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Fall 2003 Railway Museum Quarterly |
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Contents:
President's Message by Paul Hammond
Experience works for a small railroad museum
Museum review - news of railway preservation
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By
Paul Hammond Fall
has arrived as I write these words in late October, slightly one month after the
conclusion of the Association’s 2003 Annual Conference. Hosted this year in
St. Louis by the Museum of Transportation, the conference was a marvelous
opportunity for some 120 attendees to get to know—and learn from—one another
in an enjoyable setting. Our
conference hotel, the Drury Inn Union Station, is a former railroad YMCA located
just across the street from the cavernous trainsheds of St. Louis Union Station.
Panel discussions, technical seminars, and a host of sessions were presented on
a wide range of topics. As always, there was much to learn, and much more to
mull over. What
a lovely experience St. Louis offered! The weather could not have been more
pleasant, and our headquarters hotel was located close by a number of delightful
dining and drinking establishments. For me, the highlight was sipping a vodka
tonic in Union Station’s Grand Hall, with its Romanesque Revival arches
sporting a sensory plethora of decorative paint work lit by the warm glow of
original art glass light sculptures. I
want to thank our hosts, and in particular Museum of Transportation Curator (and
ARM Board member) Molly Butterworth, for a job well done. Conference attendees
were kept busy throughout each day, and the schedule was adhered to with very
little adjustment. Perhaps best of all, our hosts were very good at handling the
unexpected. New Faces on the BoardAt
the Annual Meeting in St. Louis, along with all the other Association business,
two new members were elected to the Board. (longtime Board member and former ARM
president Scott Becker had announced earlier that he would not run for
re-election.) I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Steve McGee, president of the
Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway (Tampa, Florida), and Stephen Patrick,
executive director of the City of Bowie Museums (including the Bowie Railroad
Station Museum in Bowie, Maryland), as your newest representatives. At
this same meeting, I was delighted to be reelected to yet another term on the
Board of the Association. The Board subsequently re-appointed the existing slate
of officers and agents to serve the Association in the coming year. The
elections brought the number of members on the ARM Board to eight total, and
next year, this will rise to nine. A bylaws amendment enlarging the Board
gradually, from seven to nine members over two years, was ratified at the 2002
Annual Meeting in Dallas, and by next year this should be fully implemented. Ensuring
that the ARM Board fairly and fully represents this Association’s diverse
members and interests is a challenge that your current Board is addressing
through several steps. At its bi-annual strategy session this past spring, the
Board went through an exercise to determine how well the current board
represented ARM’s membership. A Nominating Committee was then charged with
seeking out potential new members based on specific characteristics that were
identified as "need areas" for Board representation. In
preparing for 2003 nominees, your Board considered the type of museum (privately
funded or government affiliated, all-volunteer staffed or paid and volunteer
staff, for instance), geographical location, the focus of collections (electric
railway, steam and diesel), whether or not they are displayed static or operated
as part of a demonstration railway, and the overall size of institutions. Reviewing
these characteristics helped us to determine what the ARM Board was lacking in
terms of representation. We found that we were weakest in representation from
smaller museums in general, and museums from the southeastern U.S. in
particular. Accordingly, the 2003 Nominating Committee searched for—and
found—candidates to help fill these gaps. A
Nominating Committee is something new for ARM, and I want you, the
Association’s membership, to know that the intent is not to exclude anyone
from the process. Rather, the goal is to ensure that highly qualified candidates
are found to serve on the Board in a thoughtful, orderly, and timely manner. For
2004, the Nominating Committee will consist of Don Evans and Steve McGee. Both
will welcome your input and suggestions. Changes Afoot for PublicationsAt
the Annual Meeting, longtime ARM Publications Manager (and former president)
Mike Lennon formally announced that he would soon be marrying longtime friend
Marty Walker, who served as ARM secretary some years ago. Congratulations were
extended by everyone in attendance. This is great news for Mike and Marty, and I
want to add my heartiest thanks to both for their years of involvement with ARM. Mike
also announced that he planned to retire as Publications Manager as of October
1, since he will now be living in different states at different times of the
year and would no longer be able to warehouse our inventory and ship orders.
This was cause for some concern, since publications have long been one of
ARM’s offerings, and a general announcement was made seeking a replacement. I’m
pleased to let you know that the Seashore Trolley Museum has stepped forward to
fill the void. While we still have some details to work out, Seashore’s Museum
Store will now warehouse ARM’s inventory of publications—including transit
"car card" reproductions—and fill orders. A percentage of each sale
will be retained by the Museum to cover its costs and make it "worth the
while." I
hope you’ll agree this is a fair and equitable arrangement, especially given
that our publications are not so much money-makers as they are an important
program to help disseminate technical information and interpretive
reproductions. And while we’re on the subject of publications, I would also
like to thank longtime ARM supporter Julie Johnson for her continued involvement
with ARM’s Publication program. It is thanks to Julie that car card
reproductions have again become available—and she provides these to ARM as a
donation. Thank you, Julie. Organizational Progress ReportAt
the 2002 Annual Meeting in Dallas, formation of a Working Group was proposed to
further discuss the proposed bylaws amendment (which was tabled at that time)
regarding membership qualifications, and recommend the next course of action. As
I noted in my most recent column in this newsletter, this group was not
mobilized prior to the St. Louis gathering. Instead, two organizing meetings and
a special program session were included as part of this year’s Annual
Conference. On
Thursday during the Conference, ARM Board member Don Evans presented a one-hour
"ARM Strategy" session, where he reviewed the Association’s Mission
Statement, its current planning process, and its specific objectives via an
ongoing strategy development process. He described the growth strategy for the
Association as developed by the Board, and invited questions, comments, and
suggestions from those in attendance. On
Saturday, a special discussion session was held to explore suggestions about how
to, or whether to, move forward with the proposed bylaws amendment regarding
membership (intended to broaden participation in ARM) and development of an
associated working group. I’m pleased to announce that those in attendance
were able to arrive at a consensus regarding how to proceed. Newly elected ARM
Board member Stephen Patrick will chair this working group, and he welcomes your
input. If you are interested in participating, Stephen’s contact information
can be found on page two. Also
on Saturday, Education Committee Chair Jack Samuels held an organizing meeting.
