Crazy Questions That The Public Asks

[LivingLegend]

Continuing on the "Locomotive Is Not A Train" thread theme....

How many out there have had the public, or non-hobbyist/non-steam enthusiast visitors ask you a "roll your eyes", "shake your head" type question?


This question was asked of me, many years ago, back in the days when LALS's old "Sutchville Station" was still the loading area for it's public riders.

I had pulled into the station, and while the passengers were unloading/loading, I was filling the tender.

There was this guy standing behind the station's viewing area fence line next to the loco I was running. When I put the hose into the tender, he asks me....

"What's that you're putting in there? Gasoline?"

Not an unreasonable queston to ask.... Assuming that he thought I was refueling.

I replied, "No. It's water."

To which this guy now asks me, in all unknowing sincereity and amazement......

"How do you burn water?"

Now, mind you, it was a STEAM locomotive that I was running


Boggles the mind.

LL

[ccvstmr]

...and an appropriate (or not) answer regarding "how do you burn water" might have been...

...very carefully and inside a pressure vessel. Carl B.

[LivingLegend]

...and an appropriate (or not) answer regarding "how do you burn water" might have been...

...very carefully and inside a pressure vessel. Carl B.

I just gave the guy a quick answer back.

The loco I was running was oil fired, so I just told him the loco burned oil. The oil fire heated the water to make steam. The steam was used to power the loco.

Simple. And to the point.

LL

[steamin10]

Simple, and to the point, but not NEARLY as much fun as saying it is subatomic, or some such.

After all it is a reactor of sorts. Fuel in , energy out.

[Benjamin Maggi]

One line I have heard before, when asked "what does your engine run on," is "tracks!"

[alanstepney]

I've had "why are you putting black rocks in there?"

I have overheard one youngster ask his father what the "hands" were for on the front of a traction engine. To which his father replied, "to wind the motor up."

IMHO, people asking where the batteries are, and similar questions just shows how poorly the education system works. or doesnt work.

Fine if it is a youngster, they have to learn, but when it is an adult...

[Mike Walsh]

...and an appropriate (or not) answer regarding "how do you burn water" might have been...

...very carefully and inside a pressure vessel. Carl B.

I dunno....

I'm well known in my family and my family's close friends for successfully setting a waterbed on fire when I was 3 years old. How, I don't know..

What can I say.... My other hobby is playing with fire:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/d ... allpad.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/d ... iftoff.jpg

[jameshitz]

When asked how does it work (by a self-demonstrated yahoo), I answered "Well if you consider the thermodynamic properties of steam, and consider the P-h diagram for water, you realize that the enthalpy of saturated vapor is dramatically higher than that of saturated liquid. This enlightens us to the need for a heat source, typically from fossil fuel combustion. Now considering.....

The asker smiled, turned and walked away.

James

[Rwilliams]

When doing research at the California State RR museum in Sacramento, I was asked how they got the coal from the tender of the cab-forward up to the firebox so it could be burned?

[Greg_Lewis]

When doing research at the California State RR museum in Sacramento, I was asked how they got the coal from the tender of the cab-forward up to the firebox so it could be burned?

Well, Robert, that's what the running boards along the side of the boiler are for. And that's the reason they're called "running" boards. Keeps the fireman in shape!

I suspect that the most common question is, "How fast will it go?" I try to tell them that speed is not what it's about, but a friend has a good answer: "Faster than I want to ride it!"

Slightly O.T., Robert and I both work in education and frequently commiserate about the sad state of the average human mind. I could fill this board's servers with examples but, as I conclude a 36-year career trying to teach at the college level, suffice to say that too many "graduates" do not warrant the degrees they receive. And as long as our education system is funded on the basis of body count, I don't expect to see any change.

[hawkman]

You can always fall back on the Di-Hydrogen Monoxide spoof (it always does a brisk business around April 1 anyway).

[piedmontg]

Well having run a steam locomotive pulling the public and demonstrating a 1/4 scale traction engine with a separator I have certainly been asked many questions. What I remember most was the answer I got from the first question I asked when seeing a live steam scale locomotive for the first time - and it was almost as incredible as asking where are the batteries? The answer was - "Hi my name is John, step over here and Ill show you how she works and get you running her!" --- That was in 1975 and led to one of the most rewarding directions my life ever took. Through out my association with this hobby I hear over and over - we cannot get people involved, well its easy - reach out and let them know how much fun this is. Remember most young adults ie 50 or so and under have never been exposed to anything mechanical so you cannot expect them to just know. How about a decorated fighter pilot with several degrees in engineering, a number of patents coming out to a threshing show at my invite and seeing for the first time a traction engine. His question - why did they take locomotives off the track and put them on wheels? Perfectly reasonable question for someone who had never been in a farming community in his life.
Its called teach them and they will follow. I think LivingLegend's simple to the point answer was great. That was probably all the guy wanted to know ie what was going on. Its called curiosity - nurture it when you find it, just think of all the folks who just look and walk away - no curiosity too bad. John's response in 1975 caused me to build locomotives, construct three railroads, get my entire family into it, and now even my grandchildren. When the public asks a question - hook them and reel them in, especially younger ones - they can lift more!

So speaking for the unrepresented public - hey don't make me look ridiculous - especially in front of my kid! Just answer the question, I learn, you teach, and my kid sees how adults communicate

Former Member of the Vast Public