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You are correct that the plaque states that the HTR1 is on the left when viewed from the parking lot. Unfortunately, this does not refer to the paved parking lot that you took the picture from, but from the old gravel parking lot on the other side. More importantly, the HTR3 has its J-47 engines in a "horizontal flight configuration" as opposed to being vertical on the HTR1. These horizontal engines can be seen parallel to the top of the chain link fence on the left most portion of the picture. The vertically mounted engines on the HTR1 are obscured by the frame, but they are the right most portion on the reactor to the right.
[I'm new to editing Wikipedia pages, so I didn't know where to document why I made the change. I also don't have a sign-in.]
72.198.222.129 (talk) 17:36, 3 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
When I reverted this this morning I looked around for references to show which one is which...haven't found anything yet. The INL site hasn't given up a useful designation of which unit is where. --Wtshymanski (talk) 22:10, 3 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This [1]] shows HTRE 1 with the snail-shaped object on the left and large horizontal cylinder, and HTRE 3 with the ladder on the right and vertical cylinder. I don't have a usable photo of the plaque. I will restore the previous change. Scores of Wiki echo sites have repeated my error. --Wtshymanski (talk) 22:23, 3 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As I mention below, aviation-history.com as of June 2019 had incorrect captions on its photos of the HTRE displays. -Waded (talk) 18:00, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I'm now confused - which was also known as HTRE 2 with a different core? Did HTRE 2 become HTRE 3 or was HTRE 2 the same hardware as HTRE 1 with a different core? --Wtshymanski (talk) 22:23, 3 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The J-47 engines were horizontal on both assemblies. They had to link up with fixzed ducting that led to an exhaust stack. It is the reactor vessels that are vertical (HTRE 1&2) and horizontal (HTRE-3). The picture inthe wikipedia article is correct in identifying which is which. The J-47 engines on the HTRE-3 assembly were removed and disposed of due to radioactive contamination. At the end of the program, General Electric published a series of technical reports documenting the history of the ANP. These are numbered APEX 901 and higher. Perhaps the INL technical library can help you locate these reports.--TomMacsub (talk) 06:38, 28 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This is correct. HTRE-2 has the vertical reactor vessel/cylinder and horizontal J-47 turbojets, still present on the display as of 2019. HTRE-2 is on the left in the photo. HTRE-3 has the horizontal vessel/cylinder, but the horizontal turbojets were removed prior to 1989, leaving just the ducts hanging down. HTRE-3 is on the right in the photo. This is supported by a document available from Idaho National Laboratory titled "Final Report: Decontamination and Decommissioning of Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment Test Assemblies HTRE-2 and HTRE-3", by Thomas K. McCusker dated September 1989. showing photos of HTRE-3 before and after the turbojets were removed, photos of HTRE-2, photos of the assemblies being moved to current location, and many other detail illustrations later in the document. The document's currently available at https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/PRR/81118.pdf and I've cited it to correct the article/captioning. Additionally a interpretive display in the hut between the two assemblies (wish I had a photo to add; I visited before I realized there was controversy and didn't take a photo) has illustrations and photos of both, and correctly identifies them. Someone else took a picture if you'd like to see it: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocbolt/10367651026/in/album-72157636730882993/.
As for HTRE-1, according to the INL decommissioning/decontamination document, HTRE-2 "was a modification of the HTRE-1 core that allowed removal of a center fuel assembly." The interpretive display I mention above states the HTRE-2 test assembly was created to "house the HTRE-1 core." So it may be correct to say the HTRE-2 display is also HTRE-1. And there is a plaque on the site that call the HTRE-2 unit "Heater 1 and Heater 2" and goes into detail on the reuse. But I think to avoid controversy this article should call it HTRE-2, as the INL document does.
In June 2019 I contacted the owner of oft-cited aviation-history.com which has/had incorrect captions on its photos of the displays. As of July 6 2019 the captions were still incorrect, so I would avoid using it as a reference. I think it may be the source of the misinformation. -Waded (talk) 18:17, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
