I have written a few article about working on the road, it is one of the things I have to do so we can live the homestead lifestyle we cherish so much. While traveling is a pain, the airline industry has a lot of work to do to get back on the right track….. I do get to visit some just cool and neat places here is one of those places:
Steamtown, PA
We were replacing some exhaust fans in the repair shop, a very cool job at a historic place. Now I have always been interested in trains, especially, old trains. Well, this place restores old steam engines and from what I understand they are the last place in the states that does so. The facility is run by the National Park Service, and like most departments like the NPS, the Fish and Wildlife and the Forest Service are underfunded and understaffed, but that’s not what this article is about. Let’s talk about trains!
They have some really cool stuff in the museum and if you can get a tour of the roundhouse, definitely take it! The finished ones are cool, but what really got my attention was the engines being completely rebuilt. The guys that work there are truly great craftsmen. It’s not like you can just run down to the auto parts store and pick up parts for an engine that ran in the early 1800’s. Every piece needs to be made right down to the rivets that hold the engine together.
It takes years to rebuild one of these, they can spend 18 to 24 month just on the fire box. The plans they work from are over 150 years old.
Unfortunately, the guys are getting old, most are at retirement age and there are no qualified replacements, not a big calling for steam engine mechanics out there. I know they are looking, if you are good with heavy duty metal working and fabrication it might be the right job for you!
We restored the ventilation system in the shop and were on our way to the next job, but I can say we will not forget this one for a long time to come!
We thank you for visiting with us, hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. We'll see y'all next time!
Bob & Colleen Browning
Serenity Valley Farms
Monticello, KY
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