The Death of Steam Locomotives Started the Preservation Movement 🚂 History in the Dark 🚂

Music credit:
🟢 Henry's Theme (Sad) -- www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Khc...
🎵 Cover by Luke Pickman -- / instrumentmaniac
Steam locomotives were a crucial element of society for over a century. The revolution of trains helped to connect the world in a way that had never been seen before. However, by the mid 20th century, things were changing. Trains still existed, but the steam engines were being replaced with new, sleek, diesel locomotives. These new innovations were nice, but many realized that soon, steam power would no longer exist on the rails. Many, thankfully, chose to do something about it and created what would become heritage railways.
"A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) in the history of rail transport."
🚂 Further reading 🚂
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritag...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talylly...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodham....
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#trains #truestory #history

[@seanbruce8294]

God, hearing Henry’s sad theme over all those abandoned steam locomotives really does something to you.

[@FranquitoMV2004]

Agree my man, agree

[@fanofeverything30465]

Absolutely 💯 It's really powerful 👏

[@fanofeverything30465]

Especially because Darkness doesn't talk during the 'Henry's sad theme' montage meaning that the viewer is forced to focus on the abandoned steam locomotives

[@marcleslac2413]

Alfred E pearlman: DOOM THEME

[@Your_Local_Express_Locomotive]

Not really, it's sad yes, but Henry's sad theme isn't really sad?

[@VRDenshaOtaku]

Here's a story. When the Victorian railways X class 2-8-2's were getting scrapped, one was saved, it was because the guy who was shunting the scrap line loved this ceritan engine so he had his mates annoy the foreman and shunt this engine to the back so it wouldn't be scrapped It's now bears the driver's name, it's called X36, Gerald a Dee, and is now at the Newport museum in Victoria Australia

[@swut2390]

there's a lot of preserved steam locomotives in my country japan since the last of revenue earning steam in japan was pretty late (December of 1975) there's even engines that were preserved but ended up being scrapped due to being corroded beyond repair or like class C58 number 16 which was involved in the tsunami in 2011... its actually really sad looking at the images of it.

[@samwhite1995]

Just looked that loco up, that was defiantly repairable. It's a crime that it was scrapped 😔

[@roguerailroader4132]

I would really like to see some of these steam engines when I visit Japan. Any rail lines you would recommend a tourist to check out?

[@swut2390]

@@roguerailroader4132 theyre scattered around but the oigawa railway has running preserved locomotives, and if you just want to see steam locomotives, theres a huge railway museum in kyoto

[@roguerailroader4132]

@@swut2390 Awesome! I'll be sure to check them out.

[@roberthuron9160]

The reason that the New York City Transit Authority Transit Museum exists today,is literally the motormen,shop crews,hid sundry rolling stock from the management! So now,the IRT,BRT,BMT,and IND,are now being shown and running in all their glory!! Sic gloria,and we ain't going nowhere!! Thanks for your efforts and dedication 👏 🙏 🙌!

[@godzillahomer]

There's an odd story about a pair of tank engines that were supposed to be taken to the Woodham Brothers scrapyard. A pair of Southern Railway USA Class tank engine, ex-United States Army Transport Corps S100s bought by the Southern Railway, were to be taken to Woodham Brothers for a potential scrapping. 30070 and 30065 were being towed to Barry from Ashford in 1968, but 30070 and 30065 must have decided 'Hell no, I'm not going!'. The pair of 0-6-0Ts developed some overheated bearings that made BR decide to just abandon them at the site of a closed engine shed in Tonbridge. The pair spent 6 months there before being bought by the Kent & East Sussex Railway. If they had made it to Woodham Brothers... There's a quite good chance of them being saved. But small locomotives like 2-6-2Ts, 2-6-0s, and smaller were more likely to get scrapped when the scrappers ran out of trucks and coaches, so there's also a chance they could have been scrapped.

[@fanofeverything30465]

The steam engines were fighting their fates

[@Jamersonde]

"Whatever Birtish Rail was doing. Who knows." Loved that!

