The Semaphare• Newsletter of the Rochester NY Chapter, NRHS

P.o. Box 23326, Rochester, NY 14692.3326; Published MonthlyNovember 2000Volume 43, NO.3

(Continued on Page 5)

Electrification Scores A Victory!!Facilitator: Rand Warner

Cooperation, Collabora.tion and CoordinationPays OffAfter 25 years of dream-

ing and wishing, five years ofactive teamwork, five monthsof heavy efTort, th'e \\'eeks ofintensive preparation, andfive days of frantic focus, wedid operate active trolleysunder active wire for ourjoint NRHSINYMT picnicand NYMT 25th AnniversaryCelebration on Saturday. Oc-tober 28! This accomplish-ment took a huge amount ofeffort and certainly showswhat our two groups can dotogether.

P&W Trolley #168This operating trolley was

procured by a NYMT mem-ber and donated to that mu-seum. Recent effort by BobMiner, Jim Dierks, RandWarner, Rick Holahan, DickLuchterhand, Charles Lowe,Charles Robinson, RandyBogucki. Aaron Stilson andNick Stilson, has resulted ininstallation of roof walks andtrolley poles, wiring. ropes,catchers, temporary whistlesand a multitude of other ta<;ksand checkout efforts.

Bob Miner changes the trolley pole in preparing for areturn trip. Charles Robinson, motonnan, looks on fromwithin Car #168. Chris /Iou/photo

Wire CarA wire reel car was constructed by Dick Luchterhand and Jack Allen. It was loaded with the

wire recl by Dick, Rand Warner and Scott Gleason. Dick and Rand made additionalmodifications for operational service.

Scaffold TruckA Ford hi-rail boom-dump truck, acquired and donated to NRHS by a Chapter member, was

modified by Bob ~1ader, Bob Miner, Rand Warner and Randy Bogucki with a two-lier scaffoldfor working on the overhead wire structure.

Wire Guide CarA \••..ire guide car was rigged up by Rand Warner using the Chapter's boom car for the

Fainnont track crane. This car guided the contact wire into position as it was unreeled from thewire reel car.

P.O. Box 23326Rochester, NY 14692-3326

Notice to Exchange NewslettersSending your Chapter/Club newsletters

to: The Semaphore, Gale Smith, 299Seneca Park Ave., Rochester, NY 14617-2.B3 will facilitate the exchange of newsor ideas.

Railroads Around Phelps, NYby Sheldon King

Sheldon King will present a slideprogram of the railroads that were inor around Phelps, NY. Theseinclude the Pennsy, New York Cen-tral and Lehigh Valley.

program for Noyember 16:

The Chapter Store of books and videoswill be at the Batavia Train Show onSunday, November 12. The Show is atthe Batavia Downs Race Track.

On hand will be members, who willnot only sell, but also promote the Chapteras to its activities and accomplishments.

Chapter Store at BataviaNov. 12

Library Hours7:30 to 9:30 PM

Monday, November 20Library Phone: 872-4641

A Reminder

Program CommitteeTom Forsyth (Chairman) 442-0125Bill Limburg 586.9470Dan Cosgrove 352.6931Dave Luca (Board liaison) 288.0318

The Committee welcomes suggestionsand ideas for future programs. Contact anyof the Committee members.

The Chapter's address has been changed.The old PO Box has been closed. It is now:

Page 2 September 2000 The Semaphore

Rand Warner, CoordinatorJoint NRHS/NYMT Picnic Is a Success

•Paul & Sandi Saracen5399 Russell Rd, Marion, NY 14505;

315-589-4818 pisornjdrK801 com

Scott B. Becker134 Blue Jay Dr, Canonsburg, PA

15317-2342 sbeeker@pa-trolley Of£

Carlos Mercado, Jr.12 Viek Park A., Roehes'er, NY 14607-2120; 716-271.4844 cmerc3org'mcbes-fer IT com

Walter Vanderwheel: yandem:beel'g"aol com

Robert Gabbey: n~:abbey'iI[()cbester IT com

The e-mail addresses for Kodak should havethe first and last person's name separated ty a

Jerome F. Machamer3733 Hurd Road, Holley, NY 14470

716-638-0436.

John D. Marshall21 Keswick Way, Fairport, NY 14450-3218

716-223-1439.

Otto M. Vandrak3236 Winton Rd. S, Apt 0-5, Rochester,

NY 14623716-475-0987 =drak'Wyahoo com Interests: Library,Publications/Historic research; alsographic design and "Titing.

Newaddreu.

Correctjons 10 £-maHs (rpm lart month.

Membership ReportBeth Krueger, Chair

Janet Dittmer, Assista.

