COULD dress someone up like an engineman,then stop the display and send him 'round with an oilcan every couple hours, or alter the "historic fabric" and rig up some sort of hidden pressurized system.

> The thought that I get is for the rollers to
> drive the drivers through external power
> application, rather than using air in the
> boiler.

The Lake Superior Transportation Museum has thier DM&IR Yellowstone set up like this. I think the engine is up on blocks and electric motors turn the drivers while a tape recording of an acual Yellowstone runs. When I was there about 7 years ago, the display would run about every 10 minutes.

You could go up into the cab too, the Yellowstone looks great and LSTM is doing a fine job with the rest of thier collection.