[@pirates12343]

that got a chuckle outta me as well

[@stashyjon]

Good stuff. I was lucky enough to visit Woodhams scrap yard in the early 1980's, a fascinating place. Also the history of preservation in the UK predates the Talylln by a good few years. As you said some historic items had been squirreled away over the years, but it was the old North Eastern Railway who post WW1 started to assemble a collection with an eye to openning a dedicated museum. When the LNER took over the NER in 1923 they kept and added to the collection. On the centinary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1925 the LNER displayed thye collection in Stockton and this proved very popular, this inturn lead to the opening of a permanent museum in York the following year. In the meantime a group of enthuiasts, the Stephenson Locomotive Society purchased an old London Brighton and Southcoast 0-4-2 'Gladstone', the first privately preserved loco in the country, and donated it to the York museum, where it was joined over the next few years by GWR loco 'City Of Truro' and former London North Western Railway 2-2-2 'Colombine', purchased from the LMS. Along with various locos etc from other companies the LNER had taken over at the grouping. By the mid 1930's the interest in preservation was picking up and both the LMS and the Southern Railway started to put aside locomotives with a view of openning their own museums. Sadly WW2 came along and an urgent need for scrap metal lead to some, but fortunately not all, of these engines being cut up. Still the war meant that some old locos that would have been cut up as a matter of course were retained by the railways cos every working loco was needed and thus did survive to be preserved. So swings and roundabouts and all that. Anyway loving your vids. Keep up the good work.

[@wisconsincentralrrfan298]

You should do “Top 5 short lived locomotives” next for your top 5 if you want.

[@Yogasefski]

4 of them would probably be British Rail engines and I’m not sure if he can take the stress of that.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

It like to see top 5 fictional steam engines ( even if it includes a certain real engine pretending to be a fictional wartyhog fictional engine, or that ‘ Useful’ engine , doesn’t saying something is ‘ Useful’ actually mean it’s useless? It does when talking about people)

[@philvanderlaan5942]

@@Yogasefski one would probably be the ‘ Best friend of Kaboooomm!!!!! ‘

[@wisconsincentralrrfan298]

@@Yogasefski I’m not saying he should BR all of the time there was some lived ones in US.

[@creaturexxii]

One interesting topic would be on replica steam engines and how they are designed and built to look and operate like the original, but constructed with more modern manufacturing techniques and powered by modern fuel. (For example, the Disneyland train uses scaled down 4-4-0 American steam locomotives powered by diesel oil). Of course, nothing can beat the original, but operational replicas are nice so that the originals can be preserved.

[@obelic71]

DLM in Switserland builds /rebuilds brand new/updates steam engines to modern standards. Most are modern replica's of older types and several are older types who are converted with modern tech. A fun fact is that DLM rebuild and modernised old steam engines for the paddlewheel steam ships at Geneva. They once were build as steam ships in the late 1800/early 1900's then converted to diesel in the 1940's and then converted back to steam in the 2000's Modern computers and tech make sure that the exhaustsgasses of the boilers is way more enviromental friendly then the old diesel engines.

[@hambonethegreat9547]

Okay. So my life has been going downhill, I'm not going to get to into it but thanks to this video of yours I'm going to start volunteering to help with rail preservation in my area. I need somthing to do and those trains need love.

[@HistoryintheDark]

Sometimes the best way to help ourselves is the help with something we believe in. I wish you the best.

[@hambonethegreat9547]

@@HistoryintheDark thanksan that's what I'm going to try and do. The NC Transportation Museum is where I'm going to start.

[@Gothrailfan_Crow]

I think this is your best video so far. The music, the editing, and the jokes are all really on point. The british rail joke made me laugh out loud😂

[@harrisonallen651]

Showing a montage of engines on the scrap heap with Henry’s sad theme really hits hard

[@fanofeverything30465]

Indeed It's just heartbreaking 💔

[@dmtribaltyphoon5001]

You can also talk about the Tornado an extinct steam Loco brought back to life in the modern era. Back in the 2010s

[@godzillahomer]

or Lady of Legend, the new GWR Saint Class. And if we're lucky this year, a new LB&SCR H2 Class.

[@JesusGarcia-ch9gl]

Okay what about the Reading railroad class C1-A build in 1915 and all the engines are rebuild in 1916 and none survive today. That's why I'm going to call this class of steam locomotives from America a ghost train.

[@saltbombcreations8336]

And Pennsylvania Railroad T1 5550

[@davidty2006]

Hmmm. Tornado has featured on an episode of top gear. Where clarkson gets a british rail sun tan.

[@spencerfesing4145]

As a fan of steam locomotives knowing that some very iconic classes are gone is really sad but luckily thats where model railroading can fill the gaps. They will never replace the real engines but it gives us a glimpse of when they were running on the rails. Plus the section with all the photos of scraped locomotives with the Sad Story of Henry theme really hit hard to my feelings. Great video and hay maybe someone will see this and look deeper into preservation and heritage railways.

[@owilliams1031]

This is why Trainz is the only game I play apart from Minecraft.

