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PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER HENRY R. CARSTENS


VICE PRESIDENT JOHN A. EARLEY EDITOR


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ASSOCIATE EDITORS WALTER C. LANKENAU OTTO M. VONDRAK


CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JAMES D. PORTERFIELD


COLUMNISTS


ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD THOMAS KELCEC GREG MONROE GEORGE M. SMERK JEFFREY D. TERRY WES VERNON


SUMPTER VALLEY RAILROAD 19 WITH AN EXCURSION TRAIN IN JULY, 2007 AT McEWEN, OREGON. PHOTO BY ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD The Spirit of The Past


ONE OF THE GREATEST TENSIONSin the world of heritage railroads is that be- tween preservation and restoration. The goal of preservation is to save “original fab- ric,” the actual boards, metal, or other mate- rial from which an object was made. Alter- ation, repair, or restoration is an anathema to preservation, as it destroys valuable data. How, for example, can we know the original paint colors of a structure if it has been sanded down to be “restored” with modern paints? On the other side is restoration. Those who advocate restoration note that while data is valuable, data in absence of presence is largely in absence of meaning. History matters, and I am strongly an ad-


vocate of preserving as much of it as we can. There are many questions about the past that, but for the want of some form of record — of data — we might better understand. Yet when it comes to history, and especially rail history, I put myself square in the camp with the restorationists, for experience is the best teacher. One of my favorite subjects are narrow


gauge railways, especially the lesser known roads outside of Colorado and New Mexico. I’ve spent a fair amount of effort digging in- to these obscure roads, but none of the court records, the correspondence in cramped handwriting, nor the grainy old photos made it come alive. What finally did was a visit to the Sumpter Valley Railway in Bak- er City, Oregon. The resuscitated “Stump Dodger” includes in its roster car 20, an 1882 Pullman-built coach. Now 120 years old, the car is now in regular service. Riding this truss-rod, wooden car as it creaks and moans down the tracks is a lesson in the furtive hopes and futile realities of these slim-gauge wishful empires. Yet if the Sumpter had merely preserved


the 20, it would barely exist at all. When the railroad got it back, it had been cut in two to serve as outbuildings at a farm. As an arti-


4 MARCH 2012 • RAILFAN.COM


fact, it was of limited value. Reassembled, repaired, and restored to service, it became something more than the sum of its re- mains: it regained a sense of spirit. Is this too flowery, too unserious, too un- scientific? I don’t think so. We are alive, and we connect best to those things that we feel are equally alive. It is no coincidence that, when we speak of locomotives or cars on dis- play, we say they are “stuffed and mounted,” much like Teddy Roosevelt’s famous grizzly. But how far can we carry this idea of spirit or experience? Look no further than page 26 of this is-


sue, where Tom Nanos describes a case where there is no original fabric left at all. In Essex, Conn., a representative New Haven 2-8-2 once more breathes amongst us. This engine began its life in 1989 in China, and was exported to the U.S. specifically for tourist railroad trade. Three years of work has finally come to completion, and the en- gine has emerged near enough in appear- ance to a New Haven J-1 class that she wears the number 3025, the next in the se- ries. She operates on former New Haven rails and is an appropriate stand-in to demonstrate to visitors what railroading was like on the branch lines of Connecticut in the 1920s. There is no “original fabric” here. Yet


stand beside the tracks. Listen to the sound of the steam and air and water, hissing and humming and spitting. Feel the rhythm in your chest as the air compressor pumps. Smell the sand burning as the fireman cleans the flues. Only after that, argue with me that this is less history than the ghost of light recorded in silver halide.


Alexander B. Craghead is a writer, photog- rapher, watercolorist, and self-described “transportation geek” from Portland, Ore. You can reach out to Alex on our web site at www.railfan.com/departures.


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