Some context to start might be in order. In my spare time I volunteer out at the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA. It's basically a tank museum at it's core (considering the majority of what's on the floor are armored vehicles). There's one piece in particular, an M1 Abrams that the Army loaned us for display that got me thinking. Now while a machine of war, most of the men who crewed that specific vehicle are still with us and when the museum opened they did get interviewed about their time in Iraq. Out of everything on the floor, the crew of that Abrams are the only ones that I can think of that fought on and operated that specific vehicle that is on display. I can't think of any other example of that type of a connection among the entirety of what's on display.

Now I bring that up, as I look at that example and realize that how that M1 is portrayed gives it far greater significance to the people that come in and look at it, and then see the interview play on the TV right next to it. With that in mind I've got to ask, can such a thing be done with railroad preservation? There are some good examples that come to mind (SR 4501, WW&F No. 9) but there must be more out there that a similar formula can be applied to, even if just for the sake of putting that particular artifact into perspective.

In the years that the national railroad history groups and many of the major railroad museums have existed, five or six generations of designers of steam and diesel locomotives have passed. Some of those people would have been willing to talk about their experience if asked, but usually they were never invited.

The former Chief Engineer at Alco worked after retirement as a volunteer at a public library. In talking with him, I asked whether anyone else made an effort to reach out to him, and he said none had asked. I brought him to the attention of the local chapter of the railroad history group, and was told "He is welcome to join and attend our meetings if he wants to".

Within Alco alone, just asking questions as a college student, I met the Chief Engineer and the President of the company, the Service and Training Managers, a Sales Representative, and several employees who rode the Black Maria experimental locomotives and delivered DL-109's, the Alco PA's and FA,s, and many other Alco products. They were all right there and available, but the railroad history groups at the time (late 1960s) were much more interested in hearing from their own members.

The railroad history hobby experience is often a stark contrast to naval and aviation history where the people who designed and built the equipment are highly respected and their participation is sought and appreciated.

PC

At National Capital Trolley Museum we have quite a bit of oral history captured on cassette tapes and the like. We use recorded information as part of our exhibits for Glen Echo amusement park and the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway,

Wesley

The Museo de FEGUA in Guatemala City has got a number of short videos of retired employees, which are used just as you describe. From what I can tell, it's pretty effective, and since there is no train ride being offered, it's certainly better than nothing.

In another thread, I mentioned a Steve Lee biography that appeared in NRHS Bulletin. I hope Elrond recorded an interview with Mr. Lee as part of his research. Steve was quite the banquet speaker in his day, anyone catch his chat at the 1993 Scranton banquet?

At the Chehalis-Centralia RR Museum in WA, one of the engineers who ran their 2-8-2 in active service was instrumental in getting it restored and ran it for years.
I'm not sure if there was ever a serious attempt at recording his experiences in the sense of the context you're referring to with that (has to be) M1A1 tank.
Military history is something once the Civil War vets were starting vanish, people started to seriously ask them about their experiences. Sadly, no such effort seems to have happened for the men and women who worked steam back in the day.
When I first moved to WA, I encountered a former SP engineer at a local pizza place one evening. I talked with him a few times after that but he soon had a stroke and went to a home, catatonic. I lost track of him after he was moved out of there and I assume he's passed on now as that was over 20 years ago. He said I was the only person who ever asked him about running GS's along the coast line in CA. He said he even went down to Portland to see the 4449 once and told a few of the volunteers that he'd probably ran that GS-4 back in the day but nobody seemed to care. That was sad to me, and I assume he only talked to one or two guys who were too busy to talk with him. I'd like to think that had he gone to someone like Doyle or the other folks there, someone would have pulled him aside to talk with him.
But yes, we've almost lost that first-hand knowledge of steam. the youngest person who ran steam in active service in the US would have to be in their 60s or older, for operations like the Carb Orchard & Egyptian, the North American Rayon mill, or the very few places where steam ran well into the 80s or 90s. Otherwise, they're all looking at the 90s or older by now.

I've asked all the old timers I've ever worked with for stories and advice, and plied them all with coffee. Most all of them said I was the only guy to ask them about the old days, and they ALL said that "Nobody listens to me, anyway."

