Does anyone have a recommendation for sealing the roof of our steel 1937 Osgood Bradley coach? The roof is riveted steel panels, which seem to be leaking in the seams. Should we:
* just paint it?
* use some rubber roof sealer?
* caulk the joints and paint?
or what?
Any experience, good or bad, is appreciated.
Thanks,
Sam

Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
sam@sftm.org

The operators of heavyweight equipment that I have had experience with, the IC(CN) and Artrain USA, both employed a mastic coating that is commonly used on RV's. However, the use of such a mastic is quite obvious, and detracts from the appearance of the car. A combination of caulking and painting on a periodic basis should solve most leaks. Over the long term, plans should be drawn up to construct a roof over the car. This solves what is (arguably) a much bigger threat over the long term: water entering through aging window gaskets, and rusting out the area below the belt rail.

rrhistorian@hotmail.com

If the seams are pretty tight just slightly leaking, try SnoKote (sp I think) which I got easily in Colorado, but can't find in the south. We had to special order a couple buckets for our canvas roof on the W5 car. It is a thick gloppy roof coating which will penetrate and seal cracks. If the seams are opened, there is a tape which can be bedded in the stuff and covered over with a couple coats that can be used over the seams. The stuff itself is water based and can be tinted like latex paint.

Dave

On the Canadian version of your Osgood-Bradley coach, some of my friends have used a rubberized paint that has worked fairly well, but I don't remember the trade name. It is a paint, and looks well, and is not a thick, rough coating. The untinted stuff is white, and it's hard to tint it to a dark color. There has been some chalking onto the carsides from runoff off the roof after 10 years. The roofs have remained tight, but these Canadian cars have unusually-good metalworking on the riveted roofs. If your seams have opened up, then some form of caulking will be needed; this paint won't fill a big gap, but it will keep water from penetrating the riveted joint. Good luck with this car; I enjoyed seeing it on a trip through the Berkshires, after working extensively with the CN versions.

Aarne Frobom
The Steam Railroading Institute
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, MI 48867-0665

Dave,

That SnoKote you mention doesn't line up with what I see on the web, but the snokote I do see looks real interesting for protecting all sorts of things is it the same?.

The product that was used for keeping them sealed in melbourne was one developed for the navy to mothball ships with - I know it as "emerclad"

The problem with paints and the like direct onto rooves is that they have to possess incredible stretchability The percentage extension when a barely visible crack opent to a sixteenth inch is phenomenal - like 6000%!. You can't use something that sets hard. canvas is great, everything moves underneath and the canvas stays sealed.

> If the seams are pretty tight just slightly
> leaking, try SnoKote (sp I think) which I
> got easily in Colorado, but can't find in
> the south. We had to special order a couple
> buckets for our canvas roof on the W5 car.
> It is a thick gloppy roof coating which will
> penetrate and seal cracks. If the seams are
> opened, there is a tape which can be bedded
> in the stuff and covered over with a couple
> coats that can be used over the seams. The
> stuff itself is water based and can be
> tinted like latex paint.

> Dave

For steel passenger car roofs at OERM we have been trying out some Weather Barrier brand elastomeric products. These were recommended to me by the folks in the shop at the NC Transportation Museum.

We are using the 1650 elastomeric, which can be tinted. Black is readily available. We are also using the 201 tape and 1750 patching compound around holes and cracks.

Weather Barrier is also resold by another company (can't remember the name) but can also be obtained directly from F&H / Weather Barrier at: www.weatherbarrier.com



Railway Preservation Resources
jsmatlak@earthlink.net

> That SnoKote you mention doesn't line up
> with what I see on the web, but the snokote
> I do see looks real interesting for
> protecting all sorts of things is it the
> same?.

I don't know El. There is a thinner but still pretty thick paintable stuff and a syrupy bedding for tape if you have really big cracks to cover. If you have a roof composed of metal plates all moving in different directions there isn't a sealer in the universe that will last to my experience - getting a stable substrate is required.

Unless I am working on museum quality restorations to be kept indoors, I kind of like seamless rubber roofing instead of canvas - lasts outdoors a lot longer with less maintenence.

Do you have a source for the navy / Melbourne stuff? Sounds good, but it is probably so good we can't get it up here!

Dave

Emerclad is sold (made?) by a company called partech. have a look at www.partech.com.au/archcoat.htm. I suspect it's a US product repackaged.

I think I may have been a bit confused here also - the mothballing compound is called "envelon" and appears to be a dow trademark.

we've veen using one of these compounds on our roofs for some time - I'll check it out next time i'm on-site

Another product you may care to research is called "navy dressing", this was used on canvas roofs here to replace the white lead formerly used.

I agree absolutely about the need for a substrate. In a moving environment you need a flexible membrane (canvas/rubber) laying (not fixed) to a firm unders roof - solid roofs (e.g fiberglass etc) are hopeless as they will inevitablt end up cracking - the best I know of is thin stainless steel all welded together (but that is on current build cars - not heritage ones!!

> I don't know El. There is a thinner but
> still pretty thick paintable stuff and a
> syrupy bedding for tape if you have really
> big cracks to cover. If you have a roof
> composed of metal plates all moving in
> different directions there isn't a sealer in
> the universe that will last to my experience
> - getting a stable substrate is required.

> Unless I am working on museum quality
> restorations to be kept indoors, I kind of
> like seamless rubber roofing instead of
> canvas - lasts outdoors a lot longer with
> less maintenence.

> Do you have a source for the navy /
> Melbourne stuff? Sounds good, but it is
> probably so good we can't get it up here!

> Dave

> Emerclad is sold (made?) by a company called
> partech. have a look at
> www.partech.com.au/archcoat.htm. I suspect
> it's a US product repackaged.

Thanks for the link ... which one of the multitude of products on this site do you recommend ??

lamontdc@adelphia.net

no recommendation - just info!!

Envelon was used by both the railways and tramways in melbourne.

"navy dressing" was used in various places includin NSW. I think that what we are using is navy dressing - bear with me a few weeks and I'll find out.

I'm not so sure about emerclad, it may be another name for envelon; try emailing the supplier.

The best roofs we have are some sort of rubber shett applied in 3ft wide strips. at least 30 years old and still in excellent condition - don't know what it is though.
> Thanks for the link ... which one of the
> multitude of products on this site do you
> recommend ??

Thanks John,
This looks like the best stuff so far.
Sam

> For steel passenger car roofs at OERM we
> have been trying out some Weather Barrier
> brand elastomeric products. These were
> recommended to me by the folks in the shop
> at the NC Transportation Museum.

> We are using the 1650 elastomeric, which can
> be tinted. Black is readily available. We
> are also using the 201 tape and 1750
> patching compound around holes and cracks.

> Weather Barrier is also resold by another
> company (can't remember the name) but can
> also be obtained directly from F&H /
> Weather Barrier at: www.weatherbarrier.com


Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
sam@sftm.org