Larry D. Dodd Vice President and Program Chair Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. The next OMPA Board of Directors meeting will be held Tuesday, August 29

Transcription

1 Terrell to show railroad moves at September 2 ORM meeting Due to a miscommunication, Jim Terrell was out of town for last month's meeting, but he plans to be at the Saturday, September 2 Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) meeting to show his great home movies of rail action, most likely all Santa Fe. Prior to Jim's presentation at 7 pm, we will have a mystery meal on the diner at 6 pm for a donation of $5. This promises to be an entertaining evening and I look forward to seeing everyone at the Museum. In addition; Harry Currie, ORM President, and Drake Rice, ORM Secretary, will discuss the plans for the upcoming "Day Out With Thomas... Come Ride The Rails Tour" event during the meeting on Saturday, September 2. "Day Out With Thomas" is scheduled for two weekends September 29, 30 and October 1 and October 6, 7 and 8. This is a family event that offers aspiring engineers and grownups the unique opportunity to ride with storybook friend Thomas the Tank Engine. We are looking forward to another successful Thomas event this year. They also will give an update to the members on activities at the Museum and plans for celebrating Oklahoma's Centennial. Prior to their presentations, there will be a mystery meal on the diner at 6 pm for a $5 donation. This meeting will give the membership the opportunity to give their input on the events occurring at ORM. Larry D. Dodd Vice President and Program Chair Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. Inside this issue: Museum Update 2 The next OMPA Board of Directors meeting will be held Tuesday, August 29 The Streetcar Conspiracy: How 3 General Motors Deliberately Destroyed Public Transit The President's Column 4 Order Engraved Platform Bricks 7 Surf The Web... The ORM Web site address is: oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. Telephone number is 405/ a.rm Professional Thomas the Tank Engine moves down the ORM tracks in Afiiliate Member of Association of Railway Museums "Advancing Railway Heritage"

2 Museum Update... by Drake Rice, ORM secretary The "Day Out With Thomas 2006: Come Ride The Rails Tour" (DOWT) is coming. Work is ongoing to prepare for this big event for our Museum. As of today, (August 24) over 4,500 tickets have been pre-sold for the event and the sales are staying brisk. It will be an exiting event as it was last time. Work on the diner also continues. The new generator has been started and checked for operations and the new air conditioning unit will be tested shortly. The Centennial Commission has an interiordecorating group decorating the interior to coincide with the state centennial activities. This will allow ORM to have a three car 50's streamliner passenger train pulled by the F-9. A new sound system has been installed at the Oakwood Depot and on the platforms that can be used for normal operations and the DOWT event. This has been needed and was tested on the weekend of August 19th. Some adjustments on the individual speakers need to be made, but now music can be heard throughout the Museum as well as announcements. The Mechanical Department keeps working away at the brake items and getting equipment ready for the sixty (60) trains that will operate during the DOWT event. Recertification of the brake equipment and making ready the F-9 has involved many man-hours and over $8,000 out of the Museum's treasury. But these items are a must to ensure the safe operation of our trains and Thomas guests. As always, there are some projects that could use some help. If you have some time during the week or on weekends, please stop by for a while and help your Museum. Remember, some jobs involve just answering the phone and helping sell items in the Museum Store, in addition to the other jobs that require heavy lifting and other types of work. Also, the Mechanical Department is always looking for persons wanting to become familiar with brake repair w6rk and other types of service that is needed on our equipment. Contact Jim Murray if you have interest in volunteering your time. We hope to see you at the Museum. "Day Out With Thomas 2006" by Drake Rice, ORM Secretary Planning and scheduling for the "Day Out With Thomas 2006 " is under way. Work is proceeding on schedule for this year's event, which is set for September 29, 30, October 1, 6, 7 and 8. The schedule has been approved for the operations, ticket sales are underway and the entertainment has been placed under contract. The marketing plan also has been approved and is under way in the two major Oklahoma market areas, Oklahoma City metro area and the Tulsa Metro area. As noted in the President's article on page 4, we are now in the process of signing up volunteers to help with this wonderful event. We will be asking our model railroad friends to assist with this event as we have in the past. If you would like to have your model railroad group participate in the event, or a member of ORM, please let Harry Currie or Drake Rice know. Harry can be reached at and Drake can be reached at drakerice@cox.net. We look forward to another successful event..... : Museum trains run on first Saturday only in September The Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) offers an excursion train on the first Saturday only in September for the general public : from 10 am until 2 pm. Trains run on the hour starting at 10 am with the last train leaving the historic Oakwood Depot at 2 pm. The Museum itself is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 am to 4 pm and there is no admission charge to tour the grounds. However, trains run only on the first and third Saturdays of the month, except September. Train rides are free for ch ildren under the age of 3, $5 for ch ildren 4 years to 12 years, and $8 for those 13 years and older. In addition to the train ride, various railroad equipment, including motor cars, locomotives and passenger cars, are on display. : A display car contains permanent exhibits of railroad memorabilia. ORM is located in Oklahoma City at 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, just west of 1-35 and south of NE 36th Street.. ~ : The phone number is 405/ or visit the Museum Website: :.... ~...