Committee focus was the primary discussion topic, and one of the outcomes was
that the committee will now be known as the "Education and Interpretation
Committee." While not all ARM member institutions may be ready to start a
formal education program, all of us are, at some level, already doing
interpretation. Future ConferencesOne
of the core activities that the Association of Railway Museums provides its
members is the Annual Conference each year. In order to better prepare for the
future, and in particular to help those who are planning conferences, your Board
has devoted a good deal of time to the topic of future conference locations and
hosts, and the overall planning process for conferences. This
isn’t as easy as it might seem. Hosting an ARM conference takes time and
attention, both from the host institution as well as ARM itself. And conference
attendees—many of whom are either used to other conferences, or have been
attending ARM conferences for many years—have come to expect more from
conferences than was once the case. One
item that was discussed heavily in St. Louis was the need for additional
technical seminars covering mechanical, structural, and cosmetic refurbishment
of trolleys and interurbans and other rail vehicles, archival storage and
treatment of archives, and track construction and maintenance—so as to ensure
a broad array of subject matter for conference attendees to choose from.
Planning is already under way to include additional technical seminars at the
2004 Annual Conference. Then
there is the issue of simply finding a suitable host location each year—and an
ARM member institution willing to devote time and energy to the process of
planning and preparing for a conference. Over the years, a Conference Manual has
been prepared to assist in codifying ARM’s expectations and providing guidance
to the host on a number of issues. More recently, the ARM Board has designated
conference liaisons to work with each institution hosting upcoming conferences. With
all these things in mind, I’m pleased to let you know that we have tentative
Annual Conference locations and hosts lined up for several years to come! For
2004, we’ll be meeting in Ogden, Utah, hosted by the Ogden Union Station
Museum. In 2005, we anticipate traveling to eastern Pennsylvania, hosted by the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. In 2006, the second joint
ARM/TRAIN Annual Conference is being planned for Sacramento, California, hosted
by the California State Railroad Museum. And in 2007, we expect to travel to the
Pittsburgh region with our hosts being the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Like
any trade association that welcomes members and affiliates for a minimal annual
fee, the Association of Railway Museums helps to facilitate the exchange of
ideas and the transfer of industry-specific knowledge. Annual conventions,
regional meetings, and other forums which encourage personal interaction are
evidence of ARM’s continuing focus on the sharing of knowledge. In
this final regard, I also want to let you know that ARM is examining its
Regional Conferences with an eye toward possibly re-focusing these to better
meet constituent needs. ARM Western regional Coordinator Peter Gagnon, together
with ARM Midwest Regional Coordinator Molly Butterworth, will be leading this
process with your input. As
you are probably aware, tragedy struck ARM member National Capital Trolley
Museum in late September. One of NCTM’s carbarns, and the historic electric
railway vehicles stored inside, were completely destroyed. Our hearts go out to
everyone involved with the museum; what a terrible tragedy to endure. Ironically,
NCTM was moving forward with plans to build a new carbarn that will be fully
protected by automatic sprinklers. That fire struck before the new barn could be
constructed is truly unfortunate. Is there a lesson here for ARM members in
general? Indeed there is: Fire has struck before at our museums, and it will do
so again. Your museum should be developing plans to address this ultimate
anti-preservation force. In
closing, I want to point out one last thing: contact information for ARM’s
Board, Officers, and Agents is now included on the masthead of this newsletter
(see page 2), and will soon be added to the ARM Website. Should you have
questions, concerns, or suggestions for any particular person or initiative,
please use this contact information to pass your thoughts along to your
Association. Until
next issue I wish you, and those you hold dear, a delightful and rewarding
holiday season.
"EXPERIENCE
WORKS" FOR A RAILROAD MUSEUM
By
Larry Hill, Amboy Depot Museum Not
for profit museums, such as most ARM members, want to be open to the public a
maximum number of hours per week, but may have difficulty finding enough
volunteers for this continuing obligation. Additionally, there is always the
need for basic repair work and general grounds maintenance and cleanup that
could be done by unskilled or semi-skilled outside personnel. Such funds are
always in short supply. However,
there exists a relatively unheralded, federally sponsored program that can be
the answer to this problem. It is called the Experience Works Program, and it
will pay a 100% funded, minimum wage salary to people 55 years of age or older
who meet the program’s income guidelines. Personnel enrolled in this program
can work for either a government unit or an IRS-certified not for profit
institution for either 20 or 24 hours per week at no cost to the sponsoring
institution. The
institution (such as your museum) locates personnel it feels would qualify and
arranges an interview with the regional Experience Works administrator. He or
she will certify that your potential employee falls within the program’s
criteria. The administrator will then undertake a safety review of your museum
and approve a job description prepared for your potential employee(s). After
approval, the employee works at your museum. The only additional paperwork is
that every two weeks the employee must fill out and fax a timecard that has been
certified by the museum’s supervisor. Sure,
you may say, sounds great, but can a government program really be so easy, with
no financial participation by your museum and only minimal bi-weekly paperwork?
Well, I’m here to tell you—it is! Our ARM member museum, the Amboy
(Illinois) Depot Museum, uses two such employees to staff hosting requirements
on our museum grounds. The
program really is as straightforward as described above. The safety check was
actually beneficial to our operation. We took advantage of the need for job
descriptions to write in the continual cleaning of all of our buildings as one
of the hosts’ tasks, thereby relieving us of the "cleaning parties"
we always used to have. The system works as described and our staff receive
their direct deposit payments regularly. The employees are even covered by
Worker’s Compensation. It costs us nothing for these employees, and it allows
us to be open four hours a day, five days a week. This has allowed us to use all
of our modest funds for building renovation, displaying our collection and
(hopefully) acquiring our second piece of rolling stock. Sound
good? It sure worked for us and it can work for your museum, too. How do you get
into this program? That can be tricky, as the program administrators keep a
pretty low profile. Your best bet is to visit the Experience Works Program
website at www.experienceworks.org. There you will find the name of your state
coordinator, who should be able to put you in touch with your regional
coordinator. Call on that person. Ask for a copy of the Experience Works Program
calendar. In the back of the calendar is a 16-page handbook giving all the
details of the program. The
only dark cloud in this scenario is a proposed cutback of funding for this
program, due to a push to economize at the federal level. A recent inquiry to
our regional coordinator indicated cutbacks in the offing for the current fiscal
year that started October 1. We’re told that utilization of this program
varies nationwide, so a prompt inquiry is all that more important. NRHS 2003 HERITAGE GRANTSSince
1994 the National Railway Historical Society has awarded annual grants of up to
$5000 in support of rail history and preservation. They total $220,880 so far.
