New at the B&O Museum

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 2:06 pm

From an e-mail spa--errrr, dispatch from the B&O RR Museum:

Quote:

Newly installed and upgraded exhibits that will be highlighted over the holiday weekend May 23-24, 2009 include an interactive model of a General Motors E-8 locomotive, big rumbling sound has been added to the steam locomotive Clinchfield No.1 and Caboose B&O 2222. Plus there is a Smithsonian Institution film on railway post office cars, a narrated light show highlighting the Museum's segregated "Jim Crow" combine car, a new short film on standard time and more! Highlights of the exhibit unveiling will have you searching for two late Victorian ghosts in the Museum's Roundhouse and an opportunity to meet B&O Railroad founder and the longest living signer of the Declaration of Independence; Charles Carroll of Carrollton in a way you'd NEVER imagine thanks to the newest audioanimatronic technology.

Mr. Wilson said, "These new additions and enhancements to our exhibits were a way to radically change the visitor's experience without expending major funding. It's amazing how sights, sounds and a few special surprises capture our visitor's attention!"

co614 · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 2:30 pm

I for one would surely be grateful if they'd put a tarp over AFT 1 until they can get to repainting it.

I visited there late last summer and she looked absolutely shameful (putting it politely) and for one of the most photographed (while on the road of service) locomotives in the entire collection it seemed such a shame to see her in that condition.

I guess the limited good news is she was well off the beaten path and squeezed between 2 other pieces and thus difficult to photograph which in this case is a blessing!!

IMHO-Ross Rowland

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 3:50 pm

As they've been happy to tell me, they'll be happy to take a check for $40,000 to cover the cost.........

co614 · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 5:25 pm

My gosh...40 grand for a paint job????? Why for that kind of money and 10-15 years we could get a gummit paint job at Scranton!!!

I've got a world class (experienced) painter who says he'll be glad to go to Baltimore and give her a first rate Imron painting for $ 10,000. I'll see if I can make tha arrangements and raise the gelt.

Stay tuned....................

Ross Rowland

tomgears · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 10:22 pm

One of the problems in the museum business is that paint often means sandblast, metal work, primer, and painting. In real life this hardly ever happened to steamers. She could be cleaned up with a steam cleaner and painted for a few hundred dollars. This would not hinder the full Monty once the money is found later.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 11:33 pm

co614 wrote:

I've got a world class (experienced) painter who says he'll be glad to go to Baltimore and give her a first rate Imron painting for $ 10,000. I'll see if I can make tha arrangements and raise the gelt.

Please talk with the Museum first. Obviously they have a plan and estimate in mind, one that probably markedly differs from your ideas. They do have a paint booth on the property, I should point out. Even if you raise the money for their estimates, they may still defer out of preference that other projects are considered a higher priority.

tomgears · **Posted:** Wed May 20, 2009 8:59 am

Maybe there is an organization that would be interested in displaying her that could work out a long term loan with the B&O Museum.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Wed May 20, 2009 9:26 am

tomgears wrote:

Maybe there is an organization that would be interested in displaying her that could work out a long term loan with the B&O Museum.

I like your way of thinking, but it's very likely that any party so motivated would be full of folks desperate to paint her back into Reading livery, when there are already two in the Reading's home turf (though, agreed, one is locked away out of the public eye). And personally, I like the idea of keeping this one in AFT colors, or even putting back Chessie Steam Special paint on her for a while!

co614 · **Posted:** Wed May 20, 2009 10:10 am

Against my better judgement, I will reach out this week to the mgt. of the B&O Museum and see if we can work something out wherein if I provide (and pay for) the competent professional painter to come in and give AFT 1 a first rate repainting, that provisions can be made, on site, to accomplish the job.

Hope springs eternal!!!

Ross Rowland

co614 · **Posted:** Thu May 21, 2009 11:58 am

I have placed a call (yesterday) to the B&O museums exec. director and am waiting for a return call so as to further discuss this matter.

On the good news front I have discussed this with my most trusted contractor and he is willing/able to go to Baltimore and get the job done. His estimate of the total cost is a fraction (as I suspected it would be ) of the 40k number thrown out above.

Hopefully we'll be able to work it all out as in her present deplorable condition she's certainly a sad sight and a big time negative for all concerned!!

Stay tuned!!

Ross Rowland

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Thu May 21, 2009 4:06 pm

co614 wrote:

I have placed a call (yesterday) to the B&O museums exec. director and am waiting for a return call so as to further discuss this matter.

I have no interest in stirring up a flame war, but as someone who is close enough to go and actually LOOK AT the darned thing, I am also speculating that by now it's possible the Museum might also have sheet metal work and other stabilization in mind for the loco--in other words, no use doing a half-posteriored (two-week) job, might as well go for a full (several more weeks?) restoration.

Having said that, I am certain the $40K figure I was cited years ago was strictly for the paint..........

co614 · **Posted:** Thu May 21, 2009 8:48 pm

If I recall corectly we used aluminum when we rejacketed her in "79 in preparation for swapping her for the 614?? In any event, the homework I've done clearly shows that if it can be arranged for my contractor to have the use of the paint booth for approx. 7 days, he and his team can complete the whole job and be gone.

This includes bringing Bob Lorenz east from Ohio to supervise the repainting of the Great Seals of the United States on both sides of the tender.

All this for a fraction of the 40k.

I await the chance to discuss it with Mr. Wilson.

Ross Rowland