Template talk:Infobox historic engine

Engineering Template‑class

	Engineering portal This template is within the scope of WikiProject Engineering, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of engineering on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EngineeringWikipedia:WikiProject EngineeringTemplate:WikiProject EngineeringEngineering articles
Template	This template does not require a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.

Museums NA‑class

	museums portal This template is within the scope of WikiProject Museums, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of museums on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MuseumsWikipedia:WikiProject MuseumsTemplate:WikiProject MuseumsMuseums articles
NA	This template does not require a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.

Scope?[edit]

What's the purpose of this template? "For old stationary engines in museums, etc. Individual engines, not engine types."

What's a "museum"? This includes public galleries obviously, but what about privately preserved and inaccessible? What about "Still extant, but derelict" Is the Backbarrow Ironworks engine within scope? The Birmingham roundabout beam engines? The Severn Tunnel beam engines (one surviving beam left)?

What about engines that are completely lost, but that have a noteworthy history, such as Resolution?

What's "old"? Is there any limit? If it was worth preserving (see above), surely that's enough?

What's a "stationary engine"? Are stationary engines (which almost by definition of their collecting these days, are now portable for display) really the intention? Stationary steam engines are an obvious inclusion, but what about non-steam? What about the Pocket Power Station (a gas turbine electric generator) at the Internal Fire Museum? Waterwheels? Non-powered industrial structures such as pithead gear?

What does "working" mean? Doing paid work? Under steam in a museum? Moved mechanically in a museum? Capable of working, but not being used so as to help preservation (e.g. City of Truro or Lion, although they're locomotives).

How does location work? Surely we would need at least two here: working and preserved. Some might even need to support a list of historical sites, without breaking the metadata generator.

I think this template ought to take a broad scope, and thus should avoid parameters being required (the broader the scope, the more cases where such a parameter becomes inappropriate). Particularly for the "obviously necessary" like a geographical location. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:20, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]