Sneak preview

Given today's date, it seems appropriate to announce the opening of our #1218 to the public. We've had #1218 at the museum since 2004, but it has not been open to the public in that time. The reasons for this are myriad, ranging from safety considerations to laziness. But, we've overcome these challenges, and you can now step into the cab of Norfolk & Western's Class A, #1218. Almost.

We'll be opening the exhibit permanently starting on January 2nd of 2008, but we'll host two sneak preview events before that. One will be on Christmas Eve, the other on New Year's Eve, each running from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We'll have a reduced general admission rate of $5.00 per person. Also, we'll be giving away a free copy of our book, From Here to There to the first 1,000 visitors at each preview.

Ok, so that's the press release stuff. Now for the good part (see; you knew you read this blog for a reason).

We're working on several elements of this exhibit. The first is a diagram showing which knobs and levers served which functions in the operation of the locomotive. We'll also include a narrative in the cab detailing the significant role the Class A locomotives played during World War II. We hope to have lights in the firebox to simulate a fire, and in time, we would like to add an interactive element demonstrating how the articulated aspects of the locomotive worked. How much of this will be done by the sneak previews, we're not sure, but we hope to at least have the light and narrative in place for the grand opening on January 2nd.

We're very excited about this, and we're hoping to create a very different kind of experience for our visitors from that they receive inside #611.