REMINDERS: 2015 TCA CONVENTION

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1 January 30, 2015 Dear All: Last week I asked you to send me some links/information and why I should list a business/individual as a friend of the train world and out of all the readers I had one person send me a few items, wow! One! Yes, I ve thrown the challenge out there, I cannot believe that there are so few friends of the hobby. Come on now let s share the good news. Next listing of friends February 27, As a reminder, the eblasts and attachments will be placed on the WB&A website under the About tab for your viewing/sharing pleasure along with the WB&A Facebook page. The attachments are contained in the one PDF attached to this in an effort to streamline the sending of this and to ensure the attachments are able to be received. Click on the Ribbon on the Left and you will see an index of the documents and you can click on them to go to them. If you need a PDF viewer to read the document which can be downloaded free at To retain a copy you may want to save the file to a folder different from your temporary files (downloading and use is in your discretion). REMINDERS: 2015 TCA CONVENTION See Please also see the invite from Stuart Rankin as he sends his personal invite to the members of the WB&A

2 and to the Eastern Division as a whole! I encourage you to support the Convention and to attend and have some FUN. OPEN HOUSE INVITE Sandy and Clem Clement See the attached invite from Sandy and Clem, they hope you can make it. WB&A MEMBERSHIP If you did not pay your 2015 dues in 2014, please click on the link and forward your dues to Dave Eadie. It s never too early to pay 2015 dues! ( plication_2014.pdf) O GAUGE STUDY GROUP RESCHEDULED FOR Jan. 31 Due to inclement weather last Saturday the meeting had to be cancelled, but it is rescheduled for tomorrow: O Gauge Study Group, Saturday January 31, 2015, 10 2 p.m. Location: 5233 Bessley Place, Alexandria, VA Buffet lunch served. Topic: Early O Gauge locomotives, 700 series and 150 series. Also passenger and freight cars that came in sets with these locomotives. Join fellow train enthusiasts as we learn more about these fascinating locomotives. Experience not required! Hosts: Clem Clement and 2

3 Bruce Greenberg. For more information call Bruce at or write him at UPCOMING WB&A EVENTS March 14, 2015 WB&A Annapolis Armory Train Show, details attached and mark your calendars. May 9, 2015 Joint VTC & WB&A (aka NORTH MEETS SOUTH) Great Train Show and Sale at the Eagles Lodge at 21 Cool Spring Road, Fredericksburg, VA contact Colleen Hall for more information, it s never too early to start planning. We are pleased to announce that Allen Crotts will be the Train Doctor at the show. CROSS HOBBYING: It seems this Club is having some fun and we certainly have been having the weather for it: WEBSITES/LINKS OF INTEREST/THINGS TO DO/BOOKS Newsletters courtesy of the VTC: Harrisburg Rail Review; Piedmont Carolinas; and Turntable Times. 3

4 WDBJ7 did a nice report on the 611 restoration is on trackto return in late spring or early summer/ The 3600 Building at 3600 West Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia has an expanded photo gallery of Richmond area trains dating back to the seventies, steam excursions included. This gallery is on the street level floor and be sure not to miss the hidden part that is to be seen via the last entrance to your left if you were heading out of the building towards Broad Street. Public facilities can be found in this area too. The gallery is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. til 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. We're talking about huge wall paintings and huge poster sized prints. This building is less than a mile from the former RF&P Acca Yard. Norfolk Southern Corporation, January 27, 2015, News Release Norfolk Southern to close Roanoke office building, relocate employees ROANOKE, Va. Norfolk Southern today announced that it will close its Roanoke office building at 110 Franklin Road SE later this year and relocate the functions currently housed there to Atlanta or Norfolk. Approximately 500 people currently work in the 4

5 building in marketing, accounting, information technology, and other departments. Affected employees will have the option of relocating with their positions. The action is being taken to foster departmental synergies and to make better use of the company s real estate assets and support the company s goal of streamlining its management workforce. Norfolk Southern is in the final process of evaluating which positions will be relocated to its corporate headquarters in Norfolk, Va., or its operational headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. Some regionally oriented positions will remain in Roanoke but will move to other work locations in the area. This will not involve any involuntary force reductions, and we will provide substantial relocation packages for those who choose to relocate, said James A. Squires, Norfolk Southern president. Norfolk Southern has been a proud corporate citizen of Roanoke for more than 130 years, and that will not change. While our profile may be reduced, Roanoke will remain a key location in our network, and we will remain engaged in the community. Roanoke will remain the headquarters for Norfolk Southern s Virginia Division, and the company will continue operating a local switching yard and locomotive and car maintenance facilities at Shaffer s Crossing, and a locomotive overhaul and rebuilding facility in its East 5

6 End Shops. In total, about 1,700 people currently work for Norfolk Southern in Roanoke. The Roanoke office building was built in 1992 and consists of 203,000 square feet of office space. Disposition of the building will be determined at a later time. About Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products. Stitcher: Check out the O Gauge Trains podcasts and the MTF Founder Mike Wolf s interview 6 See attached courtesy of: Steve Simon [standg] Repaint VS Restore YORK TRAIN SHOW 6

7 Registration package from Eastern for York have been mailed. Please note the corrected October 2015 York dates (previous package had incorrect dates for it). ref=ts&ref=br_tf UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS (please send me items to include on the calendar) if you like to see some other dates from around the country, check out: 1. Check out: (one of the places we re promoting the Annapolis and VTC/WB&A Train shows). Contact Adrian Hall with any questions that you may have at: 2. Check out trains.com calendar of events at: =1&cat= Schedule for Trackers can be found at: Schedule for World s Greatest Hobby can be found at: 7

8 Schedule for Greenberg s Train & Toy Show can be found at: 6. Link for various train shows can be found at: and and also 7. February 1, 2015 Model RR Open House at 423 E. Patrick Street, Frederick, MD County Society of Model Engineers Fcsme/ January 31 February 1, 2015 The Great Scale Model Train Show Makin Tracks! Cow Palace Times Sat. 9 5/Sun at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD February 7 8, 2015 WGH in Columbus, OH visit February 8, 2015 New Hope Solebury Township Train Show and Sale New Hope Eagle Fire Company 46 North Sugan Road New Hope, PA $5.00pp Admission, Children under 12 free Future Shows (All in 2015) May 3, Oct February 14, 2015 Hagerstown Model RR Museum, Inc. Trainfest Winter 2015 Model Train sale re: railroading and model railroading at 8

9 Washington County AG Center 7313 Sharpesburg Pike 9 2 p.m. contact info: Hmrrm@myactv.net; Phone: ; Web Site: February 14, 2015 Jacksonville Rail Fair at Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville, FL February 14, 2015 SP&S Railway Historical Society Swap Meet at Airport Holiday Inn in Portland, OR February 14 15, 2015 Greater Buffalo Train Show at Erie County Fairgrounds Even Center in Buffalo, NY February 14 15, 2015 WGH in Louisville, KY visit February 21, 2015 Greater Houston Train Show at Stafford Center in Houston, TX February 21 22, 2015 Allentown Train Meet Associates Spring Thaw Train meet, see February 21 22, 2015 Spring Thaw Train Show at Allentown Fairgrounds Ag Hall in Allentown, PA March 8, 2015 Earleigh Heights Shows March 14, 2015 WB&A Annapolis Armory Train Show, details attached and mark your calendars. 9

10 21. March 14, 2015 RR Show & Collectors Market 9 3 p.m. at I.W. Abel Union Hall (Steelworkers Union), 200 Gibson Street, Steelton, PA phone March 14, 2015: AACA Parts meet, Howard County fairgrounds, MD dars/craaca/default.html 23. March 14, 2015: 18th annual Mason Dixon Gas Automobilia and Petroliana swap Meet, Frederick Fairgrounds, MD March 14, 2015: Patina Tool show and Auction, Damascus, MD March 14, 2015: WB&A trains show, Annapolis armory, MD t.htm 26. March 14 15, 2015: NCT modular train display, USMC Museum, Quantico, VA 27. March 15, 2015 Gilbertsville Train Show at the Gilbertsville Fire Hall, 1454 E. Philadelphia Avenue, Gilbertsville, PA March 15, 2015 Jersey Central NRHS Train Show in Mother Seton High School in Clark, NJ 10

11 29. March 15, 2015 Winterail at Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Stockton, CA March 20 22, rd Annual M.A.G.M.A. Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show at Camp Stephens, Asheville, NC March 22, 2015 Arbutus Shows from March 27/28, 2015 AACA Sugarloaf Car parts show, Westminster Fairgrounds, MD s/2015smrfleamarket.pdf 33. March 29, 2015: AACA south jersey Car Parts meet (COWTOWN) 34. [CORRECTION] March 29, :30 3:30 p.m. Great Batavia/Clarion Hotel Train Show in Batavia, New York March 28 29, 2015 WGH in Edison, NJ visit April 10 12, 2015: Cabin Fever Expo, York Fairgrounds, York, PA April 11, 2015 Railroadiana Consignment Auction at Brookline Auction Gallery in Brookline, NJ April 11, 2015 Florida Rail Fair at Volusia County Fairgrounds in DeLand, FL 11

12 39. April 11 12, 2015 The Great Scale Model Train Show Makin Tracks! Cow Palace Times Sat. 9 5/Sun at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD April 11, 2015 Arkansas RR Museum Railroadiana Show & Sale in Pine Bluff, AR April 16 18, 2015 NRHS & ATRRM Joint Conferences in York, PA April 18 19, 2015 Super Train RR Show at Genesis Centre in Calgary, AB April 23 26, 2015 Katy RR Historical Society Convention in Dalls/Ft. Worth, TX April 23 25, 2015 Eastern Division/TCA York Meet 45. April 25 26, 2015 Ottawa Train Expo. At Ernst & Young Centre in Ottawa, ON April 30 May 3, 2015 PA RR Tech & Historical Society Meeting in State College, PA May 1 3, 2015 NY Central System Historical Society, Inc Convention & Meeting visit 12

13 48. May 3, 2015 New Hope Solebury Township Train Show and Sale New Hope Eagle Fire Company 46 North Sugan Road New Hope, PA $5.00pp Admission, Children under 12 free Future Show Oct May 9, 2015 Joint VTC & WB&A (aka NORTH MEETS SOUTH) Great Train Show and Sale at the Eagles Lodge in Fredericksburg, VA contact Russell at jryouens@verizon.net and/or Colleen Hall at memberwba@gmail.com 50. June 6, p.m. Historic Downtown Manassas, Manassas Rail Festival, Manassas, VA annualmanassas heritage railway festival/?instance_id= 51. June 4 7, 2015 Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, 2015 R&LHS Convention in Altoona, PA 52. June 20 28, 2015 TCA 2015 National Convention June 7, p.m. Spring Hamburg Dutch Train Meet at the Hamburg Fire Co, File House Pine Street, Hamburg, PA 54. June 20 21, 2015 The Great Scale Model Train Show Makin Tracks! Cow Palace Times Sat. 9 5/Sun at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD

14 55. July 20 26, th Annual WNC Roundup H 56. July 26, p.m. Summer Hamburg Dutch Train Meet at the Hamburg Fire Co, File House Pine Street, Hamburg, PA 57. August 8, 2015 Lynchburg Rail Day 2015 contact: Barry Moorefield, rockdalefarm@live.com or Norris Deyerle, railcow@msn.com, website September 12, 2015 Hagerstown Model RR Museum, Inc. Trainfest Summer 2015 Model Train sale re: railroading and model railroading at Washington County AG Center 7313 Sharpesburg Pike 9 2 p.m. contact info: Hmrrm@myactv.net; Phone: ; Web Site: September 13, p.m. Summer Hamburg Dutch Train Meet at the Hamburg Fire Co, File House Pine Street, Hamburg, PA 60. September 18 20, 2015 ATRRM Fall Conference in Union, IL visit September 20, 2015 Gilbertsville Train Show at the Gilbertsville Fire Hall, 1454 E. Philadelphia Avenue, Gilbertsville, PA September 27, 2015 Arbutus Shows from

15 63. October 4, 2015 New Hope Solebury Township Train Show and Sale New Hope Eagle Fire Company 46 North Sugan Road New Hope, PA $5.00pp Admission, Children under 12 free 64. October 24 25, 2015 The Great Scale Model Train Show Makin Tracks! Cow Palace Times Sat. 9 5/Sun at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD November 28, 2015 Hagerstown Model RR Museum, Inc. Trainfest Winter 2015 Model Train sale re: railroading and model railroading at Washington County AG Center 7313 Sharpesburg Pike 9 2 p.m. contact info: Hmrrm@myactv.net; Phone: ; Web Site: December 13, 2015 Earleigh Heights Shows December 19, 2015 Arbutus Shows from 9 1 As always, if you prefer not to receive these s, please let me know. All my best, Colleen As a reminder to all, I gather my information from all sources, lots of it comes from the membership who includes me on their s. I respect everyone s 15

16 intellectual property rights and do my upmost best not to infringe on anyone s and to give credit when I am aware of whom to give the credit to. This eblast is an informational newsletter and my intent is to share with you information you may find of use or interest. 16

17 The Official Newsletter of the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Inc. Volume 46, Number 4 Oct.-Nov.-Dec Happy Holidays From the Turntable Times Staff!

