Use it or loose it

John Bush wrote, "'Service em like they serviced em, use em like they used em, and fix em like they fixed em.' To my way of thinking that is the way to preserve and interpret both the product and the process that was the historic railroad."

It is good to hear that kind of statement from somebody who had the dirty job of of fixing them.

I can understand the philosophy of static exhibits that preserve the original fabric, and clearly that is an important element of historic preservation. But as John observes, the product and the process are no less important, and also deserve "preservation" by keeping the skills alive that were needed to operate and maintain the hard assets. Hard assets that nobody knows how to use tell only a small part of the story.

Preservation needs a balance that preserves examples of the original fabric for future generations to study, but also in some cases the original fabric needs to be consumed and replaced so that the skills associated with the hard assets can also be preserved.

What makes the C&TS (and every other operating steam railway) an important part of historic preservation are the skills that it it takes to run them. Those skills are far more perishable than the iron.

JBWX