An example of positive ADA compliance

I run a historic house museum (to make things more topical we have on site a railroad museum, and many guests arrive at the house via a railroad ride)

The house is listed on the National Register, and as a result is for all intents and purposes exempt from most ADA requirements.

Our site is complicated, owned by the local city, operated by the county, but the house museum is operated by the City, the railroad is operated by a non profit, we also host a farm equipment collection from a local museum, have a blacksmith, a caterer and a organic farm, all of which are for profit businesses.

While not required to comply with ADA, as a municipal government it is in our best interests.

The house was built in 1857, with major additions in 1889, and 1915. In 1940, the family installed an elevator, which is too small for most wheel chairs. Shortly after opening as a museum, we installed a wheel chair ramp to provide access to the first floor.

The site is pretty ADA friendly. We have appropriate ADA parking; our public bathrooms are ADA compliant. All major paths are paved (this is a significant issue if you have mobility problems.) Our railroad loads from high level platforms, served by ramps.

With this background, we needed to develop plans to deal with various disabilities in the house museum. We have developed guidelines for those with vision and mobility issues. We are still struggling with hearing (but have at least one site staff member who is fluent in sign)

The guidelines are really common sense. There is a tour plan for guests confined to wheel chairs (theses are a surprisingly small portion of our disabled guests) We have folding chairs available for guests who can’t stand for the tour duration (much more common.) These are hidden in various closets. We invite vision impaired guests to touch things normally off limits to our “normalâ€

Folks,

There is a real simple way to carry wheelchairs or other electric vehicles on trains. The nice wide doors on any combine allow the opening and the space to carry such items. Almost any collection has at least one!!

I have seen them at Edaville, Strasburg and others.

Note also a ramp going into your station building will also be inviting to family's with strollers and other wheeled items.

Ted Miles

Re: loading in a combine:

Most people's responses: "Oh, how innovative--use of an existing piece of historic equipment! Well, as long as it has the lift, why not?"

The response you will get out of the folks who sue: "How humiliating! You're treating us like a piece of BAGGAGE!!!! I'm NOT a piece of baggage; I'm a human being, who must be afforded all equal access and rights thereof! And there are no windows in the baggage compartment, and the doorway isn't wide enough to let my wheelchair in through to the passenger compartment! No, I CAN'T use a narrower wheelchair to get through that door, even if you provide it--it's humiliating and undignified! And I don't see any wheelchair clamps--it's unsafe for this train to move with me aboard it if my chair isn't in a floor mounted clamp! And I lack the ability to open and close that window if I so choose--another affront to my dignity and comfort! And what about . . . . . . ."
[Continue for twenty to forty pages.....]

You think we're kidding? I saw a proposal for the Wilmington & Western to completely engineer a wheelchair-lift-equipped MP54 shell, which never happened, supposedly for two reasons: 1) they couldn't find enough money for the complex engineering, hydraulic lifts, counterbalancing, etc. that would have been necessary, and 2) I think the extreme (by preservation standards) retrofit that would have occurred would STILL have been deemed inadequate by the lawsuit-happy litigants. (Note: I only saw the plans and the car; I don't know any official reasons for the project not proceeding, and I am no longer with Historic Red Clay Valley or the W&W.)

I recall a bit more about the incident I spoke of before, concerning the 5/12 scale RR in California. They had a handicapped car, but it required a bit of help loading a wheelchair, which they cheerfully offered, but were refused. The complaintant brought along a film crew (not sure if private or media) to film as she struggled to load herself into the car. I don't think there was a lawsuit in this case, however.