New Hemberv - WEI mUE'Tomas P. Tucker168 Harvard Street, Apt 3, Rochester, NY

14607.716-442-9860; ThQmasPTllcker-@botmail com Interests: Rolling stockrestoration; Historical constructionequipment

Brendan Delay23144 Kingsbrooke Lane, Westlake,OH

44145 440-333-1319 BED! AY@M-5H.=

Gift Shop 2000by Marie Miner

The 2000 joint season has ended. Wewould like to thank the ten volunteers whofaithfully ran the gift shop and ticket counter.

The)' arc:Sue Baker. Dick Bean, Bobbie Corzine.

Bob Fitch, Nancy Holland, Ruth Magraw,Kathy Mielke, Marie Miner, Carol LeePattridge. Gale Smith.

We were open for 29 days this year. Ittakes two people to handle and averageSunday and sometimes three on special eventdays during the season. We had two specialweekends when we were open on Saturday.

Days of service ran from 2 to 13, with themajority working 4 or 5 times, for a total of60 days.

Four of this group are members of NRIISand NYMT, four are NYMT only and twoare NRIIS only.

The gift shop is open all winter onSundays. We have five people \\'ho currentlywork there these months.

In April 2001 we will be organizing forthe 2001 season. Come and join us - it's nothard work and great fun!

Dale Hartnett, Rick [sraelson. RandWarner, Janet Dittmer, Tom Webster, ChuckWhalen, Randy Bogucki and Larry Baker andothers helped with set up and cooking.

Steve Oagley, Janet Dittmer, RandWarner, Ste\'c Huse, Marie Miner, BobMiner, Marge Warner. Rick Israelson andothers helped with tear down and clean up.

John Redden, Nann Shaddick. SteveHuse, Jeremy Tuke and others provided tv.:otrains to shuttle passengers to the trolleyoperation. using EKe #6 and the Ericcahoose, and Anny #1843 and the Transfercaboose.

Bob Miner and Charlie Robinson pro-vided trolley operations using NYMT's P&WStrafford Car # 168.

Jim Johnson, Dick Ilolbert, Art Mum-mery, Dan Waterstraat and others operatedthe Substation for the trolleys.

Jim Dierks, Dick Luchterhand., Eric Nor.den. Randy Bogucki and others operated theNYMT site.

Marge and Rand Warner took reserva-tions and Mare collected money.

Steve Huse provided all the drinks.

THANKS EVERYBODY FOR /1GREA T PICNIC!

Saturday, October 28dawned cold andcloudy, but the weather.did improve greatly forfine afternoon withclear, cold air and brightsun for good photogra-phy. We had over 80attendees. Hope yourwere there.

R. McKnight to Speak at RES LuncheonRobert McKnight will be speaking before members of the Rochester Engineering Society at

their noon luncheon on November 8.tlis subject is "RRJUght Rail Grade Crossings". Mr. McKnight is a member of the National

Committee on Unifonn Traffic Devices. He is retired from the Association of AmericanRailroads where he was l\'lanager of Communication & Signaling Engineering and also retiredfrom the position of Railway Signaling Historian.IEditor: this sounds like a good program, especially the history of signaling, for a NRHS

meeting.]

Renewals - AwaitingNonnally, we should have re-

ceived the 200 I dues packets fromthe National by now for distributionto you. However, they have notarrived, and we do not know Vt:hy.

Once received, they will beforwarded to YOII and our Member-ship Committee will await yourspeedy reply.

The Semaphore September 2000 Page 3

Restoration FacilityCoordinator. Rand Warner

Progress: Scott Gleason has acquiredpricing data from Niagara Mohawk on a 200amp 240 volt single phase power service.

Rand Warner has obtained from Town ofRush Building Inspector approval to runoverhead pole line for electrical service tobuilding from upgraded lines on NYS Route251.

Scott Becker has furnished a full set ofarchitect's drawings for the pit constructed atPennsylvania Trolley Museum, for our refer.ence.

Tom Tischer has agreed to manage ourspecially designated development funds forthe building floor, utilities, pit. insulation,shed extension, etc. (See October The Sema-phore).

Items temporarily stored in the buildingarc being rearranged to permit more interiorworking space.

External underground duct work has beeninstalled, along with concrete undergroundvaults, to permit proper hook up and entranceof power and compressed air into thebuilding from our power trailer. This was anextensive efron supported by Jim Johnson,Scott Gleason, Dan Watcmraat, Dick Hol-bert, Charles Harshbarger, Joe Scanlon, AnMummery and others.

A location site for the power trailer, onthe next level below the building. is nowbeing prepared by Scott Gleason, Dan Waler-straat & Co.

