Living History

I'm not sure whether it's still there, but a few years back the museum's brochure included the line "Ride our time machines!"  We have an opportunity many non-rail museums don't have: to provide a relatively immersive experience to our visitors during their time at the museum.  Of course, we wouldn't want it to be completely immersive; nobody particularly wants to eschew an air-conditioned diner for a 1950s version cooled only by fans, or to push a wheelchair over cobblestones instead of a smooth asphalt surface.  But the idea of living history, of not simply placing historic objects in front of people but rather placing them in the midst of a larger historic context, seems to me a laudable goal.

Over the weekend my wife and I drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where a reenactment commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was taking place.  Around 10,000 reenactors (!) participated and the effect was stunning.  While I'd seen Civil War reenactments done with a dozen or two dozen men, seeing thousands of men on the field at once - as was the case with the original battle - was completely different and was a truly moving experience.

So where's the lesson for IRM?  Well, I believe that the success of Civil War events belies the suggestion of some that a decline in our attendance is inevitable as the golden age of streetcars, steam, passenger trains, etc begins to pass from living memory.  Seeing the thousands of spectators at the Gettysburg event was pretty persuasive that one doesn't have to be personally nostalgic for something to be interested in seeing it replicated.

More than that, though, I feel that the living history aspect of Civil War reenactments suggests that we should aim for more of an immersive and authentic experience.  There's a good reason, I feel, that more people go to Civil War encampments and reenactments than to lectures.  It's much more interesting and meaningful to be placed in the middle of the history - even if it's just being replicated - than to simply read about it in a book.  And perhaps by immersing people in the history we can even instill a little bit of that nostalgia into people too young to have lived through these experiences originally.

So it's wonderful that IRM has a mainline that, with the exception of the occasional high-tension tower, looks exactly the same from the train window as it did a century ago.  It's wonderful that we're working on developing a Main Street scene where people will be able to see streetcars in context and experience a slice of our cities when they revolved around transit; that we restore our equipment accurately and not to some cartoonish Hollywood version of what people think the past looked like; that our property has so many old-fashioned touches, from the garbage can stickers to the yellow street signs; that our volunteers strive to make visitors' experience more realistic by punching tickets and dressing in authentic uniforms.  All of these pieces add to the puzzle of teaching people history not simply by explaining it but by placing them bodily into its midst.

And as volunteers I am hopeful that we'll continue to consider the experience our visitors have, and how much it can teach them about the past.  How we dress, act, present ourselves and relate to the public are vitally important to what people take away fro their experience when they drive off of the property.  If they felt like they've peeked into the past, even if just briefly, it will be more memorable than just a bunch of dates, facts and figures.  And with luck, it will keep them coming back.  "Time machines?"  Why not?

Inspection Time!

The inspection season is now in progress, and every electric car needs to undergo a thorough inspection prior to revenue service. I strongly suggest that everyone involved in electric car operations - all motormen and conductors - should spend at least one day a year helping on inspections. Due to recent acquisitions, we now have more operational cars than ever before. And if you want to operate or ride them, we need help. And not only could we use the help, but inspection is the most effective way for crewmen to be familiar with all the mechanical parts of the car, and what most often goes wrong. Classroom-type training is good, but it is not an effective substitute for hands-on experience. You'll be glad you helped!

It's Inspection Time Again!

The inspection season is now in progress, and every electric car needs to undergo a thorough inspection prior to revenue service. I strongly suggest that everyone involved in electric car operations - all motormen and conductors - should spend at least one day a year helping on inspections. This year, especially, the Car Dept. is swamped with work due to the recent acquisitions. And if you want to operate or ride them, we need help. And not only could we use the help, but inspection is the most effective way for crewmen to be familiar with all the mechanical parts of the car, and what most often goes wrong. In the past, we have occasionally had problems because operating crews didn't realize anything was wrong until severe damage had occurred. This is not meant as personal criticism, it's a lack of education. Classroom-type training is good, but it is not an effective substitute for hands-on experience. You'll be glad you did!

Donate Now for the Trolleyville Collection!

An important message from our Executive Director, Nick Kallas:

There has been much speculation about the Trolleyville collection and our interest in any of the cars in the collection. At the August 8th meeting, the Board of Directors authorized the acquisition of up to eight pieces of equipment, subject to successful fundraising. The primary emphasis for acquisitions will be Chicago Aurora & Elgin equipment, including both steel and wood cars and comprising six of the eight pieces of equipment approved for acquisition by the Board.

Fundraising efforts have begun at the Museum and are now being extended to anyone interested in the preservation of this equipment at IRM. Repatriation is a buzzword in the museum community and we are hopeful that we can repatriate (bring home) this equipment to the Chicago area to operate it once again in the manner in which it used to run. Most of the equipment is operational and had been operated at Trolleyville prior to its move to downtown Cleveland. Acquisition of this equipment by IRM would be unique because of the "ready to run" condition and historic nature of the equipment and its relationship to the Chicago area.

While we realize these are tough economic times, donations have started to come in and commitments of cash are being made by individuals for certain pieces of equipment. As October 1st is the deadline for submitting bids, any donation, large or small, is greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate or pledge (please remember pledging is a contract) to this effort, send all contributions to IRM noting "Trolleyville cars" on the check memo line, or you can donate online using the following link:

http://www.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=715

If you have any questions, please contact Nick Kallas, Executive Director, at
nkallas@irm.org or call me at the museum at 815-923-4391 ext 402.