18 Volume 46, Number 4 Oct.-Nov.-Dec Editor: Jim Overholser jgoverholser@verizon.net Contributing Editor: Dorr Tucker joandorr@cox..net Mixed Freight Robin R. Shavers robin.shavers@gmail.com Publisher/Historian Kenneth L. Miller klmiller@rev.net All materials should be sent directly to the Editors at their address listed with their names. Turntable Times is published quarterly as the newsletter of the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Inc. Opinions and points of view expressed herein are those of the staff members or contributors of the Turntable Times and do not necessarily reflect those of the members, officers or directors of the Chapter. Meeting Notice The Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, January 15. The meeting will be held in the auditorium at the O. Winston Link Museum at 7:30 pm. Please be sure to enter at the west end of the building on the track level. The February meeting will be held Thursday, February 19. Throughout the year, please note our inclement weather policy below, and always check the website for the most up to date information. From The Head End Cards and Flowers If you know of a Chapter Member who is sick, lost a loved one or has a new birth in the family, please contact Bonnie Molinary. Bonnie is responsible for Chapter cards and flowers and can be reached at Deadline for Turntable Times The deadline for the next issue of Turntable Times is Friday, December 19, Please send articles, information and exchange newsletters to: Editor Turntable Times, P.O. Box 13222, Roanoke, VA, All parties sending newsletters to the Roanoke Chapter via should send them to Jim Overholser: jgoverholser@ verizon.net, Dorr Tucker at joandorr@cox.net and Ken Miller at klmiller@rev.net Meeting Cancellation Policy Any Chapter meeting will be considered cancelled if any of the following conditions are due to weather: Roanoke City Schools are closed on the day of or for the day after the meeting, or Virginia Western night classes are cancelled for the night of a meeting. Cover Photo Dorr Tucker captured eastbound No. 4, the Pocahontas as it rolled into Roanoke in December At least 11 cars are visible, including 4 head end cars, indicating a holiday mail heavy train. No. 4 has run into some snow somewhere west. In Roanoke, the remaining snow, partially covering the track in the immediate foreground is where the Amtrak station will be placed more than 47 years later!. For current information on the FIRE UP 611! campaign, see 1

19 Holiday Greetings The staff of Turntable Times wishes you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Jim Overholser, Editor Dorr Tucker, Contributing Editor Ken Miller, Publisher and Historian Holiday Gathering and Special Run- Off Election For the first time in the 46 year history of our organization we will have a run off election to determine a winner among two candidates for the board of directors that tied for 4th place in our annual BOD election on November 20. The two candidates are George Stein and Percy Wilkins. The special election will take place in the fellowship hall at Calvary Baptist Church on Thursday December 18. The dinner will begin at 6PM followed by a yearly review, an interesting entertainment program along with the special election. The board members already selected by the membership in the regular election on November 20 are Steve Smith, Lewis Foster and Ken Miller. Set up for the meal begins at 3PM and help is always appreciated. The chapter will provide meat, place settings and drinks. Please bring your favorite side dish or dessert. Following the election, we will have a program followed by a summary of the years events. Guests of members are welcome; however only bona fide current Chapter members may vote. This is the big social event of the year for our organization and with the special election this could the most significant event of the year short of the 611 leaving town for restoration. Also, absentee ballots will be available for those unable to attend the Gathering. To vote by absentee ballot one must: 1. Request an absentee ballot from the Secretary (Lewis Foster) or the Chairman of the nominating committee (Skip Salmon). You will receive (a) one ballot; (B) one ballot envelope; and (c) one mailing envelope. 2. Mark the ballot in the ballot envelope for one of the two candidates. If you vote for more than one your ballot will be discarded. 3. Place the ballot in the ballot envelope and seal. Do not put your name on the ballot envelope. 4. Place ballot envelope in the mailing envelope. Write your name and return address on the envelope and mail to: Roanoke Chapter NRHS, P. O. Box 13222, Roanoke, VA (Account heavy volume of Holiday Mail allow sufficient time for reasonable delivery before 12/18/14.) Or the envelope may be delivered to the Secretary or Committee Chair any time before the event. Membership Report T by Walter Alexander, November 20, 2014 he Chapter welcomes new member Elizabeth N. Lamons of Roanoke. Please make her feel welcome. We now have 195 Chapter members. As you may recall, in the spring of 2014 I announced to the Chapter that I was resigning on June 30 as Membership Chairman & Electronic Billing Contact (EBC). I have continued to fulfil these duties until a replacement has been found. I am pleased to have David Johnson volunteer to take over these positions. David and I have not yet had the opportunity to discuss in detail the duty requirements and make the transfer, but we are working on it! Since the 2015 dues renewal cycle has already begun, I will continue to help with these duties until Dave is up to speed. Thank you, Dave, for helping the Chapter in these important matters. 2

20 Yes, it is dues renewal time. All memberships expire on December 31. Each of you by now should have received from me either an with a Roanoke Chapter renewal form (PDF) attached or a hard-copy form in the US postal mail. This was for your Chapter dues only. Many of you have already returned the form with your dues check to our P.O. Box, and we thank you for your prompt renewal response. As you have heard in recent months, the National dues renewal process this year is a little trickier and you have several alternatives. But it s not so complicated that we can t handle it! National dues must be sent separately from Chapter dues as you have been told. The BEST and preferred way to renew is by going to the National website clicking on Membership tab, clicking on Renew Your Membership, fill out the form, and then paying with a credit card as you Check out with PayPal. You will need your membership number, which is on you current membership card and also in the Roanoke Chapter 2014 Roster. If you cannot locate your number, you may contact me via or phone call (540) A second way, and this is made available for those without internet access, is to send your dues check to the Chapter P.O. Box. Make your check payable to Roanoke Chapter NRHS. On the memo line, specify for National Dues. With the check include a list of the names of each person for whom you are paying dues (i.e., don t forget to pay for and list each Family Member.) A Chapter volunteer (Treasurer Jim Cosby) will combine your dues payment with others and see that your dues are sent to National for you. This is preferable to the third method below. National will eventually be mailing out dues renewal notices to everyone. A third method to renew is to wait until you receive the renewal notice and then you can mail them a check. Please be aware, however, that the check will be handled under a contract with Fernley and Fernley, and will cost NRHS between $10 - $15 PER CHECK for processing. Obviously, this is not a cost effective alternative for our National organization and I would like to discourage you from doing this. If you pay your dues by any method prior to receiving the renewal letter from National, just ignore the letter. The timing of National sending out the letter is uncertain as of this writing, but the need for the dues is NOW. The payment schedule for Roanoke Chapter dues was on the form I sent you recently. The payment schedule for you to calculate your National dues is: Regular Member...$50.00 Family Member... $7.00 per person Student Member...$16.00 Youth Member...$5.00 I also encourage you to consider giving an unrestricted gift to National. National needs the money! You may give online at under the Giving tab. You may also include a donation to National with your check if you are mailing it to the Chapter. Please indicate the amount of your donation to National. Turntable Times mailing labels were printed before any 2015 dues were processed, so ignore the expiration date if you have already paid. I thank everyone for staying with Roanoke Chapter over the years that I have served as your Membership Chairman. The ride this year seems to have been rough and bouncy, but there are smooth rails and a green signal ahead (do I hear a J611 whistle?), so stay with us to see what comes down the track! 3

21 Report of Advisory Council Representative T by Carl Jensen he weekend of the NRHS Board of Directors and Advisory Council meetings was held November in Johnson City TN with over 50 attendees from both groups. This was the first meeting since the elections this past summer, and the first for the new President Al Weber. I am pleased to say the feeling of the members in attendance seemed to me to be very positive and focused on getting NRHS out of the hole in spite of the major problems facing the new administration. The major topics included the very poor condition of the NRHS finances, with a large amount of current bills unpaid and very little money to pay against them. The serious part of this is that there is/was no appreciable income in sight, except the prospect of national dues. Dues are at this point the only potential source of income. An announcement from the President on December 1 stated dues bills have now been mailed to all members. In the interim our chapter and many others, following discussions and suggestions at the Johnson City meeting, have initiated independent solicitation of National dues in order to help create some cash flow to national before the general mailing was made. That mailing was reportedly held up within the Fernley & Fernley organization, and would have been out to members by early November. Both RailCamp and the NRHS Grants program will operate in 2015, as we were assured that earmarked funds for these two functions are set aside. RailCamp information has been updated for and is available by at communications (except the dues mailing ) are being handled in digital form order to save money on mailings. This includes the newsletter. A lawsuit was settled out of court between NRHS and Barry Smith, former head of the RailCamp program which grew out of an auto accident during the 2012 Camp at Tacoma WA in which Mr. Smith was injured. This has been lingering for some time, and takes one problem out of the hands of the new President. A number of other items were discussed: - NRHS will close its cubical at F&F which will save the Society $500. Per month.. There is a limited contract with F&F which lasts until July 15, A donation has been received to digitize our film library. The project is about ½ done and a digital catalog is being created. Joe Maloney (Awards Chairman.) reported 75, 60 and 50 year pins will be mailed out in January. The NRHS Fund is now a 501c (3) and is a separate corporation. The Fund was set up during this past year, and is intended to support NRHS operations financially. However, there are several questions now being asked by various Board and Advisory Committee members concerning the independence of this organization and exactly how it will function in relation to NRHS. Conventions - The 2014 Springdale convention did make a profit for the Society but the final accounting is not complete. The 2015 Convention at Rutland, VT will be June Tickets are now on sale through the NRHS website. There is no 2016 site as yet. The Winter 2015 Board of Directors and Advisory Committee meetings will be held at Hotel Roanoke January with Roanoke Chapter as host. A show of hands at Johnson City indicated about 50 members will be in attendance. NRHS members including those from Roanoke Chapter can attend the meetings as observers. For information these meetings normally start Saturday morning with the Advisory Council (representatives 4