Joe Scanlon and Rand Warner havecoUected information on available resourcesfor storage trailers and we are now ready tomove ahead on acquisition.

Plans: Complete preparation of final loca.tion site for power trailer.

Complete interior wiring. conduit. and airpiping for power trailer.

Relocate power trailer to final site and tiein electrical and air lines.

Relocate Railway Express Truck to southend of building for further restoration efforts.

WantedFor Railway Express Truck - grill, fend~

ers, axles, headlights.

For Excursion Trainset - diaphragm mate-rials.

For Heisler and Vulcan steam locos - newboiler lagging.

For B&O bay window caboose - tongueand grove flooring.

Hook block for 3/4" cable for Bay CityModel 65 crane.

Operation Lifesaver Motto

Look, Listen,Live!

Plans: Complete repairs to Koering backhoeexcavator to return to service.

Put Cat 12 grader together for check outand return to service.

Complete remaining work on Casecrawler loader to put into use.

Complete remaining work on ATC bull-dozer and put into operational service.

Complete rigging on Bay City Model 65crane and put into service.

Repair/replace bad generator on Georgiabuggy and return to service.

Construction & EquipmentSupt.: Joe Scanlon

Progress: Art Mummery and Dick Bean arereplacing the bad alternator on our "'BigBertha" Anny dump truck.

The Power Trailer for the RestorationFacility has been moved out of the building,VERY CAREFULLY, by An Mummery,Scott Gleason, Dan Waterstraat and withCharles Harshbarger driving our big Interna-tional tow truck.

Our D.7 Anny Bulldozer has been movedinto the bam by the same crew, so we canwork on the engine swap over the winter.

Art Mummery is working on repair of theKoering hydraulic excavator.

The Navy Reserve Seabees have swappedtires and wheels from a parts grader onto ourCat 12 diesel grader. Joe Scanlon and AnMummery are swapping the radiators.

Dick Bean, with help from An Mummeryand Hiram Colwell, has gotten our recentlydonated Case "T era loader" diesel crawlerloader running and cleaned up.

Much work has been accomplished by theYoung Railfans in prepping and priming ourlowboy trailer. Old deck planking has beenremoved by Dick Bean. and new planking ison hand.

Operational construction equipment hasbeen neatly rearranged for winter storage.

The Bay City Model 65 crane has beenreassembled and checked out by Joe Scanlon,Art Mummery, John MacDonald and others.

Norm Shaddick has been checking anti-freeze on railroad and construction equip-ment.

Rand Warner, Director, 425-8587

Critter CrewForeman Kevin Klees and his helpers

John Redden, Nonn Shaddick, Rand Warnerand others continue to make progress andgain insight into the idiosysracies of ourantique 1920's 7-ton Plymouth loco.

The head is off the prime mover and theengine looks better than expected.

Needle scaling. wire brushing. priming.and painting of body and frame componentsis continuing in a yellow scheme.

Kevin has researched the chains to bereplaced and has offered to underwrite theexpense .

The mechanical brake system has beenfreed up.

We are looking for a replacement radia.tor.

Somewhere in Penn-sylvania ---

Somewhere in Pennsylvania lies a pristine(from the deck up) locomotive consigned tothe Chapter.

This loco was very seriously damaged intransit on a Class I carrier and needsextensive repair from the deck down.

The Chapter has been involved for over ayear now in legal work to prosecute ourclaim.

The Motive Power Committee is protect.iog our investtnent in this loco by keepingbatteries charged. checking antifreeze, run-ning the prime movers, etc.

We look forward to receiving compensa-tion on our claim so that we can repair theloco and put it into service at R&GVRM forwhich it was procured and intended.

The Chapter has already invested severalhundred hours of time. in addition to cost oflegal services and donations by Chaptermembers to underwrite the acquisition costs.

We will keep the membership informedas new data develops. RW

RnCHESTER ~ GENESIT• u .. v~tEY ([

•

•

Page 4

Motive PowerSupt.: John Redden

Diesel DivisionNKP #79 yard switcher and EKC #9 and

LV #211 road switchers are drained forwinter and stored relocated for convenienceof battery chargers.

Considerable attention to Army #1843blower concerns has been provided by NannShaddick, John Redden and consultants.

Work continues on RG&E #1941 centercab. Chris Hauf has primed hood sheet metal.John Redden is working on air piping. andNeil Bellenger is working on cab sheet metal.

TrackMobile DivisionBlue Army TrackMobile # 1 continues in

frequent operational use.Blue Anny TrackMobile #2 is now

running, with swapped motor, and may be inoperational service by the time you read this.

