Please note: This is a Sole Source Notification. The Agency seeks a Sole Source for procurement of specialized expertise and facilities to re-locate and protect 'ADVANCE' - a historic and significant rail car. The Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) located in Silvis, IL. has the specialized expertise to supervise moving ‘ADVANCE’ (including bracing and craning operations), knowledge of historic Class I / Interchange standards of 1911, and also a specialized covered & conditioned facility (with the capacity, appropriately sized door, track, and equipment to move ‘ADVANCE’ on-site). At this covered & conditioned facility, further damage to 'ADVANCE' (necessitating costly repairs and reconstruction) due to exposure to weather will not occur. Utilizing a modern train repair and reconstruction specialist (of which there are more service providers available) poses a very real risk of irreparably altering the historic car when preparing the car for transport utilizing solely modern methods. Undoing modernization would be costly and risks irreparably changing the historic car nature of the artifact and removing its eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Currently, 'ADVANCE' is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion A for transportation and Criterion C for its design, with a specific Period of Significance of being built in 1911 and updated in the 1920s). IDNR is required by the State Agency Historic Preservation Act to minimize Adverse Effects to state owned historic resources.
