We do a lot of articles on GeekDad about modern technology and modern conveniences, but an old technology that still captures the hearts and minds of techies around the world is the steam locomotive. They are beautiful to see in a museum, and even more amazing to see in action.
The folks over at Hack A Day have a post today with a video of a 1930s era steam locomotive coming together, and it is fascinating to watch. I can’t say I agree with the statement at the beginning of the video that seems to glorify the lack of modern safety equipment and oversight, but, other than that, the video covers an amazing array of manufacturing techniques including forging, casting, and machining. I highly recommend giving it a look and maybe using it as a preparation video before you go to a train museum.
Need to find a train museum? Some of my favorites are:
- B&O Railroad Museum – Baltimore, MD
- New Hope Railroad Museum – New Hope, PA (Autoplay Music Warning)
- North Carolina Transportation Museum – Spencer, NC
Feel free to mention your favorites in the comments!
Retrotechtacular: Steam Locomotive Contruction in the 1930s.
The California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, located at the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, is one of the largest and best in the country and a must-visit for any railroad geeks.
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg (near Lancaster). We visit every. single. June. http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/
Also, the Colorado Railroad Museum near Golden.http://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/
And the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, NE. Not near the real golden spike, but there are a lot of artifacts and a ton of modern-day trains to see at the Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard. A great stopping point for someone enduring a cross country drive across I-80. http://www.goldenspiketower.com/
And the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke. http://vmt.org/ <– this museum allows visitors to see restoration of steam locomotives in progress (the NC Museum in Spencer does that also). The VMT is currently fundraising to bring Norfolk and Western's famous "611" locomotive back to operation for tourist excursions.
(Can you tell I'm married to a train fan?)
For more Southeast PA Train Fun
the Strasburg Railroad http://www.strasburgrailroad.com and the PA Railroad Museum across the street are excellent. http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/ I’ve been there several times. Also the Day out with Thomas Trains were built in Strasburg, and they do tours of the shop at lunchtime most days.
I’ve heard excellent things about Steam Town but have not made the trip http://www.nps.gov/stea/
for the St Louis Area http://www.transportmuseumassociation.org/ a place my dad took me many times as a boy and loves to take the grandkids when we are in town.