Moving Musem
HARLANSBURG, Lawrence County — Throughout her marriage, Pat Barnes has never known what her husband Don would come home with.
Over the years, Don's shopping list has included horses, old airplane parts and supplies for building his own runway and airplane hangar.
Despite his varied purchases, a longtime interest in trains, planes and other forms of locomotion provided a foundation for the Harlansburg Station Museum of Transportation.
The museum, located near the intersection of Routes 19 and 108 in the tiny town of Harlansburg, is designed to look like a working train depot.
Though not connected by any tracks, the station features four train cars, pulled up to the station, where an old luggage cart rests ready to collect passengers' bags.
The purchase of the rail cars was the first steppingstone to starting the museum.
A retired U.S. Airlines pilot, Don has developed an interest in many forms of transportation.
"I always collected aviation history," he said, noting when people discovered his interest, they would share with him their own interests in railways, buses or boating.
Knowing his interest in transportation and his reputation for shopping, the owner of Harlansburg's Village Inn restaurant asked Don to find him a rail car for use as an additional dining space.
Yet, when ownership of the restaurant changed, the new owners were not interested in the rail car venture, leaving Don with four rail cars he had discovered, as well as an idea.
By 1989, the Barneses had purchased a plot of land behind the Village Inn and arranged for house movers to transport the rail cars onto the property.
"The elevation of this property was perfect," said Don, who noted the location's incline allowed him to build a cement pad level with the doors of the rail cars, so his visitors would not have to step up or down to enter.
"I wanted to have it look like the trains just pulled in," he said.
Work on the main building began after the cars were placed and a roof constructed over them. Building was complete by 1991.
The museum features three large display areas, one of which serves as a gift shop. Two of the rail cars have been renovated to include more display space and an extensive miniature train display.
Entering the front of the building, which faces Old Route 19, the first display visitors see is an old switchboard Don was given by a Pittsburgh telephone company.Manning the sizeable wooden piece is a mannequin who the Barneses have employed at the museum since the beginning."She has some good stories," said Don, who has used the mannequin as a passenger in a taxi display and as a surprise to visitors in the men's restroom.Though a display on telephones may seem off-subject for a transportation museum, Don enjoys branching out from the obvious when planning his displays."I have to keep the museum varied he said."Many of the items were purchased at auctions nationwide, though some were given to him by people who did not know what to do with historic items.He noted that often following deaths, a family does not know what to do with a family member's collection, and it is often thrown away.By meeting and talking with other collectors, however, Don has been entrusted with several historic pieces.Though his collection has included a taxi, buses and a California Highway Patrol motorcycle, Don said one of his regrets is he did not collect china from dining cars early on.He noted that the china, made distinctive for each railway, is now a coveted, and pricey, collectible.Current displays include historic railroad items, a variety of photos and journals of early female pilots, and a display on air mail, which includes a model of the pickup system built by Don.He noted he often uses models to illustrate items too large or expensive to bring in to his museum's displays.Helping Don to organize the displays are his wife and daughter, who teaches art at an area high school."We call them Flow and Balance," joked Don.Like any curator, Don spends a large amount of his time researching the historical value of his display pieces."The research is more fun than actually having it," he said.One thing visitors won't find at Harlansburg Station are tags describing the significance of each item.With such a large number of items Don prefers to interact with his visitors, providing information they're interested in.By serving as a personal tour guide, Don is able to hear the stories visitors share from their work or the work of their ancestors in the fields of transportation."I want people to come in and share their memories," he said.With Pat as a guide, visitors may find their history mixed with a bit of marital humor, as she documents Don's many purchases over the years and her patience with his habit."He doesn't see it that way," said Pat."We've not agreed about pretty much everything," said Don laughing.In November and December, the museum is open weekends only, as the Barneses prepare for a three-month closure from January through March, which is when displays are moved, changed and thoroughly cleaned.Displays are changed every three years, though Don said multiple visits are often required to see all the elements of a single display.He recalled one visitor who spent an entire day leafing through the museum's album collection, returning another day just to see the displays.Don is currently working to restore the two remaining rail cars on the property, hoping to use one to show what the car would have originally looked like, with brass fixtures and adjustable sleeper seats.With a list of planned displays and an increasing network of friends and collectors, the Barneses have no plans to settle in to a quiet, relaxing retirement.Don views any new visitor to the museum as an opportunity to learn."Everybody has a story," said Don, "and I might learn something from them."
