the Dispatcher Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Oklahoma Railway Museum Ltd, NARCOA Affiliate Member Catch the H train Editor s note: In April Anne received an e-mail and photograph from a visitor to the ORM. We always need to be ready to assist guests. Anne, A few months ago we visited the museum and you allowed us to take pictures and measurements of the Railcar that museum volunteers had been restoring. We belong to the Goldwing Road Riders Association Chapter Ok-X based out of Stillwater, OK. Our association's region rally theme this year was "Catch the H Train." My husband Bill wanted to build a scaled down version of the rail car for our chapter's mascot Rex (a stuffed T- Rex with sound). April 15,16 and 17th we had the Railcar, tracks and Rex at Marshall, Texas for the Goldwing Road Riders Associations Region H Rally. We are happy to say that Rex and his custom built Railcar took 1st place in the Mascot competition! A lot of time and work went into the project. It was made primarily of wood. It was fun for all and again we thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Linda Stevens refer page 6 for a picture of Bill and Linda with the model Volume 50 Issue 7 July 2015 Women s college world series parking This was our best year for Women s College World Series Parking. The parking is our second largest fund raiser. Continued on page 4 ****************************** photo by Marvin Holderbaum Left is picture of Mark Pritchett, from Avondale, Arizona. He was in town on business and was looking for something to do for the weekend and volunteered to help park cars for the softball games. He worked all day Saturday and all day Sunday and really worked hard helping Harry Currie on the I-35 lot. He is also now an ORM member.
Page 2 The Presidents Column We had the most successful parking event ever at The Women s College World Series. The first evening it was still a bit muddy and we could only fill the lots partway. The following days were much better; no rain and mostly cloudy and cool. The increase in parking was due a complete schedule of games and to a new lot on the North side of 50th street near I-35. Harry Currie arranged for it and Marvin and Mary Holderbaum ran it all week. I want to thank all the members who worked the parking lots. Every day it was a short very busy time and a more leisurely period when we could sit in the shade and visit. Maybe there will be more events held there that we could park some more cars. Last Saturday was the annual members and families picnic. Eric Dilbeck and his father cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. We had the largest attendance in several years. After lunch everyone took a train ride; being pulled by our newly repainted MKT 48. I hope everyone had a good time I know I did. Lots of new projects are getting started. Come on out and we will find one for you. the Dispatcher Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. Board of Directors Stan Hall, President Eric Dilbeck Vice President and Program Chair Drake Rice, Secretary Charles Price, Treasurer Greg Robertson, NRHS Director Bob Cossairt, Director of Buildings & Static Displays Bob Hussey, Director of Track Maintenance Terry Birchett, Director of Mechanical Operations Harry Currie, Director at Large Greg Hall, Director of Museum Activities Bob Cook, Director of Museum Displays Stan Hall Photographs and stories by Gary Githens unless credited otherwise Oklahoma Railway Museum 405-424-8222 Ed Birch Jr., Train Show Chair Anne Murrary Chilton, Membership Chair Gary Githens, Dispatcher Editor Visit with our guests by Larry Dodd On most any day at ORM you will see people wandering about looking at our rolling stock and enjoying the day. Be sure and stop and say hello and offer assistance if they are not being toured by one of our excellent docents. I happened to stop and visit with this couple. I learned they are Ingo and Annett (no 'e' on the end) Kresser from Nuremberg Germany. Ingo is currently working on Ft. Sill and they had come to Oklahoma City for the day and were making ORM a part of their day. Ingo told me of the huge Nuremberg Railroad Museum and encouraged me to visit if I ever have the opportunity to visit Germany. A European tour is certainly on my 'bucket list' and I will be adding the Nuremberg RR Museum on his recommendation. They were quite interested in the restoration process for AT&SF 643. I tried to answer their questions as best I could. As a side note they spoke near flawless English, certainly better than my German. Be sure to stop and visit with our guests and be sure they feel welcome as they tour ORM.
