The Dispatcher Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society NARCOA Affiliate Member Volume 53 Issue 4 April 2018 Volunteer Spotlight: Debbie Dunn By Amanda Risneck Debbie comes from a long line of railway workers. Her father, grandfather, and great grandfather all worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. She moved to Oklahoma in 1995, but Debbie was born in Kansas and grew up in New Mexico. After serving 9 years in the Air Force, she worked for Continental Airlines for several years, living all over the country. She now works as a travel agent. Debbie s dad, Kenneth Foust, has been an ORM member for over 20 years. She has been visiting the museum for years and started volunteering last year as a promise to him. Debbie was a huge help during 2017 s Christmas train and served as decoration chair. She received a certificate of appreciation for her service at the member s meeting in January. Debbie has enjoyed watching ORM grow and change over the years. She loves volunteering at ORM because of the great people and the diversity of jobs and tasks to be done. She looks forward to the museum becoming one of the biggest attractions in Oklahoma City. Below right, Work on the 30th street crossing, it looks good! Photo by Eric Dilbeck Debbie during our 2017 Christmas Express train ride. Photo By Eric Dilbeck In This Issue Volunteer Spotlight 1 President s Column 2 Current Projects 3 Museum Update 4 Ramblin Rails 5 Education Update 7 Board Update 8 Round Barn 9 Santa Fe Boxcar 10 Around the Grounds 11 Timetable 12
Page 2 The Dispatcher The Oklahoma Railway Museum s mission is to provide an educational experience of railroads and how they shaped Oklahoma and the Nation. The President s Column Partnerships are important to the Oklahoma Railway Museum and non-profits. This is an area that has growth potential for ORM. Creating new partnerships allows both ORM and the partner organization to benefit by collaboration on a project, task, or challenge. I am pleased to share with you that ORM has two upcoming partnership opportunities. A Boy Scout Troop will be working with us on a caboose restoration, and we can participate in a new grant initiative by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Boy Scout Troop 275 from Choctaw, Oklahoma will be doing an Eagle Scout project in May at the museum. Seth Chilton (Jay and Anne s nephew) has chosen to restore the exterior of one of our Frisco cabooses as his Eagle Scout project. The Eagle Scout Project is a requirement for attaining the highest rank in Boy Scouts, The Eagle Rank. The Eagle project requires the Boy Scout to demonstrate skills such as leadership, planning, fundraising, project and team management. As an Eagle Scout from Troop 275 myself, restoring the Frisco Caboose is an excellent test of these skills. Seth will organize the work to be performed by his fellow scouts. They will remove the rotting siding and replace it with new plywood siding. They will also prepare and paint the siding and the roof of the caboose. It is my hope that some of these scouts will return to the Oklahoma Railway Museum as volunteers or, in time, a board member. Our other partnership opportunity is inspired by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019. As part of that anniversary and to honor the founder, John E. Kirkpatrick, they have launched a new grant called The Great Idea Challenge. See occf.org for more information. The foundation will offer grants for community based projects and programs that benefit and help grow, now and for the next 50 years, the Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma City area. We at the Oklahoma Railway Museum are excited about this opportunity for the community and would like to be part of the process. Several of us have been kicking around the idea of a creating a trailhead at the museum for the Katy trail. The Katy trail is part of Oklahoma City s parks system. It runs from Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. (405) 424-8222 Officers: Eric Dilbeck, President Bob Nantois, Vice President Drake Rice, Secretary Charles Price, Treasurer Trustees: Terry Birchett Bob Cook Bob Cossairt Larry Dodd Greg Hall Bob Hussey Craig Larson Departments and Staff Train Show Chair Bob Cook Museum Administrator Anne Chilton Volunteer Coordinator/ Membership Chair Amanda Resnick Interim Dispatcher Editor Eric Dilbeck Dispatcher Editors Sharin Wolfe Hayley Enoch Education Chair Steve Kamm Washington Park to the