Green RG&E TrackMobite #3 is awaitingmotor and transfer case rehab/replacement.

Yellow Army TrackMobile #4 is awaitinganalysis of engine problems and needs newtires.Steam DivisionAs soon as Track #6 is sufficiently

extended. we plan to relocate the Heisler andVulcan stearn locos side-by-side in a woodframe enclosure for removal of boiler lag-gings in tandem by a qualified contractor.

See separate write-up on Steam Programfor Heisler Fireless elsewhere in this issue.

Improved tooling is being worked on forremoval of tubes in Vulcan 0-4-0T. Re-sources are being indentified for other workon boiler, fuebox., appliances, running gear,etc. This will all be described in a futureSemaphore article, following considerableresearch already done by Ron Amberger andcompany.

Steam Program for HeislerThe technical program for the Heisler has

been discussed in previous Semaphores byJohn Redden and Ron Amberger. This effortinvolves removing the boiler appliances.,jacket, lagging, and cab; and then inspectingand certifying the boiter shelL In addition,the pistons, valves, and valve gear wilt berehabbed and adjusted. All the appliancessuch as compressor, throttle, turbo generator,pop valves, etc. will be inspected andrehabbed as necessary. Much of this workcan be fanned out as parallel tasks.

>>>

September 2000

In addition to the technical work, wewant to have a parallel development andpublicity effort. This area will involve vari-ous types of media exposure and fund raisers.Promotional materials would be generated.We would look forward to a special celebra-tion event when the Heisler goes operationalwith steam.

We also need to set up a long rangerepair escrow fund and shorter range fund toamortize the present rehab effort.

A separate parallel technical effort isrequired to establish a viable, practical andreliable source of steam for charging thefireless boiler of the Heisler. We have severaloptions in this area

John Redden, Ron Amberger and KevinKlees are coordinating the technicat areas.

John Stewart and Dale Hartnett willcoordinate the non-technical areas.

There wilt be steam in our future! Wouldyou like to be part of it? Call us.

Track CarsSupt.: Jeremy Tuke

Progress: Larry Baker, foreman for thefanner Dansvi11c & Mt. Morris RR Fainnonttrack speeder, is making substantial progresson his project

Larry scraped, prepped and primed thebody. Tom Tucker has started painting theyellow top coat and has the first coat on now,

Larry has been working relentlessly onthe one-cylinder motor to get it to runreliably. John Redden and others have alsohelped. The carburetor has been cleaned, aircleaner cleaned, wiring checked, replaced andupgraded, and running gear lubed and ad-justed.

This track car may be featured in one ofthe landscape displays at the Dome Arenanext March. Stay tuned ....

Plans: Complete work on D&MM trackinspection car.

Prep all track motor cars for winterstorage.

Ace/a Express to take offDec 11According to a recent article in USA

Today, the long-awaited Acela Express willbe in revenue service come Dec. I). Withonly one train set, it wilt make just a dailytrip between Washington, DC and Boston.The time between Washington and New Yorkwin shave 15 minutes off the three-hour trip;between New York and Boston, it will bejust over three rather than four hours.

The Semaphore

'hunlts to ...Kevin Klees for offer of new chains for.

our Plymouth "critter" loco Model BL.

Bernie Cubitt for offer to sponsor newbolsters for RL&B interurban #206.

Larry Baker for buying parts for ourDansville & ML Morris Fainnont trackinspection motor car,

Vince Milliken and LA&L RR fordonation of large assortment of railroadtechnical books and operational literature.

Bob Redden for help with info on neededheavy equipment and spare parts.

Hiram Colwell for donation of assonedplantings for landscaping.

Bob Van VanVanlkenburg offer ofdrafting table for Restoration Facility.

Rand Warner for furnishings for PineFalls sleeper lounge and tools.

Greg Nonen and GRSJAlstom for an-other shipment of excess inventory.

Steve Lutz and Delphi Automotive Sys-tems for diesel fire pump and foam unit

Bob VanVanlkenburg for donation ofauthentic mail bag.

Nelson Calkins of Warsaw for donationof a fine collection of 45 manuals for steamand diesel locomotives. •

Scott Becker for making it possible faus to acquire a prototype set of standard gageMCB Baldwin trucks in good condition forour Rochester Lockport & Buffato interurbantrolley #206.

Scott Gleason for arranging with RG&Efordonationofdiesel Trojan loader on rubber.

Harvey and Carol Simmons for donationof a generous check towards restoration ofour Railway Express Truck in response towrite-up in October The Semaphore.

Jim Johnson for offer to underwrite costof one or more storage trailers for recentlyacquired Communication & Signaling materi-als.