22 from chapters) and after lunch the Board of Directors begins their meeting, which usually recesses that evening and is continued into Sunday morning. I have not heard from either leader of the two groups as yet as to the schedule. RailCamp 2015 is at Newark, DE for Eastern Camp July 5-10 and Northwest Camp at Tacoma WA August 2-8. We had one great camper in our own Will Artis at our Western Camp in 2014, I hope we can find another young person for this coming year. Mixed Freight, 4th Quarter T By Mr. Robin R. Shavers his time last year, I reported information via a railfan/railroader associate that Norfolk Southern had major plans for changes in infrastructure for its trackage in downtown Richmond. The change were supposed to make the trackage modern locomotive friendly. According to my associate, those plans have been scrapped. So for the time being, second generation locomotives will continue to be the mainstay of Norfolk Southern road power for trains between West Point and Crewe. As for talk of the Buckingham Branch buying that line, things have been quiet the past year. Two extremes. On Sunday, August 7th, normally long CSX intermodal train Q176 showed up with a total of 3 cars - 2 five-unit cars, and 1 three-unit car. Two big evolutionary series locomotives were in charge. Then, ten days later, CSX Q139 for August 17th departed CSX s Acca Yard with 189 cars totaling a length of 9,650 feet. Normally, this train is under 100 cars in length and if it does exceed 100 cars it s not by much. This was one of the longest mixed freights to make the Richmond rail scene in many years. In fact, I haven t witnessed such a monster freight on today s CSX routes since the pre-csx days. Two evolutionary series locomotives were in charge and there was an organized coordinated effort between the train s crew and CSX s BD dispatcher. December 7th marks 20 years since our N&W Class J No. 611 made its last run to Roanoke bringing a close to a chapter of the Norfolk Southern Steam Program back in This past May 1st marked 30 years since the Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railroad was folded into the CSX conglomeration. The RF&P Railroad Historical Society continues to grow. Our goal for members in 2014 was 473. As of the 30th of August we exceeded that goal by 11. Next year we will celebrate ten years of existence. I realize this has nothing to do with railroading but in lieu of what s been happening with our veterans, I decided to include it. It might just make some of you feel a little better. While railfaning in Crewe, I came upon a locomotive engineer wearing a tee shirt that displayed the following message...real HEROES DON T WEAR CAPES...THEY WEAR DOG TAGS... TRACK TO THE FUTURE: The future of Cass Scenic Railroad has been an ongoing topic of discussion among railfan circles for well over a year and there has been much speculation as to what might happen. Cass will now be operated by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad as of November 1. As a railfan, I try to see railroading from a variety of perspectives or plateaus, and especially with respect to locomotives. Most of us have read or seen claims of how many tons of freight can be moved per mile per gallon. If you think your fuel bill is substantial to operate your one to three personal vehicles, think about the fuel bill of the railroads. In response, railroads are constantly turning to technology or common sense to reduce diesel fuel consumption. That s the main reason Norfolk Southern devel- 5

23 oped LEADER, an acronym for Locomotive Engineer Assist/Display Event Recorder. This technology enables an engineer to operate a train efficiently. According to NS, the technology is earning its keep. Locomotives are consuming 5% less fuel on road trips. That translates to 10 million gallons in That year, NS locos consumed more than 479 million gallons at a cost 1.4 billion dollars. Think about it folks, some countries don t make that much money in goods and services per fiscal year. Caring Committee Report By Bonnie Molinary September--Gary Gray was in hospital with blood clots, and Louis Newton had surgery. October Kathy Overholser s mother passed away, and Steve and Phyllis Smith have a new baby. November--Louis Newton is at the Pheasant Ridge Nursing and Rehab Center, and will go to the Pheasant Ridge Village to live when released. Gary Wood had stints put in recently. Eddie Mooneyham s Grandmother passed away. Norris Deyerle had a stint put in and will have by-pass surgery in December. Board Summary; Sept. - Oct. by Jeff Sanders Membership stands at 193. Chapter rosters have now been distributed either in person at the General Meeting or via mail. Membership Chairman & EBT, Walt Alexander, is preparing a job description and responsibilities for future Membership Chairman and EBT. Treasurer s report is available to any member upon request. Mechanical Committee Chairman Gary Gray reports the wooden box car project is proceeding well. Chris Slate has finished building the windows for the car and they have been test fit. The interior tear down of the 1489 is complete. The floor has been removed, as well as the luggage racks and the center panels of the ceiling. Mike Voiland and Dave Johnson have been looking at the roof to track down the remaining leaks. The interior components for the brake cylinders on GP have now been reconditioned and are ready to reinstall. We need 8 two way check valves, which should be on hand by 9/19/2014. Thanks to Graham-White, in Salem, for donation of these items! We are considering bringing our coach No. 537 home from Chattanooga. We have requested quotes from Bob Willets and Charlie Polling for work on the 1148 and 1489 and possibly the 512. We are examining the 1148 do determine the possibility of returning it to service as a commissary. We operated at VMT during the Grandparents Day event Saturday, the 14th We have drafted a letter to the city regarding repairs to the 9th street crossing while the 9th Street Bridge is out of service. National Representative Carl Jensen reported on the new Business Plan for the National NRHS. It is scheduled to be presented on 9/12/2014 and the Board will vote on the plan on 9/20/2014. Any changes to the bylaws would need to be ratified by the Membership, which likely requires 60 days of notice. If so, that would require the National Meeting to be held on 11/20/2014 or later, which is after the first meeting under the new Board of Directors. The Board authorized Carl Jensen, as our National Representative, to represent the Chapter s best interests before the National Railway Historical Society board in regards to any proposed reorganization and support that the newly elected Officers and Members of the National Board be seated prior to any organizational changes. We also maintained the current Chapter 6

24 Membership dues structure for all classes of membership for the year No update on the January National board meeting that is to be held in Roanoke. We have an agreement with the Hotel Roanoke that there will be no contract signed until October Virginian Station work proceeded with the pre-bid conference held at the Virginian Station on Thursday. Bids are due on September 18th and Jim projects that it will take up to 60 days to get the bids approved and the contract signed. After the bids were opened, the low bid presented was accepted by the Board, and awaits approval by the City and VDOT. Nominating committee made up of Skip Salmon (chair), Andrew McArthur, Walt Alexander are working to secure volunteers for the open Board seats. Terms expire for Lewis Foster, Ken Miller, Landon Gregory, and Eddie Mooneyham. Lewis and Ken will run for another term on the Board. Landon and Eddie will not be running again. In early September, we received payment from TVRM for use of coach 537. Also, TVRM indicated they did not need use of the car in the foreseeable future. We will request to have 537 returned to Roanoke. GP continues to have air work done. After receiving bids for work on 1148 and 1489, we will decide our priorities and move forward with maintenance and repairs. A meeting with City Transportation Manager Mark Jamison worked out details of our proposal to replace the crossing while the City s work on 9th St. bridge has the road closed to traffic. We will give train rides to the Railroad Museum of PA bus trip on September 14th. They will pass through town on their way home on Sunday the 19th and will visit 9th Street. Our crew also switched the VMT yard to prepare for the Amtrak Exhibit Train to be on display September 13&14. We ll then re-switch the yard to return displays to their proper place. The Board voted to allow NS to use our No. 1407, tool car, to be used (at no cost) to move with ex-n&w Y6a The proposed re-organization of the National was voted down. Newly elected President Al Weber was seated at the same meeting. Roanoke will collect our own dues for National will handle their s. The Chapter continues its convoluted trail to get the Virginian Station completed. Meanwhile, the Nominating Committee announced the slate of nominees who will be running for the four seats on the Board. They are incumbents Ken Miller and Lewis Foster as well as Steve Smith, George Stein, Mike Voiland and Percy Wilkins. The Chapter was nominated by Susan Larkin, of Valley Bank, for the Chamber of Commerce s Small Business Award for nonprofit organizations. While we did not win in our category, we were able to gain exposure among a lot of people and businesses that didn t even know we existed. We were recognized at the Small Business Awards banquet at the Hotel Roanoke on October 2. Donations through companies, such as Kroger and Amazon, are being explored. These allow purchases by people with discount cards (Kroger Plus Cards for example) to have a small percentage of that purchase returned to the non-profit every time are used. More on that later. As of November 20, we have secured supplies for re-building the 9th Street grade crossing. We received about 75 new ties from Koppers (which were left over from an allotment designated for member Peter Lewis Apple Ridge Farm). Thanks to Peter for allowing us to have these! Also, Norfolk Southern has given us enough main line relay ties to cover our needs for the project. 7

25 Thanks for NS help with this important job! Also, thanks to the City of Roanoke for working with us to get this crossing re-done while the 9th Street bridge replacement has the street out of service. The Chapter has been asked to help with refurbishing the Panama Canal Mule at VMT. We helped with the original placement of Mule No. 686 in the 1970s. We will try to help out with this worthy project. It is being spearheaded by the family of J. E. Dorn Thomas, a General Electric employee, who was instrumental in securing the Mule for preservation in Roanoke. Mr. Thomas passed away last July at age 83. For a number of reasons, the Board has decided to reject all of the bids for Phase II of the Virginian Station. Our low bid contractor did not meet VDOT requirements regarding DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) goals. With the remaining bids much too high for us to work with, we have rejected all bids and will work on reducing project costs and re-bid the project next year. Also, we are applying for additional VDOT transportation enhancement grant money to help with the rising costs of completing the job. At our Annual Meeting, Thursday, November 20, we had very unusual results with the election of Directors. There were six individuals running to fill four vacant seats. The person with the highest vote count is assured a director s spot. The next two highest vote counts were the same (tied), therefore they both get a seat on the Board. With one seat still vacant, the next highest two votes were TIED! This left the sixth person out of the running. For the remaining seat, the two tied votes will be decided in a run-off election at our December Dinner Meeting. Please come out to our Christmas Dinner meeting on Thursday, December 18. This is a great time of fellowship for our members. Sometimes there is little time to visit with other members during our monthly meetings. December gives us a more time to enjoy each other. And, of course, this year we will be having the run-off election for the remaining seat on the Board, so please come out and participate. Progress on Boones Mill Depot By Mike Smith We are very happy that the depot is coming to life again. Painting was completed on the north end November 12 and it looks just like it was over 50 years ago when it closed. Come by and take a look. It will be decorated for the Christmas holidays with a big wreath and lights. Fundraiser seeks donations to restore Panama Canal mule locomotive By Chase Gunnoe November 13, 2014, TRAINS News Wire ROANOKE, Va. After arriving at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in 1974, museum members and volunteers are seeking donations for the refurbishing of a unique piece of early 20th century rail infrastructure at the museum. The 1914 General Electric-built Panama Canal mule locomotive No. 686 is in need of a new paint job, museum officials say. The 42-ton locomotive helped aid large container ships through the lock chambers of the Panama Canal in the mid 20th century. The so-called mule locomotives were used for side-to-side braking control in the locks. Only 40 of these unique towing locomotives were produced, which featured 220-volt, 25-cycle motors. This locomotive was brought to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in 1974 thanks to the efforts of J.E. Dorn Thomas, an electric engineer and historian. Once at the museum, volunteers of the 8

