All of us in railroad museum land have ended up with equipment that doesn't fit in our collection. After trying to find a good home, there are no takers. Besides simply pushing the car to the outback and letting in rot back to nature, is there anything else do be done?

Jim@psrm.org

> All of us in railroad museum land have ended
> up with equipment that doesn't fit in our
> collection. After trying to find a good
> home, there are no takers. Besides simply
> pushing the car to the outback and letting
> in rot back to nature, is there anything
> else do be done?

First tell us what you have. You might find a taker here now (general statement, not sitting on a wad of cash) and size, weight, condition and other such factors would bear heavily on opportunities to "find a good home".


Superheater62@yahoo.com

> First tell us what you have.

It's been here before. It is the Kennecott wooden business car - no trucks. It really is nice inside, but, something from Utah is a long way from San Diego. Further, we have the original business car used by the owner of the SD&A which needs lots of $$$ and TLC which will always be a higher priority.

So - with no takers, what should a responsible museum do? I have seen many "bone yards" in other museums - I hate that thought.

Ideas?

Jim@psrm.org

The first thing that is needed is patience. The post about the availability of the car that I saw was only a couple of weeks ago. The car sounds like something worth saving. But taking on responsibility for this kind of asset is not a trivial task, and those who might potentially be interested probably need some time to think it through, debate it, and get some idea of the resources needed to make it happen. Not to mention fit it into their priorities. I would suggest that responsible action involves putting the word out (several times), protecting the car as best you can afford to, and waiting something like a year or so....the longer the better.

jbwest@att.net

> The first thing that is needed is patience.

Good point - that is not my long suit.

Jim

Jim@psrm.org

Jim - it is a rare museum that can act decisively, especially when some resources are required to commit to an acquisition. A fact finding trip is not unusual, followed by lots of discussion and review of documentary evidence, followed by a decision(90 days have expired so far) whether to pursue acquisition or not. Next, you will be asked to "hold" the car while finding sources are explored for the purpose of stabilizing and transporting the car by an ameteur nmuseum. A professional museum will include resources for housing and conserving the car while it then studies how best to use it in the resources step.

Not at all uncommon to see the process take more than a year from start to finish. Keep spreading the word, and hoping for the best.

dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

Keep spreading the word, and hoping for the best.

dave

Thanks Irondave -

I will. But, the original question is still a good one I think - is their an alternative to just storing or scraping?


Jim@psrm.org

> All of us in railroad museum land have ended
> up with equipment that doesn't fit in our
> collection. After trying to find a good
> home, there are no takers. Besides simply
> pushing the car to the outback and letting
> in rot back to nature, is there anything
> else do be done?
Try: /www-personal.umich.edu/~tcornill/Historic_Railway_Equipment.html. It's a website just for these situations.


davidwoodbury@adelphia.net

The requested address:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~tcornill ... pment.html.
does not correspond to any file that is currently available on www-personal.umich.edu. Please double-check the URL or try the search box below.


Jim@psrm.org

The server the site is on is quite finicky about the address - the one that David posted had a period after the html. While it may look incorrect and feel odd when typing, I suggest making a conscious effort to put a space between web addresses and any punctuation. The correct link (and a hot-link) are below:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~tcornill ... pment.html


Historic Railway Equipment

altoonaroundhouse@umich.edu

Did any pics of this car ever get posted?

Smokebox

> All of us in railroad museum land have ended
> up with equipment that doesn't fit in our
> collection. After trying to find a good
> home, there are no takers. Besides simply
> pushing the car to the outback and letting
> in rot back to nature, is there anything
> else do be done?
If you could locate the car indoors, sans trucks, do as the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone and build a simulated station platform with a short piece of track, place the car on a permanent foundation like poured cement or mortared cement blocks (therefore easily removed) and place luggage etc to hide the foundation. Now you have a nicely displayed car body, lit inside, for display and tours. If the trucks ever show up, you are home free (relatively). As an alternative to indoor storage, build a substantial canopy that meets the local building code. The two canopies at Museum of Transport come to mind. For that, you need a secure area with the necessary backup to prevent the inevitable vandalism for unprotected artifacts. A third alternative is to place it in a ventillated enclosure, the plywood cuccoon with side vents like Strasburg for example or the less permanent heavy tarp. Stay away from the cheap blue tarps. Still no takers? I'm working on two 80-ft wood cars at IRM. Preservation unfortunately has to come before restoration or it's all for naught.
Ted Anderson, Pullman Library curator, Illinois Railway Museum


tedander@core.com

> Did any pics of this car ever get posted?

> Smokebox

Yes. Email me at Jim@psrm.org and I'll send one to you, or anyone, for that matter.

Jim

Jim@psrm.org

The folks at Strasburg have done a good job of cocooning their derelict wooden cars, covering the roof with roofing materials or heavy plastic, then covering the sides with plywood having ventilator holes cut in the sides. When they get time and money to repair them, the carbodies will be in the same shape, not rotted further. A relatively small expense in materials and labor to save a historic artifact.

ryarger@rypn.org

from Dave Woodbury's posting above.

It would sure go nicely with our 'Molly Brown' combine that came to Heber with Everett Rohrer's "Movie Train" collection.

...but then it's not my decision.

sc 'doc' lewis

Heber Valley Railroad

utweyesguy@aol.com