3 The Streetcar Conspiracy: How General Motors Deliberately Destroyed Public Transit by Bradford Snell The electric streetcar, contrary to Van Wilkin's incredible na ive whitewash, did not die a natural death: General Motors killed it. GM killed it by employing a host of anti-competitive devices which, like National City Lines, debased rail transit and promoted auto sales. This is not about a "plot" hatched by wild-eyed corporate rogues, but rather about a consummate business strategy crafted by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., the MIT-trained genius behind General Motors, to expand auto sales and maximize profits by eliminating streetcars. In 1922, according to GM's own files, Sloan established a special unit within the corporation which was charged, among other things, with the task of replacing America's electric railways with cars, trucks and buses. A year earlier, in 1921, GM lost $65 million, leading Sloan to conclude that the auto market was saturated, that those who desired cars already owned them, and that the only way to increase GM's sales and restore its profitability was by eliminating its principal rival: electric railways. At the time, 90 percent of all trips were by rail, chiefly electric rail; only one in 10 Americans owned an automobile. There were 1,200 separate electric street and interurban railways, a thriving and profitable industry with 44,000 miles of track, 300,000 employees, 15 billion annual passengers, and $1 billion in income. Virtually every city and town in America of more than 2,500 people had its own electric rail system. General Motors sought to reduce competition from electric railways through a variety of measures, including the use of freight leverage. GM, for decades, was the nation's largest shipper of freight over railroads, which controlled some of America's most extensive railways. By wielding freight traffic as a club, GM persuaded railroads to abandon their electric rail subsidiaries. With a pack of notorious mobsters, GM helped purchase and scrap the street railways serving Minneapolis St. Paul. Members of GM's special unit went to, among others, the Southern Pacific, owner of Los Angeles' Pacific Electric, the world's largest interurban, with 1,500 miles of track, reaching 75 miles from San Bernardino, north to San Fernando, and south to Santa Ana; the New York Central, owner of the New York State Railways, 600 miles of street railways and interurban lines in upstate New York; and the New Haven, owner of 1,500 miles of trolley lines in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In each case, by threatening to divert lucrative automobile freight to rival carriers, they persuaded the railroad (according to GM's own files) to convert its electric street cars to motor buses- slow, cramped, foul-smelling vehicles whose inferior performance invariable led riders to purchase automobiles. As the largest depositor in the nation's leading banks, GM also enjoyed financial leverage over the electric railways, which relied heavily on these banks to supply their capital needs. According to U.S. Department of Justice documents, officials of GM visited banks used by railways in Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City and other locations, and, by offering them millions in additional deposits, persuaded their rail clients to convert to motor vehicles. Where these measures were unavailing, GM formed holding companies to buy up and motorize the railways directly. Thus, it helped organize and finance United Cities Motor Transit as a wholly owned GM subsidiary, as well as Greyhound, Rex Finance, Omnibus Corporation, National City Lines, Pacific City Lines, American City Lines, City Coach Lines, Manning Transportation and numerous other concerns, which acquired rail systems across the country, including those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, San Diego and Oakland. With officials of Greyhound and National City, it helped acquire and dismantle the $50 million North Shore Line, the fastest electric service in the world, providing Wisconsin's lakeshore cities and Chicago's northern suburbs highspeed access to the downtown loop. With a pack of notorious mobsters, it helped purchase and scrap the street railways serving Minneapolis-St. Paul Where rail systems could not be bought, GM bought rail officials instead, giving Cadillacs to those who converted to buses. And where rail systems were publicly owned and could not be bought, like the municipal railway of St. Petersburg, Florida, GM bought their officials instead, according to FBI files, providing complimentary Cadillacs to those who converted to buses. GM admitted, in court documents, that by the mid-1950s, its agents had canvassed more than 1,000 electric railways and that,. of these, they had motorized 90 percent, more than 900 systems. Van Wilkins, in his piece, went to considerable lengths to discount GM's role in the death of the American trolley, perfervidly propounding alternative explanations such as "proliferating" autos (this, properly, not the cause but rather the result of the trolley's demise), government road building (inspired, fundamentally, by GM-organized road lobbies), and unsympathetic traffic Bradford Snell Is a former U.S. Senate Counsel. His 1974 report gave national prominence to the General Motors/ National City Lines conspiracy case. His history of GM was published In 2002 by Alfred A. Knopf. Editor's Note: The following article was originally published in "The New Electric Railway Journal" In Autumn In It, Mr. Snell responded to an earlier article by Van Wilkins, who claimed commuter rail lines vanished due to causes other than the conspiracyby GM and other companies to put them out of business. Article continued in next month's Issue.