This year 18 grants totaling $30,000 have been awarded. There were 59
applications. B&O
Railroad Museum: $3000 for preservation and management of artifacts following
the February 2003 roof collapse. Cape
Cod Chapter NRHS: $1700 for the authoritative assessment of the West Barnstable
station. Colorado
Railroad Museum Foundation: $1000 towards restoration of Denver & Rio Grande
Western narrow gauge diesel #50. Connecticut
Electric Railway Association: $2500 toward repair of four electric motors from
Connecticut Company streetcar #1326 (Osgood Bradley 1910). Crawford
County Historical Society, Meadville, Penna.: $1000 for archival quality
acid-free boxes to store Erie Railroad records. Feather
River Rail Society: $1800 toward restoration of 1943 Pullman troop sleeper. Heart
of Dixie Chapter, NRHS: $1000 for purchase of archival quality storage materials
for papers and photos. Kentucky
Central Chapter NRHS: $2000 toward heating and air conditioning of the Paris,
Ky. Depot for archival storage of 5000 rail video tapes. Lackawanna
& Wyoming Valley Railway Historical Society: $2500 toward staybolts for the
restoration of Boston & Maine 4-6-2 #2713 at Steamtown. Northstar
Chapter NRHS: $1500 toward the cosmetic restoration of Grand Trunk Western 0-8-0
#8327 (Lima 1927) in St. Paul, Minn Medina
(N. Y.) Railroad Museum: $2500 toward replacement of the 1905 New Haven Railroad
depot roof. New
York Central System Historical Society, Erie, Penna.: $2000 to digitize part of
the Society’s collection of 50,000 drawings. Niagara
Frontier Chapter NRHS: $2000 toward the preservation of 1911 NYC interlocking
tower EL-2. O.
Winston Link Museum: $1000 to scan and digitize Link’s original negatives. Reading
Company Technical & Historical Society: $1000 for archival storage materials
for photos and negatives. Rockdale
(Texas) Historical Society: $1000 for electrical modifications to the
Society’s International & Great Northern depot. Southern
Oregon Chapter NRHS: $1000 toward restoration of Southern Pacific caboose #1107
(Los Angeles shops, 1942). Waymart
(Pennsylvania) Area Historical Society: $1500 towards the restoration of 1870s
Delaware & Hudson gravity car #43. Center
for Railroad Photography & Art The
Center, based in Madison, Wis., is beginning "Representations of Railroad
Work, Past and Present," a three year, $125,000 educational, exhibit, and
publishing program to interpret railroad labor and work history using
photographs and individual case histories. The North American Railway Foundation
approved funding for this project late in July. The center first will collect
images of workers, many of them historical, and catalog them online for
reference. To
bring this visual history to the public, the center will produce a
museum-quality traveling exhibition, accompanied by narration and a take-home
brochure. Finally, the center will follow this exhibit with a book containing
some of the standout images from the exhibit and the search. The
project offers the opportunity to bring together the public, railway labor, the
railroad heritage community, and academic historians in conversations about the
culture, significance, and social history of railway work. The center also will
bring the photographers and artists that produced these images into the
public’s view. At
an "in progress" gallery ( www.railphoto-art.org/gallery.html
), the center is presenting examples of the types of images it is looking for in
the first phase of the project. -By
Aaron Isaacs If
railway preservation were an iceberg, its largest part, hidden below the
waterline, would be the hundreds of small, local grassroots efforts. Because
they are modest in size, seldom operate equipment and often resemble one
another, it is easy to dismiss them, or not think of them as true railway
museums. The local historical society may have preserved the town depot. It may
be on the original site or it may have been moved, sometimes into a
"village" of historic buildings assembled from multiple locations.
Often there is a caboose, or perhaps a freight car or passenger car. The local
park engine, now a burden to the town that accepted it back in the 1950s, may
have joined the display. There may be odd bits of infrastructure, water tanks,
sand towers, small outbuildings, switch stands and semaphores. Inside the depot,
hopefully there will be original furnishings--stoves, waiting room benches, and
the trappings of the agent’s office such as telegraphs and ticket cabinets. If
one travels cross-country by car, small rail museums lie thickly on the land and
offer frequent opportunities to add rail history to one’s itinerary. Although
often alike, each one tells the story of a particular community. Stopping at
several over a day or two produces a cumulative effect. One begins to really
appreciate the impact of railroads on the history of this continent, and on the
psyche of the people who live here now. They felt that their railroad heritage
was too important not to recognize, and they have gone to a great deal of effort
to preserve it. I recently took two auto trips that illustrate this. Southwest
Minnesota If
any area typifies the proliferation of the grassroots preservation movement, it
is southwest Minnesota, where my in-laws live. This corner of the state is
mostly rural, with a declining population. There is no town larger than 18,000,
and the entire population of the 22 counties in southwest Minnesota is under
400,000. Yet the area contains 19 displays that could reasonably be called
railway museums. That’s one museum per 21,000 people, which would seem to be
an unsustainable ratio, yet there it is. Some
of this can be explained by the region’s strong linkage to railroad history.
Most of the towns were founded as stations along the railroads when they were
built in the late 1800s. Most of the preserved depots date from that initial
construction. Five of the towns with museums are former division points and one,
Willmar, continues to be. Currie,
End-O-Line Museum The
region was blanketed with agricultural, dirt-track branch lines laid down in the
latter part of the 19th century. Currie was on the outer end of one of these.
