K4, L1, etc at RR Museum of PA

I was in Strasburg on Saturday to check out 89 (looks great!). I was really disturbed to see the PRR steamers accross the street though. 460, the L1, and the K4 are now all sitting outside, without jacketing. The M1 is also without jacketing. I know funds are tight in PA right now, but they really look awful. I like the M1's new position (although in a perfect world it would be inside as well, but that tender is just monstorous!), but I sure hope they don't intend on keeping the K4 out there permently. You can already see new rust on the engine. I have always been concerned with some of their choices of what goes inside there (far to many pieces of rolling stock, and other lack luster pieces that should be moved to make room for more of the priceless engines, i.e. 4800. I don't care about yet another shay, or heilser, or fireless cooker when the very first GG1 is rusting away outside, much less the K4, L1, etc). 460 has been outside now since last summer. I am very concerned about this, does anyone know what is going on? Why are 3 of the most valuable pieces in the collection sitting outside in the weather again after we tax payers paid for the building expasion to protect them? I can understand a few months while they were removing the lagging for EPA reasons, but this is getting to be a long time now, and after this past winter the locos are starting to show it. If anyone from the RR Museum of PA is reading this please get them back inside!

Tom von Trott

"I don't care about yet another shay, or heilser, or fireless cooker when the very first GG1 is rusting away outside"

OK...um....maybe because YOU don't care, no one else does?

So they should throw the restored fireless outside to let that rusting hulk of a GG1 inside?

I seem to recall a massive campaign to raise funds for the building addition, so no, it was all paid for by the taxpayers.

I do Agree that they should get the GG1 inside. Don't leave it out there to rust away. But also, all the other ones should be kept in side. They just don't have the room to do that. It won't hurt the shay, heilser, or fireless cooker to sit outside for sometime since they are restored.

Well I can't speak on behalf of the RRMPA, but I can guess at their logic. They may be thinking that since they already have a GG1 inside the building (4935), that they don't have any immediate necessity to put another one in there since they have other equipment that is more valuable to place in there.

They had originally intended on placing the M1b in the extention, but the thing's just too darn big...if you put that in there, you lose the space for several other smaller pi...remember, the buildings are only so big folks...

Also remember, they're looking at age and how prone the equipment is to deterioration when considering what to place in the buildings. OK, locomotives are valuable, but much of that rolling stock in the building is constructed from wood...if you put that outside, it'll rot away in not too long. Therefore I can understand their logic for not moving many of those old PRR coaches outside to bring the locomotives in.

Also remember how long some of that equipment sat outside before this...like 460. She sat outdoors almost from the day she arrived on the scene in the 60's to 1995 when that extention was completed. And the way they look at it, what's another year or so...

I haven't been in that building in some time now as usually when I'm up there, I spend the day shooting on the Strasburg...can anyone tell me exactly how full that building is right now?

Take care everyone.

Although they don't look as good, a steam locomotive displayed outside is much better off without the jacketing. All that insulation underneath just acts like a sponge for rain water and causes a more rapid deterioration of the boiler shell.

You just leave those Shays and Heislers where they are. Every piece of equipment in there earned it's right to be in there, and every piece outside deserves a spot under roof as well. Every valuable piece of railroad history deserves to be preserved, and the equipment at the RRMof PA is in good hands. Its only a matter of time.

Well , I`m a member of the railroad museum . A few months back I was talking to David Dunn , He told me that their trying to convince the State of Pennsylvania to build a compleat roundhouse for the rolling stock out side. so that everything would be in doors . Well that take $$$$ . till we at the museum get the funds , I guess the rolling stock will be outs doors.

The Locomotives are going through cosmetic restoring , and there taking the asbestos out too. I`m not sure I think I spelled that right .

Len.