26 Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society painted and cosmetically restored the locomotive, honoring the people that participated in the construction and operation of the 48-mile Panama Canal. Today, built-up rust and corrosion has led to a much-needed paint job, prompting a fundraising initiative by the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Jed Thomas, the son of the late J.E. Dorn Thomas, is leading restoration efforts. Thomas and museum volunteers hope to raise enough funds to scrub the locomotive of its built-up corrosion then followed with a historic paint scheme. Additionally, the locomotive s windows are in need of replacement. The first goal is to get the Mule painted and the windows done, then any funds beyond that we would like to use for an exhibit to show what the Mules did and the important work they did, Jed Thomas tells Trains News Wire. For more information on this unique railroad history project, go to Southern Railway 4501 Update Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum s Southern Railway No has been repainted, in black, and is back in service for the first time in many years. It was used on the TVRM Chattanooga area excursions this fall, some double-heading with the No Look for the 4501 to be the Star in Spring excursions under the auspices of Norfolk Southern s 21st Century Steam Program in 2015, with the N&W No. 611 appearing later in the year. 4th Quarter Timetable December 6 and 7 Candy Cane Express, Train rides by Roanoke Chapter at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. www. vmt.org Thursday, December 18 Annual Chapter Holiday Gathering, Calvary Baptist Church. June 14 20, 2015 NRHS National Convention, Rutland, Vermont. Information now available at Convention. Two Books; Two Different Looks L by Dorr Tucker ike many other Roanoke Chapter members this writer has long been captivated by Colorado s Railroads. My first trip West was to La Junta on the famed Super Chief in 1972 (Amtrak train, yet very much a Santa Fe operation). With a passion for the last railroad operated passenger services I had two exciting daylight adventures on the vest pocket streamliner The Rio Grande Zephyr before the end of the decade. In those days, I could care less about the narrow gauge and names such as Rio Grande Southern or Denver & South Park meant little to me. At that time there was a lot going on around Roanoke as the Chapter was on a roll with operations behind 4501, 630 or 722. Several of us always got to the siding at the foot of Tennessee St. in Salem, by 7:30 AM on Saturdays as we were converting our ex- Southern heavyweight coaches to counter sales and open window service. Not long afterward, we acquired a lightweight Wabash coach (now owned by Monticello Railroad Museum) and our ex-gn dinette-dorm that we still own today. With the 1980s came the 611 and so on and so on A cross country journey, with editor, Jim Overholser, in 2011 to ride our former observation lounge 3305 on the Rio Grande Scenic opened some windows of opportunity and, yes, I enjoyed a most illumining ride on the Cumbres & Toltec with my brother in At any rate, when the chance came for a 10 day Colorado tour this past summer with my wife I realized how little I knew about the complex history of Colorado Railroads. 9

27 At that point I turned to Railroads of Colorado published in 2012 by Claude Wiatrowski. Although the generalized text is somewhat of a coffee table rendition the book will please both the general reader and the seasoned rail enthusiast. This volume brought such roads as The Colorado Midland and The Denver, Northwestern & Pacific back to life. If you are going out that way, click on Amazon to purchase your copy. When the book arrives, select the territory you want to cover on your first trip. If you are like me you may end up planning a 3rd or 4th trip, family permitting. One negative note is that Iowa Pacific s (Ed Ellis) Rio Grande Scenic (route of our former observation car 3305) is only mentioned in one sentence. Without doubt, most of our members are captivated by the Virginian Railway. Our friend, Aubrey Wiley from Lynchburg, who is author in residence for the Virginia Museum of Transportation, has published several Virginian booklets over the years. Last year he came out with Virginian Railway Heritage Trail with a forward by senior rail historian Harry W. Bundy and printed by Mid Atlantic Printers in Altavista. The book is an extremely detailed look of various locations on the railway that, for the most part, have never appeared in other publications. Aubrey is to be commended for heading out to Tidewater and West Virginia and digging up unique material that probably would have ended up undiscovered in an attic. I like the rare shot of a C&O E-8 passenger unit in the short lived blue and yellow scheme of 1952 at Page WV on a detour movement. That plus several good shots of the rarely published NYC yard in Charleston including PA Pacific No. 213 just in from Roanoke on No. 3 made the book a must for me. However, speaking of our Star City, a photograph of the Virginian Station on page 39 of the book could be a little misleading. It shows our structure in June 2012 with phase 1 of reconstruction complete except for installation of the Terra Cotta roof. That shot is placed directly above a 1957 photo of the same building. To the uninformed historians of 2250 the appearance is such that only a roof replacement, rather than a complete rebuilding of the structure, was done in the early 21st. Century. In addition the 2001 fire would also be lost in the annals of history. At any rate I m going to ask Santa for at least one of Aubrey s other Virginian books for this Christmas. The entertainingly written Colorado book gives a comprehensive, LOOK, into that states turbulent rail history. The Virginian Heritage Trail book gives a detailed, LOOK, that you will never find in another book. Restoration of 611 in Full Swing Down at Spencer, in the last few weeks, the mechanical team has been working on the superheaters and flexible stay bolt caps. A requirement of 611 s 1472-day inspection is the inspection of over 2,200 flexible staybolts an arduous task for the crew. The engineering and planning of the Preservation Facility to be constructed on the grounds of VMT in Roanoke is underway. Construction plans call for a modern lubritorium type building based on facilities such as built in Williamson and Roanoke. A new rear flue sheet has been made and installed, and the first flues are hoped to be installed before December 1. On Thursday, December 11 The Virginia Museum of Transportation will operate a bus outing to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer to see the work in progress on the 611. The bus will load at VMT between 7 & 7:30 AM with a planned return at 6PM. The cost will be $50 for VMT members and $55 for non- 10

28 members. Price will include a box lunch, admission to the North Carolina museum and a train ride around the museums grounds. Highlights include a tour of the 611 restoration bay and the opportunity to meet members of the mechanical team. Pictures are encouraged! Visit vmt.org to register. Durbin & Greenbrier To Take Over Cass Scenic Rail Operations In an agreement executed recently, the West Virginia Department of Commerceparent of the Department of Natural Resources and the West Virginia State Park system-transferred Cass Scenic Railroad State Park railroad operations to the Elkins-based Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad (DVGR) to take over Cass railroad operations under its existing contract with the SRA. None of the 14 Cass railroad employees will be let go or forced to relocate. The West Virginia Secretary of Commerce said that the reason for the change was due to a one and a half million dollar state subsidy to keep the railroad running at the Cass State Park. John Smith of the DVGR has proposed construction of a 90-mile rail loop, using existing rail grades, to connect Elkins, Durbin, Cass, Tygart Jctn. and Belington. This plan would cost some $24 million, but bring in about $50 million to the local economy according to Smith. Of course, no mention of where the $24 million is to come from. N&W 2156 Update As of this writing, 2156 remains waiting at the gate for the UP to pick her up from St. Louis Museum of Transport. The rumors of why she has not moved continue to circulate but nothing factual has been announced. Factually speaking, NS asked to use the Roanoke Chapter Tool Car 1407 to accompany the 2156 back to Roanoke. That will likely make the 1407 the only N&W head end car to ever operate behind each of the 'big three. It has been reported that the 2156 will move in the first quarter of Governor Announces First Phase of Construction for Roanoke Amtrak On Wednesday November, 12 Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe spoke at the O. Winston Link Museum to announce that construction will commence early next year on a platform to serve Amtrak in Roanoke. The regional passenger route will be extended 52 miles from Lynchburg by The governor proclaimed that bringing passenger service back to Roanoke will be an enormous economic driver for the region and the entire commonwealth. Roanoke is the latest step for Virginia to lead the way as one of the few states in the country to successfully negotiate the addition of new intercity passenger service in a major rail corridor balancing freight and economic development needs with additional intercity passenger rail options. His declaration was certainly music to the ears to many of us who have been advocating this for many years. While it was gratifying to meet the governor it was even better to have a congenial chat with our State Senator, John Edwards, a person many of us run in to from time to time. Senator Edwards is no stranger to rail travel, riding the train to college back in the early 1960 s. He would take No. 18, The Birmingham Special out of Roanoke at 6:37 in the morning heading to Princeton University. While the governor s announcement was more or less expected,the ceremony was well worth attending considering that many of us have been striving for this to come to pass for many years. 11

29 Town Hall Meeting Clarifies Amtrak Service On Monday November 10 state senator John Edwards of Roanoke held a Town Hall meeting at the Link museum updating progress on the future Amtrak service out of Roanoke. Although, our senator couldn t attend the meeting in person due to the special session of The General Assembly he greeted some 75 attending via a brief telephone hook up. Early next year construction will begin on infrastructure work that includes the new underground culvert, a house track and adjacent boarding platform, along with a maintenance facility. The RIP track for maintenance is expected to be located alongside the Transportation Museum while the loading platform will incorporate many of the features of the present rail walk between North Jefferson Street and Park Street. The meeting was highlighted by Jennifer Mitchell, Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and Kevin Page, rail chief operating officer for the department. Several questions from the audience were directed at perfunctory, indirectly related matters such as a bus connection to the Cardinal at Clifton Forge and the like. Kevin Page made a good point in that rail service west of Roanoke should start only after two or three trial years of successful, bus connections in that direction. Both Mitchell and Page stated that a stop in Bedford would be impracticable and defeat the purpose of dependable high speed rail linking Roanoke, Lynchburg and Charlottesville to Washington and New York and beyond. Several Chapter members in the audience attested to this point. While we ll never get a bullet train out of the Star City, reliable service at speeds up to 79 mph will offer new convenience for those heading to the DC area and beyond and in reverse open up the comfort of the slower pace of our region. Mechanical Committee Report T by Lewis Foster he Mechanical Committee has been busy for the past few months. We have made good progress on several projects and are in the planning stage of several more. The wooden box car is coming to a finish, with the window installation completed and the interior painted. There are some final exterior paint details and lettering waiting for good weather. The air brake valves on GP30 No. 522 have been rebuilt and reinstalled, the brake cylinders re-packed, and some worn piping replaced. The air system will be tested in the next few weeks and the engine will be ready to travel to Southern Appalachia Railway Museum for its stay as a guest locomotive. Preliminary work has started on the Devil s Lake (No. 1148) to put the car back into commissary service. This includes testing of the current mechanical systems on the car and planning for necessary upgrades. Plans to convert the dormitory end of the car into additional sales space are also in the works. The Chapter has also operated or assisted with several special events at the Virginia Museum of Transportation this fall. Rides on the Chapter s equipment were provided to a visiting group from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and we switched the museum yard for the visit of the Amtrak exhibit train. Coming up on December 6th and 7th, we will be running train rides as part of VMT s Candy Cane Express event. If you d like to help out, please contact Gary Gray. Volunteers are always welcome at our 12

30 work sessions at the 9th street restoration yard. No special skills are required. If you d like to come by and lend a hand, or just to see what we re working on, contact Gary or Lewis Foster for directions. Photos of our current and past projects are available on the Chapter s Facebook page at Jack Showalter Passes Well known to many Chapter members, Jack Showalter passed away in Charlottesville on November 12. Jack was best known to us as operator of the Allegahany Central out of Intervale just west of Covington. Jack's locomtotives also were the only steam to run the mainline of the Southern in that "steamless summer" of 1980 His operation later began the Western Maryland Scenic, and a few years later operated his two steam locomtoives over Afton Mountain on CSX in the fall of The locomotives and some cars remain stored in Verona, Virginia. Our sympathies to the family. Introduction My name is George Stein and I am running for a seat on the Board of Directors. Some of you may remember me from the later days of the steam program where I was a car host on several trips, though most of my time was spent at the 9th Street siding maintaining our coaches, locomotives and other related equipment. My current job is Chief Engineer of WPXR- TV here in Roanoke. I have held this position for 17 years. I was sidetracked for a number of years by my love of exotic animals, mostly feline. I spent most of my spare time at a wildlife sanctuary down in North Carolina caring for a large variety of cats including lions, tigers, lynx, serval, bobcat, jungle cats and even a small pack of gray wolves. Another interest during this time and even up to the present is rocketry. I design, build and fly a variety of high power rockets, my largest is over 12' tall and weighs over 50 pounds. I still fly when my paying job allows me time to do so. For the last couple of years I have become active again with the chapter, spending 60 to 80 hours a month working on stuff at our 9th Street siding or over at the VMT helping with our rides or as ground crew when moving the museums rail equipment around. So, if I haven t bored you silly yet, I said all that to get to the point of my letter. Our chapter is probably one of the more active chapters in the country with our past involvement with the steam program and our existing stable of in-service and not quite so in-service rail equipment. We have had much on our plate over the years and still could probably use plates with taller sides. Current and upcoming projects including the Virginian Station renovation, the return of the 611 to excursion service and the Belt Line are sure to require much from this chapter. The Board of Directors will have much to consider in the near future. I would very much like to join the board for these upcoming tasks and I ask for your vote. Thank you for your time and consideration. (Editor's note: George submitted this article unsolicited.) Railroad License Plates Harold Hunley suggested a good idea for a future Turntable Times article Railroadrelated personalized license plates. If you re willing, send the Editor what you have on your personalized license plate (like 611 or Railfan or whatever) and in a future issue we ll publish them along with your name. 13

