Dear Pioneer,
Please thank your guides for their willingness to help us understand solar panels! If it’s too much trouble, please don’t have them put themselves out on my account. That must have been a lot of hard work for them to research since the technology is so new. I suppose it’s all information that can be found in the new energy exhibit, but they certainly didn’t have to seek it out and write it all down for another engine at a different museum.
I understand your concern about what is and isn’t Useful for an engine to know. Some of the older staff here would consider learning about solar panels frivolous, but when I brought it up with a few of my regular letter-writers, they said that museums are for everyone to learn from and that I was helping you and your guides to be Useful by asking good questions. I don’t know about all that, but at the very least they don’t consider it time wasted.
It seems like there’s nothing that can be run entirely on solar panels for now, but even if it’s only used occasionally or with reserve power, that’s still a very powerful technology. It isn’t limited by how much coal we can mine or how high gas prices might get. Even if it can only power small things now, maybe in the future we’ll be preserving solar-powered doodlebugs at the IRM with the help of new exhibits like yours!
I do wonder if our new concession stand is small enough to run on them, though. Yes, we are very proud of it, can you tell?
Part of making those raised fare prices worth it was making the IRM a place you could spend the whole day, but that was hard when there was nowhere for our guests to refuel, so to speak. If they got hungry, they’d have to leave to head into one of the nearby towns. If that happened, they might be more inclined to head home early. Now, with an onsite kitchen and a place to store cold treats, we can offer our guests more reason to stay here as long as they like. Since it was finished in July, it’s been keeping our volunteer cashiers very busy.
There’s a little bit of revenue to be made from selling hot dogs and ice cream, but the building itself is worth more as a courtesy to our visitors, especially with the restrooms they were able to install. There’s even a shower in the men’s room for volunteers and staff to wash down after a hard day! It’s getting a little cool to be using it now, but I can imagine on a hot summer day next year it will be as refreshing as the soda pop we’re selling there.
Speaking of, September’s letter would usually be the one where I explain what all happened on Members Day 1977, except it hasn’t happened yet! The museum pushed the dates for that weekend back to October, so you’ll have to wait until my next missive to hear about how grand everyone looked. I can tell you ahead of time that they will look grand, but you’ll have to wait to hear more detail than that.
I think part of the reason we went a little into the fall with our summer operations was the number of charters we had this year. We were booked out thanks to some savvy marketing from some of our staff members last spring. Our staff mailed fliers out to schools and church groups to let them know our equipment was available to rent. When the numbers came back for the operating season, it came out to 2,500 guests who came to the museum to charter our streetcars for a field trip or other group outing. It’s not quite a culture bus program, but it did bring in more schoolchildren than I’ve ever seen here before.
Of course the street cars have been in very good spirits all season because of that. Being busy is the best way to keep morale high around here. CSL 144 and Green Hornet are both very personable (and photogenic!) so each group would get their picture taken with one of the cars and the museum would then send those pictures to the local paper. It made the charter groups happy to appear in the news, and it’s good publicity for the museum as well! It’s very Burlington in that way. I’m happy that both of our museums seem to be taking cues from the Q. (Ha!)
I understand about being on the lawn and worrying about the moisture. For as many barns as the IRM has, we have just as many pieces of equipment lined up to take the space as it becomes available. There’s also the consideration that we’re a train set and would need to be stored together if we were to be stored at all. Putting me and the Goddesses under-roof means taking up six spots that might be given to engines of a more delicate constitution, and I wouldn’t want any of us to be in a barn alone. As you say, we must look after each other.
All my best to you, your train, and your yardmates. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Your friend,
Pilot