[N&W] Re: Steam Train Restoration
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Mon May 31 14:40:47 EDT 2004
I also have worked at the Illinois Railway Museum for many years (14 to be
exact) and have fired, engineered, and done maintenance for many
years. Jason was correct in that for may years, there were very few young
people working on steam. For the last several years, I was the second
youngest regular worker and I will be 36 in a few months. I believe until
about the last year, there were only a few of us under 50. Luckily, we
have a new crop of interested members, many of which are under 40.
The key to maintaining a group that can work on steam is to have a mix of
old and young people. The older guys need to teach the young guys, and the
young guys need to learn by experience. Operating and maintaining a steam
engine is a lot of work, and the new FRA requirements have only made it
more time consuming. Larger engines also take more work than small
engines. A Russian decapod is not a large engine, but it is big enough to
have super heaters, a stoker, and other appliances that small engines don't
have. A small non-superheated engine would be a lot less work for a group
that did not need a large engine.
Jason Maxwell
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