Ryan, I don't agree with you at all and feel compelled to air my opinion.
"whatever changes are made to her become part of what she is"
"#346 is its own prototype. Anything you do to it is written in its history"
So, If it keeps it running it is OK to do. By your measure, it would be just fine if 346 was painted lavender as long as it keeps running. It's OK to cut out the bottom out of the boiler and connect a chain drive diesel to the axles. It keeps it running, right? Scrap the boiler and mount a fiberglass water tank on the frame? It's now part of her, right? It's written in its history, right? How many will even know the difference? Just where do you draw the line?
"People should be more concerned with functionality, not preserving appearances of rusty pieces of metal that are past their usable life"
What you seem to prefer is not preservation, nor conservation. It is modernization. All you seem to care about is operation. If you don't care about preserving pieces of metal that are past their usable life then you are REALLY in the wrong hobby. #346 is ancient piece of junk by modern railroad standards. Do you think US Gypsum would want to use her in its daily freight operations? By your own standards the entire locomotive (not to mention 318) should be thrown out and replaced. If all you are interested in is keeping a locomotive running, then go work for UP or CSX.
"It's not like each repair a railroad made was special or sacred."
I would not say sacred, I would say it is part of the locomotive's history, whether desirable or not. The CRRM is a MUSEUM not a tourist railroad. Living history is great and admirable, but passing off history as something it was not is a lie. In its current form, the 346 was a third string locomotive running on a money loosing operation with underfunded repairs. That is what it was and the patches are part of that story. If you are restoring 4449, that is a very different story. Should they look the same? Should the 346 be restored to look like it was pulling the 20th Century Limited?
"When you restore an old auto for show, do you keep all the dents and dings in the car?"
If you are restoring a "1946 Hudson" by all means, restore it to showroom quality. If you are restoring "John Smith's 1946 Hudson" and it has the dent John Smith put in the back fender and the scratch he put in the bumper and the wire he ran to the choke, then NO do not put it back to factory condition. All those things tell the history of John Smith's 1946 Hudson. This is "D&RGw #346", not "a 36" gauge consolidation". If you want to restore a mass produced item to showroom quality, then work on an EMD f-unit or GP-9. Leave the unique pieces to others who value their uniqueness.
For the record I do volunteer on a NG, a lot. I have done track, rolling stock and mostly railroad buildings. I DO get old photos and replicate changes, patches and even inconsistencies. That is part of the history of the artifact and helps to tell its story. It creates the "mood" of the item. Yes, concessions must be made to the long term survival of the artifact and its nearer term functionality, but that does not preclude preserving its character. Railroads were not showrooms. They were dirty, gritty, industrial sites.
I'm sick if hearing "if the railroad were doing it now they would not have done that any more." If the railroad were doing it now, they would cut it up into scrap, tear up the line, burn the buildings, and give the CEO a big bonus. That is why it is in a MUSEUM, to be PRESERVED. It is not our duty to preserve what might have been by now, it is to preserve what it was THEN!
For every artifact (and YES 346 is and artifact) you must choose "Period of significance" to which you intend to restore it. In my opinion, in the case of steam locomotives the restoration point should usually be the time the last did what it was intended to do. For 346 That was pulling trains on the main. Not running in a circle, a fresh from the factory locomotive, being a parts donor, or a main line loco demoted to yard switcher. Yes, every artifact has history since that important time in its life, but that is not the history we are here to preserve.
Here are my guidelines:
When possible conserve.
When not possible to conserve, repair.
When not possible to repair, replace in kind.
When not possible to replace in kind, replace in spirit.
Christopher D. Coleman
[
www.febt.org] Friends of the East Broad Top
[
www.spikesys.com] East Broad Top Homepage
[
www.eastbroadtop.com] East Broad Top Railroad