31 From the Archive U by Ken Miller sually I write about something that has been gone for years and probably no thought was given to saving it. Here is a short story about an artifact that could and should have been saved. This story starts with a few facts. December 1906 built wooden business car "Dixie", probably one of the last all wooden double platform business cars to be built, now couple that with the fact that it was built for Henry Rogers for his Tidewater (soon to become Virginian). For most railroads, this oddity was not likely to survive the end of the wooden car era in the 1930s. However, the frugal Virginian kept the car in service, transferring it to MofW as a supply car in 1943, where it soldiered on to almost the end of the Virginian itself. However, fate intervened, and the Kentucky Railway Museum asked the Virginian for a donation of the car in This became only the second (and last) piece of equipment the Virginian saw fit for preservation. The car was probably repainted into Virginian orange and shipped off to Louisville. The years and whoever was the "Dixie's" savior, was not kind. Floods of the Ohio River had the car underwater to the roofline at least once, and she sadly sat outside through all sorts of weather. In October 1986 a chance meeting and discussion with some KRM folks and two VGN fans (Jeff Sanders and myself) from Roanoke lead to an effort to save the car. We visited the car in early December and found the sad sight (below), but we felt it was still saveable. A lot of work, a lot of money and a project begging for corporate sponsorship. Jeff and I tried to rally VGN fans with a letter begging for help and expression of interest (remember no internet in those days). We sent out over 100 letters. Our response? Zero, nothing. After a few months, we said there was no way we could personally sponsor such a project, with no interest or money at VMT or the Chapter. Remember we were operating 611 and expecting 1218 out soon. Then, a glimmer of interest in NS lead us to call KRM about the car. I was told to call back a week later, and was informed that the car had been bulldozed a few days prior, the then-current president of KRM wanted it gone quickly, and he wanted nothing to gum up the works like saving a true artifact. So, the "Dixie" is gone, we were told that the platform hardware was sold to a railroadiana dealer, so it may still exist out there, Jeff and I each carried off a shard of broken clearstory green milk glass and our photos, but the "Dixie" had disappeared into the mud at not quite age 81. A real shame. Kenneth L. Miller Photo 14

32 Phone Numbers For Emergency Notification You may use these telephone numbers to report emergencies or other conditions affecting railroad operations, including trespassers, vandalism, fires, defective equipment, etc. Norfolk Southern CSX Upcoming Meetings/Events Regular Meeting Locations are at the O. Winston Link Museum. December 18 - Holiday Gathering January 6 - Board Meeting January 15 - General Meeting February 3 - Board Meeting February 19 - General Meeting March 3 - Board Meeting March 19 - General Meeting April 7 - Board Meeting April 16 - General Meeting May 5 - Board Meeting May 19 - General Meeting Visit us on the web: Turntable Times is published quarterly monthly as as the newsletter of of the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Inc. Opinions and points of view expressed herein are those of the staff members of and the non-staff Turntable contributors Times and of not the necessarily Turntable reflect Times those and do of not the necessarily members, officers reflect those or directors of the of members, the Chapter. officers Items or directors of interest of should the Chapter. be sent Items to Editor of interest Kenny should Kirkman, be sent 590 Murphy to Editors, Road, P.O. Collinsville, Box 13222, Roanoke, VA VA Editor, Turntable Times Roanoke Chapter NRHS P.O. Box Roanoke, VA Dated Material Please do not delay Return Service Requested

33 WB&A CHAPTER TCA TOY TRAIN SHOW March 14, 2015 SHOW OPENS AT 9:00 AM and ENDS AT 2:00 PM (Opens 8:00 AM to WB&A Members ) At the Annapolis Armory!! 18 Willow Street Annapolis, Maryland Admission: $5.00 Children Under 12, Military, and WB&A Members Admitted Free. THE ONLY TRAIN MEET IN THE ANNAPOLIS AREA THE SHOW WILL BE ADVERTISED FOR THREE DAYS IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS New This Year: National Capitol Trackers O Gauge Modular Layout Directions: Going U.S. 50 East toward Annapolis, take Parole Exit (#23), left onto West Street for ¼ mile, left on Hudson Street, and proceed to the armory. Going US 50 West, take Parole Exit, bear left (away from Jennifer Rd), left on West St. and follow the directions above. All vendors selling repro parts, etc. must have a Certificate of Compliance and display it. Sorry, No refunds detach here PLEASE contact John Buxton at jbrookbuxton@gmail.com OR (410) to reserve your table(s) AND send this reservation form with payment to: Send Reservations to: All Tables: $25.00 each $ Dave Eadie Admission: $5.00 $ 7825 Wintercress Lane Non-WB&A Helper (s): $5.00 Each $ Springfield, VA Total Due: $ Number of WB&A Members Attending (Free Admission) Make check payable to WB&A Chapter and mail reservation, by March 01, 2015, to guarantee a table. Badges and table assignments will be distributed at time of Show. Tables not occupied by 9:30 AM March 14th, 2015 may be resold. No refunds. Name: TCA# WB&A# Address: City: ST: ZIP: Day Tele: Eve Tele: Name of Helper (s) Name of Helper(s) NOTE: Set-up starts Friday afternoon (Mar 13 th ) and at 7:00 AM., Saturday, March 14th, Free coffee & donuts for tableholders 7 AM until 9 AM Saturday. I agree to abide by all rules of the Association, including those of its Divisions, Chapters, and Committees. Signed

34 Courtesy of: Steve Simon [standg] Repaint VS Restore Either repaint or restore is a large labor of love, and potentially can get pricey. 1. For both, a lot of little pieces to remove & replace...and treat steel tabs that hold plates/trim like you were cracking a safe. Bend the least amount possible to remove trim...or they break off. Take pics before you take apart, I was well advised to use an inexpensive plastic desk drawer tray to hold and separate the parts that came off and label. On a repaint, all those brass, copper or nickel pieces you probably will polish, maybe coat. On a restoration, you may want to leave the aged look patina. Matter of choice...bright paint, bright trim. Softer paint, patina on trim. 2. Surface preparation, paint & rust removal, then fixing dents, etc.."body work" done right takes time. You will learn quickly why pro's charge so much. 3. Long time ago I think Classic Toy Trains had a color chart or article for various original toy train colors and the various manufacturer's of rattle cans colors that were the closest match to the original colors for old trains. Great economical way to go for a repaint are those spray cans. I had a pro mentor me on doing a restoration of a couple of "black" steam engines. Restoration far more

35 involved than repaints. Needed compressor, air brush (prices all over the place for good ones). Also had access to a spray booth. Trips to commercial automotive paint shops for 2 part paints, reducers, etc., etc. very pricey. Regarding black...well, the black on an 1835 is different than the black on say a 392. The 1835 is softer, almost satin? Even 384's (restoration) didn't look right unless the gloss was toned down slightly both in the paint itself and after painted. Contemporary std.ga. out of say MTH, colors are very bright and very glossy. For a restoration look, it's an art to get the patina just right. If you see an engine that has original boiler and replaced frame or steam chest, you usually can tell... very hard to match. Especially true for Blue Comet anything. LIONEL changed the blues... Side note:if going for original pieces always try to purchase any passenger cars as sets, not individual cars as hard to match colors due to aging, playwear how they were stored, etc. One side can be different than the other...stored in sunny room? (Or worse yet...basements with dampish walls or way back, coal furnaces). Freight sets have a little more leeway. 4. Rubber stamping...another potential high expense is obtaining the correct stamp (serifs etc. changed) and the correct ink, viscosity and application. Decals and

36 the like are easier, cheaper and in the long run and OK for repaints, not so much for a correct restoration. Then consider correct wiring...plating, chemical content in paint, it doesn't end! Repaints can be fun, best candidates are the "train wrecks" in box lots at the train auctions or the boxes under the tables at train shows. Get them cheap, use rattle cans and run them at shows, kids, grand kids can play with & all enjoy. I Learned it's very challenging to correctly restore toy trains. Correct materials alone can exceed value. I was pleased in the end with the few I did. But decided for me...either stick to repaints or let someone else go to all the trouble to repaint/restore and then I'll buy from them at a nice discount. Chances are too that they've mechanically fixed the motors and wiring as well. Which reminds me... Getting "off the track" (pun unintended) with a "restored/rebuilt" Harley Davidson story. While in the National Guard we had a guy in our unit who belonged to a motorcycle gang. He claimed their favorite time to steal motorcycles was in the Spring. Reasoning was the legal owners would likely have spent the Winter fixing up the engines. In the Fall, they were more likely to have been run hard all Summer.

37 Last note, restore or repaint...should be marked as such on the bottom so the piece is not sold as "original".

38 Volume 44, Number 2 February 2015 Overhead view of a Seaboard Coast Line U36B #1855. It looks like it s been painted recently. It still has the Pulling For You lettering. It was taken in Atlanta, GA around Photo: Ed Locklin Meeting Notice: The regularly scheduled meeting of the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter will be held at St. Thomas Lutheran Church at 4013 Shamrock Drive at 7:30 p.m. Monday night, February 9, The program for tonight s meeting is to be determined. The Board of Directors will not meet this month.

39 2 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 FROM THE POINT T he President s M essage Hello everyone, Please make plans to join us for the February chapter meeting at St. Thomas on Shamrock Drive on Monday February 9th. We have several activities we are putting together. Join us and share your thoughts and suggestions. At the January board of directors meeting, the board voted to continue our association with NRHS national until November of We felt like national is making some positive strides in trying to get its house in order, so we will see how this works out. See you on the 9th. Jim SCHEDULES Monthly Meeting Piedmont Carolinas Chapter NRHS Monday February 9, 2015 St. Thomas Lutheran Church on Shamrock Dr.. Business: Discussions on Field trip on the old Norfolk Southern RR from uptown Charlotte to Robins, with visit to the RR Museum in Oakboro. Field trip on the old Piedmont & Northern RR from uptown Charlotte to Mt. Holly & Gastonia. (These items still open TBD) Discussions on status Chapter as passed the Board meeting in January. Snacks provided. Program: Video Night. We will have several to select from, if you have one to share, bring it on. We will discuss what to do at the March meeting. Have ideas, travel to February meeting. March meeting TBD date & location A big THANKS to Chris Allen and Jim Lockman for bringing back some memories on the restoration of Trolley #85 Next Board meeting: March 16 th at the Park Place Restaurant. Virgil Hurley

40 3 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 Piedmont Carolinas Chapter - NRHS Board Meeting January 19, 2015 Location: Park Place Restaurant, 5:30pm Members Present: Jim Gregory, Jim McBryde, John Green, Darrell Wilson, Virgil Hurley, Gerald Robinson, Lindsay Abee Treasurer s Report: Please come to the regular chapter meeting for this information. Old Business: None New Business: Gerald Robinson motioned for the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter to remain associated with the National Railway Historical Society thru November 2015 pending further review as information becomes available from National. Jim McBryde made the second and the motion was passed. Virgil Hurley motioned for a $ donation to St. Thomas Lutheran Church. Jim Gregory made the second and the motion was passed. Jim McBryde motioned for Richard Shulby to be the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter National Representative for the remainder of Gerald Robinson made the second and the motion Was passed. John Green motioned for the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter to pay a one time payment of $ to Richard Shulby for 2014 expenses with letter advising that all future requests must be submitted in advance for approval. Darrell Wilson made the second and the motion was passed. Lindsay Abee Secretary Piedmont Carolinas Chapter