Signed,

Nick Kallas
Executive Director
Illinois Railway Museum
P.O. Box 427
Union, IL 60180

Help Buy the Trolleyville Cars!

A large collection of electric cars from the Trolleyville collection has been put up for sale, and of course IRM is very interested in acquiring several of the CA&E cars, possibly others. These cars are all in excellent condition, and can be operated in revenue service with very little work. They do not need huge long-term restoration projects like most of the acquisitions that become available.

$$$ But obviously this will be expensive, so we need your help! $$$

IRM will need money not only to purchase the cars, but to pay for their transportation from Cleveland, which will probably be nearly as much, and for indoor storage and track space. For more details, see the documents posted here, particularly the "Trolley Car Auction Letter." (Warning: link requires membership in IRM list on Yahoo.)

We need to submit our bid by October 1st at the latest, so donations to the Trolleyville fund are needed soon, or at least firm commitments.

I think you'll agree that IRM is the best possible permanent home for the CA&E cars. And as a reward, I'm ready to start running "Take the Throttle" type trips for anyone who makes a substantial contribution to the Trolleyville fund, either with the 308/309 we currently own, or with the new cars when we get them running.

Contributions should be sent directly to IRM. Be sure to indicate that this is for the Trolleyville collection. Write the word "Trolleyville" or "Brookins" or "Cleveland" on the check -- that ought to be clear enough. Thanks!!!

Chicago Day, Part III: First Blood

As was mentioned in the two above posts, I was up at IRM this weekend to help Randy on the 277, and provide a brief assist to Frank on the 205.

What wasn't mentioned was what happened to my right index finger at the end of the day. I was helping Randy close up Barn 8 by closing the doors at the track-end of the barn. While placing one of the metal security bars across the door, which would prevent intruders from opening the doors, the bar slipped from my hands and I pinched by finger because my right hand was under the bar.

Lots of bleeding ensued. Thankfully Frank helped me clean and dress the wound, and after a couple of bandage changings, cleaning with peroxide, it looks a lot better.

This is probably a good time to talk about shop safety. Always be aware of your surroundings, including, but not limited to, potential pinch hazards. Had I done this, I wouldn't have pinched by finger, and had to deal with the resulting bleeding/soreness, etc. In other words, don't do what I did!

Status of CA&E 321

Since people ask about the status of this car every so often, you deserve an honest assessment of current plans and the reasons behind them.

Frankly, I have just given up on restoring the 321 for the foreseeable future (i.e., my lifetime). The car has just too many problems, mostly dating back to its destructive conversion to work service in 1962, followed by years of neglect during its storage outside. On closer examination, the structure is not nearly as sound as I had thought. It would take at least ten years for me to complete, since there seems to be little prospect of getting additional full-time help, and when it was done, it would be just another CA&E car. And honestly, I was getting a little bored.

As it is, the car makes a nice display piece. We have wyed the 321 to put its good side towards the public sidewalk. Next spring, Frank will letter the letterboard, completing the cosmetic restoration. It also serves as a convenient shop space for our Barn 8 projects.

I believe my time can be better spent on other IRM projects. As a first priority I will continue to supervise and maintain the two blue cars. These should take only part of my time, and for the immediate future I will be concentrating on the IT cars 277 and 518. These will provide a much more immediate improvement to the museum's operating fleet. I will also be available for help on other projects, such as the roof of the 757.

You Could Try This Yourself

Our blog has been up for about eight months now, using Google's Blogger software. (Usual disclaimer: I'm not connected with Google, am not being paid, etc.) Our experience on the whole has been very positive. It's generally been easy to use and the results look good, if I say so myself. Best of all, it's free. I don't have a tip jar because I'm not spending anything on this blog, and I knew from the start I didn't want ads. They make the pages load much slower, they're tacky and often offensive, you have no control over the content, etc.

I would recommend Google to anyone who wants to try blogging, at least for a limited-use application like this. Of course, you don't have your own domain name. Bandwidth might be a problem if you're expecting higher volumes of traffic, which we're not. We're now averaging about 50 hits per day, and have occasional spikes over 100, but I haven't heard any complaints or experienced problems with slow loading.

The blogspot site has some pretty good help available, and there's also an online help group so you can get advice from others with similar problems. That's been quite useful a couple of times.

So my advice to anyone who’s thought about blogging is to go ahead and try it. You have nothing to lose!

Inspections, Everyone (An Editorial)

The inspection season is now in progress, and every electric car needs to undergo a thorough inspection prior to revenue service. I strongly suggest that everyone involved in electric car operations - all motormen and conductors - should spend at least one day a year helping on inspections. This is not just because we could use the help, but because this is the only effective way for crewmen to be familiar with all the mechanical parts of the car, and what most often goes wrong. In the past, we have occasionally had problems because operating crews didn't realize anything was wrong until severe damage had occurred. This is not meant as personal criticism, it's a lack of education. Classroom-type training is good, but it is not an effective substitute for hands-on experience. You'll be glad you did!

Feel free to use the comment feature to reply!

Randall