Gentlemen,

I shall attempt to share some photographs of our old shop car beginning with the interior and ending with shots of exterior restoration. I'm making time with hope of doing two things, namely:

1) providing info for interested parts / bidders, moving forward, and

2) also providing ideas for things that can be done with any house car.

It was a lot of work -- we learned alot, made so good friends, and accomplished something worthwhile.

Hope this works --

Photograph 1 – The camera looks from end to end inside the workshop built during the 14-year residence at Cressona, Pennsylvania. Interior walls and ceiling are framed, insulated, and covered with T-11 paneling and strand board to create a comfortable work area for year-round restoration activities. Large sliding pocket doors sealed-off wintry blasts while overhead storage lockers, corner equipment cabinets, and adjustable shelving provided ample storage for equipment and supplies.

These photos were taken in December 2009, shortly before our car left. Some work/thoughts have been given to pulling a talk together, so sorry if the captions sound a little corny.


Photograph 2 – Large shop tools are securely fastened to floors and walls to prevent damage during occasional railroad switching activities. In addition, all shelving is constructed with raised lips to prevent items from rolling off. In this view, the camera pans toward the A-end of the car, looking across the radial arm saw and built-in snack area. The interior of the car is finished in an attractive two-tone grey paint scheme with tile red floor.

Okay, getting the hang of this...

Photograph 3 – The radial arm saw was a workhorse throughout the project and will be sorely missed. Powered by a single phase, 230-volt electric motor, the 12-inch Craftsman saw could rotate about its column to cut right- and left-hand miters. In addition, the blade could rotate incrementally 90-degrees to either side and pitch 45-degrees off vertical. The homemade bench facilitated work on 4’x8’ stock and provided drawers for storage of additional hand tools and supplies. A built-in vacuum system aided clean-up activities. The 2”x6” and 4”x4” framing made it a solid piece of equipment.

That's a closed pocket door on the right...

Photograph 4 – The car is equipped with a bulletin board and small lunch area. The folding table and microwave provide a few lunchtime creature comforts. The small grey cabinet held tea, hot chocolate, paper plates, napkins, and related sundries. When operational, folding chairs provided seating for four. A photograph depicting the original Rock Island paint scheme and an emergency call list are all that remain on the bulletin board. Safety was always a priority in the shop and emergency telephone numbers were kept in plain sight for immediate use.

Photograph 4 – A drill press and bench grinder were also donated with the car - these tools sit oppose the work bench as shown in Photograph 1. In addition to the power tools, a small assortment of track tools were donated with the car, including: track jacks, spike mauls, a spot board, spike pullers, rail and tie tongs, and pinch bars.

I made a small table that secured the top of drill press - you can see the small metal bar holding the press in place as well as the floor bolts -- it was pretty solid. Again, the idea was to keep things decent when the car got switched around. The small shelves in the background held oils, drill sets, attachments, and the like.

Okay, last one.

We built a U-shaped, over head storage space at both ends of the car - think they provided 57 cubic feet each if I recall.

Walls are framed with 2x4 studs attached to the floor and bolted to the DF racks. Framing for the storage lockers rest on top of the 8-foot stud wall. Walls are insulated with R-13 and covered with T-11.

Wall framing was extended to the a point near the roof to support 2x6 rafters running from side to side. The overhead storage is also support from the ceiling by 3/4-inch all thread. It safely held 100s of pounds of equipment for years w/o any problem.

We also built three, 2'x4'x8' storage carbinets in each of the three corners of the car. Each cabinet has 3/4-inch plywood doors and shelving as well as 2x4 support framing. In the fourth corner, we built a small changing room.

Pocket doors are 4x8 panels separated by a sheet of 1" foam - two doors per side. They are mounted on barn-style door tracks. Pockets are 2x4 framing with OSB and T-11 panelling. Above each door, I built a fan box to help clear welding fumes, etc.

In the coldest winter, we were comfortable without coats. We heated the car with a small kerosene heater. Gaps in the door and floor provided fresh air. Never had problems with CO

Anyways, hope I caught my typos - thanks for opportunity to share.

J Kovach

Very very nice work. You're making some people in Thomaston very jealous.

Howard P.

Jim; Do you have a new home for the boxcar? Thanks - Dave

How can he have a new home for something he doesn't own? He donated it and received the appropriate paperwork for that donation.

