South Elgin trolley museum vandalized
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:28 pm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/e ... story.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/e ... story.html
Other articles, showing some of the damages. I'm glad they caught the kids and I hope they do intend to get at least partial payment back. As a former historic railway museum director, vandalism of this scale was always the second highest fear, after fire. Practically none of the historic materials are still made any more, everything must be traded for, or custom fabricated. You might think that it would be easy to swap out shards of broken glass for a new pane, but it's not that simple. Window frames may not be totally square any more, often window hardware is frozen together, and you can't replicate the wavy look of glass that is 100 years old. Plus, especially on doors, many streetcars had special glass with a hexagonal metal web embedded for added strength which is practically impossible to find.
I'm pleased to see the outpouring of community support for the museum and among the railroad preservation community.