Hey everyone. I hope you're all well. Seems like with some amount of regularity, we all get notified through differing channels about a piece of rolling stock that's in deplorable condition. Either because it's sat outside for so many years, maybe its partially disassembled from an earlier restoration attempt and now the car's parts are languishing as well, etc. There is usually a genuine desire by the current owners to see the car saved or at least put under cover so it's not cut up. It seems like we've really kind of covered a lot of this ground before, but I wanted to kind of go off on a related tangent. I've seen the RRMofPA's cocooning of rolling stock that aren't slated for immediate restoration, and I think Strasburg may have a piece or two cocooned(is that right?). Anyway, how new is this practice? I understand that the point is somewhat moot for a piece of equipment that is already more rust than not, but is it? If an organization has a car that is in terrible shape, but they're not ready to give up on it just yet, they have the room, and a handful of dedicated people, isn't it viable to cocoon the car? Even if it's a basketcase, doesn't a decently-built plywood cocoon buy some time for the organization to do some long term fishing for takers without the car returning to the ground that much more in the meantime? I don't expect this to be a small undertaking with something as big as a 60' Pullman or Russell plow, but man the cost of one of these things has got to pale in comparison to moving costs, full scale restoration, or even a partial restoration to remediate the worst decay. Am I really far off on this? How come we don't see this done more? Or maybe it is, and I'm just not seeing it? Just wondering. Thanks. Seth

Some years ago the chairman of RYPN, John Smatlak offered a session at the Riverside ARM conference on tarping cars… the session notes for that program are available on the web at http://www.railwaypreservation.com/page3.html ....

Core issues are getting the cars covered, and keeping the ends open for ventilation.

We have used a variety of tarps, blue, tan or silver at SPCRR (www.spcrr.org) with some success for the last 25 years. One car has been tarped for nearly 20 years. We just received notice from the City that our building permit application had been accepted (along with a large check for permit and inspection fees) with an answer (either yes or needs more work) due in 2 weeks… The zoning took nearly 15 years of nearly constant work… it was a complicated job, working with a city and a county agency, neither of which used the same building code or spoke the same langrage…

Its time to move on to turne metal, double board roofs and canvas…

Seth:

We use metal siding; the same thing that may be sheathing your home shop. The job is complete with commercially-available ventilators, drip edges and a rubber roof. We currently have five classics cocooned in this manner.

I suspect it's real easy to cross the line between "wooden tarp" and "ramshackle building" in the eyes of the building inspector.

One can obtain custom plastic-sheet tarps which are 5-sided like a fitted bedsheet. They drape entirely over the car and be tied down at the bottom.

However, I have seen a piece after it was lovingly restored and then stored under a tarp in northern California (WRM). I was surprised by the amount of weathering it had suffered under the tarp. I would suggest preparing some "sample" pieces of material, some bare wood, and some panels you've freshly painted and/or know the condition of. Affix them to the side of the artifact so you have an indication of how much the tarp is really protecting. Leave more outside. Then you have a reference for how well the tarp is protecting.

Plywood even when painted is way too porous and hard to seal. The plys will soon start to separate if not covered over with a good roofing of some sort. You want the roof to be completely watertight. Unless you’re in a desert the smallest roof leaks will cause wood rot surprisingly fast.
So far for me cheep and easy is corrugated steel roofing/siding. I was able to get about ten 4X12’ sheets after an IRM barn roof was replaced. It was easy to cut with a big snips, the 12’ length allowed a single piece to be formed over several wood cabooses stored outside. Cutting them a little long left a 3” “eve” so the drip line was away from the car sides. Attach with gasket screws at the ridge peaks. Use silicon seal for small holes. The stuff seems to last forever and I can detect no leaks. Much better than harder to apply roll roofing that you might get only 5-7 years out of.
Don't forget some sort of vent to keep the moisture out.
I haven’t tried it but I thought vertical vinyl siding would work and look fine for an emergency siding covering. I would suggest a siding contractor that knows how to trim to keep it from leaking around windows etc. Tarps just don’t last in the high winds we have. The IRM have some electric cars outside in what looks like industrial heavy plastic bags. I know they are expensive and only guaranteed for a few years.