4 At/Aboard! August 2006 Greetings To All! Harry Currie ORM President My, my, my, the heat has really been on, but the trains have kept rolling at the Museum- thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers. We have had good crowds all summer long, especially on operations Saturdays. The big surprise has been the number of people who come out to check us out. On one non-operating Saturday, we had 50 to 75 people come by just to take a look. Even in the heat, people are always excited about trains. Thanks to the addition of our air-conditioned passenger cars, the public has enjoyed a nice break from the heat and made the cars very popular on our hot Saturday afternoons train rides. Chuck {Shinn) continues to keep the Birthday Parties rolling, with three on August 19th, which kept the staff moving. So if you have someone you would like to engineer a birthday for, keep your Museum in mind. We keep moving forward with the Centennial Commission on projects at the Museum and along the line. As you see in this issue, the city has paid for repairs to the crossing on Grand Boulevard, which with the street upgrade has greatly improved the drive to the Museum. Bob Hussey continues working north of NE 36th Street on repairing and making the track operational. The Museum is providing some materials to make a platform at NE 50th Street, which someday will be the north terminal of the Museum rail operations. With the efforts of the Centennial Commission, we hope to have some demonstration trains to the Bricktown area during the Centennial year of Of course, the big event is our "Day Out With Thomas 2006: Com Ride the Rails Tour" scheduled for September 29, 30 and October 1 and October 6, 7 and 8. We need all the volunteer help we can get from our members and our fellow modelers. The Oklahoma City area rail enthusiasts always work together to make events like this a success for all who attend. ORM appreciates the working relationship we have and would ask anyone volunteering to contact Truman Hefner, who is coordinating our volunteers for the event or Drake Rice. Again, thanks to all who give of their time. See you at the Museum! Have A Great Month! Harry Currie

