Carhouses, Dave's, Etc.

[Kenneth and Tracie Josephson]

"Fred W. Schneider III" wrote:

> Ed admits there are many people to blame ... but that will never change were
> Arden to be around a thousand years from now.  There will always be differences
> of opinion on what to save and what not to save.  Car M-11, nee 100, may have
> been the first PCC to actually hit the streets in revenue service but it would
> not really have been a good museum car.  It was an instruction car.  In order to
> make it suitable for operation, the accelerator would have to be moved back
> under floor, the floor would have needed to be replaced.  I imagine there were a
> host of wiring changes in the tens and elevens as a result of problems with
> 100.  Certainly there were a pile of changes with the Brooklyn GE cars.  So you
> would never really restore it to Day 1 condition.  And whatever work would be
> done would not truly be cost effective considering that the public doesn't give
> a rat's ass about the mechanical history of a car.  They are a lot like
> railfans.  They're out there looking to restore memories.  A PCC is a PCC to
> them.  The public is no different than a railfan wanting to preserve a car on
> which he rode, and ignoring thousands of others perhaps even more eligible for
> preservation on engineering or evolutionary standards.

Darn it, your common sense and practicality are like a cold slap in the face. I
suppose I deserve it.

IRM faced this dilemma in 1963 after the North Shore Line quit. The first steel
coach, 150 and the last steel coach, 776 were still around. Problem was, 150 was one
of the first steel coaches to be overhauled and was heavily modified inside. Plus it
was coming due for another major overhaul when the line quit. Car 160 was chosen
instead. It was of the same series, retained more of its originality and was in
better overall condition. Most of the cars in the last series were bad overall shape
at the end, including the "Silverliner" rebuilds of the 1950s. So a Pullman from the
previous series that had been recently overhauled before abandonment was chosen.

At the time, financial resources were very slim, revenue was needed from operational
cars that needed to be reliable and there was more of a "club mentality" than a
serious museum attitude.

> ... Bob Brown, Harry Bartley, and
> so forth, did have a willingness to save something.  What we have is a lot of
> fun to work with.  The public enjoys it.  And that's what its all about, isn't
> it....

Yes, it is. I remember a debate on trolleycars.com where people were discussing (and
flaming) over how to rationalize collections and whether or not to deacquisition
certain pieces of equipment that no longer fit the group's criteria. For example,
what would PTM do with a standard gauge car from Oregon if a now deceased founding
member had dragged it to Arden in 1955 simply because he liked it and had the
political clout to acquire it? It wouldn't fit the PTM "blueprint" (nor its rails),
yet it would be a tie to the Museum's earliest days.

I believe a number of museums face such situations today.  Ken J.