The odor of the day was . . . ethanol, which was used to dissolve shellac flake. Specifically, a 2.5 pound cut, which is 2.5 pounds gossamer shellac flake per…
Chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace is a signature exhibit in the Museum’s Train Shed exhibit hall. Constructed in 1898 by the Barney and Smith Car Company, the Messenger of…
Coach 218 will be 102 years old this summer. This Barney and Smith coach is one of the last wood coaches built for service on an American railroad. It served the…
Wall paneling is cut and fit inside coach 218. Veneers have at least nine coats of shellac. Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach 218 has been undergoing rehabilitation and restoration…
Clerestory windows are a distinguishing feature of early 20th Century coaches. Obviously, these windows let light in but their primary function was – and is – to provide ventilation in an era before…
Bob McNall begins a window installation Coach 218 was built in 1912 and is now being prepared for its second century of service. Historic rehabilitation of this former Spokane, Portland and…
Well, not quite, but at a price that felt like a donation! A “new” Estey organ arrived at the Conservation and Restoration Center on a warm March 27, 2013. “One…
6 wheel wood, steel reinforced passenger truck Something old, something new, something borrowed, something . . . carbon black! Later this month inside the Conservation and Restoration Center, the chapel…
Chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace with its distinctive open vestibules or plat- forms. A distinguishing feature of many 19thCentury railroad cars is an open platform or vestibule on one…
Randy Miller describes his drawing to the project lead rehabilitation specialist Kevin Palo. Documenting an historic structure is an essential element in any rehabilitation, and is a concomitant of the…