[@CullenRick]

In the UK there was preservation from the very early days, with a number of engines recognised as being important (although some were sadly scrapped later). It only really took off, though, when we closed a load of lines and, partly inspired by the feature film The Titfield Thunderbolt (which was probably inspired by the TR), a lot of people who might never have considered the idea decided that if British Rail were closing the local line, they'd just run it themselves. In Norfolk, B12/3 61572 was repeatedly called to Stratford for scrapping. The shedmaster at Norwich, Bill Harvey, hid the loco - and eventually it was survived and is now the sole-surviving example of its type.

[@Rocker-1234]

lets not forget as much as shes the poster child for steam and has been the golden child since her creation, the flying scottsman did play a big part in getting people who might never have cared about the preservation movement to start caring and supporting it. cause there were a ton of people who might not have been super into trains but had memories or connections to her, the idea of scrapping her sounded like murdering a celebrity to alot of people. both within and outside of the uk. and i feel that determination to keep her alive and in steam despite bankrupting multiple very wealthy and successful individuals, fueled that spirit of "we need to band together to help save these old beauties cause noone can do it alone" that alot of steam lovers and preservationists alike share.

[@selinapersaud7629]

Thunderbolt was inspired by TR.

[@TheAutisticOwl]

As a Henry fan, that Henry's sad theme really hit me hard.

[@ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I suspect that if JLC had had warning of what Perlman was planning, he may have posed as a scrapper and bought a Hudson. BR was technically both a government entity _and_ a business; basically a government-owned merger of the Big Four. So what they spent was a mix of revenue takings and tax money. And they were under pressure to make things as cost-efficient as possible (like, say, by scrapping the extra jobs that went with steam engines) as fast as possible (hence the "throw diesels at the wall to see what sticks" approach), which a big reason why they were keen to get the scrap money (since that would offset spending somewhat). A reason BR were difficult to negotiate with might have been that behind the scenes, there was plenty of infighting between management inherited from the Big Four.

[@AtlasTheDude]

I just love the fact that this channel is not always about fact But has comedy in it to make people smile

[@kkooiker]

You did miss the Durango and Silverton marrow gauge RR that really never has been out of use since 1882 when it was first laid. The only reason it was down for some time was a flood and roundhouse fire. They also are part of the k36 class of locomotive preservation. They Have 4 and the cumbers and Toltec have 5 of this class. There were 10 of this class built and the only one to get the touch was 485 that fell into a turntable pit in1955 and was deemed to expensive to repair at that time for the G&RGW. I think that this is one of the best stories of preservation that should be told. Also of this class #482 had a total rebuild sind it was left in a yard for a long time. It just amazes me that this many of them survived the financially troubled G&RGW since they likes to cut corners and do things cheep. Love the videos keep them coming

[@asteroidrules]

One of my favorite examples of a preserved steam locomotive is BR 48305, an LMS Stanier 8F class locomotive built in 1943. Withdrawn from service in 1968 it was sent to Woodham Brothers for scrapping, and at some point during its stay in the scrapyard a crying face and the words "please don't let me die" were drawn on the smokebox. It was rescued in 1985 and is currently in service on the Great Central Railway. I really like knowing that one of the saddest images to come from dieselization had a happy ending.

[@arongyorffy3070]

In my country (Hungary) steam locomotives were running until 1984, so perserving some of them in working order was quite easy. Unfortunetly many steam engines that were perserved are sitting in warehouses in, while being perfectly operational, but there is quite literally nobody to drive them. There are like 10 people, (I am not kidding) in my entire country who are qualified to drive steam locomotives on main lines, and they are all old people facing retirement. Worse thing is that the school which trained steam enginers was closed 1985, and since then, there is no way to get all the legal documents you need to be able to drive steam locomotvies, but there are plans to start some courses for regular train drivers. Hopefully nostalgia trains don't die out with their operatros.

[@FabianHunor]

And there are some very irritating decisions of scrapping in the hungarian railways history as well. class 301 number 001 and class m63 number 001 and 002 comes to my mind as examples...

[@arongyorffy3070]

@@FabianHunor Don't even mention the 601 class, or the countless 324s. To be honest, I am somewhat happy that at least we can see a 301 and a 328 at the railway park, even if just as stationary locomotives.

[@FabianHunor]

@@arongyorffy3070 Thankfully the other 301 (006) also got a partial restoration, along with the lone survivor 327 (although that has a lot of mock up wooden stuff on it), but its still irritating that the essentially rebuilt from scratch 301 001 was scrapped because "there is already a scale model of it at the transportation museum, there is no need to preserve the original one" And yes...the hungarian mallets, such a sad loss. So much history was cut up, because of stupid decisions...