WoodworkersR&GVRM is blessed with a number of

woodworkers to help in our restoration andrepair efforts on wood stations., wood out-buildings, wood freight cars, wood cabooses,wood trolleys, and hopefully someday - awood passenger car.

Our woodworkers include Bernie Cubin.Bill Limberg, Dave Luca, AI PastorelJ, KevinKlees, Dan Waterstraat, Bob Mader ••some of the Navy Reserve Seabees.

If there are any more of you woodworkersout there, we would sure like to hear fromyou. Call Rand Warner at 425-8586.

The Semaphore September 2000 Page 5

• And away we go!

Twenty new poles were purchased to get usstarted.

Overhead Line Crew

The overhead line crew was supervised byScott Gleason. Charlie Lowe and Neil Bel-lenger. They were assisted by Dick Holbert,Charles Harshbarger, Bob Miner, RandWarner, Dan Waterstraa~ Bob Mader, RandyBogucki, Dick Luchterhand and Jim Johnson.

The overhead line crew used the buckettruck and scaffold truck to install and adjustthe previously mentioned subassemblies, andthe actual hard drawn copper contact \\'ireprovided by NYMT. They also used the WireReel Car and Wire Guide Car.

Pole Line Crew

The pole line crew used the Auger Truckand the Bucket Truck to set approximatelythree dozen wood poles along about 1/4 mileof trackage. The pole crew was supervised byNeil BeHenger, Charlie Lowe and Scott

Gleason, and were assisted by JimJohnson, Dan Waterstraat, DickHolbert. Charles Harshbarger. RandWarner and Scott Gleason's sons,Matt and Brian.

Substation

NRHS obtained donation of a250 kilowatt diesel generator fromMacDonald Electric. Fred Pell)' pro-vided an 800 amp capacity rectifier,sufficient to runt two cars. GeorgeKnab. Rand Warner, Dick Holbert.Jim Johnson, Scott Gleason, NeilBeHenger, Art Mummery, and Norm

Shaddick designed, fabricated. assembled andchecked oul the diesel engine generator,rectifier, switch gear instrumentation and fuelsystem on a NRHS provided heavy-dutytrailer and connected and installed it atNYMT to support trolley operations.

TransitownThe combined NRHSINYMT Fxecutive

(Contmued on Page 6)

(Photos by Chris Hauf)

Excessi,,'e weed growth on the south legof the NYMT loop was removed by RandyBogucki so we could operate reliably andsafety through that area while switching cars.

Freight Car Switching

John Redden and his ~10tive Power Crewof Nonn Shaddick. Dave Luca, RickIsraelson, Dick Holbert, Bob Miner, andothers swapped a number of freight carsin and out of the NY~IT loop, and do\mto R&GVRM, so that the loop areaimmediately behind the NYMT barnwould be clear for hanging wire andoperating trolleys. They also provided aTrack.\10bile to back up trolley opera-tions.

Auger Truck

An J'R1IS Chapter Member acquiredand donated a Ford Auger/Line truck,which was used to dig and set all our30-40 wood poles. Polr:s have beendonated by Walter Morey and RG&E.

Passing by ...

Track RepairsSubstantial rehab of NYMT track on the

main line up the back side of the loop wasperformed by Dale Hartnett and his gandydancers: Doug Verecke, Nathan Dunn, DanHartnett. Kevin Hertzog. Mark Wieczorek,Beth Krueger, Charlie Lowe, Tom Saul,Randy Bogucki, Dave Lue,," Mark Pappa-lardo, Tom Webster, Dee Mowers, RonAmberger, Rand Warner, and others - whoreplaced many, many ties between theNYMT loop switch and the barn lead switch.

Considerable work was done on theNYMT loading track switch and bam leadswitch by Dale Hartnett, Mark Pappalardo.Dave Luco. Rand Warner. Randy Boguckiand others listed ahove.

The above work was essential for reliabletrolley operations while hauling passengers.More track work remains to be done -replacing switch timbers at both of the aboveswitch locations.

Gorning up the grade ...Pre-Fab Over Head Sub Assemblies

Bracket arm. span wire, pull off, back.bone. down guy, and end-guy subassemblieswere fabricated by NYMT personnel fromNYMT hardware stock by Charlie Lowe,

• Bob Miner, Eric Norden. Rick Holahan. JimDierks. Ted Strang, Don Quant. RandyBogucki. Dick Luchterhand, Paul Monti andLarry Kastner. Charles Lowe provided designand direction using Rochester & Easternstandards.

ConsultantsKnowledgeable consultants from other

established trolley museums and transit op-erations were invaluable to us with theirwords of wisdom and hands-on.help. Theyincluded Fred and Chris Perry, DaveJohnston and Tad Prowell.

