Those who have been to Ely know that the nearly 300 ft. long, 50 ft. wide RIP Building dominates the yard landscape. This corrugated steel structure is one of the last buildings to be added to the yard complex, and was designed to allow crews to perform maintenance on rolling stock, particularly the ore hopper cars, which really took a beating back in the day. These cars were battered by heavy rock being dropped into them, and dumped out of them, and in some cases, explosives were actually detonated in the car hoppers to dislodge heavy loads when they were being dumped. Needless to say, they often needed maintenance, and the addition of the RIP facility was a huge improvement over doing that work outside, particularly in the cold Ely winters. The structure appears to be unheated, although it may have been equipped with coal stoves like the Engine House currently is. Today, the RIP serves primarily as a storage facility for rolling stock, including fully restored pieces and ones that are awaiting restoration. While some restoration work does indeed go on there, it is likely that projects tend to get moved to the machine shop in the winter, because the latter has a very effective heating system, which keeps the crews comfy on those cold, windy days that Ely is known for.