I am somebody who hasn't posted on here in months (for my own sanity) but remains a frequent lurker due to the sheer comedy, and it seems that complaining about ad hominem arguments here is throwing stones in glass houses. So its enough reason for me to point out the irony in this especially for this one member in particular being the cause of every thread taking a sudden left turn I can remember lurking here for the last few months.

* In this thread already a discussion that started about Steamtown immediately had Superheater making a comment on masking policy (or quote "face-diapers"). It has since concluded with the accusation that all liberals are totalitarians with a quote from a prominent Conservative author.

* An earlier thread of absurdity about the value of college degrees ended up spinning off into a second thread by Superheater about how pumpkins were perceived by the left to be racist, and that was proof of the failure of college to produce anything of value.

* Countless examples in the price of fuel thread about attempting every argument possible to pin the issue on the left.

Usually all the timbres, tones, words and statements of each of these arguments ends up reducing to just this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fce9zXoAPmc

The last few months it has been clear that Superheater operates his posts on one central thesis, "Liberals Bad, Conservatives Good." It doesn't matter how appropriate to the conversation or not such an argument would be; if there is any sliver of opportunity Superheater will gladly slide in and fire off a round of salvos to prove "Left Bad" whenever he gets a chance. Unfortunately it seems that some of the site admins are sympathetic to this political cause, or just plain ignorant of how such blatant partisan arguing is causing RYPN to be perceived in the wider rail community as this is a place where old men gather to sling mud at each other. It ultimately degrades the purpose of this site as a gathering point for rail preservation, and speaks volumes as to why more and more actual preservationists are increasingly ignoring the words said here.

Or to put it bluntly:
RYPN (in theory) is a site to talk about old choo choo trains.

Of course while it is true that politics may not always be separated from rail preservation (the trail vote in Santa Cruz this year, or even Tom Rolt's statements about British government overreach back in 1953 in rail preservation's own Holy Book Railway Adventure). But it has to be recognized that somebody bringing politics constantly here has a theory to prove that isn't about trains but only a political agenda to their primarily espoused view.

I have seen this myself before on this site, I once entered an argument somebody started about COVID in 2020 with my stance only to get a direct message from them about "We'll see how this pandemic actually plays out, get your house's title ready and prepare to gamble that if you want to back up your words Liberal!" (Joke is on him, I am not a home owner). But regardless this effort to try and antagonize other members of this site is part of the reason people are sliding into inactivity and leaving the forum to become an increasingly echo-chamber fest of mud slinging. Its a big reason I haven't touched this site often other than to leave posts like this once in a blue moon is the knowledge that anything perceived to be slightly out of somebody's esteemed political viewpoint will cause a horde of site users to jump down their throat to attempt to prove their point.

Its not that such incidents of bad counterintuitive arguments mixed as both political and personal attack don't happen elsewhere nor are they limited to the right or left (I can't tell you how many times I have had to mute transit fan accounts I follow after seeing them starting to quote how Marxism solves mass transit). The point is though such arguing on this forum is facetious, creates no real solution, and only serves to increase this site's scorn from a wider web audience.

Many people flock to the railfan hobby to escape the daily grind, and that includes escaping from the 24/7 political & news cycle many people are feeling increasingly trapped by. If every prospective future rail preservationist looking from an escape from mundanity is assaulted by a partisan political opinion zealot every time they dare approach the preservation field, it will only ensure those would-be preservationists will decide to take their time and money elsewhere. Save the preservation field's strength on arguing on politics for causes we all share and not throwing stones over obscure journal articles about pumpkins.

One of the lessons I have learned from practising law for longer than many of you have been alive is that not only is everyone capable of absolutely monumental moments of ignorance and stupidity regardless of politics, religion, or any other discriminator and that these moments are often coupled with bouts of acute porcine cranium syndrome.

I know a few people who now have fewer teeth and one who can't say so well out of one eye after posting one too many insults online and eventually reaping the whirlwind at the hands of others who might have watched too many John Wayne movies growing up.

We all, from time to time, type stuff we wouldn't dream of saying to someone's face. And based on observation of most train fans I've met over many years, very few have the skills to meet such a challenge.

This forum, sadly, has more than it's share.

WARNING!!! THIS POST CONTAINS PRESERVATION-RELATED MATERIAL. IF YOU OR ANYONE IN YOUR COMMUNITY IS OFFENDED BY SUCH MATERIAL PLEASE HIT THE BACK BUTTON IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT VIEWING SAID MATERIAL.

Some of the supply-chain issues related to construction materials and the budgetary concerns involving NPS procurement have been mentioned. As to the heating system in question, is it part of the historic fabric of the site and so would repair have required submitting 106 paperwork? Could allowing the system to fail such that it requires emergency repair have been a method utilized by those charged with operating the site to get around budgetary and/or preservation constraints?

In no way do I know if/whether this is the case with Steamtown NHS.

But many cities in the East a century and more ago, had "central heating" in the form of massive steam pipeline loops under the downtown streets, fed by central boilers. These were deemed more efficient than each tall building running its own heating system. In many cities these heating pipeline systems survive today, with an occasional disruptive fracture or explosion. Other places that had such "central heating" include(d) universities, hospital complexes, mental institutions, and large industrial plants--like railroad shops. I believe Altoona's Juniata Works had such a system. And Steamtown occupies a large former Lackawanna shops complex.

Replacing such a system temporarily is not an easy task. We're not talking grabbing a furnace or water heater. I've seen and researched trailer boilers designed for temporary or emergency use at the likes of hospitals, and they sometimes require permits to move, plus power hook-ups, plus fire hoses for water supply, etc. (No way we're ever going to get one for the museum's "whistle blow.") Remember hearing about how some last big steam locomotives were used as temporary boilers at the likes of Union Carbide's W.Va. plants or canneries? This is not a steam thresher boiler; N&W Mallets in multiple weren't enough in the one case.

We can argue endlessly (and no doubt will) about when and how this apparently flawed situation at Steamtown should have been remedied. But in all probability this is a FAR more daunting task than just calling a HVAC guy, which could account for why it's apparently been taking so long..

I'm pretty sure the roundhouse and contemporary buildings had house steam from a central steam system. These were common back in the day, especially with the locomotive shop (now a defense industry) being there.

While the roundhouse itself might not be heated, the offices and locker rooms would be. Likewise, the roundhouse would need steam for cleaning and to move a cold engine on house steam.

Phil Mulligan

Hopefully the 0-6-0 was properly winterized.

Bob