Further to my idea of providing cab rides aboard a dead steam locomotive (60000 thread), I wonder if the C&O 2-8-4 at Richmond, Virginia might be a candidate? I've never been to Richmond, so do not know the territory, but it appears that the engine already belongs to the Science Museum of Virginia, which is apparently located in the Broad Street Station there, and apparently has some track still in place, with a couple of ex-RF&P passenger cars.

As these locomotives are roller bearing, they should roll fairly easily with some preparation. With an electric car puller at either end (or one end, with a sheave and returning cable), a heavy cable might pull the engine (and perhaps a passenger car and caboose, etc.) back and forth along a piece of track. The cable, fastened to the underside of the engine, could be covered over with plates on the ties, between the rails, for protection should it break. As our industrial complexes now lie in ruins after moving to China, there should be a number of unused car pullers around, and probably some cable also.

The route would need to be fenced, to keep idiots off the track, but the fencing could be placed back enough to allow photography. A one-stall enginehouse could be built at one end of the track for proper shelter, or perhaps an addition to the existing structure.

There could be other possibilities for powering the exhibit, such as a traction motor on a tender axle or even wilder ideas, but the cable seems pretty sensible to me.

As one who remembers Big Boys in regular service, this may seem like heresy to those who love the sight and sound of steam, but lets face it - there will not be a million dollars each available to make all those dead locomotives run again. Somehow, we need to make them meaningful to a public that knows less about railroads each year, or they may not survive much longer than we do. I welcome your comments.

The Richmond 2-8-4:

http://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomo ... splay=1231

Another candidate might be NKP 779 at Lima, Ohio, which already has a suitable shelter. Again, never been there so don't know the particulars.

http://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomo ... isplay=940

I'm sorry, Bob, but my reaction is "Why bother?" Riding the cab of a dead steam locomotive sounds akin to necrophilia.

Yes, it may seem a bit weird, but as I said, the cab of the 60000 has been full everytime I've been there. It certainly isn't much of a ride, but if you charged a buck or two for each head that rode, it might mount up over time. With some donated equipment, materials and labor, it could probably be done at a fraction of the cost of restoration to live steam. The alternative for most display locomotives is to just sit there and rust away, and when those of us who still care are gone, the engines could well disappear also, especially when you read of city council members voting to dig a big hole and bury them. At least the engine would be kept rollable and lubricated and under cover when not moving. In a science museum type of setting, it should be popular with visitors, more so than a static locomotive.

I'm all for live steam, but don't have the million or so needed to repair a big engine like a 2-8-4, and it is getting a lot harder to find grants to do it too. And many of the 1980s "let's make it run again" projects have died after the locomotive was partly dismantled, like C&O 2700 in Ohio, which I think is still in litigation of some kind. One has to wonder how many parts have been lost or even scrapped in the interim..

My guess is that such museums will go the route of a virtual ride before they actually try to solve the issue of something really moving.

Witness the Chicago MSI restored Zephyr with scenery 'moving' past the windows, car shakers/, etc and the Smithsonian using Chicago EL cars in a stationary exhibit with video and sound behind the windows.

Bob Kutella

The Childrens' Museum in Indianapolis also does this. The combine/caboose behind 0-10-0RT "Rueben Wells" has very effective videotaped scenery rolling past the two car windows.

Les