I note in a bunch of indoor photos taken at IRM, that there is no evidence of problems from nesting birds. Any secrets here?

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?j ... ion_IL.jpg

I think the "secret" is that IRM's buildings are all well sealed. Equipment "under cover" but without walls will always attract birds. Our museum has a Shop building (with walls) but it is NOT well sealed and has a number of places where birds can enter, and they do!

Les

Good question! Many of the buildings are wide open during the summer months...

Essentially all of the carbarns are open for visitors seven days per week throughout the summer. I could not say they are bird free as sparrows in particular enjoy the ambience of the buildings. When they nest it tends to be along walls, etc. so there is not a major problem with birds defacing the cars. In the winter the doors are kept closed, but again not so tightly that birds are kept out.

We have inherited a number of stray kitty kats who are very friendly and roam freely through the barns. I am sure they contribute to keeping birdies in check and they certainly help other problems. They are very effective 'mousers'.

Bob Kutella

Speaking of buildings at IRM, what is the usual size of these? I recall that they are generally 4 tracks wide; what is the width, length and height at the eaves (or clear under the trusses)? Also, are these a particular brand, such as Morton or somesuch? I imagine out there in farm country, there are lots of barn builders.

It's pretty remarkable that IRM has over 10,000 track feet under cover.

Thanks---

Howard P.

I'll ask what I consider to be an interesting question:

What is the cosmetic and psychological effect of having a museum property that is "a bunch of barns" rather than a "railroad collection"?

It's literally wonderful, from an equipment preservation standpoint, to see such massive warehouses protecting the collection. On the other hand, upon looking at the above photo, the absolute first thought to my head was "is that the state fairgrounds or state farm show?" Even the apparent presence of some Santa Fe "warbonnet" paint in the distance isn't enough to dissuade me from that "fairgrounds" appearance.

I trust that enough equipment is rotated in and out of display to keep things interesting, allow for better photography, etc.?

I was there last summer for the first time. Unlike many here, I am not a railfan. My wife most definitely isn't. Suffice it to say that there is so much to see that the need to "rotate exhibits" doesn't exist. For instance, a trolley barn is displayed in terms of the evolution of the technology and they have samples of most of the advancements. We found that very interesting.

The only barn that seemed "more of the same" to the untrained eye was the steam locomotive barn. Only true foamers find the various nuances of a plethora of steamers riveting. To us, it was row upon row of similar looking teakettles. As static displays, steam locomotives fail to engender the sights and sounds of a live one, but who can afford that?

I believe our first carbarn was a Morton and three tracks wide by maybe 140 feet. That has since seen three additions. Most of the rest of the buildings are four tracks wide. This can seem crowded at 60 feet clear span, but getting the stuff inside has been a higher priority and they were not envisioned as display halls.

The length has also varied depending on land, finances, and codes with the largest perhaps 800 feet long.

As mentioned, codes are constantly changing and usually more restrictive, our latest BARN 10 only 12,000 sq feet. We are in the final stages of planning and design for BARN 11 which could be more than twice that large.

To comment on another question, the collections inside the buildings are organized and themed to some extent by type of equipment. That is, a coach building, a steam building, a diesel building, a few trolley buildings. We are probably close to 100 pieces of operating equipment so to some extent stuff comes out to play, especially for special events, staged throughout the year. But it is a BIG job to rearrange the stuff and rotate spots. Once a wood bodied car is deemed 'inside' we generally do not remove that protection and sit it outdoors, even for four months during the summer.

Yes it makes photos more difficult, but if we do not do what we can to protect these often fragile cars for another 20 or 50 years, photos would be all that was left.

Bob Kutella

A number of years ago I visited the IRM and was impressed by how much storage track they have inside buildings. In talking to a volunteer about it he said "one of the things we found that would dive away volunteers faster than anything else is to have someone restore a piece of equipment then leave it out in the weather and ask the person to do the job all over again three years later".

In Niles Canyon we are planning a pole barn over our yard to give some protection to our equipment. The buildings make the yard look crowded but it's better than constantly fighting to keep roofs and paint in good shape.

Maybe the IRM doesn't look like a railroad yard but as a museum I thnk they are doing it right.

OK, but this is only one view, carefully chosen with a wide angle lens. It's a big place. There are plenty of other aspects to the museum, such as up by the depot or along the main line, that look much more museumish. Visit our website, irm.org, for lots of varied views of the property. And then, "Main Street" keeps inching closer to becoming reality. (End of commercial)

Yikes! I am truly sorry if this photo has caused any consternation. IRM is a wonderful place -- one of my favorites in fact.

Randall you are correct in that the photo location was carefully chosen. I took it in order to propose similar indoor storage space at The WW&F Railway museum in Maine. The photo simply seemed like an excellent way to illustrate Bob's original question.

I offer these more diverse views as a gesture of goodwill! :-)

Stephen:

I certainly wasn't offended by the wide angle shot, in fact I thought it was pretty neat. And I could, if I wanted, take a few carefully chosen photos to make IRM look like a huge junkyard with no redeeming features at all.

To return to the original question, I don't know, it seems to me the bird problem used to be worse. Maybe the birds are being driven off by the Dixieland we have playing constantly in the barns whenever they're open for visitors?

[/quote]
Yikes! I am truly sorry if this photo has caused any consternation. IRM is a wonderful place -- one of my favorites in fact.

Randall you are correct in that the photo location was carefully chosen. I took it in order to propose similar indoor storage space at The WW&F Railway museum in Maine. The photo simply seemed like an excellent way to illustrate Bob's original question.

[/quote]

Stephen:

Let me stick my two cents in here if I may. I agree with Mr. Mitchell, that any such "barn" looks exactly like what it is, a pole barn. And I agree that it is probably the easiest, and least expensive way, to get as much stuff under cover, than any other option. But is it really the BEST way to go. If you have a large collection such as IRM, then the answer is obviously "yes!" But if you have a smaller collection, I think there are better ways to go. I have long been an advocate that the best way to do it is a roundhouse. It offers space inside, out of the weather, and also has the advantage of being able to offer better photographic and display opportunities. For a place like the WW&F with its unique historical perspective, I would think that a roundhouse would be a much better option.

At our museum, we have long had a 100' turntable on the property. Recently, we have started a track extension toward a new location for the turntable. Once it is finally in the ground, I would hope that we will have the excuse to finally plan on putting a replicated roundhouse on the property. A house that would contain not only locomotives, but also our rolling stock. As a viable option to pole barn storage.

Les

Thanks, Les. I couldn't agree more...