Page 2 - Galveston RR Museum Newsletter - April 2023

The cause of this problem is long standing. In the Congress. Some of the rails and ties date from the 1920s.
1880s, the City of Galveston constructed a storm drain
that channels water along 28 Street and empties the
th
water into Galveston Harbor. The storm drain,
constructed of bricks, had vertical sides and an arched
top. It was discovered that the bricks of the arch collapsed
again. The problem was fixed in 2010, but not properly,
and the same problem occurred in 2022.
After protracted discussions with City of Galveston
personnel, a fix was agreed upon by the city and the
Museum. On 31 March, 28 Street was closed to traffic.
th
Track crews from RailWorks removed the affected tracks
and city workers repaired the storm drain. RailWorks than
replaced the rails leading into the yard. It is hoped that
this storm drain fix will be permanent.
The Museum is hoping that a grant proposal, written
to the Federal Transportation Administration by Mary Jo
Naschke, will result in all the tracks being replaced as part
th
of the infrastructure bill that was recently passed by View of the hole in the 28 Street grade crossing

MUSEUM NEWS

Transformation Of The Glen Fee railroads, and other railroad artifacts. The building was
Completed badly damaged during the flooding associated with
Hurricane Ike in 2008, and it had to be closed so repairs
The Glen Fee, as you recall from the previous issue of could be made.
the newsletter, was being renovated to resemble the car as While the building was being gutted, extensive damage
it appeared when it was part of the 1947 Freedom Train. was discovered in the roof and supporting trusses due to
This transformation was the brainchild of former Formosan termite infestation. Forty-eight roof trusses were
Executive Director Morris Gould, who first proposed the replaced, but unfortunately with untreated wood because of
change several years ago. However, until recently the Federal Emergency Management Administration red tape -
Museum did not have the funds, or personnel, to do the FEMA claimed the roof problems were not Ike-related.
work. After repairs had been completed, and the displays had
The exterior work has now been completed. The car is been reinstalled, additional termite damage was discovered
beautiful. in May 2019. The building was tented and treated for

termites. That was ineffective, and it was decided to again
remove the displays, gut the building and replace damaged
wood. The displays were moved to off-Island storage
facilities. .
Then the restoration began. Construction workers
removed the damaged trusses and roof panels in sections.
As one might expect the work generated a lot of debris.

The Glen Fee in Freedom Train livery, complete with
golden eagle.

Theater Building Repairs Are Complete

The Theater Building, originally the Railway Express
building, housed many of the Museum’s collections of Debris on the floor of the Theater Building.
railroad china and silver serving sets, as well as two model