White, John H., Jr. (Author)
IA. The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology
Volume: 7
Issue: 1
Pages: 55-60
Around 4,000 steam locomotives, freight, passenger, and transit cars are preserved in the United States. They are stationed across the land as monuments to our industrial past. Large collections have been established in such unlikely locations as Duluth, Green Bay, and Kennebunkport. Small towns like Chandler, Ariz., and White River Junction, Vt., have steam locomotives on display in public parks isolated on short pieces of track. Even a few public museums house valuable specimens, which are guaranteed long-term preservation. Many groups of enthusiasts operate steam trains on a regular basis much to the delight of the general public, many of whom (including most young adults) have never seen a steam locomotive nor even an electric streetcar in everyday service. Some farsighted collectors are already saving diesel-electrics, knowing that, one day, they too will be an endangered species. With so much activity, so much enthusiasm, and so widespread a preservation movement, everyone interested in railroad history has reason to be grateful for what has already been accomplished. We can never forget our debt to the wise railroad officials and dedicated rail enthusiasts who, many years ago, set aside relics as being worthy of preservation. The variety, age, and technical value of these historic specimens has done much to enrich our national patrimony. America, like ancient Rome, is a nation of builders and doers; like them, our contribution to human progress is best represented by our engineering heritage. But, sadly, our mechanical relics are not likely to survive through the ages as well as have the aqueducts and arenas of imperial Rome for reasons to be explained later in this paper. [First paragraph]
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