5 "Thomas The Tank Engine," that classic storybook engine, chugs into ORM for two weekends this year. The dates of the first weekend are September 29, 30 and October 1. The second weekend dates are October 6, 7 and 8. Tickets are $16 for ages two and up. Those under two years of age do not need a ticket and will sit on their parent's lap. For tickets, call or visit oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. In addition to a 25-minute ride with Thomas, there will be a variety of activities including Thomas & Friends "" storytelling and video viewing, live music, Imagination Station, magician, ventriloquist, and arts and crafts. Don't miss this opportunity to spend "Day Out With Thomas 2006 Ride the Rails Tour." =============================================== How To Avoid Train Derailments- Do you know that there are more than 2,200 annual train derailments in the U.S.? One third of these accidents can be attributed to hard-to-find defects in steel railroad tracks. Now researchers at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) have developed a new ultrasonic technology to find defects in these tracks which could help prevent train derailments. This system uses laser beam ultrasonic pulses traveling on the steel rails. Microphones are installed behind the lasers to catch the reflecting waves indicating possible defects. It has already being successfully tested and could be soon used by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The illustration shows how the technology works.- "each laser tap sends ultrasonic waves traveling 1,800 miles per second along the steel rails. Downward facing microphones are positioned a few inches above the rail and 12 inches from the downward pointed laser beam. As the prototype vehicle rolls down the track delivering laser beam taps at one-foot intervals, the microphones detect any telltale reduction in the strength of the ultrasonic signals, pinpointing surface cuts, internal cracks and other defects." let your child have a fun filled event atthe Oklahoma Railway Museum! The following information is about having a Birthday Party at the ORM Museum inside the ) Birthday Caboose. The caboose can be reserved during the months of April- September. l'::~~:;,f The Birthday Party Package is available to the public the third Saturday of the month at the ORM Museum. The cost of the package, which includes a train ride, is $175. The 11/ 2 hour Birthday Party Package includes: * 1 hour use of the Frisco Party Caboose * Engineer paper party hats * Coloring books * Party host or hostess * Guided tour through the Display Car * And, 1/ 2 hour ride on the Museum train for all birthday guests The 2006 Train Ride Party Schedule for the first and third Saturdays of the month at the Museum is as follows: Party1 9 am - 9:15am 9:15am - 9:45am 9:45 am - 10 am 10 am - 10:30 am 10:30 am - 10:45 am Set-up Time Party Time Tour Display Car Train Ride Clean Up Time Party 3 12:15 pm- 12:30 pm 12:30 pm - 1 pm 1pm-1:30 pm 1:30 pm - 1:45 pm Set-upTime Party Time Train Ride Clean Up Time/ Tour Display Car Party 2 10:45 am - 11 am 11 am - 11:30 am 11:30 am - Noon Noon- 12:15 pm Set-up Time/Tour Display Car Train Rid e Party Time Clean Up Time Party4 1:45 pm-2 pm 2 pm-2:30 pm 2:30 pm-3 pm 3pm-3:15 pm Set-up Time/ Tour Display Car Train Ride Party Time Clean Up Time To engineer your child's party at the Oklahoma Railway Museum, contact , or mail request to ORM 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

6 The following three photos shows the work progressing on the Grand Boulevard crossing. (Upper Left) Removal and base preparation for the new Grand Boulevard crossing Is underway. (Upper Right) The new track Is In place and Is being leveled. (Bottom Left) The Grand Boulevard crossing Is completed. Gary D. Githens Photos U.S. railroads end July with record-breaking intermodal traffic WASHINGTON- United States railroads ended a strong July with a record-breaking week for intermodal traffic, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. lntermodal volume for the week ended July 29 reached 250,966 trailers or containers, breaking a weekly record that was set during the week ended October 22, 2005, when they moved 250,1152. lntermodal volume on U.S. railroads in July totaled 938,160 trailers or containers, an increase of 58,540 units percent--over July 2005.Carload volume was also up, totaling 1,291,956 cars, up 24,873 carloads or 2 percent from July Eight of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in July 2006 compared to July "Coal carloadings on U.S. railroads in July 2006 were 4.5 percent above the July 2005 level, and are up 4.2 percent from January through July 2006," noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey in an AAR news release. "Railroads are delivering unprecedented volumes of coal, helping to ensure continued availability of cost-effective coal-fired electricity. Given the weather that most of the country is currently suffering through, we are looking for coal movements to continue their torrid pace. n U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was up 422,242 trailers and containers (6.5 percent) for the first seven months of 2006 to 6,967,919 units. Total volume for the first 30 weeks of 2006 was estimated at billion ton-miles- an increase of 2.8 percent from the same period a year ago. 2006, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

