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Painting the 36's interior is going slowly but surely. Picture to the left was taken after completing second primer on the center ceiling and end bulkhead. Extra points if you can identify the parts that still have only first primer.
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And then first finish cream on the other half of the ceiling. It looks nice if I may say so myself.
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It's kind of crowded here in the smoker. If you're a klutz like me, you just have to get in the habit of not making any sudden movements, or disaster may ensue.
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Meanwhile, Bill and Fred continued installing ventilators on the 4412. They're a little more than half done.
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This is the buzzer cord hanger for the smoker, which I cleaned off, reinstalled, and then painted with primer.
And as usual, lots of other activities going on, although we're no longer open to the public. A lot of switching was being done. I wish I had gotten a picture of a long freight train being pulled out of Yard 15 along the new cutoff on its way to the main. That's just what the cutoff was designed for.
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And the addition to the storage facility is nearing completion.
9 comments:
I remain a little concerned about how drainage off the roof will clear the garage door of the storage units. If you put stuff inside that can stand being moist, no big deal, I suppose. Otherwise, splashing puddles outside the doorway might not be so good. Gutters and overhangs might help, if it is not too late?
Seeing the various projects and hard work, funding issues and long term nature of restoration projects documented here, a question arose.
I had been reading Jerry Marlette's history of the THI&E and the recent shrink wrapping of two mind of their cars came to mind.
On arrival, is there a written preliminary scope of work developed that's required on a new acquisition needed to restore it?
A projected budget? As a retired project engineer \ manager this late arriving question just popped up.
Bruce:
That's an excellent question. The answer is no, but perhaps there should be such a requirement.
The THI&E cars were acquired in 1996, and I'm sure that even back then any such acquisitions had to be approved by the Board. But Jim Johnson wanted to save these carbodies, he put up the money to buy and move them, and I believe he was the President at that time, so we went ahead and did it. I don't remember whether the current track space charges were in effect at that time. Anyway, here's a picture from the move:
http://hickscarworks.blogspot.com/2009/03/cleaning-up-lake-shafer.html
Many pieces in our collection have been acquired because otherwise they will be lost forever, and we hope that eventually the resources will be available for restoration. I know as well as you do that no self-respecting project engineer would try to run a for-profit business this way. But I must reluctantly admit that in the absence of this magical thinking, of which Nick is the prime exponent, IRM wouldn't be where it is today.
In the interest of IRM's future, it might not be a bad idea to require equipment acquired as part of the permanent collection have a written plan that says why we are preserving this car, how we want to interpret it to the public, what time period it is to be restored to represent, will it be restored to operation, etc.
It seems to me that it would not be difficult to create a preliminary plan and it looks professional to have an official plan for pieces in the collection, even if the plan just gathers dust for awhile.
When I saw the map on page 350 of the Marlette book of the scope and the reach of the THI&E operations, I was dumbstruck as It seemed to dwarf any comparable line.
At the same time I am frustrated as an out of state admirer of IRM's work, again, as a retired project manager.
Then I thought of folks residing in Indiana that appreciate history, traction, transportation buffs. Then I thought about internet fund raising venues and reaching out to that audience in several ways.
The issue with that more wide spread fund raising effort would be presenting ( in effect ) a bottomless money pit with no projected cost.
Being retired and with a kid in school puts a crimp on my discretionary spending.
But I thought there must be some other way to help out.
Wooden, operational cars of that classic 1900's heyday are as scarce as hen's teeth..
Maybe its a stupid idea but it pooped up none the less.
Usually there is only one chance to preserve this stuff. There is rarely time to work up a plan for eventual restoration. I'm happy that IRM (J Johnson) had the foresight to save these wooden interurbans from the REAL interurban era.
ps.
I bought a power ball ticket tonite, if I win I'll make sure that the cars get some cash !
Randy Stahl
I should have said popped out but the mistaken misspelling was funnier
once I realized the typo.
Sorry about that!
I'd say its not absolutely necessary for acquisitions that don't yet have a plan, but rigorous reporting on significant artifacts' care and long term place in the collection is standard for respected museums. Better documentation and accounting of everything also helps for seeking grant funds, both for specific projects and for general grants to the institution. There's a lot of improvement in institutional quality that the whole railroad museum field could make.
Going back to the first comment above, I myself am a little worried about possible water damage the new storage building could suffer. if water should pool and find a way in.
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