This was posted on the Southern Michigan Railroad Facebook page yesterday:




Certainly an unusual approach to such a project.

The SMR commented: "We chose a metal roof to preserve the car without the maintenance required for softer roofing materials."

Is that a standing-seam metal roof with a central ridge cap, like the roof system used on a building?

Why build a carbarn when you can take your carbarn with you?

"This is just temporary.............unless it works"! {quote by Red Green}.

May look funny, but if it kept the rain out it served its purpose I think. Regards, John.

Is this an in-service car? If so, how do standing-seam roof systems hold up to flexing and vibration?

There is a black material that comes in rolls, with four initials I can't remember (something like HDMA), that has been proven successful on car roofs, I wonder if that would really be more maintenance intensive than this steel roof, or as expensive? Anything is better than letting water slowly destroy the interior, but maybe even roll roofing would be easier to deal with.

EPDM is the "rubber roofing" stuff; it's a membrane that is applied over a wood roof deck.
The underlying wood roof must be in excellent condition; it looks like this car has a rather poor wood deck. That would have to be properly repaired, and that is a major carpentry job.

Properly done, an EPDM over wood roof deck will last a long time. RMNE has a coach with a 12 year old EPDM roof, and the car hasn't had a drop of water in it during that time.

Howard P.

Put EPDM on Charlotte Trolley 85 back about 1987 and still going strong.

The rolled EPDM is awesome stuff. We've had really good results with it, one car is approaching 30 years with the same roof. For the last few freight or work cars we've been able to patch bad spots and then simply add a layer of plywood as a base.

The rolled asphalt also has the potential to last for many years but you need to make sure to seal the seams and edges very well. Our flanger had this stuff but it had only been nailed on, and after a few years it started peeling and leaking in several spots, one of which allowed water to enter beside one corner of the cupola and eventually caused major structural damage.