When the railroad quit in 1980 it left behind a 56-foot armstrong turntable in a
limestone pit, a depot and quite a few retired railroaders. End-O-Line
is the jewel of the area rail museums. It started in 1976 as a 4H sponsored
bicentennial project. The depot was moved across the street next to the
turntable, which was rebuilt. But it didn’t stop there. After fixing up the
depot, the group built replicas of the town’s long gone single-stall engine
house and coal bin. They acquired a small C&NW water tank from nearby Walnut
Grove, Minn., and an 1899 section foreman’s house from Comfrey, Minn. For
most of these small museums there is no thought of having an operating train,
but some sort of representative rolling stock is often a goal, even if it never
ran on the local railroad, or even in the state. End-O-Line has three such
pieces; a 1942 Grand Trunk Western wood caboose, a small Brookville industrial
locomotive and Georgia Northern 4-6-0 #102 (Alco Richmond 1923). The first two
are complete and in very nice condition. The ten wheeler, once part of the
Richard Jensen private collection, was acquired from Illinois Railway Museum
because it is similar to the C&NW R-1 4-6-0s that populated the prairie
branches. The engine arrived missing many components, but the general public at
least gets to understand the scale of power used on this line. To the museum’s
credit, each piece is painted in correct home road colors, with no mislabeling
to imply local use. In
recent years, the museum has opened a visitor center/gift shop, a 12-inch gauge
miniature train, a school, general store and gristmill. It features a couple of
excellent displays. One is a very complete track tool collection. Another is a
display of actual hobo signatures and scratchings. The museum boasts 5000
visitors a year and even has a web site. Not bad for a town of 300 people. Fulda
Heritage Society The
town of Fulda (population 1200) has saved its 1880 Milwaukee Road two-story
depot (the agent lived upstairs). This line has been abandoned since 1980. The
city has rebuilt a couple hundred feet of track, and rehabbed the depot’s
outhouse. Interestingly, the outhouse features some hobo graffiti identical to
that in the End-O-Line collection. An antique shop rents the ground floor, and
the store owner doubles as the depot’s curator. Montevideo,
Milwaukee Road Heritage Center This
former Milwaukee Road division point (population 5300) was organized to save
what was left of the town’s rail infrastructure. The former Pacific Extension
main line is still active, but is now in the hands of regional Twin Cities &
Western, which runs between St. Paul and the South Dakota border. The depot has
been completely restored and filled with railroad displays. Also intact are a
few small outbuildings, the single stall diesel shed and the turntable, which is
surrounded by the former roundhouse foundation. A Milwaukee rib-side caboose,
boxcar and baggage car, all built in the company shops and appropriately
painted, round out the collection. Willmar,
Kandiyohi County Historical Society Willmar
is where the Great Northern’s St. Paul-Fargo main line crossed its
Duluth-Sioux City line. The Kandiyohi County Historical Society is housed in the
relocated GN depot from the town of Kandiyohi. It contains numerous photos and
artifacts that illustrate the railroad history of the town. Outside sits GN
4-8-2 #2523 (Baldwin 1923). A truly aristocratic piece of motive power, it
pulled GN’s Oriental Limited and later the Empire Builder. Tracy,
Wheels Across the Prairie Tracy
(population 2200) is a former Chicago & North Western division point that
used to see the daily Dakota 400. Located at the edge of town along the
now-abandoned branch to Marshall and Watertown is the Wheels Across the Prairie
museum. Soo Line 0-6-0 #346 (Alco Brooks 1915), anachronistically adorned with
diamond stack and cowcatcher, sits coupled to an outside braced wood boxcar and
C&NW steel bay window caboose. These rest in front of a C&NW depot from
Volga, S. D., located to the west along the line to Rapid City. There is also a
sand tower. Dassel,
Old Depot Museum This
is a private depot museum stuffed with the owner’s large and eclectic
collection of railroad artifacts. The Great Northern depot is actually from
neighboring Cokato. Out front stands a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy wood
caboose. There are two wood boxcars in back. St.
James, Salutator's Park St.
James (population 4700) was a division point on the Chicago, St. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha. The big brick and stone downtown depot is still being
used by successor Union Pacific. Salutator's Park on the west edge of town
contains the C&NW wood depot from Amboy, Minn. There is a short section of
track with a wood caboose, sand tower and an interesting Milwaukee Road crossing
guard tower from south Minneapolis. To
and from St. Louis The
trip to and from the ARM 2003 conference in St. Louis provided exposure to an
array of small museums in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Fennimore
Railroad Museum, Fennimore, Wisconsin, population 2900, is located in the hilly
region of extreme southwestern Wisconsin. The combination of stiff topography
and mining caused a modest eruption of narrow gauge construction. The original
narrow gauge built up from Galena, Ill. in 1879. All
across the land, these initial cheap lines were obstacles to interchange traffic
and soon required rebuilding. It was soberly concluded that the money would be
best spent converting them to standard gauge. That happened when the Chicago
& North Western built out from Madison in 1880 and purchased the narrow
gauge. However, the 16 mile descent into the Wisconsin River valley remained
narrow gauge, due primarily to some very sharp curves. It lasted until 1928,
dubbed the Dinky. The
Fennimore Railroad Historical Museum was organized in 1985, on a site across the
street from the original, long gone depot. The body of a narrow gauge boxcar was
recovered from a nearby farm, fixed up and placed on appropriate trucks. The
two-spout water tank that served both narrow and standard gauge locomotives has
been replicated from original drawings. A new building houses displays devoted
both to railroads and local history. A
near twin to original "dinky" Southwest
Missouri Interurban Association The
area around Joplin was a mining region and the Southwest Missouri Electric
interurban served the needs of miners from 1893 to 1938. This museum, located in
a city park in Webb City, Mo. (population 9800), actually operates. The home
built deck roofed car is either a large streetcar or a small interurban. Its
body was rescued and returned to operation over a nine year period. The interior
is quite well done, with cane covered walkover seats. The car departs from a
handsome original stone interurban station moved onto the site. It now also
houses the local chamber of commerce. Because there are no overhead wires, the
car is powered by a six cylinder Corvair engine mounted under the rear platform. The
Saga of Rail Preservation Continues Alberta
Pioneer Railway Association Edmonton, Alb. The
museum has acquired former Canadian National F9A units #6514 and 6614. They were
Algoma Central #1753 and 1762. Both are operational. Baltimore
Streetcar Museum Baltimore, Md. The
museum’s site in the valley of Falls Creek is prone to flooding, and suffered
just that fate in 1979 during Hurricane David. Since then there has been much
discussion about finding a new site. Now, thanks to $33,000 from the Baltimore
Development Corporation, a site study is underway. The first phase will evaluate
the present site to determine the real risk of flooding and possible flood
control measures. If the present site is determined to be viable, phase two will
examine space needs and possibilities. These include using the adjacent former
Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad roundhouse. The stone structure is owned by
the city and currently is part of a public works yard. Bluegrass
Railroad Museum Versailles, Ky. The
R. J. Corman Railroad has donated Illinois Central GP8 diesel locomotive #7738
to the museum. California
State Railroad Museum Sacramento, Calif. The
CSRM Foundation has signed a contract with California State Parks to conserve
one boxcar body and replicate another of Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe heritage.
