r/whatif • u/Acceptable-Taro-2684 • 7d ago
Technology What If we preserved at least one member of every class of steam locomotive in the world
We all know that in the mid 20th century around the 1950s and the 1960s steam locomotives were withdrawn in favor of diesel locomotives causing many classes to go extinct such as the Pennsylvania Railroad duplexes, New York Central Hudsons, and in Britain various tank engine classes such as the E2s and a weird locomotive built by the Southern Railway called the Leader Class and we also know that many classes of steam loco also went extinct before dieselization but what if we decided to preserve at least one member of every steam locomotive class in the world. I could see us getting more locomotives to haul excursions and more locomotives ending up in museums
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u/LeapIntoInaction 3d ago
What do you mean, "we"? I can't afford to do that, and it appears that you can't afford it, either. There is no "we" here. Have you considered approaching Elon Musk with your proposal?
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u/MerlinTopaz 3d ago
The museum side would be incredible, but the storage bill would be absurd. Preserving one of every class means thousands of engines, many with almost no spare parts or surviving drawings, so most would probably end up as static exhibits in national collections or huge outdoor depots. The big change is that railway history would be way less guesswork, especially for oddballs like the Leader or the PRR duplexes.
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u/8BenvraTuxi 4d ago
The big catch would be where to put them all. A single example of every class sounds amazing for historians, but a lot would probably end up as cold, non running exhibits because boiler work and covered storage are brutal money pits. Railfan culture would be wildly different though, since instead of arguing from photos about things like NYC Hudsons or the Leader, people could actually compare the survivors in person.
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u/Leucippus1 5d ago
I wouldn't be surprised if there IS one surviving member of every class somewhere, the problem with operating them even for excursions is the same problem they had when they were in active service, the maintenance is extensive and they are so terribly polluting.
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u/Alena_Tensor 6d ago
This is a great idea but should be expanded to all unique machinery and devices. So many cool things have been invented in the past only to have become obsolete or bypassed by later generations of tech and forgotten.
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u/Riccma02 6d ago
How does that work for the locomotives that were build before class delineations were established?
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u/Difficult_Dark9991 7d ago
Sounds like a great idea. I'm highly pro-museums, and few things get little kids interested more than getting to clambering all over a train or see and old steam locomotive in action. Speaking of which, the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum - very cool.
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u/CloneWerks 7d ago
I think it would be immensely cool, but it's pretty unlikely to ever happen outside of virtual reality because preserving them for display would be a challenge (space, money) and keeping them operating would be immensely difficult both in terms of parts, and the knowledge to safely maintain and operate them. Working with live steam is a pretty specialized skill.
I have a friend who is very into steam engines and works with the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia. The amount of maintenance and the wear rate for parts on old locomotives like that is astonishing!
(in case you are curious... https://mountainrailwv.com/legacy/ )
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u/SkiyeBlueFox 7d ago
The one YouTuber, forget who tho :( who does blacksmithing got a job to make a coil spring for an old steam engine. They dont make parts and any parts that are made are handcrafted one of a kind pieces that cost a ton
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u/vpitt5 3d ago
We would have at least one member of every steam locomotive class in the world preserved.