Deep Fork creek near I-44 and Western. It is named the Katy trail because part of the tail crosses over the former Katy railroad right-of-way. At the March board meeting the trustees agreed o apply for the Great Idea grant. Over the next several months, we will work on various requirements towards applying. Our initial idea is to have a multi-use trailhead that would support trail activities such as bicycle, walking or running events.. Parking, picnic pavilions, water fountains, and bike racks are just a few of the features we can incorporate along the trail. A requirement of the grant is for organizations to partner so they may mutually achieve and benefit from the project. We have several organizations we hope to partner with on the Katy trailhead and we will be reaching out to them soon. Continued on page 3
The Dispatcher Current Projects By Eric Dilbeck We currently have several projects in progress at the museum. Arrange time on a Saturday to come out and help. Le Flore Depot (on the north property) The foundation has been poured, cinder blocks prepped, and the depot is scheduled to be moved onto the foundation in early May. Once the blocks are layed and the depot is in place, we will start on installing a new roof. Santa Fe Box Car (in the shop building) Volunteers are working on preparing it for a new coat of paint. Santa Fe 643 Steam Engine (outside on the track) SF 643 is waiting shop time for the curtains and the cab partition to be installed. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Caboose (outside on the platform) Work continues replacing the outside siding. Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad Inspection Car (in the shop building) This project is near completion. Work is in progress on the generator. The engine compartment needs a coat of paint. Yard Office The siding needs to be repaired and painted. Around the Grounds There are plenty of projects and tasks at the museum. See Amanda, our volunteer coordinator, about available projects and volunteer opportunities. President s Column Continued from page 2 Both of these projects are still in their infancy, yet I am optimistic that they will be valuable. As an Eagle Scout myself I am grateful for this opportunity to help another young man achieve this admirable goal while also helping Oklahoma Railway Museum in its mission. ORM currently has a partnership with the Boy Scouts educating the scouts for a badge, but this partnership offers different benefits and illustrates that a single organization can offer more than one partnering opportunity. The organizations we wish to partner with for the Katy trailhead project will be new relationships. To me this is exciting, every new partner we make is an opportunity for us as an organization to learn. In your daily activities, talk about the museum and what we are trying to achieve. A great partner may come from an unexpected place. Keep in mind, it is easy to think we need to only look for new partners and opportunities for the museum. Our new relationship with the Boy Scouts shows that it is also beneficial to look at different, innovative ways we can partner with organization with whom we already have good relations. You are an advocate for the museum because you are a member. You are part of our community of rail fans and are committed to seeing the museum flourish. Talk about the museum. Get others excited about rail. Network and help create a future for the Oklahoma Railway Museum. See You On The Rails! Page 3 Crosstie Donations Friends and families of ORM can make donations to the museum for crossties, equipment and facilities. A donation of $50.00 will help ORM purchase a new crosstie. You may donate a crosstie in recognition or in memory of someone. Donations can be mailed to the museum at the address below or made online on our website, oklahomarailwaymuseum. org. Notate Crosstie with your donation, and send to : ORM Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, 73111 Depot Store The Oklahoma Railway Museum has items available for both children and adults at the Depot Store. These include baseball caps, polo shirts, t shirts, lapel pins, coasters, and now mugs. Profits from the sale of these items support the museum and its projects. The Depot Store is located inside the Oakwood Depot on the museum grounds. It is open on run days (the first and third Saturdays April through August) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The store is also open during special events.