Both are 30-foot wood boxcars, built circa 1880 for this AT&SF subsidiary.
De-trucked after the turn of the 20th century, they are believed to have been
used as the ticket office and operator’s living quarters at the small
community of Allensworth. The only town in California founded, financed, and
governed by African Americans, Allensworth (today a State Historic Park) is
located along the BNSF mainline some 35 miles north of Bakersfield. For this
project, one car will be fully documented and receive a museum-level
conservation for future display in the Park’s visitor center. The other has
been dismantled to provide information—and parts—for a replica being built
in CSRM’s restoration shop for outdoor interpretive display and use as a
railroad ticket office at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. A
variety of modifications are under way inside the Museum’s 100,000 square foot
Museum of Railroad History. All are in preparation for installation during 2004
of two major new exhibits. The first, scheduled to debut in July 2004, will be
the new Thomas W. Sefton Gallery, where the recently-donated Sefton collection
of toy trains will be displayed. A donation by the family of Thomas W. Sefton is
funding the exhibit. With
dedication of the new transfer table at the Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops,
the focus has shifted to moving locomotives and cars, stored for many years
outdoors, into covered storage in the cavernous Erecting Shop. Early September
saw the first of many candidates placed inside: SP SD45T-2 "Tunnel
Motor" No. 6819, Santa Fe "Warbonnet" F7A and B units Nos. 347C
and 347B, AT&SF Alco "Alligator" diesel No. 9820, and Southern
Pacific streamlined "French Quarter" lounge No. 291 (from the
"Sunset Limited") were next, followed by Central Pacific 2-6-2T No.
233, one of only two remaining 19th century locomotives that were built at the
CP’s (later Southern Pacific’s) Sacramento Shops. This last, recently
acquired in a trade with the nearby Pacific Locomotive Association (Niles Canyon
Railway), was moved inside immediately upon delivery. Railtown
1897 State Historic Park Jamestown, Calif. During
the summer and early fall, structural stabilization of the historic Storage
Warehouse and Handcar Shed was accomplished, intended to reverse significant
deterioration of both structures. For a time, both structures looked rather like
open-air sheds with roofs. Weekend
excursion trains operated by Railtown 1897 State Historic Park were suspended
beginning in September because of a dispute over track maintenance. California
State Parks has a permanent right-of-way over a six-mile section of track
between Jamestown and Chinese Station (which is also used by Sierra Railroad
freight trains), but has been unable to reach agreement with the owner of the
track, the Sierra Railroad Company, over maintenance projects. Although
negotiations had been under way for some time, the Sierra in early September
declared the tracks to be in "excepted" condition, thereby prohibiting
operation of Railtown excursion trains under federal law. Canadian
Railway Museum Delson,
Quebec A
General Electric, LB-2A control device was stolen from the top of the K-35
controller on Montreal Tramways "Golden Chariot" observation car, #3.
This controller handle was painted gold. Charlotte
Trolley Charlotte,
N. C. Charlotte
Trolley has acquired the body of Connecticut Company #1330 (Osgood Bradley
1910). It is a sister to #1339 at Shore Line Trolley Museum. The body was
located inside a Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant in Charlotte. Friends
of the East Broad Top Since
September 2001 the Friends have raised over $143,000 for projects related to the
East Broad Top. The largest portion of this, $52,000, went to purchase passenger
cars #18 and 29 from a private collection in Colorado. Another $15,700 has been
spent on the not yet completed replication of trucks for EBT combine #16.
Starting in 2002, the Friends have begun working on the buildings and passenger
cars at Rockhill Furnace. They are negotiating with the railroad’s owner to
build a passenger car shop. Gulf
Coast Railroad Museum Houston, Tex. The
museum has acquired the body of Houston North Shore lightweight interurban car
#24. Mad
River & NKP Railroad Museum Bellevue, Ohio Hanson
Aggregates has donated a former Air Force 44-ton locomotive (General Electric
1942) that figures prominently in the museum’s history. The museum opened in
1976 as a community bicentennial project. All involved wanted a
bicentennial-painted locomotive to participate in the opening ceremonies, but
none was available from the class one railroads. France Stone Company, then
owner of the GE, made it available and local Boy Scouts painted it in red, white
and blue for the occasion. It still wears the paint today. Milan,
Ohio is the birthplace of Thomas Edison. To recognize that connection, (Edison
piloted the first Delaware Lackawanna & Western MU train in 1930) the museum
is now hosting a privately owned Lackawanna MU car. Unlike so many of this group
that have found extended life on tourist railroads, this one still has its
pantographs and is being displayed as an electric MU. Maryland
& Pennsylvania Railway Historical Association Muddy
Creek Forks, Penna. The
last Ma & Pa diesel, SW9 #82 (EMD 1951) has been purchased and is now the
property of the association. Midland
Railway Baldwin
City, Kan. A
second grant, for $19,000, has been received from the North American Railway
Foundation. It will be used to rehab Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
heavyweight suburban combine #7301 (ACF 1916). Originally a coach, it was
rebuilt to its present configuration as a power car with a diesel generator in
the 1950s. It also received a Railway Post Office compartment and was used to
deliver mail within the Burlington’s Chicago commuter zone. It was retired in
1974. Minnesota
Transportation Museum St. Paul, Minn. It
is a sign of the times that a museum has finally purchased a streetcar body on
eBay. An MTM volunteer happened to notice the listing for Fargo & Moorhead
Street Railway single truck Birney #28 (American 1923). The car last ran in 1937
and spent the years since on a farm near Moorhead, covered by an extra wood
roof. Burlington
Northern Santa Fe has donated SD9 locomotive #6234, originally Colorado &
Southern #839 (EMD 1957). Monticello
Railway Museum Monticello, Ill. The
museum has acquired Illinois Central streamlined RPO car #404 (Burnside Shops
1947). The car was built on the center sill and trucks of an old heavyweight
coach. It was purchased from Illinois Transit Assembly Corporation in exchange
for three retired IC boxcars donated by Canadian National. Nevada
Northern Railway Museum East Ely, Nev. The
museum is still recovering from a 1995 collision between runaway flatcars and a