[@berkshire4607]

You should do a video/short on Stepney, the first standard gauge engine to be based at the Bluebell Railway, arriving by rail on 17 May 196

[@andreww2098]

Talyllyn is having trouble getting decent Welsh steam coal since the closure of most of the coal mines in Wales and the UK in general and is currently testing new enviromentally friendly alternatives mostly made from waste products from the food industry!

[@johnd8892]

Even in 1861 Australia there was an article in the Melbourne Argus newspaper saying the first locomotive to run in Australia from 1854 and also built in Australia should be preserved due to its significance. Unfortunate that the call was unsuccessful as it seemed to be cut up for use in a sawmill then later fully scrapped when newer surplus equipment turned up. The first locomotive to run in New South Wales, built by Robert Stephenson & Co, in the next year was happily preserved around 1871. Perhaps inspired by the Rocket preservation around 1861,

[@Brickticks]

You know, extinct engines don’t have to remain extinct, fresh new engines just like them, can be built. ALL HAIL THE POWER OF COAL-FIRED STEAM!!!!

[@tylergreen4843]

12:27 *100% accurate* 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@CRISPFELLA]

5550 when it's complete is going to be interesting for the rail community. I know a group in the UK revived a class of steam engine, but with 5550 it's a huge, iconic class of locomotive. I wonder if there's going to be a few old millionaires who would like to see their favorite steam engine one last time. 🤞🤞

[@fanofeverything30465]

What class is it

[@Rocker-1234]

@@fanofeverything30465 its a t1 being built from scratch by the t1trustfund group from the original plans. and honestly i hope it fully comes to fruition. the biggest hinderance atm to preservation is the dying skills needed to run, repair, and maintain steam. as the old folks who ran it in its hayday get older and pass so do the skills since theyre not really seen as meaningful anymore. but projects like it could cause a revival of the skills, especially with them employing a mixture of traditional build techniques but also modern techniques like cnc/welding where it could benefit such as the frame.

[@thegreatwesterner9481]

Here in the uk you can see how many locos got preserved over 200 was preserved from barry scrap yard and then there new build locos there are two in the uk that are finished and still a few to be built and completed this shows how big the preserved scene is in the uk

[@ljts7587]

We here love them that much a small group of enthusiasts rebuilt from scratch an LNER Peppercorn class A1 from 1994 to 2008 as non was saved. Plus Baby Deltic class 23 is also being rebuilt from a class 37. I think the US is rebuilding an PRR T1 duplex by the T1 Trust as the same happened with that class. So yes people love steam and I am one of them.

[@JoshKilen]

they are not rebuilding a PRR T1, they are building one from scratch.

[@CullenRick]

@@JoshKilen The same with the A1, and the W1. Rebuilding means building it from the ground up.

[@thundercreekcustoms]

I think the Pennsy is also a good example of preservation (excluding the T1, though that's soon to be corrected). They basically built an entire museum from locomotives they saved.

[@Rocker-1234]

a good example from outside the US is Queensland rail. no clue what they were like back during modernisation as im way too young, but they have a whole workshop in ipswitch (dont know if its owned by them tho) that dedicates itself to preserving some amazing locos as statics but also acts as the states hub to restore, inspect, and overhaul heritage locos. and QR happily helps with the relocation to said workshop from the heritage railways yard. its honestly beautiful to see the mutually beneficial partnership between QR and the heritage railways keeping the beautiful old girls alive.

[@williamclarke4510]

Someone once told me that there were two Pennsylvania K-4 s In the railroad's historical collection. Someone decided that they only needed one. The prototype K-4 1737 got cut up and the other survived, according to this person.

[@thundercreekcustoms]

@@williamclarke4510 It wasn’t that they only needed one. 1737 had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer worth preserving.

[@brothercomedy1303]

hi history in the dark , I LOVE youre videos and its my birthday today, i'm turning 13

[@HistoryintheDark]

Happy birthday!

[@brothercomedy1303]

​@@HistoryintheDark thank you

[@TankEngineMedia]

@@brothercomedy1303 happy late birthday

[@kevwebb2637]

Yet Union Pacific 119 and Central Pacific Jupiter were scrapped. Those two was the two locomotives in the Golden Spike Photograph. The General even ran under it's own power from 1962-1972.

[@ronanvave560]

To be honest, the presence of steam locomotives speak "I have authority, I am and will always be immortal and I demand respect." Who else agrees?

