Eight & Sand July, 2017 Amherst Railway Society 1130 South Main Street Palmer, MA 01069 amherstrail.org a regular publication of the Amherst Railway Society Amherst at Springfield Union Station The mission of the Amherst Railway Society is education regarding and the promotion of hobbies related to railroading Switch List Springfield Union Station President s message Benefits of membership Railfanning in the rain Membership Dues Memberships expire on June 30 of the year listed on your membership card. Regular adult memberships are $28 for one year, $70 for three years, and $112 for five years. Student memberships are free, but require an annual update of school attending and expected graduation date. Click here to renew or update your membership. On Sunday, June 25th, Springfield celebrated the re-opening of Union Station. The event marked the $94 million floor-to-ceiling renovation and rehabilitation of the station that was built in 1926. Since the 1970s, the station was underused and had slowly fallen into disrepair. However, the growing need for public transportation has brought the station back to life. The refurbished facility provides rail service from Amtrak and Connecticut s commuter system to New Haven and New York City. Pioneer Valley Transit Authority provides local bus service, and Peter Pan and Greyhound offer long-distance bus service. The re-opening celebration not only gave visitors a first-hand look at the next meeting: Wednesday, September 13, 2017-7:30 pm Amherst Railway Society headquarters more on meetings Notice of meeting changes or cancellations are posted on: Amherst Railway Society web site - amherstrail.org Amherst Railway Society Facebook page 1
Eight & Sand July,, 2017 refurbished station, but turned out to be a lot of fun, too. The Amherst Railway Society had a table promoting membership and the Railroad Hobby Show. And, the Amherst Belt Lines had a small (by Belt Lines standards) operating model railroad on display. Little-Hands-On-The-Move gave children a chance to explore the streets and landmarks of Springfield using wooden cars and motorcycles on a giant carpeted map. Historic transportation artifacts were on display, as well as antique cars and buses, and visitors could take guided tours of the station s many murals. And, the Cat-In-The-Hat kept children of all ages amused. photos: Carlton Rohmer 2
President s message: My first year of this two-year term is about to close, although I prefer to see it as another year to go! And, there is so much more that needs to be done. Here are a few of the items on my to-do list: More meetings - we will have an August meeting and a December meeting added to the calendar this year. We have a headquarters building - so let s start using it. As of Friday, July 14, the building will be open from 4 pm to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Summer layout - we will begin to construct the Summer Layout - bench-work to scenery. We will be building a 2 x 16 foot HO switching layout, DCC equipped, to be sold in the fall to raise money for the building fund. Extended library hours - when the club house is open, the library will be open. Layout restoration - we have several layouts that we have acquired over the years that need to be restored. All members are welcome to participate, beginners to experts. Layout restoration is an excellent way to hone your model railroading skills. Awards night - coming In August, our first ever evening program to recognize our grant program winners. This is also the night that we will hold our annual silent auction - with a ton of great items to bid on. A new dues structure is coming - to help pay for the building. Donations were slim this year, so we need to raise dues to pay for the club house. Under the new structure, standard dues will change to $5.00 per month or $60.00 per year, with a new family membership which allows families to participate at a reasonable rate. Here is what the new dues structure will look like: 3
The Benefits of Membership Amherst Railway Society (ARS) members enjoy a long list of benefits. Here are just some of them: - participation in our two model railroad clubs - Amherst Belt Lines and Dry Hill Model Railroad Club - discounts at local hobby stores - 10% discount at the Steaming Tender restaurant in Palmer, except Friday and Saturday evenings - discounted pricing at the ARS store - use of ARS tools for model railroading projects. Restrictions apply to use of power tools - attendance at clinics and workshops, easy access to experts for advice - collection evaluation - advice regarding the value of model railroad equipment - sales and auction web page - items wanted web page - rail-fan trips - our own 7.25 inch gauge railroad EIGHT & SAND - what it means Eight & Sand is a railroad term used to wish train crews a quick, uneventful journey. The term comes from notch 8 - the highest power setting on modern locomotive throttles - and the ability to apply sand to prevent wheel slip. 4
Board of Directors Bruce MacCullagh Bill Meier Jr. Kurt Jellinek Rudy Versailles President Past President Treasurer Secretary Railroad Hobby Show Director Show Committee Dick Joyce Chair Kurt Jellinek Tom Laware Jr Brian O Leary Rudy Versailles Bruce MacCullagh Strategic Planning Ken Harstine Co-chair Kurt Jellinek Co-chair Joe Albano Jr. Dick Joyce Bill Meier Jr. John Randall Membership Chair Joe Albano Jr. Ted Curtin Joe Kurland Greg Maas Prototype Meet David Owens Chair Rail-fanning in the Rain photos: Isaiah Manuel From the Treasurer As Amherst Railway Society Inc. is a 501 C(3) tax exempt organization, your donations (of either cash and/or property) may be deducted on your Schedule A, Form 1040 of your Federal income tax. Consider the Amherst Railway Society in your estate planning. Your gifts can be restricted or non-restricted (you can pre-determine how you want your donation used). Upon request, and proper documentation, the Treasurer will issue a letter to be used as justification for your tax deduction. 5