41 4 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 Asheville could take bus to Salisbury to get to train The city's first regularly scheduled passenger rail service since 1975 might actually be by bus. Amtrak is studying establishing a dedicated bus service as soon as 2016 to carry passengers between Asheville and Salisbury, where passengers could connect with trains serving several other Piedmont cities and possibly points as far north as Boston. The service would give travelers to and from Asheville and seven other communities along the bus route access to train travel in the relatively near future in the hope of building enough ridership to eventually justify passenger trains on the railroad line between Asheville and Salisbury, said Paul Worley, head of the state Department of Transportation's Rail Division. Local and state officials and would-be rail passengers have pushed for establishing rail service to Asheville for more than 10 years but not much has happened besides renovation of train depots along the route. The city and state bought property in Biltmore Village in 2005 as a site for a future station, which has not been built. The effort to establish bus service may have a similar outcome. Worley said DOT does not have any money to allocate to the service, so the study would probably have to indicate that bus service would break even before Amtrak or the state would establish it. "We just don't have the cash" to significantly subsidize the route, Worley said. The state's draft long-range rail plan calls for establishing rail service between Asheville and Salisbury sometime between 2020 and 2035 at an initial cost of $405.3 million. The figure includes track improvements to allow for higher train speeds. A 2001 study put the cost of starting rail service at $135 million. Worley said more study would be required to get a reliable estimate of the current cost. Poll: Do you support a bus service from Asheville to Salisbury to connect with trains? The lure of rail Amtrak ridership has set records almost annually since 2003, a trend some transportation planners say reflects an increased interest in public transportation in general in the United States. The national passenger railroad carried 30.9 million passengers in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Growth slowed in FY 2014, however, with passenger traffic up only 0.2 percent from the year before. Amtrak attributed that to a harsh winter that meant trains sometimes did not run and congestion on the tracks that affected on-time performance. Amtrak now covers 93 percent of its costs through ticket sales and other revenue. Routes in its Northeast Corridor have seen growth while many long-distance routes serving more rural areas of the country have seen declines. Passenger boardings of trains in North Carolina rose 93.3 percent from , state DOT says, while population statewide increased 20.1 percent. Most of the population growth was in metropolitan areas, many of which already have Amtrak service. Asheville is closer to the Greenville, South Carolina, Amtrak station, but only two trains stop there, the north and south Crescents, and they stop during the night, Worley said. North Carolina doesn't run state-supported trains south of Charlotte, the DOT rail director said. Salisbury sees four Amtrak trains in each direction daily.

42 5 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 Amtrak's Piedmont trains run twice a day in each direction between Raleigh and Charlotte. The Carolinian runs once a day each way between Charlotte and New York and The Crescent passes through Greensboro, Salisbury and Charlotte on its route between New York and New Orleans, although its North Carolina stops are in the middle of the night. The state pays Amtrak about $5.25 million a year to operate the Piedmont and Carolinian. DOT's draft rail plan calls for adding two more trains daily between Raleigh and Charlotte over the next five years. Amtrak offers connecting bus service, called Thruway Motor Coach Service, to bring passengers to and from several trains arou nd the country. It initiated two Thruway routes in eastern North Carolina in 2012, one between Wilson and Morehead City, the other between Wilson and Wilmington. Those bus routes, which connect with trains running between New York and Savannah, Georgia, carried 14,206 passengers from December 2013 to November 2014, Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said. The routes are "seen as an opportunity for near-term connectivity as well as building service," Worley said. An Amtrak study to determine how many people might take a Thruway bus between Asheville and Salisbury should be completed in late March, Worley said. The route likely would include stops in Black Mountain, Old Fort, Marion and other communities between the two cities. He said the buses typically offer "a pretty nice coach experience" similar to chartered buses. They would run along Interstate 40 from Asheville east to Statesville, then veer off a bit to the southeast to Salisbury. The quality of the services varies around the country, but they are typically a cut above a typical inter-city bus service, said Sean Jeans-Gail, vice president of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. "That's the way you start building ridership," Worley said. "If you can't deliver rail, what's the next best thing?" The slow route? A key question for the study will be where riders who might take a Thruway bus want to go, Worley said. With current schedules, connections are likely to be best in the Charlotte-Greensboro-Raleigh corridor, he said. Train travel between Salisbury and Raleigh now takes about two and a half hours and roughly 45 minutes for a trip between Salisbury and Charlotte, Amtrak timetables say. Tacking on a bus ride of at least 130 miles to or from Asheville means a trip to Raleigh or Charlotte by bus and train would take longer than driving Raleigh is about a four hour drive and Charlotte takes about two hours but leave a traveler free to work or just look out the window during the trip. Whether that is enough of an incentive to get people to take a bus and train instead of their own car is a question Worley hopes the study will answer. Jeans-Gail said he could think of at least three instances around the country in which Thruway bus service eventually led to expanded rail service. He said his organization would prefer that Amtrak get money to significantly expand rail service, but Thruway service offers a way around a shortage of funds to do that. "With the way the investment picture is in the United States and Congress and the states really struggling to find additional sources of revenue, it really makes sense in the short term," he said. Worley estimated that if tracks between Asheville and Salisbury are improved, a train trip between the two cities would take just more than three hours, including stops in between. There is a good chance that bus service would actually be faster, he said. Freight trains must slow almost to a crawl to ascend or descend the winding rail grade between Old Fort and Ridgecrest that includes turn after turn and several tunnels. "That's quite a trip," Worley said. "It's both beautiful and neat to take. On the other hand, it takes a long time." Marla Tambellini, spokeswoman at the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the vast majority of tourists visiting Asheville get here by car and it is difficult to say how many people would be interested in coming by bus or train. "Obviously there's a great legacy of train travel into the Asheville area. We can really attribute some of Asheville's success as a destination to back in the 1880s when trains started coming," she said. Passenger service to Asheville ceased in One potential customer is city resident Linda Schlensker, a dance teacher whose job takes her to cities around the country.

43 6 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 She has vision issues and does not drive. She said she has not had good experiences with inter-city bus travel and dislikes flying because the carbon footprint of airliners is so significant. Taking the train might be more convenient and environmentally friendly, Schlensker said. "I would definitely try it a few times," she said. "Not driving, I'm open to anything." Rail improvements between Andrews and Murphy possible A proposed draft rail plan for the state calls for spending $16.4 million to renovate roughly 15 miles of rail line between Andrews and Murphy sometime between 2021 and The state Department of Transportation owns the line, which a local railroad official said has not been used since the late 1990s. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad once operated occasional scenic excursion trains on the line, but abandoned it because ridership was low, said Kim Albritton, vice president and general manager. The railroad owns the track between Dillsboro and Andrews and offers excursion trains in Jackson and Macon counties. The railroad has been discussing track restoration in Cherokee County with DOT in connection with an industrial prospect that was considering locating a manufacturing plant in an empty plant building in Marble, between Andrews and Murphy, Albritton said. Great Smoky does not now operate freight trains because of lack of demand, but, "We'd very much like to be a freight hauler," she said. However, Albritton said the manufacturing prospect did not materialize and there would not be enough passenger traffic on the route to justify the railroad paying for revitalization. Ties and trestles on the line need replacement, she said. If the railroad did operate excursion trains on the track, which mostly passes through farmland, the schedule would probably be limited to special events or weekends, she said. The rail plan is scheduled to be adopted sometime in Carrying out its provisions would be dependent on the availability of funding. From Citizens Times, " CSX to start crossover construction project in North Carolina Later this month, CSX Transportation will begin a series of projects aimed at constructing universal crossovers on its A-line in three eastern North Carolina locations. To be conducted in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the projects target crossovers in Enfield, Rocky Mount and South Weldon. Work will include grading, drainage improvements, and track and signal construction. The crossovers will enable trains to cross from one track to another regardless of direction, allowing freight and passenger trains to operate more fluidly on the line, NCDOT officials said in a press release. Three Amtrak trains operate on the section of the A- line, which runs north to Richmond and south through Fayetteville to Florida. The $12.5 million project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Construction work will be performed by CSX and is slated for completion by early From Rail News, '

44 7 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015

45 8 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015

46 9 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 Raleigh s Union Station will cost extra $16 million or face major cuts The city of Raleigh may spend an additional $16 million on the first phase of Union Station, bringing the cost of the Amtrak station and transit hub to $84 million. Increasing property values and unanticipated utility costs have driven up the price of the station, which was scheduled to begin construction this March on the west side of downtown Raleigh. If the Raleigh City Council decides not to allocate extra money, the city could be forced to eliminate elements now in the project s master plan. The changes could include postponing plans for a public plaza, cutting most of the space planned for private leasing, and stopping efforts to pursue a green building certification, according to city staff. We are now in a position where we understand a lot better where we are, said City Manager Ruffin Hall. The current plan includes a sweeping A rendering shows the front entrance to Raleigh Union Station. A proposal would include restaurants and other retail and commercial spaces

47 10 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 renovation of the old Dillon Supply Viaduct building in downtown s warehouse district. It could provide for restaurants, shops and a civic plaza. The project would replace a cramped Amtrak station on Cabarrus Street and eventually serve both trains and buses. A light-rail station could follow two blocks north as part of a Triangle transit plan. The council discussed the changes Tuesday morning at a work session. Staff members have prepared four options for extra funding, from $75 million to $84 million. The most costly option preserves all of the master plan. The least expensive choices would eliminate a plan to enclose the station s concourse. At the original $68 million cost, the plan now would have to include an at-grade crossing, where cars directly cross rails, according to city staff. This does not meet the goals of our funding partners, and may very well make the project not move forward, said Assistant Manager Roberta Fox, referring to the do-nothing option. The city s current contribution to the construction is $5.75 million. Raleigh would have to pick up all of the new costs under discussion, according to staff. Raleigh architect Steve Schuster has led design of the building and its 4.3-acre lot. Flexible foundation The project s planners said the station would be a flexible foundation for future transit possibilities as well as an answer to immediate needs. As modes come, we think this building is set up with its connectivity to be able to allow those things to happen, Schuster said. In the short term, we think it needs to be a great public facility, a great transit facility. Council members were concerned that the station wouldn t address Raleigh s long-term needs, such as the eventual possibility of light regional rail and high-speed rail. Should we be building this facility to be a mid-term solution, or should we see this as the ultimate long-term solution? asked council member Russ Stephenson. Council member Kay Crowder asked if the city should review whether the station project needs to be as large as envisioned by the master plan. Do we need to build something to this scale? Crowder asked. Or should we be looking at something maybe a step back? Are we really looking at the last one we re going to build? Still, the extra spending seemed to have strong council support. Council member John Odom said he was amenable to the most expensive option. We need to move forward, he said. The city of Raleigh s moving fast, and we need great opportunities. Key to city s development Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin said a renovated train station would be key to the city s ongoing development. Councilman Eugene Weeks sided with Odom s support, calling the current Amtrak station an embarrassment, and councilman Bonner Gaylord said similar investments in Raleigh-Durham International Airport have been worthwhile. Council member Wayne Maiorano called for more analysis of the three more expensive options. Stephenson later said he supported full funding of the project. Mayor Nancy McFarlane said a reduction in the retail space, as some options propose, would mean less rent money for the city. The council didn t take a binding vote. Hall said staff would return in the near future with more details and recommendations. The city also is considering building a bus station on one of several lots north of Union Station. One possibility is to sell the air rights above such a bus facility, allowing a private developer to build atop it. Eventually, a circulator bus could connect the station with the Moore Square Transit Station on the east side of downtown. From & NewsObserver.com, "

48 11 PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER NRHS FEBRUARY 2015 OFFICERS FOR 2015, PIEDMONT CAROLINAS CHAPTER, INC. NRHS ELECTED: PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT SECRETARY TREASURER HISTORIAN MEMBERSHIP CHAIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS: VIRGIL HURLEY JIM GR EGOR Y LINDSAY C. ABEE JIM McBRY DE VIRGIL HURLEY LINDSAY ABEE GERALD ROBINSON DARRELL W ILSON JIM GREGORY GERALD ROBINSON JOHN GR EEN JIM McBRY DE NOTES FROM THE EDITOR : Pertinent information in any form (newspaper article, trade news items, etc.) is welcome from our membership. If you have anything that you feel might be of interest to the general membership, please send it to me. My address is: Edwin C. Locklin, Balbriggan Ct., Charlotte, NC Remember, the Piedmont Flyer is YOUR newsletter. What gets printed is limited to what we receive. Because of the volume we sometimes get, everything doesn't get printed right away. Please don't mark the front of anything you send since we sometimes copy directly from the article. Also, please write the news-media source name and date on the back if it isn't already on the front. This is to accurately list credits. The Piedmont Flyer is published monthly by the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter, Inc., an affiliate of the National Railway Historical Society. The views presented herein are those of the contributors and are not necessarily those of the Chapter or the NRHS. Permission for use of information or quotations from this publication is granted provided proper credit is given. Subscriptions for non-members are $15 per year, payable to the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter, P.O. Box 11753, Charlotte, NC Contributions and exchange newsletter are welcome and must be sent to the Editor s address listed below. EDITOR: Edwin C. Locklin, Balbriggan Court, Charlotte, NC CONTRIBUTORS: Jim McBryde, Virgil Hurley, Lindsay Abee, Citizens Times, Rail News, Neil Moran and News Observer. DEADLINE FOR MARCH ISSUE: February 22, 2015.

