modeler as historian, The

I have often wondered, as a non-modeler, what value there is in being super accurate. When looking at the model layouts that I have seen over the years, it was enough to have a "feel" for the C&O or a particular era on the C&O, and I often berated the "rivet counters" for their obsession with minute detail.

I have been trained as an historian to set things in context, to analyze, and to look at the "big picture." Therefore, the exact shape and height of the lettering on the cab of a T- 1 Texas or the hood of a GP7 diesel, for example, seemed to be irrelevant in the larger picture. I have recently changed my attitude, however, and I now see that there is a reason for the modelers' concern. In fact, I have come to believe that some model hobbyists are great historians without realizing it. Furthermore, I think that the modeling community can become an important element in the larger aspects of railroad preservation in the future.

If we look at museums of all types, whether devoted to ships, frontier forts, or ancient history, we are likely to see models in them of things that have not survived or are too large or remote to have in a museum. I think the same applies to railroads in general and to the C&O in particular. After all, there are no real, full size T-1 2-10-4s left in existence, so the only way we can experience this locomotive is to look at photos or see a model of it. If this model is inaccurate in any appreciable degree, the viewer gets a false impression of a huge and very important piece of machinery and how it functioned. No model is going to recapture the experience of seeing a real steam locomotive in action, but it is the best thing we probably have now or certainly will have in the future, near or distant.

In railroad preservation and history, we are dealing with huge pieces of equipment, massive physical plants, and great distances, none of which helps the job of preservation. To find, restore, and then maintain in good condition even one piece of full-size railroad equipment, locomotive or car, is at best difficult. It is expensive, labor intensive, and time consuming. Given this reality and the largely volunteer nature of most railroad historical organizations, which are unfunded or underfunded, lacking in physical plant, and finding fewer volunteers among their members, the very act of owning a piece of railroad equipment is daunting.

How will this change over time? I believe that as the generations who remember. railroading as a part of daily life dwindle, there will be few who will take on the cause of railway preservation with the great passion that we have witnessed in the last 30 years. Moreover, there will be even less incentive to raise the money and expend the effort necessary to preserve the actual artifacts of railroading - big, heavy, and hard to handle as they all are - and perhaps only a few important collections will remain. In this connection, one thinks of the B&O Railroad Museum, the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum, Steamtown, the California State RR Museum, and the St. Louis Museum of Transport. The others, many as they are today, may simply wither and fall way as their base of support declines.

If this scenario occurs, it may very well be the modelers who become the best preservers of America's railway heritage. They will be able to recreate in miniature almost any era of railroading from the early days to modern times. The attractiveness of model railroading may be one of the few ways to attract the public to the idea of railway preservation and historical study. After all, model railroading can be fun for many people besides the modeler, and it can if properly used become a nonpareil tool for educating a population that is daily becoming more ignorant of the incomparable place railroads have had in the creation of the modern world and of their vital importance today in the evolving economy.

In times past, we had the regular passenger train followed by the mainline excursion train, with its big steam locomotive and fancy restored cars, to draw the public to the rails. Now, with the natural evolution of railroading, such activities seem no longer possible. Many small museums supported by single enthusiasts or small groups such as NRHS chapters, historical societies such as the C&OHS, regional museums, and even tourist railroads that seek to use historic equipment will disappear, as the people and organizations who have sponsored, supported, operated, and developed them die without replacement.

If there is to be a movement to preserve, teach, interpret, and make relevant railway history, it will have to occur in two ways. One is by the modelers, as I have already explained. The other, of course, is that these small groups of enthusiasts seek ways to became professional and institutionalize themselves. If we can, in the next decade or so, make railway preservation and research something like Egyptology, or archeology, or social, political, or military history, then it can be carried on by professionals and academics into the far future when the people who remember the railway age are dust.

I encourage modelers today in their quest for accuracy, and in their ability to recreate the past in miniature. I also want to say that the considerable resources of the C&OHS are open and available to assist in this effort. We are equally capable, by use of our collections, to serve the organization or person restoring a full-sized locomotive or car; the model maker in creating a commercial model; the individual modeler in recreating a scene or piece of equipment from the past; or the writer in giving a sense of the importance that railways had in the creation and development of the industrial nation, which has led us to our technological present through cheap, efficient, swift, and ubiquitous transportation.

We welcome others who would like to write on issues involving railway preservation and history for possible publication.

Copyright Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc. Jun 1999
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