steam powered excursion train that caused heavy damage. 2-8-0 #93 (Alco 1909)
was returned to service in late 1996. Classic wood coach #5 (Pullman 1882)
started life as a sleeper. It was purchased third-hand by NN in 1913 and
converted to a coach in 1918. The 1995 collision damaged the draft gear, trucks
and coupler, and ripped some seats out of the floor. Surprisingly, no windows
were broken. The car is expected to be completed by the end of 2003. That
leaves coach #2 (St. Louis 1908), the most severely damaged piece in the
collision. The vestibules were buckled, the underframe was bent, 75 windows were
broken and most of the seats were torn loose. Initially some felt the car
unrepairable, but a new evaluation of its condition will be done next year. Last
year (2002) was the museum’s biggest ever—7000 passengers were carried and
most traveled some distance. Ely is a remote community of 4000, and only 16
percent of the visitors live in the immediate area of White Pine County,
population 9200. Of the 46 percent of visitors who live elsewhere in Nevada, the
nearest large concentration comes from Las Vegas, 250 miles away. Another 27
percent come from Utah and California, and the rest of the world accounts for
the final 17 percent. Nevada
State Railroad Museum Carson City, Nev. The
rebuilding of Virginia & Truckee McKeen car #22 has reached a major decision
point regarding the power truck and engine. The museum has only a stripped
carbody to work with, plus the much modified Chicago Great Western McKeen car
#100 as a parts source. McKeen designed and built its own engines, and none have
survived. The engine was mounted transversely directly on top of the power
truck. It stuck up through a hole in the floor of the engine compartment. None
of the trucks survived, either, and their design was also unusual. The front
axle was powered, with a spoked wheel much larger in diameter than the rear
unpowered axle. The
museum has begun the process of replicating the truck. It has decided that
engine replication is not feasible. Instead, it will use a modern engine and
drive with specifications as close as possible to the original. It will
approximate the starting torque and top speed of the original. The
Friends of the Museum has purchased the Gordon Sampson collection and donated it
to the museum. Sampson was the V&T General Manager from 1945 to 1950. The
collection includes two oil lamps from V&T mail car #13, an 1870s cast iron
box stove from the Old Washoe section house, photographs, and various company
papers. New
York Museum of Transportation Rochester, N. Y. You
never know what’s out there until you ask. The museum discovered this summer
that the general public has rail transportation artifacts that are simply
waiting for an inquiry. It started with a request to the Rochester Democrat
& Chronicle. Despite home town Kodak pioneering color photography, no color
views of Rochester’s streetcars had ever been seen. Could the newspaper’s
readers help? The article yielded: Two
faded color slides of Rochester streetcars, donated along with a hundred other
1939-41 color slides of non-rail subjects, including the 1939 World’s fair. Previously
unseen black and white snapshots of the Rochester subway, and steam locomotives
on the New York Central’s Auburn branch. A
controller handle. Copies
of color postcards not previously in the museum’s collection. 1950’s
views of a pickle car at the Foreman’s Pickle factory in Pittsford. A
black and white of the Rochester, Syracuse & Eastern interurban. There
have also been two recent donations of research materials. Dave Lanni had
intended to write a book on the RS&E interurban. He scoured local historical
societies for material, which he has now donated to the museum. Another who did
publish, Mary Hamilton Dann, has donated the photos she collected for two books,
"Rochester & Genessee Valley Rails" and "Upstate Odyssey, the
Lehigh Valley Railroad in Western New York". Niles
Canyon Railway Sunol,
Calif. The
NCR’s parent organization, the Pacific Locomotive Association, has saved a
park engine from scrapping, and hopefully has found it a permanent home. Western
Pacific 0-6-0 #165 (Alco 1919) has been moved to NCR, and has already been sold
to the Double T Agricultural Museum in Merced, Calif. In
the meantime, PLA has purchased SP SD9 #4423 (EMD 1956). It was originally
#5472. The unit is operational. North
Carolina Transportation Museum, Salisbury, N. C. A
TEA21 Enhancement grant of $85,000 will be used to overhaul Southern FP7 #6133 (EMD
1950). The locomotive will receive new wiring, an engine rebuild, body repairs
and a new paint job. Thanks
to another TEA21 grant, restoration has begun on Norfolk & Western
heavyweight steel combine #1506. It will be placed in service in 2004. Northern
Counties Logging Interpretive Association Eureka,
Calif. The
association is in the process of forming a Timber Heritage Museum, which will
focus on the history of logging in northern California and the railroads that
served the timber industry. Despite not having a formal museum site, there is a
growing collection. The latest acquisition is a pair of small diesels. Arcata
& Mad River 44-ton center cab #101 (General Electric 1945) has been donated
by its most recent owner, Mead Westvaco Corporation. The locomotive spent most
of its life in the Eureka area. Accompanying that donation is an unnumbered
Westvaco GE single truck 25-tonner. The
association is raising funds to purchase Pacific Lumber Company 2-8-2T
#37 (Alco Brooks 1925). Built originally as Sugar Pine Lumber #4 at Pinedale,
Calif., it was sold to Pacific Lumber at
Scotia, Calif. in 1935. Purchased after retirement in 1962 by a private
individual, the locomotive migrated to the east coast, where it was operated on
the Wilmington & Western in Delaware. A
rare Clyde tracklaying machine is being rebuilt and is reportedly being made
operational. It is one of only two known to exist. Northern
Ohio Railway Museum Chippewa Lake, Ohio Cleveland
Transit System "Airporter" rapid transit car #161 (Pullman 1967) has
arrived at the museum. The museum is also deaccessioning a number of pieces (see
ad on page18). Northwest
Railway Museum Snoqualmie, Wash For
the last four years the museum has been trying to get a city permit to build a
Conservation and Restoration Center (CRC). It has had no indoor facility for
equipment restoration. The permit process has been for years by the
obstructionist efforts of a couple of NIMBY neighbors, who have rerouted the
project through multiple appeals. With much effort and expense, the museum has
successfully defended its project. On September 16 the City Council voted 5-0 in
favor of the CRC. This was a crucial vote, because the Council took into account
all the previous evidence prepared by both sides and clearly voted that the