[@BNSF_SoCal_Productions]

The special effect of the end steam was really touching and love the special effects

[@roguerailroader4132]

I swear that sad theme sounded like it was on some lower tuned ocarinas. It’s just beautifully haunting

[@alexanderpoirier3350]

Love your content! Keep up the awesome work! Some engines “technically” still exist in the forms of their tenders (A D&H Challenger, an NYC/TH&B Hudson and 2-3 L&N ‘Big Emmas.’) Regarding scrap, the Northwestern Steel & Wire Company employed several 0-6-0 (ex-CB&Q I think) were employed for switching duties around their plant. Cue Grand Trunk sending around a dozen of their relatively modern 0-8-0 switchers to what would presumably be their deathbed. However, the owner of the NSW saw these rather brand new engines and decided to employ them. The Yard Goats were scrapped while the Yard Bulls lived on. Their tenders were turned into carrying scrap metal so various tenders from scrapped engines were used, such as a vanderbilt tender from a KCS Pacific. I believe half-a-dozen or slightly more were preserved after diesels replaced the steamers in the 1980’s, though none are operational.

[@NathanielPiscian]

God bless you beautiful people preserving such beautiful steam engines 😭🤧

[@spencerdodd3400]

I have the honor to help Restore a steam locomotive. The 576 from Nashville Tennessee

[@uncinarynin]

Deutsche Bundesbahn retired the last steam locomotive in 1977 and banned all steam locomotives from their network until 1985. Some private clubs restored steam locomotives to running order but could only run them on private railways during that time. This changed in 1985 when DB held some preservations for the 150 year jubilee of Germany's first public steam railway (Nürnberg - Fürth opened 1835). They actually supported the restoration of a number of locomotives and also allowed running them on regular lines again, provided those lines were checked before to avoid any hazard of bushfires. During the steam age, shrubs and trees next to the tracks were regularly cut down so they wouldn't get ignited from the sparks of steam locomotives. This isn't necessary to do any more since there are no steam locomotives regularly operating any more, which is why the surrounding of rail lines looks much greener nowadays than it used to be. So occasionally there are still fires ignited by steam locomotives; firefighters are notified of steam trains and ready to extinguish any fire. Likewise on the Furka mountain line in Switzerland (which was replaced by a tunnel in 1981 and removed, only to be built up again as a museum line by volunteers a few years later) a train with a diesel locomotive and a wagon with water tank is following steam trains, checking carefully for any fires caused by the steam train and putting them out. That's especially crucial because the train operates in a protected nature area.

[@RetroPro7101]

Henry’s sad theme is a real tear jerker

[@mozeskertesz6398]

The saddest thing that can happen to a steam locomotive is a broken cyllinder. Over 8 years ago, the last operational Class 324 locomotive had a broken cyllinder. Because there are no spare cyllinder blocks left, it became just a standing statue engine. That one class of locomotive was the most numerous class of locomotives ever built in Hungary, with over 900 locomotives built from 1906 until the 30s. They were basically a simplified version of the Class 322 2-6-2 Pacifics, without inside cyllinders and they were optimised for mixed traffic use. For the kind of mundane jobs. They were never the strongest or fastest, but the most numerous.

[@joelpaltzer8732]

I once wrote a blog post comparing the preservation of steam engines with how there will always be a passion for non-electric cars even long after the last combustion engine is put in a passenger vehicle. Progress requires change, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to enjoy these artifacts of the past today.

[@exarkun42]

One interesting thing: the story of how the Duke of Gloucester was saved inspred the story of how Oliver was saved in Awdry's books.

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

That's a new one on me. Can you explain?

[@timthetrainguy]

This is probably my favorite one of your videos

[@Arturobrito0502]

I recomemd you do a list on preserved engines that survived train crashes.

[@the4tierbridge]

Federal Express GG1?

[@Arturobrito0502]

@@the4tierbridge that's one for it, but another im thinking about is via rail 6300

[@TB76Returns]

One locomotive should be D1501, a Class 47 that suffered a nasty crash in Leeds around 1977, and then wound up in preservation

[@Dannyedelman4231]

Great northern 2485 great northern 2507 Spokane portland and Seattle 700

[@Arturobrito0502]

@@TB76Returns ok, any steam engines for the tittle apart from big boy 4005?

[@wdubbelo]

im suprised that you didnt talk about NS since they were the first in the world to abolish steam and were hellbend on scrapping as many steamlocomotives as possible

[@johnd8892]

A lot of Americans reading your comment would see NS as Norfolk Southern and not the Dutch system though. So leading to confusion. I think the Florida East Cost or the Seaboard Air Line scrapped all steam by 1949 or so. Wasn't Holland 1959?

