Gaithersburg’s historic trains could switch tracks

Officials propose swapping trains with Hagerstown’s Roundhouse Museum to offer more exhibit space

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Brian Lewis⁄The Gazette Gaithersburg officials are considering a train swap with a Hagerstown museum, which would include swapping this B&O Railroad ‘‘Wagontop” Bay-Window Caboose built around 1942, for a train car in Hagerstown.

Years of outdoor exposure have taken a toll on the railroad machinery parked at the Gaithersburg Community Museum, prompting the most recent estimate for renovations and repairs to soar more than $225,000 over budget.

In a deal proposed by the Gaithersburg Community Museum Train Annex Ad Hoc Committee, the city could reduce the overall project cost with a permanent train car exchange with Hagerstown’s Roundhouse Museum. It also could gain additional space for museum displays, said Cultural Arts Director Denise Kayser.

‘‘We’re very excited with this project and I think it’s going to provide Olde Towne with a really wonderful destination point with the expanded historical museum effort and the rolling stock,” Kayser said.

In the swap, Gaithersburg would offer its 50-foot-long Defense Transportation Corps Troop Kitchen Car circa-1940 and 34-foot-long B&O Railroad ‘‘Wagontop” Bay-Window Caboose circa 1942. Gaithersburg would keep its iconic 1918 Buffalo Creek and Gauley No. 14 Steam Locomotive.

In return, the Roundhouse Museum in Hagerstown would provide a Budd Car, an 85-foot-long stainless steel former MARC passenger car built around 1950, and a 42-foot-long C&O Bay-Window Caboose, built around 1980.

The length and condition of the Budd Car is ideal for displaying additional railway artifacts, many of which otherwise would have remained in storage, said Wendy Woodland, director of the Gaithersburg Community Museum.

‘‘We’re looking forward to expanding. It’s a real kudos to the museum district,” she said.

The proposal also stipulates the Hagerstown museum would shoulder the cost of moving Gaithersburg’s train cars, possibly by truck since the machines no longer are approved for railway travel, Kayser said. The Hagerstown cars, however, were recently donated to the museum by the state and can be moved by rail. Officials at the Roundhouse Museum could not be reached for comment.

Kayser said she expects the machines will be repaired once they are exchanged. Renovations on the Troop Kitchen Car are estimated at about $268,000, and include fixing considerable metal corrosion and lead paint abatement. The B&O Caboose repairs are estimated at about $50,000.

Historical relevancy is another key factor in the exchange, Kayser said.

Hagerstown’s train cars have passed through Gaithersburg before, while the locally-stationed cars once traveled through Hagerstown. Neither is historic to the city they are currently stationed in, though, Kayser said.

‘‘I think it’s a win-win proposition for the both of us,” she said. ‘‘When you just see what we’re getting, you think it’s uneven, but it’s a great swap for both museums.”

The committee is ironing out details of the exchange, and will present the mayor and City Council with a cost analysis once it is completed, Kayser said.