[Nhcoll-l] Compactor/mobile storage systems for paleo collections

[Carrie A. Eaton]

Hi Tiffany,
I just finished a big IMLS grant project renovating one of our storage rooms for both small and large paleo specimens. We have both carriages with cabinets/trays of specimens as well as a few wide-span pallet rack style carriages for our larger (mostly dino) specimens. Ours is all manual and it is a breeze to move. The weight per rail all depends on the rail style and how the load is distributed to the posts/uprights. The largest loads can be accommodated when the uprights (or cabinet frames) are situated directly over the wheels/rails – make sure you double check the work of your sales vendor or check directly with the shelving engineers (speaking from unfortunate experiences). I’d be happy to chat on the phone about it sometime and you’d be welcome to come for a visit and check it out!

h/t to Bill and Jim for letting me drop by the Field Museum to do the same….more than once. 😉

cheers,
Carrie

Carrie Eaton, Museum Curator (she/hers)
UW Geology Museum
1215 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53706
608.262.4912
twitter @uwgeologymuseum
facebook.com/uwgeologymuseum

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Adrain, Tiffany S
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 11:37 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Compactor/mobile storage systems for paleo collections

Hi everyone,

If you manage a paleontology collection in compactor (aka mobile) storage, I'd be grateful from some insight into the ease at which carriages full of fossils can be moved. I am planning new storage in a warehouse-style facility

Do you have any difficulty in moving the heaviest carriages along the rails in your collection? If so, what would be the maximum weight/volume per rail you'd recommend.

Have you had any problems maintaining the carriage rails in a variable relative humidity environment (any problem with rusting or seizing up), especially when the carriages are not moved very often?

Any advice or tips you can give me are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tiffany


Tiffany Adrain (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Collections Manager, Paleontology Repository
Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Iowa
115 Trowbridge Hall
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242

phone: 319 335 1822
fax: 319 335 1821
email: tiffany-adrain at uiowa.edu<mailto:tiffany-adrain at uiowa.edu>
website: https://clas.uiowa.edu/ees/

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