[@miles_da-tractor_man]

I think someone should start a train workshop dedicated to bringing back extinct steam locomotives

[@amtrakproductions-mx9ib]

In my country usa we have more then 1900 steam locomotives preserved and one railroad southern pacific preserved a lot of there steam locomotives like a total of 63

[@Kilnline]

You're very right about that newer generations of locomotives and stock are now being expected to be preserved as and when they get replaced. Now that here in the UK our aging yet still amazingly reliable Class 43 HST locomotives are being replaced by the Class 800 EMU's, Whole trainsets of the HST's are being preserved even if they're limited to 25mph for the rest of their lives... and lets not forget all the Class 143 Pacers being preserved. The steam preservation era here is only going from strength with the new build locomotives rolling out the sheds every year or so too. The GWR saint class 'Lady of Legend' was constructed using parts from several other locomotives which would have otherwise never need steam again. Woodhams have had a massive impact on preservation here and thanks to them, we have nearly most of the GWR line-up of locomotives either statically preserved or in steam.

[@asteroidrules]

In his 1832 essay on the preservation of historical architecture, Victor Hugo said "We owe the future an explanation of the past." Hugo was a champion of the architectural preservation movement that began in the 19th century, the same attitudes of which led to the rail preservation movement beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, and the technological preservation movement that's begun rather recently. Technology and society move forward, always have, always will, but a journey requires a beginning even more than a destination, and preserving history is absolutely invaluable. It's sad that so many important pieces of history have been lost, but ultimately some good came from it if they inspired the preservation movements to save what wasn't.

[@georgecook3658]

I saw the Bluebell railway in this video as well and it's in East Grinstead in the UK so if you're near I highly recommend it.

[@DukeOfTrains]

He lives in America

[@wisconsincentralrrfan298]

I’m surprised you didn’t even talk about North folk and western. That railroad had steamers untill last one retired in the 1960. But great video.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

4:50 Factual error in commentary. There were about 175 steam locomotives earmarked for preservation under the National Collection register. These were a representative selection of all types on the BR network in the 1950s/1960s.

[@jacehackworth6413]

The Talyllyn is my Meka. I would love more than anything to live around and volunteer there. Especially since Edward Thomas has a Hackworth valve gear. Fortunately a few decades ago my state bought two big freight engines from China and they are stored in my town. They're the only running steam locos in the state I know of(well not right now but after some repairs.)

[@kristoffermangila]

That means your from Iowa, and the locomotives you're referring to belonged to Iowa Interstate. Both of these Chinese steam locomotives are in Illinois IIRC.

[@selinapersaud7629]

It’s my ultimate dream to see that railway.

[@Geschrotteten]

Nice video :)

[@GP30_Foamer]

Those cutaways with Alfred E. Perlman and the Class 17 were absolutely hilarious!

[@owilliams1031]

I thought those were on the Southern Pacific, not New York Central.

[@robertferrick463]

Seeing all those images; of locomotives left to rot. 😢 😢 😢

[@Drockthe3rd]

The Monon also rapidly dieselized, but sold some of its Mikados to the Soo Line. 2 were originally offered to their respective towns. The first town accepted the donation, but the second denied the donation.The only surviving Monon steam locomotive is 504, or Soo Line 1024

[@wisdenandpompey7373]

Not enough is made of the significance of the Beeching cuts. Without Woodhams there would be far fewer locomotives, but without Beeching there would be far fewer lines to run them on. Amazing how two things designed to destroy the railways went on to help preserve them. Would have to say that the drawing of the Class 17 looked far more reliable than the real thing.

[@zynniadegalicia7989]

Agree that part is never talk about at all

[@williamclarke4510]

That's the way all preservation movements start. A lot is gone before an effort to preserve gets underway.

[@Randomstuffs261]

Roses are Red Violets are Blue I love underwater train man and so do you

[@thebigtrainguy]

'bout you make a second channel history in the light for best trains ever?

[@srfurley]

BR published a list of steam locomotives which they thought ought to be preserved. I can’t remember how many were on it, but it was more than might be expected given that preserved railways weren’t really a thing at the time so they could only have gone to be static exhibits in museums.

[@Rocker-1234]

the sad thing with br from the seems of it it wasnt even thier call. they seemed happy running steam, hell some of thier ordered engines from memory werent even delivered yet when the modernisation plan went into place. from my understanding it was the government who were kinda like "we told you to standardise this crap, either standardise and bring us up to the new age or we'll find someone who will" so they went into panic mode which lead to the pearlman style eradication of steam.

