Al writes…
If you are at all familiar with NPR's Car Talk, you may be familiar with the Tappet Brothers' (Click and Clack) Shameless Commerce Division. Noting the success of this operation the senior management of the Hicks Car Works has decided to implement a Shameless Prodding Division hoping that you will be prodded yo help build the next barn at IRM.
As it has been noted before the very nature of the material which is used to construct transportation equipment is subject to deterioration from continued exposure to the elements. The only way to ensure that surface and/or deeper deterioration does not occur is to place the items, in this case our rolling stock, undercover. We have noted several times the effects of continued exposure to the elements. It is very disconcerting for volunteers that have spent time restoring equipment to see that restoration deteriorate as a result of weather exposure.
Case in point here we have a photograph at one of the more famous Electric Railway Museums (and I don't mean to throw stones at them). As you can see they are attempting to be preserve one PCC car with the use of a tarp. However, as we know the tarps require constant attention. This blog frequently reports on Randy's trips to the south end of IRM to ensure that 321 continues to be protected by its tarp. But as this photo shows tarps can't always be counted on to provide the necessary protection. In addition any preservation efforts can't be appreciated when they are hidden from view. The other two PCC's have no protection and are deteriorating as a result of exposure to the elements.
I tend not to take photos of deteriorated equipment so I don't have too many. But in this case I am presenting two bus photos for which I apologize. It seems that at many museums the buses tend to be somewhat more neglected than the railway rolling stock and provide a good example of what will happen if equipment is not protected from the elements.
But to the point indoor storage can only be achieved with contributions from all interested IRM friends.
YOU, yes you are being prodded to do something about it! IRM is in the process of raising funds for Barn 14. There are several funds you can donate to, but we here at the Hicks Car Works ask that you donate to code name RISWEC for cars in the Electric Car Department Collection. Make a minimum $25.00 donation today! You can mail your check to this address:
P.O. Box 427
Union, IL 60180
9 comments:
Question: When the $215 per foot figure is used, is that per foot of a car on a track?
David Church
Yes. It's basically just the length of the car in feet, multiplied by the current rate. A 50' car will be a little more than 10 G's, and so on. But if you look at it the right way, it's a bargain!
Having just read this post, it may be more fruitful to your cause to avoid citing other museums issues and focus more on what is at stake in specific terms at IRM.
Is there any equipment that is in jeopardy to the extent that was cited or inferred as to a permanent loss or, is it a case of preserving what has been restored? Or both?
That's a fair question. We do have some items of equipment that are in bad shape and getting worse. If they cannot be brought under cover soon, restoration will go from difficult to impossible. We generally prefer not to post pictures of the uglier examples, but they're out there for anybody to see. And then there is equipment that has been nicely restored, but is still stored outside and deteriorating. Not in the Electric Car department, though, so I'm reluctant to tread on other people's territory.
So the answer to your question is basically "both". Hope that helps.
Go ahead Randy, tread on the Freight Cars. There are at least three historic freight cars that I consider beyond our resources to save. If they could be put into a Barn then decades in the future, their rarity would be greater and someone might be willing to invest in them. But for the current Barn I have a list of 16 or 17 cars that SHOULD go inside right now. Some wood bodied, some already restored and ready for another round, some at risk where they stand right now.
It is not just freight cars. The first open car owned by IRM sat outdoors until it collapsed of its own weight, much as the bus pictured. Passenger cars, and some other trolleys have met the torch at IRM when they also went into such poor repair that no one could reasonably argue they could be saved any longer.
Those are not our success stories and do not need to be said again. Save the tears and help get this next barn built and filled.
Bob Kutella
I think there's more to the story on the double decker bus. If I remember right it had a difficulty with a low bridge.
Randy Stahl
The double decker, which might no longer be extant, was the world's first rear engine double decker bus, built in 1933 and exhibited at the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress Exhibition. It was a Yellow Coach Model 706, the only one with a 'straight-in' engine, unlike the production Models 720 and 735 which had transverse engines. It was unique in having an all Duralumin structure without a separate chassis. 706 was roster number 103 in the Chicago Motor Coach Company fleet until c1947 when it was sold to a movie properties company. It appeared in several Hollywood movies as Fifth Avenue Coach Company, roster number 2003, including The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was eventually acquired by OERM where some years later it was torched by a mindless vandal. yc720_06
Was it torched by a vandal, or caught in a brush fire? I'd always heard the latter.
It was caught in a brush fire that was sparked by a broken power line that fell onto a chain link fence. Another casualty of the fire was PE 1498 which was rebuilt from an 800 class car.
Charles Brown
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