7 ORM Depot Store The Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. (ORM) has items available for both children and adults at the Depot Store. These include baseball caps, polo shirts, t-shirts, lapel pins, and coasters. Funds raised by donations for these items support the Museum project. Order Form- Engraved Platform Bricks Cost is $50.00 per brick. Up to a maximum of 4 lines with 16 letters and spaces per line To avoid confusion, please complete the form in Capital Letters Purchaser's Name: Phone Number: ( Text Line 1 The Depot Store, located inside the Oakwood Depot on the Museum grounds, is open during regular Museum hours- 10 am to 4 pm on the first and third Saturdays of each month April through September. The store is also open during special events like "Day Out With Thomas 2006 Come Ride the Rails Tour." Line 2 Line 3 Line 4... Become an OHM Member For those interested in becoming members of the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd., ~~~~~ Central Oklahoma Chapter of the NRHS, memberships are available at the following rates: Regular Membership- $30.00 per year, Senior Member (Retired) - $25.00 per year, and Student Member (Full-Time Student)- $25.00 per year. National Railway Historical Society dues are $22.00 per year (Spouses are an additional $4.00). (Student memberships are $11 each.) For information on membership, contact the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd., 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION: per year- Membership to the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. $25.00 per year - Senior (age 65 "plus") and Student (full-time student) Membership in Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. $22.00 per year - To add Railway Historical Society (NRHS) Membership (add $4.00 for spouse} (Student Memberships: $11 per year} Send your application and dues to: Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73:1.11 Name Address Cizy Phone Fax Type of Membership: D Membership toorm D TOTAL ENCLOSED Senior or Student Membership D Add NRHS Membership : Engraved Platform Bricks More than one platform : brick can be donated to the : Museum and you can make : copies of the attached form. : Mail completed forms : with checks or money : orders to: Jim Murray, : ORM, 3400 NE Grand : Boulevard, Oklahoma City, : Oklahoma : If you have any questions, : you can Murray : at jmurray@cox.net. Crosstie Donations Friends and families of ORM continue to make donations for crossties, equipment and facilities on the Museum property and on the leased track. If you want to make a donation to purchase a crosstie, a donation of $42.50 will help purchase a new crosstie. You can donate a crosstie in recognition or in memory of someone. All donations should be made out to the Oklahoma Railway Museum Ltd. Please note on the check what the donation is for, and mail it to: ORM Ltd., 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 731U.

8 Any changes to the following information or articles for "the Dispatcher," should be directed to the Editor, Bruce Ackerman, 1408 NW 183rd Terrace, Edmond, Oklahoma , ( For information on upcoming programs, contact Larry Dodd, ( ORM telephone number: 405/ Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) - Saturday, September 2 -Jim Terrell and His Home Movies- ORM- 6 pm ORM Board Meetings - Tuesday, August 29 and September 26 at ORM, Oakwood Depot, Oklahoma City- 7 pm Upcoming ORM Meeting - No meeting will be held on October 7 because of "Day Out With Thomas 2006" event. "Day Out With Thomas 2006: Come Ride The Ralls Tour" - September 29, 30 and October 1 and October 6, 7 and 8, ORM DOWT Staff Training will be held Saturdays at 11 am. Oklahoma "N" Rail -For information, call Mary Hanson, 405/ Oklahoma Passenger Rail Association- -Rail Consumer Advocate Organization. Meets bimonthly. For information, write or call Roger Carter, 1120 South 21st Street, Chickasha, Oklahoma 73018,405/ Passenger Rail Oklahoma -A grassroots advocacy organization. Meets every Saturday and Sunday morning an hour prior to the arrival of the Heartland Flyer in Norman. The depot opens at 7:50am. Contact Evan Stair at sfrr@aol.com, 405/ , or 517 Claremont, Norman, OK Depot volunteer opportunities are available. Oklahoma S.W. Division NMRA- 2nd Saturday each month, 1 pm, Goldman Room, Kirkpatrick Center, Jim Heidon, President Yukon's Best Railroad Museum - Thursday/Saturday/Sunday and by appointment. Located 1 block north of Main and UP tracks in Yukon. Call John Knuppel, 405/ , for times and information. OUTOFTOWN Railroad Museum of Oklahoma - Tuesday thru Friday afternoons 1 pm to 4 pm, Saturdays 10 am to 1 pm, Sunday 2 pm to 5 pm, or by appointment. HO, N and Lionel layouts, Meets 3rd Tuesday at 7 pm at Old Santa Fe Freight Depot, 702 North Washington, Enid Waynoka StatlonjWaynoka Historical Society South Cleveland, Waynoka Call Sandie Olson, 5_80/ Enid Model Railroaders (HO & N) - Wednesday 7 pm to 9 pm, Saturday 9 am to Noon, Sunday 2 pm to 5 pm, 702 North Washington, Enid 580/ Memberships are available at the following rates: Regular Membership is $30 per year, Senior Member (Retired) is $25 per year, and Student Member (Full-Time Student) is $25 per year. National Railway Historical Society Dues are $22 per year (spouses are an additional $4). (Student Membership: $11 per year) For information on membership, contact the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd., 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma The Dispatcher is the official monthly publication of the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd., Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Opinions expressed by individual writers are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Editor, Central Oklahoma Rail Club, or the National Railway Historical Society, Inc. However, the Editor reserves the right to reject any or all contributions or hold items for a future issue. Any articles in the Dispatcher may be reprinted in other newsletters, providing credit is given to the Dispatcher. Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No Oklahoma City, OK I J