04-24-2009, 08:39 PM
An intriguing statement for a topic. Well, there are many times when seemingly totally unrelated paths end up crossing. I'm in the engineering "jobshop" field and am involved (in a very minor way) with the rebuilding of a section of catenary for what was once the Reading Railroad (my Alma Mater as far as modeling goes). One of the items was the suspension clamp to hang the wire. I had in my hands a copy of the part, a casting, and I was amused. I have designed and drawn countless parts in my day. It tickled me to read the drawing (look at all the lines) and transform them in my mind's eye to behold the part. The date of the drawing is 1924. That's a few years prior to the Reading's electrification expansion into the territory where this rebuilding project is to take place. If it wasn't for the politics of spending money I wouldn't have had the chance to have a look at this fabulous, and to most- insignificant antique of a drawing and consider the fact that today's technology can not replace what once was- but will make a new part, cheaper, faster, and better(?). We'll see. I was just thrilled to go over that drawing though. And now it's a must to go and shoot some photos of the caternary as it still hangs on those original castings.
Mark
Mark