49 NORTH meets SOUTH Great Train Show & Sale Presented by VTC & WB&A Open to the Public Saturday, May 9, :00 AM To 5:00 PM Admission: $5 (FREE Active Military (w/id) & Children Under 12) Eagles Lodge 21 Cool Spring Road, Fredericksburg, VA Plenty of fun for the whole family including: Trains for sale including Lionel, MTH, K Line, American Flyer, etc. G, O, S, HO, N, Standard & Z Gauge (old and new) (subject to change). Operating Train Layouts; Train Races (for children); Lego Display; Train Repairs & Parts; Free Train Appraisals; Prize Drawing(s); Snack Counter and Free Parking; NOTE: 6 am. Saturday, May 9, 2015 for set up of your table (possible set up Friday from 12 5 call Russell (leave message if no answer) on or after May 6to see if possible). **********************************************Detach Here********************************************** Make check payable for VTC to VTC and/or for WB&A to WB&A Chapter. Mail reservation, by April 25, Badge/s will be provided at the show. Tables not occupied by 9:30 AM may be resold. All vendor sellers of reproduction parts must have a Certificate of Compliance (and must be displayed). No refunds given. VTC Send Reservations to: Russell Youens 2019 Floyd Avenue Richmond, VA Phone: ; jryouens@verizon.net WB&A Send Reservations to: Colleen Hall 474 Cherokee Run Road Linden, VA Phone: ; memberwba@gmail.com # of Member Tables x $25.00 (per table) = # of Non Member Tables x $30.00 (per table) = Admission: $5.00 $ (VTC & WB&A) Helper(s): $5.00 Each $ Grand Total Due: $ # of Member Tables x $25.00 (per table) = # of Non Member Tables x $30.00 (per table) = Admission: $5.00 $ (VTC & WB&A) Helper(s): $5.00 Each $ Grand Total Due: $ Name: VTC# WB&A# Address: City: STATE: ZIP: Day Tele: ( ) Eve Tele: ( ) E Name of Helper(s): I agree to abide by all rules of the VTC and/or the WB&A that may be in place from time to time. Signed Date:

50 HARRISBURG RAIL REVIEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE HARRISBURG CHAPTER, NRHS, INC. 637 WALNUT STREET, HARRISBURG, PA VOLUME 56, NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2015 C. L. Chick Siebert, Jr Harrisburg Chapter and NRHS national lost a pioneer member when Chick Siebert passed away on January 16. Chick had just celebrated his 99 th birthday four days earlier with his family in West Chester, where he lived with one of his two sons. Chick joined the Hub Chapter NRHS (now Boston Chapter) in 1940 and the Hbg Chapter in 1959, when it was formed. That made him a 75-year NRHS member and one of only two known living charter members of the Hbg Chapter (the other being Harolld Stahle). Chick graduated from what is now Penn State and, prior to World War II, was employed as an engineer with General Electric in MA. He was a captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, serving for five years in World War II. He was then employed by the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board (now Dept. of Environmental Protection) and retired after 32 years of state service. He was involved with many groups during his lifetime, among them the Boy Scouts, where he was an Eagle Scout himself. Known for his interest in electric traction, he was author of several books in this field (ex. Valley Railways) and received the Master Model Railroader award of the NMRA and a number of awards from the East Penn Traction Club of Philadelphia for his scale models of trolleys. A memorial service will be held at New Covenant Fellowship, 4500 Creekview Road, Mechanicsburg on January 31 at 11 am. Memorial contributions may be made to his church or any charity. Our sympathies go out to the family. JANUARY 13 MEETING MINUTES: 1 An overflow crowd of 72 chapter members and four guests attended the January 13 meeting, called to order at 7 pm. Fred Wertz reported NRHS renewals to date were 68% at the chapter level and 36% at the national level. Dan Nettling has agreed to take over the chores of the Harris Tower telephone line. The chapter received Bob Lyter s final treasurer s report. President Smith and all in attendance thanked Bob for his service to our chapter and NRHS three years as chapter president and five years as treasurer. The minutes of the 12/9 meeting were accepted. John Smith honored the passing of chapter friend Lynn Lightner, who helped us get the Fairmont trailer and PRR milepost and whistle signs. NRHS District 2 Director Mark Eyer attended the recent NRHS board meeting in Roanoke VA. Per Mark, renewals are 50% online and 50% the traditional way by check. The NRHS newsletter and bulletin will henceforth be distributed on line only. Chapter members without Internet access should see Mark to obtain a printed copy. NRHS made a profit on its 2014 convention. Mark encouraged members to consider attending the 2015 convention in VT. The next Harris Tower work day is set for February 14. Mark Irvin reminded us the chapter s train show is March 14. Plan to attend, and spread the word! The business meeting was adjourned at 7:24 pm. Steve Runkle, assisted by his spouse Janeann, provided our program. Steve is an avid historian and is a frequent speaker on behalf of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Steve shared with us the story of Joller, a small lumbering and coal mining village served from 1916 until the mid 1950 s by the East Broad Top Rail Road. His detailed knowledge of Joller, its industries and its people illustrated the interdependence between a community and the railroad that moved its products to market and brought it life s necessities. Steve s presentation included a display of mining paraphernalia and pictures of the mines, homes and the railroad. Steve s family lived the history of Joller, as his family founded and owned the industries and the village for many years until the mid 1950 s. The name Joller is in fact a contraction of the name John Miller, the village s founder and Steve s great grandfather. Today, there is little left of Joller, but Steve brings its past to life through his memories and his program. We thank him for his time with us, and we hope he will entertain us again with one of his other well-researched programs. Sam Wilder, Secretary

51 NEXT MEETING FEBUARY 10, :00 PM HOSS S STEAK & SEAHOUSE ENOLA NEXT MEETING AND CHAPTER NEWS: The meeting in February will be held on the 10th at Hoss s Steak and Seahouse, 743 Wertzville Road, Enola. Take Exit 61 (Wertzville Road) off I-81 and go east on Wertzville Road for 1.8 miles. The restaurant is on the left, across from CVS Pharmacy. Dinner is available to everyone, or you can attend just the meeting at 7 pm. Diners should be there no later than 6 pm. As part of Hoss s Community Night Program, anyone eating prior to the meeting (or any time that day!) should tell the server that he/she is with the NRHS train group, whether or not you eat in the meeting room. Hoss's will donate 20% of the total amount back to us. Also, in order to speed up service, place your meal order at the register when you come in. Please pay your tab before the meeting and tip your waitstaff accordingly. The program for February is the multi-media show Railroads in Lake Superior Area, presented by Rob Kitchen. Rob formerly worked for CSX Transportation (C&O) in West Virginia and the Rock Island Railroad in the Chicago, IL area and at Silvis, IL, where he assisted in the final shutdown......the next work day at Harris Tower is on 2/14 from 9 to 5... A heartfelt thanks to these members who included a donation with their dues: David and Sandra Drayer, Bill and Mary Fry, Charles and Josie Gress, Carl Nagode, Bob and Sharon Parks, Dale Secker, Jonathan and Janice Sheetz, John Smith, Ed Todd... Remember, meeting cancellations, if any, will be recorded on the Harris answering machine ( ) and given to WHP-21. The deadline for 2015 chapter dues payments is February 28. For those that are unpaid, this will be your last issue of the newsletter. If you see a red circle on the address label of your mailed HRR, we have no record of your chapter dues payment. Those recipients of the electronic HRR who have not paid will receive a separate ed notice of dues needed. If we have erred, please let us know at the address below. If you did not get a 2015 chapter dues notice, let Fred Wertz know. Dues should be sent by check payable to Harrisburg Chapter NRHS to Fred Wertz, 2467 Little Buffalo Road, Newport, PA Dues are $12 for NRHS chapter or $25 for FHT dues, plus $2 for each family member plus optional USPS mail delivery for an additional $10... For 2 NRHS members, don t forget your national dues. Follow the instructions on the letter you received, and try to pay by PayPal or credit card on the nrhs.com website. Your membership number is on your 2014 membership card. If you do not have it, contact Fred Wertz via . It does not seem that there will be national membership cards this year. Mark Irvin is looking for volunteers to help at the Train Show on March 14. Help is requested for security and unloading vendors early in the morning and afterward at 3 pm. Also, tables need to be set up Friday afternoon. Contact Mark for more information. He will have a sign-up sheet at the next two meetings. At the show, Jim Leonard, a director of the East Pennsboro Historical Society, will give a digital program on the Enola train yards This will be an in depth, 40-minute program covering yard operations of the PRR, Penn Central, Conrail and Norfolk Southern and their respective steam, electric, and diesel motive power. Leonard s talk will start at 11 am. ALTOONA AREA HAPPENINGS: Curry Rail Services is a relatively new railroad and structural steel fabricating industry in Hollidaysburg, PA, occupying the west half of what was once the Hollidaysburg Car Shop (Sam Rea Shop in PRR times). A division of Curry Supply Co. of Currysville, the business is expanding significantly into the railroad arena. The company has been manufacturing locomotive cabs for Norfolk Southern and shortline railroads and has just taken delivery on a collision-damaged Union Pacific locomotive (UP 5699, C44ACCTE) with severe left side, side-swipe collision damage, which Curry will rebuild. Off-loaded from railcar delivery on 11/10/14 by Saylor & Sons crane service of Altoona, work will begin to restructure the car body and a damaged fuel tank while trucks and traction motor repair will be done by NS in Altoona. In addition to collision damage, the locomotive sustained topical fire damage from the punctured fuel tank. Arriving on the property soon will be a shipment of approximately 160 freight cars from Progressive Rail for rebuild. To get to the shop, track connections have been restored with NS on the north side of the car shop (aka DeGol Industrial Center) and with the Everett Railroad Company on the south side. This is truly an example of history repeating itself on this property formerly occupied by Hollidaysburg Car Shop. Another Curry/railroad connection has the cab of ex- PRR Class I-1 steam locomotive No. 4679, formerly owned by Les Schaefer of Altoona, on the property at Curry Rail. Les used the cab as an attachment to a shed in his yard, which housed his one-inch scale train that circled the yard. Altoona s Railroaders Memorial Museum gained occupancy of its new roundhouse and moved selected pieces of rolling stock inside to stave off the effects of another winter outdoors: GG (built in Altoona, 1942); the Loretto, former private, mid-train Pullman owned by steel magnate Charles M. Schwab; the Mountain View, (ex-prr observa-