Thanks!
Mr. Ed

Gentlemen,

Sorry for the delay – enjoyed the Easter Holiday with family.

David - I understand my grand old car is very much available. I started networking efforts via RyPN late last week and remain very encouraged by initial response. I directed interested parties to contact Attorney Fiorilla– court appointed receiver. Should you have interest, ways, and means, please follow through.

I also briefly exchanged pleasantries with Attorney Fiorilla late Friday and hope to gain additional info as mutual schedules allow.

Bottom line: No means no. I understand the court wants the cars removed from their present location. I always advise clients to do three things: show compliance and good faith, show compliance and good faith, and show compliance and good faith.

If the collection go to Mt. Whatever – ausgezeichnet! Should cars go to the four winds – it is what it is.

As new information is received, I’ll share it as soon as I can. I will see that my grand old car gets preserved and used in a manner for which we intended.

Once again, many thanks.
Jim K

"How can he have a new home for something he doesn't own"?

It seems like the "preservation" group to whom Mr. Kovach donated the artifact
doesn't own it either. Mr. Fiorella, and a judge, has established and confirmed as much.


"He donated it and received the appropriate paperwork for that donation".

When you invest the amount of time and money that Mr. Kovach did in this car, he has every right to be involved in this process and make whatever efforts he deems necessary to assure that the next home 5830 finds does a better job at preserving it than the previous one.

wm303, your first half is correct, but your second half is not the reason it's correct. There are two doctrines at work here.

The first is frustration of purpose - if there's an obvious purpose to a contract, and that purpose becomes unworkable, the contract is undone. This can be overridden by adding a "hell or high water" clause in the contract.

The second is a related concept called cy pres that particularly applies to charitable donations. That says that if a donor's charitable purpose is defeated by events, courts can change the arrangement to best suit the donor's wishes. Obviously the donor has some say here. The apocryphal cy-pres case was a charitable bequest intended to promote abolition. This purpose was defeated in 1865 (or so everyone thought) and the court ordered it redirected to the closest related purpose, the assistance of former slaves. Jackson v. Philips.

I suspect the receiver acting on his own could act on the cy-pres doctrine. If somebody didn't like his call they'd have to convince the court proper that he was wrong.

I am required by the RyPN Bar Association to make the following disclosures: I am not a lawyer. Everything I know about law I learned by watching Ally McBeal. Ooga chucka ooga chucka. This posting is an April Fool's joke. Every post I have ever made is an April Fool's joke. Always, always, always hire people who say "hire a professional" yet fail to mention that they are one. Bygones!

I offered up to the donor that he might want his donation returned. He expressed some interest in the idea, but has sense made no indication he plans to do anything more then provide what he knows to best help the possible buyer of the car. Of course legally recovering the car may be expensive, and then he might have to move, store, and move the car again to get it to a new home. I don't blame him for wanting to take on those kind of costs. I sympathize with his frustration that his donation was not utilized well. And I myself would not be the least bit shocked to find the poor car crammed from end to end with *ahem* valuable artifacts.

Robert

P.S. I repeat, the donor has made no real indication that he is going to seek to have his donation returned. That is all.

Gents,

Appreciate sharing your thoughts - really do!

For now, perhaps best to move forward a step at a time. The last thing needed are knee-jerk reactions. There's a process at work and we can not expect a McSolution overnight. We'll see what court appointed officials have to say. There are also interested parties in route to consider options, check things out. Do hope all goes well at Pemberton -- safe travels to all.

J Kovach

It might be worth pointing out that there is no reason to expect that the Trust did any damage to the boxcar or filled it to the brim with stuff. It was accepted in good faith and was to be used as a shop space. It was welcomed by the Trust and the town, and it was cared for.

I am a firm believer in the “simple act of preservation” concept which gives an item that is to be lost to scrap a second chance at life. If you look at the collection, whether relevant to Pemberton or not, they pulled off several such saves, giving much of the equipment onsite a second chance at life. The CNJ hack, N6b, NX23, and the 45 tonner all come to mind as examples. And they do have quite a collection of small stuff which I would consider important to the history of the area.

In short, they did their part to the best of their ability. It is now up the broader preservation community to either help the Trust directly or to provide a safety net for the equipment.

J.R.