There's still a few of them, around, It's not too late. It also helps if you can speak Spanish, since steam lasted longer in Latin America.

The best interview I have heard and invaluable: Mac Poor, author of the notable Denver South Park and Pacific book, interviews a trainman from the last run through Alpine Tunnel 48 years later in 1958. How one would use it in a museum setting is an interesting puzzle. Railroaders tend to go off on tangents when you ask them anything specific (I am thinking of my own grandfather and uncle, who were firemen and agents/brakemen for the Rio Grande) but Poor managed to keep this guy on topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6w_CjghBNk

For event speakers, why not seek and invite any of the people who do training for the railroad that might be willing to help? They are used to having to hit all the discussion points and doing it while working against the clock. One of the best (and best attended) programs shown locally in recent years was a very excellent discussion of railroad industry communications that was presented by the person that taught the subject for a major railroad. Another good choice is someone who handles government relations. They generally are excellent presenters and are used to making every talking point count.

PC

Suggestion specifically for Dylan:

Inquire whether any of the movies of the M1 Abrams tank running through the obstacles at the ATC proving ground have been declassified and can be shown. The Museum Curator would have the best chance of getting a response to an inquiry.

PC

There are several members at RMNE that I will drop whatever I’m doing to listen when they decide to share.

The USS New Jersey museum has been making an effort to gather histories from surviving crew members via audio and visual recordings. Several are on their YouTube channel and are quite interesting.

Jack Syphers, the last trolley operator on the Wheeling, WV lines was around, mind clear and memories sharp, until 2015. He spoke at Lunch with Books at the Ohio County Public Library and the entire program is available for viewing if you have decent internet. At the time, one of his former bosses was living at 104 and had a clear mind and memory, but no one visited him or asked about his stories.

Ernest Holden, who drove the Flying Scotsman during the steam to diesel days, is 91, in and out of the hospital with a worn-out body, but has his memories and never gets asked either.

Seriously, if you know any of the older people who did the job, ask now and ask whether you can record the session. Also, those old cassette tapes and VHS cartridges will need to be transcribed as well as transferred to digital format. One caveat: if you have a well-meaning volunteer do the transcription, have someone familiar with railroad, trolley, aviation or military terminology read through and, if necessary, copy edit. After all, Steve Brodie lost his air brakes, not his “average,” in the Wreck of the Old 97.

A laptop computer with Nuance Dragon software or other talk-to-text speech recognition program can generate a pretty good text version of an interview if you have a good microphone that can be positioned where everyone can be heard. It will be most accurate in translating the speech of the regular user, but it can do a pretty good job with the voices of other participants.

It can also be used to convert narration on a previously recorded video into a text script.

And it can convert narration of a slide or PowerPoint program into a text script as you are presenting the program.

All of these activities are a race against time. One unexpected medical event that impairs speaking ability can occur and all the ability to convey the information understandably is lost. We went through this with a close relative, they went on for several years after the event but could not communicate. It you want to document someone's experience do it now. If you want them to actively participate don't wait until they have medical problems and then expect them to travel to your location. And don't ever criticize anyone for declining a request to participate, they may have medical problems or a situation at home that prevents them from doing so. Anticipate that if you want to see or interview retired people you may have to travel to them rather than expecting them to come to your location.

PC

There are also many items on USN ships of the 1940s that trace back to GM/EMD, Alco, Baldwin, Lima, FM, and GE. Some of this is documented in an article in R&LHS Railroad History a couple years ago. The 5"-38 secondary armament was a GM Fisher Body Division product, the 40mm Bofors were a Chrysler product built under license, and the 20mm Oerlikons were built by Pontiac Motor Division. The World War Two EMD ads showing their locomotives along with scenes of naval weapons are no mistake, the items shown were all GM products.

PC

Over the years, I've been to dozens and dozens of history museums and the only one that caught my attention with anything related to oral history is in your back yard at the National Park's facility in Lowell

You might want to contact some of the cable TV/ channels such as the History Channel or the military channel to see if they can help you.

Bob H