Seems as more damage was done then we all thought! Heres a run down! Repairs at railroad museum running into new obstacles More roof problems add time and cost to task ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- By Reginald Fields Sun Staff Originally published September 7, 2003 Baltimore architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin perhaps thought the B&O Railroad roundhouse on West Pratt Street would be a lasting monument to his skill as a designer. But a huge snowstorm in February toppled the roof, exposing design and material flaws that had survived apparently unnoticed for 119 years. "The evidence was very clear, very quickly," said William B. Rockey, a vice president of Century Engineering, a Towson firm in charge of rebuilding the structure. The design problem - described in an internal report provided to The Sun by museum officials - is not a complicated fix. The trouble is, the problems found in the lower roof have also shown up in a later examination of the smaller upper roof, which was undamaged by the heavy snow. The museum was already expected to be closed until early next year. Now, having to redo the upper roof could add six months to the construction time, pushing back the target date for reopening the museum to late spring or early summer. Sponsored Links What's this? Trusted leader in home plans since 1946! Thousands of quality home plans from over 100 top architects/designers. Search by style, size, even master suite location! Best selection and customer service. We can customize any plan. The timing is crucial because insurance covering the museum's operating costs while it is closed, including salaries for the 49 full- and part-time workers, expires Feb. 16. Not only will the museum have to raise an additional $1.7 million to cover the unexpected cost of the upper roof, but it must also raise funds to pay staff and avoid layoffs. "It's just a whole different problem that we didn't see coming," said Courtney B. Wilson, the museum's executive director. The ordeal has been a nightmare for Wilson, who took over as executive director in 2000 and had planned for the past summer to be the museum's brightest moment. He was organizing the Fair of the Iron Horse, billed as the largest-ever festival of locomotives and rail yard history in North America. Rail vehicles from as far away as California were supposed to participate in the fair, capping the museum's 16-month celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The collapse of the roof, however, forced cancellation of the fair. Instead of showcasing dozens of rare locomotives on loan and welcoming an international crowd expected to approach 1 million people, the B&O was left shuttered and trying to salvage its own collection, much of it damaged in the collapse and not expected to be completely repaired for at least six years. Essential element The museum, opened in 1953, is at the site of Mount Clare, the first train station in the United States. The roundhouse was formerly a train car repair shop. While the B&O has several buildings on 40 acres straddling railroad tracks in West Baltimore, the museum cannot function without the roundhouse. It's the primary viewing area for visitors, which is why repairing the building is so urgent. In July, tractor-trailer trucks snaked through the city during early-morning hours when traffic was minimal and wide turns were easiest and delivered new steel trusses to the museum. The trusses, roof decking and tar paper are in place, nearly covering the gaping hole that stood for more than five months over the roundhouse. Meanwhile, 70,000 feet of cable and weights are strung together inside the building to keep the wall and undamaged roofing stable during the construction. Only two North American companies could handle the enormous supply of gray slate shingles needed to cover the 45,000-square-foot building, museum officials found, but they're ordered and on the way. Dozens of construction workers have been on the roof on their knees hammering together fabricated wood planks, said to be stronger than natural wood. The lift arm of a crane hovers above the building. Insurance will cover the estimated $10 million cost of repairing the lower roof. Century Engineering was awarded contracts to clear debris and analyze the accident, as well as reconstruct the building. The company is headed by Francis X. Smyth, a member of the museum's board of directors. Design and material problems that left the roundhouse vulnerable escaped notice for years. "Since it has been a museum, to my knowledge, there's been no structural analysis of the building," Wilson said. "No one ever informed museum officials the roof could be a problem." About eight years ago, during a restoration project, the B&O had an engineering firm inspect the roof of one of its rail car shops. It found fractured trusses and rotting timber, but because that project didn't involve the roundhouse, its roof wasn't inspected, Wilson said. "To a casual observer of the building, you wouldn't know there were design flaws," he said. The 28-inch snowfall and snowdrifts exceeding 4 feet exposed the problems, said Rockey. Primary flaw His report says that in some areas the strongest points of the 80-foot trusses were not positioned under weight-bearing beams, called kingposts, that held the roof decking together. That was the primary flaw causing the trusses to buckle inward and send metal, wood, slate and snow cascading like an avalanche onto the museum's prized exhibits. Rockey also found that the trusses were not properly braced top to bottom to keep the wood decking from moving over the years. The lack of bracing meant that the trusses began to twist and weaken as the weight from snow mounted. He says that while design flaws would have been visible to a trained eye, because there was no ceiling obscuring them, those flaws