The amazing fact that C&S car 57 didnt blow away in its field in Wyoming in 2009, and actually looks a lot better than it did in 2008.
Finding America's oldest sleeping car (possibly) 'Omaha' from 1866 on our very doorstep and then finding out it was car 57's partner in the 1940's in Cheyenne by the C&S roundhouse.

Mike Pannell
Cheyenne WY

SR 385-----Back in the public eye and looking awesome at Whippany (She is back in her former colors)
DL&W 565---under active Restoration

Steamtown has the display engines being painted. Also up at Steamtown, work continues on 3713 and #26. 26 is getting closer and closer to being back together. Most of the major repairs are done and work continues to put her back together.

New Barn Doors on Woods Car Barn

New Barn Doors on Kelly Car Barn

Track 1 reinstalled in Northern Car Barn creating 3 new barn spaces.

Reading Caboose cleaned up and repainted by Boy Scouts.

Boston Type 5 - 5645 returned to service with rebuilt motors

More trolleys displayed in Visitor Center

Thanks Steve Boonstra. It was late when I started this thread, so I forgot about the progress being made on DL&W 565 since January. For a project you are coordinating from the other side of the world, it is making heads turn in the roundhouse and on my tours.

Actually, this has been a very good year for preservation, and I believe many years are. Often the difficult part is keeping public and member interest once something is complete. This is when an organization needs to be most creative. Keep it coming, folks.

While not "rail" preservation, the joint venture/swap/restoration work of trolley buses from Orange Empire to IRM is also an interesting achievement as well as a model for such future museum "interchange".

Cambria & Indiana hopper car 162 found a home this year after Randy Anderson purchased her at the Knox & Kane auction. She's now the property of the Indiana County (PA) Parks and Trails department, is sitting at Rexis, PA (near Vintondale) at the interchange of the C&I and PRR. The Parks and Trails Department put a nice coat of black paint on her in the fall and this spring I'm expecting that we'll have the C&I stencils ready to go to reletter her in the 1970s C&I scheme.

-Keith Burkey

According to director, Donald Tallman (see the story link after my signature):

2009 has been an exciting year! This year we:
. Restored Diesel Locomotive No. 50 back to service
. Cosmetically restored steam Locomotive No. 191
. Restored caboose 49
. Relocated Locomotive No. 191 and caboose No. 49
. Painted UP Passenger Coach No. 5442
. Restored D&IM Caboose No. 902
. Cosmetically restored Passenger Coach No. 280
. Installed nine new outdoor interpretive panels to complete a major
grant from the North American Railway Foundation.
. Celebrated the Museum's 50th Anniversary with a special event,
dinner, and special exhibit.
. Painted the Museum building, library and all outbuildings in
anticipation of the 50th Anniversary festivities funded by Jim and Sharon
McGee.
. Replaced chain link fence with decorative ironwork fence funded by
Rex Thrash.
. Installed a split rail fence around most of the inside perimeter of
the museum property.

Donald didn't even mention that engine 346 is now in regular service and has a brand new tender awaiting painting to replace the 318 tender now doing service, or that Rio Grande Southern 2-6-0 Number 20 is at Strasburg, Pennsylvania undergoing a major overhaul.

Glen Brewer
Is this any way to run a railroad museum?
http://www.railroadphotoessays.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1197
Railroad Photo Essays
http://www.railroadphotoessays.com/

Seems to be working for them - and by extension, for us all.

Maybe someboody involved can write an article about the evolution at Colorado Railroad Museum from, say, 1995 (or whenever things started evolving rapidly into the current structure) through the present highly successful incarnation. It would be nice to know why they are doing so well, and what has been learned in the process.

dave