NIMBY concerns had been overstated. However,
it’s worth repeating their arguments, because it shows the mindset of these
people. Basic, seemingly obvious facts were misrepresented. The NIMBYs claimed
that the CRC would be 300 feet from their property, when in fact it will be 1200
feet away. They claimed the CRC was a non-conforming light industrial use,
rather than a museum use. They claimed that creosoted ties were an environmental
hazard and asked that the CRC project be subject to more stringent environmental
standards than required by law for similar projects. They claimed the correct
permitting process was not followed. And they made every possible appeal
permitted under the law. The bottom line is that they will probably not win, but
they succeeded in delaying the project and cost the museum lots of money. This
is actually a rare defeat of NIMBYism, which has proven to be an extremely
effective strategy that succeeds most of the time. While
battling unpleasant neighbors, the museum has finished the rebuilding of a small
but interesting piece of equipment, a Rayonier Company single truck fire car. It
was built by Kilbourne & Jacobs in the late 1940s or early 1950s on the much
older frame of a side dump car. It has a square water tank, valve and hoses. Orange
Empire Railway Museum Perris, Calif. Here
is a rundown of what’s in progress at Orange Empire. Carhouse
One, home to the narrow gauge traction collection, has had its dirt floor
replaced with concrete. This spawned sub-projects, including a thorough cleaning
of all the carhouse occupants, which had been covered by years of infiltrating
dust. California Street cable car #43 (home built 1907), rescued from being a
battery powered parking lot shuttle at Knotts Berry Farm, was stripped of some
latter day air tanks and received a proper turnbuckle tightening to straighten
the sagging body. Early
Los Angeles Railway PCC #3001 (St. Louis 1937) has been completely repainted and
refurbished inside and out. Pacific
Electric "blimp" #418 (Pullman 1913) continues through the final
stages of a complete rebuild. PE
single truck Birney #332 (Brill 1918), which had been leased to Tucson’s Old
Pueblo Trolley, is getting some rewiring, brake and seat work. Union
Pacific E9 #942 (EMD 1955) has had its air box drain system cleaned out and
replumbed, and is no longer spewing oil out the exhaust. The
long rebuilding of Ventura County 2-6-2 #2 (Baldwin 1922) continues, with
preparation under way for major boiler work. SP
Harriman commute coach #2144 has received rebuilt roof ventilators, as well as
patches to the roof, walls and vestibules. Bamberger
Bullet #127 (Brill 1932) is having its #2 truck rebuilt. A
wye is under construction, which will permit the turning of steam railroad
equipment for the first time. Oregon
Electric Railway Museum Brooks, Ore. Another
1000 feet of track has been laid and is awaiting the installation of overhead
wire. The Willamette Shore Trolley track in Lake Oswego has been extended a
short distance, to make the waiting streetcar more visible to passing traffic. Pennsylvania
Trolley Museum Washington, Penn. The
museum celebrated its 40th anniversary on June 23, 2003. From its beginnings as
the Arden Trolley Museum, it has grown to 45 cars, a heated/air conditioned
Visitor Education Center and two miles of operating track. The track has been
extended to the East Site, where a 28,000 square foot Trolley Display Building
is under construction. Membership
has grown to over 600, contributing over 25,000 volunteer hours a year. Portola
Railroad Museum Portola,
Calif. Western
Pacific GP7 diesel locomotive #705 has been purchased for $5000 from shortline
operator Omni Trax. A
private individual has donated $15,000, to be dedicated to making the museum
site ADA accessible. Recent
small acquisitions: WP annual reports, giving the museum a complete set; color
copies of 1916 trip passes and WP employee records, two crossbucks from the
Feather River Railway, a WP shovel and a WP recipe book. The
museum has moved the Oakland, California Magnolia Tower away from its original
site, in preparation for an eventual move to Portola. The tower is structurally
complete, with interlocking machine and many related items. Cosmetically it
suffers from having been heavily altered over its years of service. It was
donated by Amtrak. Railroad
Museum of New England Thomaston, Conn. After
relying for years on unsightly portable toilets, the museum has found a unique
solution. An architect was hired to design a restroom building that looks like a
grounded coach body. Located just south of the Thomaston depot, it has been
dubbed the "Comfort Coach". Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania Strasburg, Penna. The
museum has received a $58,000 Learning Opportunities grant from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services. It will be used to produce a new orientation DVD,
new replacement interpretive labels for displays and ten new digital information
stations that play film and audio clips on selected pieces of equipment. San
Bernardino Railroad Museum San Bernardino, Calif. The
museum has acquired a 1953 Santa Fe express reefer. The car arrived on its own
wheels, but was condemned and in need of considerable repair. A
Santa Fe steam locomotive folio has been donated to the museum. Weighing about
20 pounds, it is a collection of hundreds of blueprints and diagrams dating to
1913 and used by shop employees to repair locomotives. San
Diego Railroad Museum San
Diego, Calif. The
museum has reopened its depot museum at 1894 La Mesa depot, after moving its
administrative offices there from the downtown Santa Fe depot. A
new concrete floor has been installed in the four track display building at
Campo. Seashore
Trolley Museum Kennebunkport, Maine Seashore
has loaned New Orleans streetcar #966 (Perley Thomas 1924) to the National Park
Service for operation on its heritage streetcar line in Lowell, Mass. The car
rides on a pair of original New Orleans trucks that were standard gauged (New
Orleans is broad gauge) for that city’s Waterfront line, a former railroad
industrial track. That line was eventually converted to broad gauge to permit
its cars to travel to the New Orleans Carrollton shops for service, so the
standard gauge trucks have been unused since. Other
Lowell developments—the exhibit titled On Track: Transit in the American City,
in Lowell and Across America, has opened in the NPS-owned Mack Building. It is
on display through October 2004. Seashore
member Foster Palmer, who died in 2002, has left $157,000 from his estate to the
museum. Half is directed to go the Endowment Fund and half to the Library Fund. Tennessee
Valley Railroad Museum Chattanooga Tenn. The
installation of an ex-Louisville & Nashville turntable at Summerville, Ga.