[@fanofeverything30465]

​@@Rocker-1234 Couldn't they have just refused to comply and then when they got chucked out

[@williamgeorgefraser]

Back in the 60s, when BR was sending vast numbers of steam engines to scrapyards, it was actually written into the contracts that the engines would be scrapped and not sold on to preservation societies. The only reason so many steam locos are preserved in the UK is due to Dai Woodham who stored more than 200 locos in his scrapyard in Barry in South Wales. He is a much cherished figure in preservation circles. OMG! The photo of that Clayton Class 17 made me laugh. I was living in Scotland at the time and we had these going past every day churning out toxic fumes. However, I even feel nostalgia for them now and wish that more than 1 of the 117 had been preserved.

[@TheSaint491]

The uncomfortable truth is, though we love steam, the railways saw them as a tool to do a job, and if something is no longer suitable for tasks, it is replaced and scrapped to recoup some costs

[@anthonyluna7309]

There's still alot of abandoned trains sitting in thick brush around the world, both steam and diesel. I know in Alaska there is some, though they are slowly rusting away.

[@train0996]

don't forget the groups working to bring back those classes that weren't saved, such as what the T-1 trust is doing by building a new PRR T-1 Duplex, or what the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust did with their New-Build Peppercorn A1 Tornado

[@fanofeverything30465]

I was also very surprised he didn't mention that since the T-1 is his favourite class of locomotive

[@thefuriousgamer2553]

Absolutely love the video I’m never knew that the ceo of NYC was so against steam locomotives being preserved I would love to see a Dreyfus’s Hudson, J3 Hudson, L4a Mohawk, and a Niagara be rebuilt I think that would be amazing!

[@kristoffermangila]

That's in sharp contrast with several railroad CEOs, most notably Cyrus Eaton of the C&O, and the Claytor Brothers on N&W and Southern.

[@trainnerd3029]

2:27 that is an amazing photograph!

[@joshuaW5621]

Barry Scrapyard should appear in Thomas once it’s revived. I’d love to see BoCo or Bear rescuing a steam engine from here.

[@RailPreserver2K]

Have you thought of doing something concerning crab orchard and Egyptian railroads steam locomotives ?

[@j.van-history8856]

Great video about the preservation movement. This is in part why I like the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum and Strasburg railroad because they tended to preserve things instead of throwing them away. Just like an old memento, it might not have monetary value but it does have intrinsic value.

[@andrewwilbraham6875]

Good video but think that the Beeching Report was far more influential in the heritage railway system in the UK. With 1/3 of all railways being closed in the UK, it gave gave clubs cheap rights of way to reconstruct lines and a place for locos and rolling stock without having to pay rent to BR (one of the original major problems with preservation). This also made it much simpler when the 1st gen diesels were being retired and many more of them (and second gen) survived the cutters torch.

[@samwhite1995]

Should do a video on the Shear scale of the UK heritage steam industry.

[@stephenheath8465]

AT&SF did a great job saving many of their Steamers

[@williamclarke4510]

Likewise UP, Burlington, SP, and C&O.

[@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014]

I’m praying Canadian Pacific spares an SD80MAC, even if all that CRHS can get their hands on is just the shell of an SD80MAC

[@EdsBrain]

If possible can you do episodes of the collapsing of multiple railroad companies? And the what lead to Amtrak and Conrail to exist? There were so many rail companies in the US by the late 40s that few exist today in some form.

[@karaokebackgroundplaylists9878]

12:46 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 *I CAN'T !!!* THIS IS COMPLETELY HILARIOUS!!!!

[@johneon52productions]

It amazing to think back then that the hero of saving stream engine and preserve to heritage railways and some still on the mainline it the the talyllyn railway and the railway series from people working together and helping out at a railway and a book series from a Legends.

[@nathanlerma9891]

I am sad to see the majority of steamers reduced to scrap metal but at the same time I'm glad some are still steaming and going strong making them even more timeless and precious 🚂🚃🚃

[@matthewpowell2429]

It's a shame many engines were lost. I wouldn't have been surprised if people sued the NYC after that Alfred scrapped most of his steam engines.

[@graphtonix6607]

I really want to see the SP AC9 steam locomotives come back.

[@trainglen22]

New York Central was a big player in scrapping the Hudson, Nigagra and Mohawk and Berkshire locomotives.

[@DrFruikenstein]

I wonder if A. Pearlman was the inspiration for Petticoat Junction.

[@daskriegsman7013]

Sad to know that even during this preservation mind shift. They could only save about 1% of all the locomotives from my home state. Maryland. Only about 4 from the B&O and 2 from the Western Maryland remain.

[@09JDCTrainMan]

Also, I find it amazing that 12 out of 90 C&O Kanawhas managed to get preserved, and there was originally going to be 13.