52 tion lounge from the famed Broadway Limited); industrial shifter steam engine Nancy, formerly from Berwind Car Shops, Hollidaysburg; and the tender for K-4 No. 1361, which is complete except for painting (both items above, Horseshoe Curve Chapter Coal Bucket). The first emissions-friendly locomotives funded by the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program have been released for road testing by Norfolk Southern from its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona. The first two GP33ECO switching locomotives of a total 25 partially funded by CMAQ for production sport a distinctive paint scheme that reflects their environmentallyfriendly mission. After in-service testing in the Altoona area, they will be permanently assigned to their respective grant award areas of Chicago and Atlanta (Pioneer). SHORT HOPS: In preparation for the pending sale of the CP (ex- D&H) Sunbury-to-Schenectady line, all non-railroad-owned railroad equipment on the property had to be moved off the CP or be included in the sale. The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society (an NRHS Chapter) is responsible for several pieces of equipment stored off the main line but on CP property at Cooperstown Junction, NY. Included are two derelict GG1s, ex-amtrak Nos and You may remember the news years ago of 4932 being sold to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, but it has not moved there so far. On 11/23, the Society took its operating railroad Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Alco S down to the Junction and successfully moved the equipment off CP property (Feedwater Heater).... Dan Cupper spotted MBTA (Boston) engine 2023 in Enola on 1/26. Diesel rosters lists it as an HSP-46 built by Motive Power International. A railroad engine that was a familiar sight in the Towanda area over the past several decades will now have a new home: the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. Joe Zadrusky of Scranton said he is donating ex-canton Railroad SW1 #26 (painted in Lehigh Valley-like maroon) to the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, which will house the engine at Steamtown. Zadrusky, a former owner and operator of the Towanda-Monroeton Shippers Lifeline Railroad, said he used the locomotive from 1979 to 2009 to haul freight on the line between Packer Avenue in Towanda and Monroeton. Debbie Conway, superintendent of Steamtown, explained that the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society has an agreement in place with Steamtown that allows Steamtown to use certain Society owned equipment that is based at Steamtown (Laurel Lines). The Reading & Northern bought the six-mile railroad in The short segment was once part of the Susquehanna & New York Railroad (Trainorders.com). Members of the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project Advisory Board are making progress in its effort to 3 provide real input and direction for a proposed new Amtrak bridge. The Board was formed by the Havre de Grace, MD, mayor and city council. While most of the board represents Havre de Grace interests, Perryville also has a seat at the table. Both the board and Amtrak officials have determined the overall impact is not going to be as dire as first feared. The 109-year-old span has reached the end of its usefulness, according to the MDDoT. State and federal officials are looking for ways to fund construction, hoping to begin in To eliminate a bottleneck in the Northeast Corridor, the two-track bridge is being replaced with four tracks. The new bridge would also be higher, eliminating the need for a swing bridge to aid in navigation on the water below. Amtrak is in the midst of an almost $23 million study to determine where the new span will be sited and how it will be routed through the municipalities on both shores of the Susquehanna (Cecil Daily) The Hagerstown Model Railroad Museum will sponsor a model train sale on 2/14 at the Washington County Ag Center, 7313 Sharpsburg Pike, Sharpsburg, MD from 9 to 2. For more, go to antietamstation.com Brookville Equipment in Brookville won a contract to rebuild 16 PCC trolley cars for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Railway Age). Some HRR readers may remember the fine presentation we had in Dec by Adam Mohney, Marketing Specialist for Brookville Equipment Corp. on the company s efforts in locomotive and trolley manufacturing and rebuilding. Amtrak has taken delivery of some of its 70-car order for Viewliner II baggage cars built by CAF in Elmira, NY. Two trains of the cars were pulled by Amtrak engines to Hialeah, FL, but they are not in service yet. The Amtrak single-level, Viewliner II order totals 130 cars, divided into 10 baggage-dorms, 70 baggage, 25 sleepers and 25 diners. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Sleeping cars are configured with 11 roomettes, two bedrooms and one ADA-compliant bedroom. The roomettes will not have toilets, but have two shared restrooms and a shower at one end of the car. The baggage cars will be numbered to Baggage dorms will show as to Each diner ( ) will named after an eastern state capital, while each sleeper ( ) will be named in the River series. Names of note for our area are diner Harrisburg, sleeper Schuylkill River and sleeper Susquehanna River (Railway Age and Passenger Train Journal). Fred Wertz, Editor Eric and Joan Ohstrom, Mailing ************************************************** The Harrisburg Rail Review is published by the Harrisburg Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, 637 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA The Chapter has an answering machine for current events and to receive messages at Membership information may be obtained by writing the chapter, by calling and leaving a request or by logging on to our website listed on the masthead. The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the chapter or its officers. Material from HRR may be reproduced provided credit is given.

53 Twenty Ninth Annual Harrisburg RAILROAD SHOW & COLLECTORS MARKET SATURDAY, MARCH 14, a.m. to 3 p.m. I. W. Abel Union Hall (Steelworkers Union) 200 Gibson Street Steelton, PA Conveniently located 1 mile south of I-83 in Harrisburg. From I-83 N, use exit 44B, then go south on 19 th Street to Gibson. Turn right. From I-83 S, use exit 44B, make a left at stop sign, then left on Paxton St., then right onto 19th St. to Gibson St. Turn right on Gibson. Railroadiana Movies Model Railroad Items Snack Bar Train Layouts Test Track NOTE: HARRIS TOWER WILL BE OPEN THIS DAY. SPONSORED BY THE HARRISBURG CHAPTER, NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. (a non-profit educational organization) Donation at the Door: $5.00 Children under 12: FREE Vendor Information: Date Name Types of items sold Address City State Zip Phone (D) (N) (#) 8 $25.00 each = $ Note: Each table includes two admissions. Make check to Harrisburg Chapter, NRHS. (#) Additional admissions = $ Total Enclosed = $ Wall space Electricity Information and Table Reservations: Mark Irvin, 3814 Leyland Dr., Mechanicsburg, PA Telephone: (For table confirmation, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope.) Website: E/mail address: HarrisburgNRHSTrainShow@gmail.com Harrisburg Chapter NRHS will not be responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items or any accidents of any kind. NOTICE: All vendors are responsible for collecting 6% PA Sales Tax. State law requires that all vendors have a temporary or permanent PA Sales Tax License. The Chapter s Promoters License No. is

54 Hello members of the Eastern Division. My name is Stuart Rankin and I m the President of the Metropolitan Division of TCA (METCA) and the Chairman for the 2015 TCA National Convention. It is this this second hat that I wear which brings me to you today. For the first time in TCA history, the National Convention will be visiting the Big Apple. I want each and every member of the Eastern Division to consider yourself personally invited to attend the 2015 Convention in the New York metro area. This week long event will be unlike any other; there s a reason that New York City is one of the world s most popular destinations. The first half of the week will consist of the best of the best trips and tours. During the week we ll have something for everyone; train related activities including a combination steam train and riverboat cruise, a tour of Grand Central Terminal, a trip to the TCA Headquarters, Museum, and Library in Strasburg PA and more; history related tours such as a visit to the home of FDR with lunch at a restaurant owner by a graduate of the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America, a tour of Sleepy Hollow (yes, of headless horseman fame) and more; military themed tours such as West Point and the aircraft carrier Intrepid; science and technology related tours such as the Cradle of Aviation and the Thomas Alva Edison laboratory and more. Finally what trip to New York wouldn t be complete without the most famous NYC sights; a daytime ride on the Circle Line going completely around Manhattan, a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, or an emotional visit to the 9/11 memorial and museum, and more. In addition to trips and tours, the second half of the week will include the Welcome Party with a decidedly local flavor, the sunset Dinner Cruise along the illuminated Manhattan nighttime skyline, home layout and collection visits (some world class and some more modest), and the concluding Banquet. Not to be left out is the trading hall swap meet. Here s your chance to find that item for your collection from a new/different set of vendors than you normally see at your local meets. We ll also have participation from some of the hobby s leading train manufacturers. The weather in the northeast is particularly nice in June. Although spring will be behind us, typically the hazy, hot and humid dog days of summer haven t begun yet. This really will be a once in a lifetime experience to have a TCA National Convention in such a location. Be prepared to have the time of your life as you put yourself in a New York state of mind. I really hope that I do see you in June For further details and complete descriptions of every trip, tour and event, check out the new permanent TCA convention website at:

55 Hello members of the WB&A Chapter. My name is Stuart Rankin and I m the President of the Metropolitan Division of TCA (METCA) and the Chairman for the 2015 TCA National Convention. It is this this second hat that I wear which brings me to you today. For the first time in TCA history, the National Convention will be visiting the Big Apple. I want each and every member of the WB&A Chapter to consider yourself personally invited to attend the 2015 Convention in the New York metro area. This week long event will be unlike any other; there s a reason that New York City is one of the world s most popular destinations. The first half of the week will consist of the best of the best trips and tours. During the week we ll have something for everyone; train related activities including a combination steam train and riverboat cruise, a tour of Grand Central Terminal, a trip to the TCA Headquarters, Museum, and Library in Strasburg PA and more; history related tours such as a visit to the home of FDR with lunch at a restaurant owner by a graduate of the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America, a tour of Sleepy Hollow (yes, of headless horseman fame) and more; military themed tours such as West Point and the aircraft carrier Intrepid; science and technology related tours such as the Cradle of Aviation and the Thomas Alva Edison laboratory and more. Finally what trip to New York wouldn t be complete without the most famous NYC sights; a daytime ride on the Circle Line going completely around Manhattan, a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, or an emotional visit to the 9/11 memorial and museum, and more. In addition to trips and tours, the second half of the week will include the Welcome Party with a decidedly local flavor, the sunset Dinner Cruise along the illuminated Manhattan nighttime skyline, home layout and collection visits (some world class and some more modest), and the concluding Banquet. Not to be left out is the trading hall swap meet. Here s your chance to find that item for your collection from a new/different set of vendors than you normally see at your local meets. We ll also have participation from some of the hobby s leading train manufacturers. The weather in the northeast is particularly nice in June. Although spring will be behind us, typically the hazy, hot and humid dog days of summer haven t begun yet. This really will be a once in a lifetime experience to have a TCA National Convention in such a location. Be prepared to have the time of your life as you put yourself in a New York state of mind. I really hope that I do see you in June For further details and complete descriptions of every trip, tour and event, check out the new permanent TCA convention website at:

56 YOU ARE INVITED TO OLD CAR AND TRAIN DAY SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22, PM AT THE CLEMENT HOME GARY HILL DR FAIRFAX VA Bring your significant other, kids, parents, and any other train, antique or old car lovers to join in the fun and fellowship of antique trains and old cars. Weather permitting, additional antique cars may join us. New additions to the antique train collection are on display and some trains are under power. Bring show and tell trains, if you like, and we ll try to run them. If you have trains to be repaired, this is a good time to drop them off. A favorite appetizer, finger food or dessert brought for sharing would be gratefully appreciated. DIRECTIONS: Take Route 66 West to Exit 55, VA 286 (old Route 7100) South to Braddock Road. Turn right toward Clifton/Centreville. Turn left at the traffic light onto Colchester Road and go 2.2 miles. Cross Popes Head Road (Church on corner), turn left on Saddlehorn Drive (Through the brick entranceway into Colchester Hunt Village.) Second right is Gary Hill Drive. We are the first house on the left. Alternate route: Take Braddock Road West off the 495 Beltway. Travel west about 15 miles, cross under Fairfax Parkway and turn left at the traffic light onto Colchester Road and continue as above. See you on Train and Old Car Day! Sandy and Clem Clement Ph. (703) C (571) clem.clement@cox.net

57 THIS IS BEAUTIFUL AND I AM HONORED TO HAVE RECEIVED IT. I m sending it on to you! At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believe they will always travel on our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of your life. Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize they vacated their seats. This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells. Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way, love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are. It is important