- New Barn Contemplated
- From Rail & Wire Issue 114, March 1985
Most of the Museum's members have noticed that some wooden cars still live outside.
With more than 200 pieces of rolling stock (and more keep coming), we just don't have enough track space under
cover. Tarps, costing hundreds of dollars each, are temporary expedients that fall apart after a few seasons.
On Sept. 15, the board of directors allocated $78,000 for another building which would hopefully house the remaining
fragile equipment. This barn, designated as barn #7 on the Museum's master plan, would be located east of barn #8,
and south of Barn #4, south of Central Avenue. The barn and track must be built over the fall and winter, because in
the spring and early summer, the ground is too soft for construction machinery (and of course, prices will increase in
1985).
With the fixed amount of money available, however, the Museum is faced with a quandry. The track department
estimated that it will take about $35,000 to build yard #7. Our track building program over the past few years,
especially the push east to Seeman Road, has depleted the Museum's stock of usable tie plates, ties, spikes, and
other hardware. We will also have to pay for gravel and grading for the new construction. The quandry? Well ... we
can build as much building as we have
money for. The longer the building, the more cars can go inside. We think we can build about a 312 foot building, but
the site would hold one significantly longer. Each bay of the building would cost an additional $1,600 (estimated),
which is roughly 10 feet across all four tracks. This is the chance to get the really fragile cars inside for good. You
can contribute to lengthen the building, a permanent contribution to the Museum and the collection.