EngineeringDesign of the overhead structure was

provided by Charlie Lowe of NYMT. Electri-cal design was pro,'ided by Rand Warner andJim Johnson. Additional input was receivedfrom our consultants. see above.

Rail BondingUsing materials. tooling. and training

provided by Fred Perry, rail bonds wereinstalled on about 1/4 mile of rail by BobMiner, Dick Luchterhand. Rand Warner andRandy Bogucki.

Bucket Truck

Scott Gleason arranged donation of aroad worthy diesel bucket truck from Roch-ester Gas & Electric. This truck was abso-lutely indispensable to our efforts.

Page 6 September 2000 The Semaphore

Joint Picnic OperationsAt least half a dozen round trips or more

were made Saturday afternoon. October 28for the pleasure of our riders. There were noproblems.

We have much to be proud of andthankful for!

Final Checkout and TrainingOn Saturday morning of October 2gtb a

large crew assembled for checkout andtraining in car operation over the entirelength of our electrified line, including hillsand curves. We were very happy to find thatCar # 168 operated satisfactorily up and downthe hills and around the curves, with the polefollowing the wire path with no problems.Bob Miner and Charles Robinson were ourlead people on this activity, supported by allour other crews.

Congratulations to TheNew York Museum ofTransportation on their

25th Anniversary.During those 25 years, they have been

actively accumulating historical examples ofthe various modes of transportation - andeffectively displaying it for the generalpublic. They may soon have to expand theirspace. Our two museums have worked welltogehter and compliment each other.

Editor'S Corner1 wish to express my

appreciation to Chris Haufwho has been furnishing high resolutiondigital images for recent ThesemaPhore.He supplies them in a compressed fonn(.JPEG), while the present publishing pro-gram prefers .TIF files - so there is aconversion step involved, which expands thefile size. Time to update - just what softwarepublishers want!

Library ReportCharlesRobinson,Chainna.

The Chapter Library will be open Mo.day evening. November 20. between 7:30and 9:30 PM for your use. Come on out andsee our growing collection of rail books,photos and intriguing manuals on how tooperate a diesel locomotive. If you wouldlike to make a virtual run as an engineer in thecabofdiesellocomotives,h:re is your chance!

Straightening the library interior and itscollection after a summer of exterior workwas done with the help of Steve Oagley, JimStewart and Bob Miner. The bookcases havebeen rearranged so that more books can beplaced in the proper loeation on shelves.Jeny Gillette and I are working on puttingmore photos in archival sleeves plus goingthrough the boxes of donated materials andorganizing and properly placing their con-tents. Dave Luea has obtained the JamesGlenn collection for the chapter and JimStewart is inventorying it and identifying thevarious iterm for proper credil. We still havemore boxes of donations to process. BobAchilles has been identifying the unusuallygood collection of Canadian National stemlocomotives. Bob Miner has organized thecollection of railroad employee manuals _that they can be readily recognized and useThese still need to be cataloged. Gale Smihas nearly completed second copies of theLloyd Klos scrapbooks that can be moreeasily used for historical research. As always,he is enrolling more books into the computerfiles and then adding them to our shelves.

As far as the exterior is concerned. thetarps have now been hung on the East side ofthe building to prevent any further waterpenetration there until that siding is replacednext spring. A tarp has also been fastenedover the leaking cupola and the flashing onthe West side has been bent down to preventrain from getting behind the siding. Otherthan taking care of the water trapped on thecupola tarp, the building is ready for thewinter. The heat does work and the librarywill be comfortable this winter.

Come see us!

We Can Handle it- With Trains

We Can Handle it- With Cranes

by Lynn HeintzIn May, 1944, FWF Corp. of Cleveland

built the first Gradall and mounted it on aLinn truck (Linn truck had a conventionalfront axle and Caterpillar tracks for a rearaxle). In 1946, the design was purchased byWarner & Swasey Co. Until September 1996,the Company had built approximately 15,000excavators. first on International carriers andthen Duplex trucks.

In 1972, the now division of WarnerSwasey, started to manufacture its own truckearners. Today it makes three models in4x2, 4x4, 6x4 and 6x6 drives. The Chapterhas a Gradall in its collection Serial#NP38858 in the 6x6 configuration.