the Dispatcher Museum Update Page 3 The recent rains have created some wash out problems along the track which have been addressed by Drake Rice by Bob Hussey Track Construction. The future plan is to rework some ditches along the track and correct some elevation issues on drainage culverts that were not placed at the right elevation by the city contractor during the trail construction. Overall, however with all the rain received in May, the water undercutting was minor. The museum is also having Bob s company do some tie replacement along the main line by the museum. There has not been any major tie work in this area since the museum reopened the track in 2001. Overall the museum operational track is in good shape. With the MKT 48 engine out of the shop, volunteers are planning on moving the Conoco tank car in the shop for cleaning and repainting along with the wooden walk ways being replaced. The mechanical volunteers have made repairs to the cars brake system which is now in good shape and operational. We are looking forward to the restoration work on the car and hope to have it completed and out of the shop by Day Out With Thomas time in September. Speaking of Thomas, the marketing work is being scheduled for the event and ticket sales are staying ahead of last year. We hope the trend continues. We need to have another good year to help with the needed funds for the museum s planned expansion work. In addition, Anne Chilton has been working on the promotion of special activities for certain operating day s at the museum. The Father s Day promotion was well received with around 520 paid passengers riding our museum trains. Our passenger count is running ahead of last year which is encouraging. Watch for the Thomas bill board on I-35 after the first of July. We have been very fortunate to develop a good relationship with Lamar Billboards that has helped the museum be able to have a billboard on a very heavily traveled highway promoting the museum and Thomas. With all the rain received, mowing has been a big need all along the line and around the museum. We appreciate the volunteers who have been helping out to keep the grounds mowed. In addition, all the tree limbs and branches that had collected along Grand Blvd have been removed. We had hoped the county would provide some help, but due to all the storm issues they were not going to be able to address our limb removal for several months, so the museum used a number of roll offs that were filled to take care of the removals. The murals that were blown off the fence at the entry to the museum grounds by a storm in May are now being remade and painted. The plan is to have them up sometime in the near future to screen our storage area behind the Murray Shop building. As always, we have a number of projects that can use volunteers. If you have some time, stop by the museum and help. We hope to see you at your museum. York Nebraska softball players return by Larry Dodd Once again, the Girls Softball program from York Nebraska were our customers at the ORM Parking Lot. I always call them "best dressed". They always wear matching shirts, especially made for their trip to the OKC Womens College World Series. They always accommodate my request for a photo. I told them I had their pictures in Green, Orange, Yellow and now Purple. Always a great group of kids and we're very happy they chose our parking facility again this year. It's always great to have old (young) friends drop by our lot.
Page 4 ORM T-SHIRTS the Dispatcher Per customer request, we now have the red ORM T-shirt available in adult sizes M, L and XL in addition to the green ORM shirt in adult sizes S-3X. If there are enough requests, I will order the red shirt in larger sizes at a later date. ORM shirts and ORM caps are $10 each for members. All other store merchandise is 10% off for members. If I do not recognize you as a member, please identify yourself so you can receive the discount. Mary Holderbaum, store manager Women s college world series parking photo Stan Hall Charles Price, Art Gustafson Terry Birchett and Greg Robertson relax after lot is full A big thank you! photo Stan Hall Adventure Station Parking Lot view taken from on top of the Santa Fe Caboose Softball parking is a major fund raiser for your ORM. A special thanks to the following volunteers without who s help this would not have been possible. More volunteers would have been a big help and some of these folks would not have to worked as many hours. Please consider helping next year. Hank Asin Terry Birchett Tony Chamblin Harry Currie Susan Dobbins Tuna Dobbins Larry Dobbs Larry Dodd Art Gustafson Polly Hall Stan Hall Marvin Holderbaum Mary Holderbaum Steve Kamm Jack Lambakis Larry Loomis Dimitry Ofitserov Charles Price Mark Prichett Greg Robertson Chuck Shinn Gary Taber Bill Wright Northwest parking lot with Mary Holderbaum on duty Southwest parking lot
the Dispatcher Page 5 Hoist donation by Ryder Transportation Services The mechanical department has been in need of a hoist. Many of the parts they work on are heavy. Scott Dilbeck was aware of this need and realized his employer had one that was never used. He asked and we received. Thanks Scott. A special thanks to Ryder Transportation Services and service manager David Vanlandingham for this donation. The A frame is tall enough to go over the steam locomotive and has a 10 ton hoist. Eric Dilbeck background and Dimitry Ofitserov painting the A frame Our oldest tank car waiting for walkway replacement and painting.
Page 6 the Dispatcher Around the grounds Right: Bill and Linda Stevens with the hand car model. Maybe they will join the museum and ride their Goldwing down to volunteer from time to time Left: One of the Rock Island caboose refurbished bunks in the carpenter shop photo by Bob Cossairt photo by Anne Murray Chilton Lands End and ORM logo You can now order apparel with an embroidered ORM logo from Lands End at the website below. Once you select the item you want, you will then be able to select the logo and where you want it placed. We will send out emails when Lands End runs a special. Anything on sale in the regular catalog will be on sale on this site as well. ces.landsend.com/oklahoma_railway_museum
the Dispatcher Page 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 projects. The Depot Store, located inside the Oakwood Depot on the Museum grounds, is open during regular Museum hours 9 am to 4 pm on the first and third Saturday operation days of each month April through August. The store is also open for special events. Become an ORM Member 2015 ORM MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION: New Membership Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Renewal Membership (begin Jan 1st) Date $36.00 per year Individual Membership in the Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. (spouse included) Pro-rated dues $3.00 per month $30.00 per year Individual Senior (age 65 and up) (spouse included) and Individual Student (full time student) Membership in ORM Pro-rated dues $2.50 per month 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 Purchaser s Name Phone No. ( ) 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: ORM, 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111. If you have any questions call 405-424-8222 Thursday or Fridays. $500.00 - Lifetime Membership Send your application and dues to: Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 Name Address City State Zip Code Phone Fax Cell Phone E Mail 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 $50.00 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, mail to: ORM Ltd., 3400 NE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City, 73111
Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73111-4417 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Page 8 the Dispatcher TIMETABLE Any changes to the following information or articles for the Dispatcher, should be directed to the Editor, Gary Githens, (e mail: githens@cox.net). For information on upcoming programs, contact Larry Dodd email: dodd@airosurf.com). Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) Open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays from 9:00 A:M: until 5:00 P:M. except on major holidays ORM Train Rides - First and third Saturdays April through August at 9:15 A.M, 11:15 A.M, 1:15 P.M. and 3:15 P.M. ORM Board Meetings Last Thursday each month at ORM, Oklahoma City 7 pm. Oklahoma N Rail For information, call Rick Inselman, 405/412 1552. Central Oklahoma Garden Railroad Society [COGRS] Contact information: Steve Lemcke (405) 703-0209 e-mail steve.lemcke@att.net or Marshall Douglas (405) 290-8989 or Steve Kamm (405) 685-3755 e-mail skamm@college.occc.edu 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 7:50 am. Contact Evan Stair at sfrr@aol.com, www.passengerrailok.org, 405/366 8957, or 517 Claremont, Norman, OK 73069 5020. 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, 405/354 5079, for times and information. OUT OF TOWN Waynoka Station/Waynoka Historical Society 202 South Cleveland, Waynoka Call Sandie Olson, 580/824 1886. Notice: They need help with their model railroad layout. If you could help some call Sandie.
Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 Museum Information Contact us-thursday and Friday. We have someone to answer your questions 405-424-8222. Our museum is open every Thursday, Friday, & Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm. Admission to the museum is free. The Museum is an outdoor museum and MAY BE CLOSED for inclement weather or when the temperature is below 40 F. Find us From I-35 North take the NE 36th St. exit, at the stoplight on NE 36th turn left and go west about 1/2 mile. At the stoplight for Grand Blvd turn left for about two blocks, we are on the left at NE 34th St. Regular Trains Train Rides are scheduled the First and Third Saturdays of the month from April through August. The trains leave the Station at 9:15 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM and 3:15 PM. Ticket Price is $12 for Riders 13 years old and up, $5 for Riders from 3 to 12 years old, Children under 3 are free when carried on adult lap. Special Trains Thomas the Tank Engine will be here on September 25, 26, 27 and October 2, 3, 4, 2015. We recommend that tickets be purchased in advance. All Tickets are $16 on the Friday Trains. These leave the Station every 50 minutes starting at 9:50am All Tickets are $18 on Saturday and Sunday Trains. These leave the Station every 50 minutes starting at 9:00am Halloween Train October 31, 2015 Tickets $12, $5.00 children from 3 to 12 years old. Children under three are free on lap of parent The trains leave the Station at 9:15 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM and 3:15 PM. Smiley O Riley the Clown will be here. This is for Children, no scary stuff. Christmas Train December 19 and 20, 2015 Tickets $15 Children under three are free on lap of parent The trains leave the Station at 9:00, 10:30, noon, 1:30 and 3:00 on Saturday. and 1:30 and 3:00 on Sunday. Santa Claus will be here, hot chocolate, candy canes, songs and more fun. Birthday Parties We offer you two unique venues to host a birthday party. You supply the cake, presents and the guests while we supply tables and chairs. Also included are paper engineer hats and a rail safety activity book. We have a 1921 wooden caboose which can accommodate up to 25 people and a 1921 Party coach which can accommodate up to 60 people Time and date must be held with a 50% deposit. The balance is due day of the party. Birthday Party package options and membership information next page
Birthday Party package options Package One includes one hour and forty five minutes for the party and an approximate 40 minute train ride for 20 guests on historic railroad passenger cars. Additional train tickets can be purchased for $5.00 each. The train rides are available on the schedule for regular trains above. The costs are: Birthday Caboose: $250.00 (includes $50.00 refundable security deposit) Party Coach: $300.00 (includes $50.00 refundable security deposit) Package Two is one hour and forty five minutes for the party without a train ride. This package is available throughout the year on most non-operating Saturdays. The costs are: Birthday Caboose: $150.00 Party Coach: $200.00 (includes $50.00 refundable security deposit) Bookings and date/time availability are available on our website -www.oklahomarailwaymuseum. org -and can also be made with our party coordinator Chuck Shinn. He can be reached at 405-850- 0597 or by email -chuck@oklahomarailwaymusem.org Membership -Membership benefits include: Two free train rides on regular run days (Does not apply to Day Out with Thomas, Halloween and Christmas trains) Emailed copy of the ORM newsletter The Dispatcher Member Picnic and train ride Memberships are available at the following rates: Regular Membership $36 per year (spouse included) Senior Member (age 65 and up) $30 per year (spouse included) Student Member (Full-Time Student) $30 per year [these are prorated if you join during the year]. Lifetime Member $500. If you wish to join the National Railway Historical Society, dues are an additional $50.00 per year. This organization s due are not prorated. Note: Events, dates, times and charges subject to change without notice.