[@kristoffermangila]

Credit that to the president of C&O at the time of dieselization, Cyrus K. Eaton. As his company was replacing steam locomotives with diesels, he was looking for communities, museums, even schools, in order to save as many steam engines as he could.

[@fanofeverything30465]

What happened to the 13th

[@09JDCTrainMan]

@@fanofeverything30465 It got vandalized badly and, sadly, was later scrapped.

[@fanofeverything30465]

@@09JDCTrainMan Thanks for the information 🙏🏻 It's a crying shame 😢

[@09JDCTrainMan]

@@fanofeverything30465 Anytime, and it is :(

[@tlblade]

I always wonder how the two NYCRR Mohawks 2933 & 3001 survived Alfred E. Perlman directive prehaps a good story for the future.

[@09JDCTrainMan]

2933 I believe was already to be an exhibit at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis as a request penned by the musuem director and Perlman decided to actually donate her to the musuem instead of scrap her. As for 3001, she was sold to the Texas & Pacific Railroad to replace the heavily vandalized and subsequently scrapped 2-10-4 638. There's more to it, but those are mainly how the 2 Mohawks made it into preservation.

[@J0hnstrains]

2933 was hidden in some of NYC's shops, and 3001 was shipped to the Texas State fairgrounds to replace Texas and Pacific 2-10-4 "Texas type" 638, which was heavily vandalized. The only reason 2933 was not scrapped was because it was hidden, and 3001 was sold to the Texas and Pacific Railroad.

[@saltbombcreations8336]

That guy must’ve had some issues. Seriously, preserving Niagaras and Hudsons is not going to make your railroad look old. Think Alfred, think.

[@fanofeverything30465]

He did a video on it

[@micoasters]

Are those prr t1s? Also seing the Hiawatha is so sad as that’s my second fav steamer behind the pere Marquette berkshires

[@fumetsuno5022]

honestly, i think the last good era of locomotives was maybe in the end of BR in Britain. the end of the Deltics, choppers, warships, and such. no one really looks at a modern locomotive with any love, yah we might look at them when going past and go "oh cool." but it's really steam and the old diesel that bring eyes to them for just being them.

[@thesudricmerman3318]

Could you talk about new build steam engine and your thoughts on it

[@donkeyboy585]

The Franklin institute in Philly was ahead of the curve (or they just lucked out being close the Baldwin) getting their locomotive in 1933

[@steam1303]

Is it just me or was this video faster than normal

[@multikings20]

Not train related but the circumstances of the loss of CV-6 were similar. despite a movement to preserve the most decorated American ship of WW2 interest was deemed too low and she was scrapped, despite her historical significance.

[@NERRP2017]

Steam engines are alive, and all have stories to tell From the s160’s that ran here and on the Rivera branch line in the UK, or the engines that handled war time freight and troop trains, or the steam engines that were preserved but almost made it And with the amount of paranormal things In the world ghost trains are real, and the ghost of steamers can be found. And my friends agree with me that a steam engine isn’t a machine, it’s a living breathing mammoth, that can sound and act like a human, and yet not make a single word, but still have a sense of voice and power that makes it truly alive, many people just say “Oh look a steamer, yay” For me though, I see a steam engine in person or on video and think “How alive the engineer must feel to be at the throttle of a sometimes temperamental but awesome piece of technical history, yeah the same thing can be said for older diesels but nothing can beat the sounds and sight of a old steam engine working hard to pull a train

[@saltbombcreations8336]

9:20 Alfred: Now get off your lazy a**, and go get me another steam engine to KILL! Worker 1: You know what? We’re sick of all your sh**. Alfred: What? Worker 2: Yeah. Alfred: YOU’RE FIRED! Worker 2: No. Alfred: *Pulls out chainsaw * GRR! Worker 2: AAA! *Gets mauled to death * I’M BLEEDING! Alfred: NOW GO GET ME ANOTHER GRILLED CHEESE DELU- I mean, STEAM ENGINE NOW! OR I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB! That’s what I thought.

[@lucasquintanilla1673]

Off-topic I know but was that fire emblem three houses battle music that was playing at one point?

[@kathryncampbell9564]

Some steam locomotives died so others can be saved and more to be built.

[@srfurley]

4:58 BR did produce a list of locomotives which they considered to be of historical significance and which they proposed should be preserved. I forget how many were on the list but it was quite a large number, I thank somewhere between 50 and 100.

[@owilliams1031]

They must’ve forgotten about this list

[@sprinkle7176]

You could've named this video to make a foamer cry

[@RailPreserver2K]

Also nice omage to Winston link