On Crawlers:Bay City 65 -- 30 tonNonhwest - 20 ton

Bucyrus 22B - 20 tonAnny Lorain -- 20 ton

Bucyrus 15B -- 12.5 ton

On Rubber:P&H -- 35 tonLorain - 20 tonGrove -- 12.5 tonAustin-Western - 8 ton

On Rail:Burro Model 30 -- 7 tonFairbanks Track Crane .- 2 ton

On the Gradall

Road Switchers:

LV #211 AleolEMD RS-3m -- 1200 hp

KPRR #9 Aleo RS-I -- 1200 hp

Yard Switchers:

Army #1843 Fairbanks H-12-44 -- 1200hp

NKP #79 Aleo S-4 -- 1000 hp

Industrial Switchers:KPRR #6 GE 80-ton -- 500 hp

RG&E # 1941 GE 45-lon -- 380 hp

TrackMobiles:

Army #1 Whiting 5TM BlueArmy #2 Whiting 5IM Blue

(Continued from Page 5)Victory!Operating Committee provided funds forpurchase of the wood poles. rectifier, wiresplices, additional rail bonds, lightning arres.tor, and miscellaneous materials for substa-tion.

These infrastructure funds come fromprofits from our jointly operated gift shop atthe NYMT.

Preliminary Check outIn October 1998, we first operated Car

# 168 on a tether cord, powered from oursubstation. This effort was well described inthe November 1998 The Semaphore.

First Overhead CheckoutOn Tuesday evening October 24. 2000,

we first operated Car # 168 from overheadwire and the substation. As darkness settledin the operation became spectacular. due tosparks from rusty rails and oxidized contactwire. John Redden, Norm Shaddick and TedStrang provided support to Bob Miner, asmolonnan, for this exercise, in addition to allour other crews.

The Semaphore September 2000 Page 7

Edgerton Park ModelRailroad to celebrate 50years on Sun. Nov. 12

The Edgerton Park Model Railroad has

•been in existen"ce for 50 years and willcelebrate the event with a train show onSunday, November 12. The hours are 10 to3 and lS at the Edgerton Community Center,41 Backus St. Admission is $3; 51 per child,or maximum of S8 per family.

Chapter OL crew to bepresent.

The Chapter's Operation Lifesaver crewwill have a display at this event. Like lastyear, a TYNCR will be set up with chairsavailable for attendees to relax and view theOL message. Dave Hulings invites Chaptermembers to participate. You may get on theTV news as the media is invited!

Lyons may regain passengerservice

•The last regular passenger train service to

the Lyons area was about 40 years ago, andsoon after the passenger station was demol-ished.

For about ten years. officials have beentrying to get Amtrak to establish a stop there.Both Conrail and CSX have not been infavor because of safety issues, since passen-gers would have to cross an active sidingtrack.

Recently State Senator Michael Nez.rolina, of Seneca County. announce that thestale will provide S1 million to build anAmtrak station. In 1989, an Amtrak studyestimated that a Lyons stop would be used byabout ten passengers per day. Presently the85 miles distance between Syracuse andRochester has no station stop and is thelongest section between New York City andBuffalo without one. [Ref: Democrat andChronicle, October 24, Pg 3B]

•

Matching Fund Drive to aidAdirondack Scenic Railroad

The Adirondack Railroad PreservationSociety (ARPS) is recruiting new members totake advantage of the new Terry BruneMatching Funds Program. Any member ofARPS can contribute up to $ 10,000 and itwill be equally matched.

Information is available from Doug Mas-ters at 315-369-6022; Utica Union Station at315-724-0700, or Thendara Station at 315-369-6290. [Tower Topics, Nov 2000)

RailCamp 2001Two sessions of the Basic RailCamp

2001 will be held at Steamtown, Scranton,PA on July 22-28 and August 12-18.

This is a joint program betv.'een NRHSand the National Park Service and is open toyoung adults entering 9th grade in September2001 to having completed 12th grade in June2001. Each session is limited to 24participants and tuition if %50 which in-cludes lodging and meals at the University ofScranton and instruction from Park Servicepersonnel.

A brochure will be available in Decemberby writing to RailCamp 2001, NatinnalRailway lIistorical Society, P.O. Box 58547,Philadelphia, PA 19102-8547.

One of our Young Railfans has attendedin the past. Will we have any interested forthis yeat? [Tower Topics, Nov. 2000)

Chapter's OL supportDave Hulings, who presented an Opera-

tion Lifesaver program at our October meet-ing. was appreciative of its reception, notingthat the innkeeper had to ask people to leave.

The Chapter will contribute to OperationLifesaver support by purchasing a TYNeRsetup, a banner imprinted with the OL logoand the Chapter logo and a self-inking stampto imprint the Chapter's address and/or phonenumber of all the literature that is given out

Dave advances to Level 3- andexpanded OL responsibilities

Dave will be attending Level 3 training inAlexandria, VA during the week of Novem-ber 13. lie and Ed Sheehy will then be thecoordinators for National Region I, whichtakes in all the territory from Maine to NewYork., including the provinces of Ontario andQuebec in Canada Congratulations, Dave!