wouldn't necessarily mean that the roof was inadequate. "It might look curious, but it may be OK," he said. "You have to consider the materials used." After the collapse, the iron and wood used in the old roof were tested and found to be well under the strength required by today's building standards. Given the design problems and weakened materials found with the roundhouse, Rockey said that if he owned one of the other Baldwin buildings still in existence, "I would go up and check my roof. I would definitely have it looked at." In Baldwin's defense That annoys Carlos Avery, a Rockville historian who has written a book about the architect, E. Francis Baldwin Architect: The B&O, Baltimore and Beyond. "Well, I would say that should be taken with a grain of salt," Avery said of Rockey's comment. "It would be unfair to say all of [Baldwin's] roof work is flawed." Avery said that Baldwin likely met all the building codes and standards of his day and that all his buildings, until the roundhouse roof collapse, had survived serious structural failures. Baldwin's resume includes the Power Plant building, once a power-generating facility. "He probably did what was right at the time, and it survived for 119 years," Avery said. "We can go back and accuse the designer of the World Trade Center because it was supposed to survive the impact of an airplane and didn't, but we don't do that." Rockey, the engineer, did have one positive thing to say about Baldwin's design. In the days after the collapse, engineers could not explain why the trusses - which at their bottom ends were embedded in the 22 brick walls of the circular roundhouse - did not pull the masonry walls down with them. Building inspectors found that Baldwin built each truss into the walls on a plate of four, foot-long iron bars laid side-by-side. During the collapse, the roller plates allowed the trusses to snap off without ripping through the walls. The new roof is being built onto the original walls. "The new roof will be very, very similar to the one old one but will be designed to address what failed," Wilson said. "It's a long road ahead, but hopefully we'll get back to normal." The damage to the Museum's locos is listed below. Repairs to the Museum must be done first. Also the turntable in the middle of the floor is damaged and inoperable now, thanks to all the rain we had leaking into the base. The mechanism is jammed, the floorboards are warped, and the rails are rusting. It, too, must be fixed before restoration of the locos and other artifacts can begin, since moving locos around is accomplished by putting them on the turntable. The locomotives..... * Memnon (184 - the boiler and wooden parts are damaged. This is one of the oldest existing steam locos, and I think the only representative pice from the 1840s. * Thatcher Perkins (1863) - a beautiful 4-6-0 - heavy damage to the bell, domes, whistle, cab glass, cab roof and boiler. * J.C. Davis (1875) - Water trapped inside loco is rusting it from the inside out. Domes need recasting, whistle needs to be repaired, the cab is totally smashed. Argh!!! See photo taken by Bob Rathke. Everything from the stack back and above the drivers is in need of repair! * The Camel (1869) - One of only two Camels left, and my personal favorite. This loco took the full brunt of the collapse. The cab is damaged, the boiler damaged, bolsters cracked and tender bent. * A.J. Cromwell (188 - Boiler and cab damaged and will need major repair. In addition, an 1875 baggage car was crushed, am 1868 coach was 80% destroyed, an 1889 crane and boxcar were damaged, and a caboose lost its cupola. Among "newer" locos that were damaged were a 1905 Shay, a 1942 SW, and a 1950 tank engine that had recently been brought to operating condition. That's a double shame. It was so cool riding behind this little puffer belly! Look, we all know how tight the money is. It's hard to think of making donations when you're just making ends meet. But every little amount helps. $10 sound too small? Not if everyone does it. The insurance is going to cover fixing the Museum. The artifacts are another matter. All the damage listed above is from going over them externally. Most of these locos will have to be disassembled to examine them for the true extent of the damage. Please help! As of now they've collected $210,600. When writing out a check to donate to Railfan.Net, please consider one for $5 or $10 to the Musuem? Their address is: The Roundhouse Restoration Fund c/o Mercantile Bank and Trust Co. 409 Washington Avenue, Suite 100 Towson, MD 21204 I know many of you have never been to the Museum. Hell I've never been to it! Now I'm saddened that I never got to see those locomotives! It's seemed to have been run by well meaning people who want, more than anything, for these artifacts to last so that your great-great-great-descendants will be able to see them. If we don't pull together now, these artifacts won't be around then. I hope that something can be done to help this turn for the better! [ 08. September 2003, 03:02: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
John- Sounds like excellent progress being made in resolving a horrible situation. At least they'll have the place closed up before winter. I'm certain that an organization such as this will be able to pull everything together. Modern techniques for restoration are marvelous. Keep us posted on any further news! Boxcab E50
Ken, I know its a nasty tragity, an is an awfull happening, it sadens me of the losses! BUT I'm sure they will come out in the end. I too am glad they got the stuff on the right track (no pun intended) to sort it all out an get the needed work done to the building an have it all covered up to then have the turntable working an all to begin on the locomotives that were ruined from it.... I'll keep all the updates comming as I get the information for everyone!