was completed on May 31. Located on ex-Central of Georgia short line Chatooga
& Chickamauga, the turntable is located in Summerville’s Dowdy Park. For
the first time, excursion engines can be turned for the trip back to
Chattanooga. West
Coast Railway Heritage Park Squamish, B. C. RMQ
always reports new acquisitions, but how often do you hear about museums really
disposing of surplus items? The museum hired a salvage firm to remove this list
of equipment: A
stripped M420 cab and frame. An
RS3 that had been stripped of its trucks and all other usable parts. The
stripped body of a heater car. Two
Pacific Great Eastern flatcars that had been modified for movie use. Canadian
National bunk car #71089, which was badly rotted. Miscellaneous
metal, including a 567 engine block. The
result was 360 tons of scrap, bringing in $13,000. The
museum has experienced a tripling of its insurance premium, and is now paying
$58,000 for coverage. Heritage Park admission rates have been raised as a
result. The
North American Railway Foundation has granted $10,000 toward the installation of
two sets of wig wag crossing signals inside Heritage Park. As
part of the effort to assemble a Royal Hudson excursion train set, privately
owned Canadian National baggage car #9622 (National Steel Car 1955) has been
purchased. It is currently located at the Alberta Railway Museum. It will be
converted into a power car. Comox
Logging 2-8-2T #16 (Baldwin 1929) has been moved to the shop of the Kamloops
Heritage Railway in Kamloops, B. C. for a rebuilding that will return it to
service. This is part of a partnership between the two museums. The move of #16
opened up shop space at WCRA for Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson #2860 to begin
its rebuilding. The first step in that process was a inspection by steam expert
Doyle McCormick. Western
Railway Museum Rio
Vista Junction, Calif. Long
time volunteer Loring Jensen, who passed away earlier this year, has left a
bequest of $600,000 to the museum. According to the Review newsletter, it will
be followed by 60 percent of the value of Jensen’s residential estate. A
bequest of $82,500 has been received from the estate of late member Michael
Carlisle. The Elliott R. Donnelley Family Trust has made a grant of $20,000 to
the museum. The
listing of electric car restoration projects in the Spring 2003 RMQ overlooked
the extensive ongoing work on Sacramento Northern interurban combine #1005
(Holman 1912). The car’s frame and one end were badly damaged in a switching
accident years ago. The damage has been largely repaired, and every other part
of the car is receiving attention, including a complete rewiring. As
the museum has erected miles of overhead wire poles and catenary to Sacramento
Northern specifications, it has relied on an ancient piece of equipment. Key
System line car #1201 was originally an open platform coach built by Carter
Brothers in 1895 for the California Railway that ran in Oakland. It was
purchased by the Key System in 1915 and converted to a line car. #1201
can be retired from active duty because of the donation of a modern San
Francisco Municipal Railway wire train that was purchased in 1982 and hardly
ever used. It consists of three 16 foot cars; a diesel powered motorcar seating
eight, a cable reel car and a tower car. Reportedly, Muni crews disliked it and
it was stored shortly after delivery. It was eventually brought for scrap by a
private individual who has donated it to the museum. Wiscasset,
Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum, Alna, Maine The Amherst Railway Society has made a grant of $1500 to the museum. It will be used to help build a replica of the Head Tide water tank. Canadian
National has donated an A-B set of F9 units to the Alberta Railway Museum. The
units, most recently Algoma Central F9A #1753 and F9B #1762 (EMD 1958), were
originally #6514 and 6614, and powered the Super Continental. The
Fraser Valley Railway Historical Society has erected a new two-track carbarn in
Surrey, B. C. West Coast Railway Association News The
Colorado Railroad Museum is sending Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge 2-8-0
#346 (Baldwin 1881) to the Strasburg Rail Road for rebuilding. Colorado’s
Boulder County Railway Historical Society has acquired the body of Denver, South
Park & Pacific boxcar #608 (Litchfield Car Works 1879). The car was sold to
the Colorado & North Western in 1897 and it ran on that line until
abandonment in 1917. Though converted to a cabin, the car retains its bolsters
and truss rods, as well as one of its boxcar doors. The DSP&P lettering and
car number are visible on one side. The Colorado Time-Table Two
Milwaukee Road projects in Washington state—The Cascade Rail Foundation is
fixing up the 1909 South Cle Elum Depot and the adjacent substation along the
Milwaukee’s former electrified line to the Pacific coast. In July 2003 the
depot was repainted in its original orange and maroon colors. It is projected to
open in 2004 featuring a "beanery" like the one that used to be in the
depot when it was a crew change point. There will also be railroad history
displays. A
pair of ribside cabooses including #991976 (West Milwaukee Shops 1946) is being
refurbished to house a Milwaukee Road interpretive center in the old crew change
town of Othello, Wash. It is a joint project of four local non-profits. The
Milwaukee Railroader The
Soo Line Historical & technical Society has donated Soo Line outside braced
wood boxcar #75618 (ACF 1924) to the New London (Wis.) Historical Village. The
car has since been refurbished by museum volunteers. The Soo On
May 3, the Western Connecticut Chapter of N.R.H.S. opened its SoNo Switch Tower
Museum in the 1896 New York, New Haven & Hartford South Norwalk tower. In
active service until 1984, the tower contains a 68-lever armstrong interlocking
machine. Hours are noon-5 PM May-October. On
June 1, the Niagara Frontier Chapter of N.R.H.S. celebrated the grand opening of
its Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier in the 1920 Erie North Tonawanda, N.
Y. freight station. NRHS News San
Francisco Municipal Railway has made an agreement with New Jersey Transit to
purchase 15 of the retired Newark PCC cars. Of the 15, six will have a small re-hab
done to them (remove all old paint, new paint applied, new windows, ADA
accessibility) . These would be used to supplement service on the "F"
Market line to free up some double ended cars for the start up the "E"
Embarcadero line next September. Karl Johnson |
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Association of Railway Museums 1016 Rosser Street, Conyers, GA 30012 Phone: (770) 278-0088 |
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