He plans on having a Level I localtraining session in February or March.

NYC coach 4979 sold to OCRThe Utica and Mohawk Valley Chapter of

the NRHS sold the New York Central 4979to the Ohio Central Railroad in AugustRecently, OC was at the Griffiss Business &Technology Par, Rome for se••..eral dayspreparing the car for its trip to Ohio. [TowerTopics, Nov. 2000)

Missing Grand CentralTerminal fixtures found onInternet site.

As you probably know, several of the castiron eagles that adorned the Terminal havebeen found and rescued.

In October, the Associated Press reportedanother find - really a theft. Frank J. Prial,Jr. an architect who worked on the renova-tion of Grand Central Terminal, was lookingfor postcards and photos when he spottedtwo light fixtures from the building, up forsale on an Internet auction site.

Prial's discovery led to the arrest on Oct.5 of an electrical contractor from Chester.NY and the recovery of more than $ 100,000worth of artifacts.

On September 28, Mr. Prial noticed twobronze fixtures featuring an acorn and oakleaf design being offered for an opening bidof one dollar. He notified the MetropolitanTransportation Authority, which investigataedthe eBay listing: 'Original N.Y. Grand Cen.tral Station Ceiling Lamp'.

On the 29th, MTA police found the twopieces on consignment at an antiques store inCornwall-on.Hudson, NY. The dealer namedthe consignee; the MTA executed a searchwarrant at the alleged thiefs home wherethey also found a track indicator and achandelier that once hung outside the tenni-nal's famed Oyster Bar. The investigationcontinues. Where possible the originalpieces will be reinstalled. [Tower Topics.Nov. 2000]

Rome Depot Rehab maystart this month

Work on restoring and improving the87-year-old Rome RR depot is expected tostart in November. 52.5 million is need tobegin the project, and the City of Rome hasbudgeted S1.8 million for it The citypurchased the station for $ 10 in 1988 afterAmtrak was unwilling to make any improve-ments. with the understanding that Amtrakwould continue service.

Planned improvements includes water-proofing the subway tunnel, replace thepassenger island platform between the tracks,a new elevator shaft by the tracks. a newentrance and a new security system. [TowerTopics, Nov. 2000]

May Your Thanksgivingwith Family and Friends be

a Most Enjoyable One!The Chapter has a lot to be

Thankful for this year!

Rochester Chapter National Railway Historical SocietyThe SemaphoreP.O. Box 23326Rochester, NY 14692.3326

Chapter Meeting & Program:

ailroads Arouo Phelpsby Sheldon King

November 16,200040 & 8 Club

933 Universtly Ave.

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1111111111111,11111,1,111,111111,11111111111,1,1111,1,1,11111DONOVAN SHILLING1765 FIVE MILE LINE RDPENFIELD NY 14526-9724

.--The Semaphore is published montbly hy the Rochester, NY Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. It is mailed free to all Chapter

members. Non-member's subscriptions are $5.00 and run from January I to December 31. Chapter meetings are held the third Thunday andthe Board of Directors meets the first Thunday nf each month.

Rochester Chapter NRHS Officers:President: Chris HaufVice President: Steve OagleyTreasurer: Dave LucaRecording Secretary: Jeremy TukeCorrespondence Sec.: Tnm ForS}thNational Director: Bob Miner

Trustees: Charles Harshbarger, DaleHartnett, Art Mummery, Joe Scanlon,John Stewart and John Weber.

The Semaphore Staff:Editor: Gale SntithPrinting: Bob Miner/Gale SntithMailing: Dan Cosgrove

interNet (World Wide Web) address:hltpJ/www.rochnrhs.org/

Contributions to The Semaphore are welcomed and encouraged. from all readers. Theyshould be mailed to: Gale E. Smith. 299 Seneca Park Avenue, Rochester, NY 14617-2433.Phone: (716) 5+Ui221. Contributors using a computer are asked to send their submissions onany MS-DOS diskelte in ASCII or TXT forma~ as well as a printed copy. Deadline: FintDay of Each Month.

PaurinlJ the Re:otaratian Fal:ility Flaar!The Restoration Building is up and running! Now we need. to provide it with a concrete

1100r. We raised the dust to fInish the space. Now weve faced ",ith dust all over the place.One hundred dollars ""II buy a batch of concrete. The estimate for the 1100r is $25,000; we'llnced 250 batches (I). Help "cement" together a great project Maybe we11 even let your",rite your name and date in a slab. [Don Shilling]

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