Dear Friends of The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum:

Many visitors to the Museum's website may have noticed the decrease in the number of restoration reports recently. Some areas of the reconstruction, like the roof, are finished and others are very tedious and slow, and visual progress is minimal (like the turntable restoration). We appreciate the support we have received through our website visitors and glad we are able to keep the public up to date via this medium. Currently, Museum staff is busy preparing new components within the Museum that will be available for the November reopening.

The construction team is currently restoring the original turntable inside the Roundhouse (see the last report written about the turntable on December 29, 2003). The turntable was damaged as a result of the wet weather conditions in the months immediately following the February 2003 collapse. Unavoidable and continuous flooding of the turntable pit rendered the mechanism inoperable. The Strasburg Railroad was contacted to consult and oversee the restoration of the Museum's turntable. During the inspection, it was determined that the bearing assembly appears to have been modified various times, and with the exception of some cleaning, is in acceptable condition. Unfortunately, a crack was found on the turntable cap (not as a result of the roof collapse). This component of the assembly will need to be replaced with a reproduction. The turntable bridge girder and outriggers are in acceptable condition. The timbers were slightly damaged as a result of their age and are painstakingly being restored. The turntable decking at the time of the roof collapse was not the original decking. It is believed that the turntable did not have a deck originally, but that one was installed shortly after the building was completed. That decking was 2x6 tongue and grove oak. Eventually this was covered with plywood, and then with a 2 inch maple tongue and grove decking. Striving to restore and rebuild the Roundhouse as close as possible to its original appearance, the Museum will replicate the original 2x6 tongue and grove oak decking. Only a portion of the turntable restoration is covered by insurance.

In addition, on July 14, 2004 lighting protection was installed at the top of the Roundhouse. At one point in its history, the Roundhouse had a similar apparatus which served either as a flag pole or as lighting protection. On July 20, 2004 the large crane which was used to rebuild the Roundhouse left the property.

Thank you for your continued support. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum will reopen on Saturday, November 13, 2004.