Page 4 The Dispatcher Museum Update By Drake Rice March has been a productive month for the museum. First, rebuilding the 30th Street crossing greatly improved the track conditions and the road crossing. Our Manager of Train Operations, Greg Hall, had raised concerns that the crossing and the switch frog in the school yard lead were becoming problematic. Bob Hussey Construction did a great job fixing the problem, and the school folks appreciated having smooth crossing to drive across. The track work was completed in time for the operating season and the steam engine event on the first two Saturdays in April. Thanks Bob, for all you do. Museum volunteers tackled putting a tarp over the uncovered roof of the Le Flore Depot on a not-so-nice, windy Saturday. Even with all volunteers on hand involved in the task, it took several hours to get a tarp in place and secured. Thanks to all who helped in that big undertaking. The tarp will help protect the exposed building from the Oklahoma weather while restorations are underway. Volunteers also took time to clean up the museum grounds and dispose of items that had collected in and behind the shop and barn over the winter. The museum has already filled up two roll-off dumpsters this spring. A group of volunteers also gave an ATSF boxcar, donated by Conoco, some much-needed attention by cleaning out its interior to make room to store items from the Texas salvage trips. The car has been primed and new roof walk-boards have received a coat of linseed oil in preparation for painting and installing at a future date. Thank you volunteers! Around the museum grounds, Steve Kamm and friends have been hard at work addressing ADA issues and improving the informational displays. Chuck Shinn keeps processing our donation intake and improving the displays in the exhibit car. This in addition to being the local go-to guy on the many historical questions that people are calling the museum to have answered. Over in the model train layout car, Karl seems to be always on duty running trains, making repairs, and watching for deals to get special engines and cars for the layout. Amanda is working on our volunteer schedules for the upcoming operation season. Be sure to reach out to her to find out how you can volunteer. We need everyone to donate a little time to continue to make our museum grow. Also, please give thought to donating to the museum expansion fund. The board is working on fund raising efforts and member donations speak volumes when talking with potential donors and applying for grants and Start a monthly donation plan, even if it s only a few dollars a month. Every dollar helps. We hope to see you at your museum. Engraved Platform Bricks Cost is $50.00 per brick. A maximum of 3 lines with 18 letters and spaces per line. To avoid confusion, please print characters in capital letters. Mail completed forms with check or money order to: Purchaser s Name Phone No. Oklahoma Railway Museum 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City OK 73111
The Dispatcher Page 5 Ramblin Rails By Larry Dodd SP Depot San Antonio Texas This year, Loretta and I had tickets to the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament in San Antonio, Texas. Our team was not a winner this time, but I found a fabulous railroad location that certainly was. The Southern Pacific served San Antonio, Texas for many years. Prior to its demise, the New Orleans to Los Angeles Sunset Route went through San Antonio. It stopped at what is now the Sunset Station, a beautiful southwest style depot in the heart of the Alamo City. The interior has been meticulously restored and is well maintained. It is truly amazing to see the beauty of such a historic building. While walking to and from the basketball games, I wandered into the station acting like I belonged there. It was being used as a private special event location. Many companies host events like this for the big dollar clients. (I am not one of them.) The cleaning crew looked suspiciously at me, but did not challenge me as I roamed about and shot a series of photos of the grand lady. Outside Sunset Station, Southern Pacific locomotive #794, an ALCO built Mikado (2-8-2) was on display. After its retirement by the SP in 1957, it was put on display in Maverick Park in San Antonio where, much like any parked locomotive, it was neglected and only received minor cosmetic restoration. In 1999, #794 was taken from behind the fence at Maverick Park, given another fresh coat of paint, and moved to some familiar grounds, the newly renovated Sunset Station Depot. On September 19, 2008, a new phase began in the life of San Antonio s Locomotive as the Friends of the SP 794 began working to clean her up and paint her in historic Texas & New Orleans colors. Donations are accepted with the hopes of restoring #794 back to live steam operations. Above, The south end of the depot. No logo here, just beautiful woodwork, ceiling and staircase to upper office area. I could not get enough of the staircase; absolutely spectacular. Left, Mikado SP 794 sits with shore power adjacent to the SP Depot.
Page 6 The Dispatcher EDUCATION REPORT By Steve Kamm Work continues to make the Baggage Room in the Oklahoma Railway Museum s Oakwood Depot more informative, interesting and attractive. The four glass-front display cases on the north wall have been refurbished, and fluorescent lighting has been reactivated in two of the cases. A chance encounter on the internet has led to perhaps the most noticeable change creation and installation of a new display in one of the cases. Women and Railroads is a photographic essay which includes two dozen black-and-white photos showing female railroad employees at work during the past century. Appropriate signage helps Museum visitors gain an appreciation of the many ways women have contributed to the operation of American railroads. In addition, new signs have been installed in the Baggage Room: Look Out for the Cars, a Derail sign contributed by Tony Chamblin, and a beautiful lighted drumhead donated by Bruce Sealy. This reconditioned drumhead advertises The Firefly, a train that was operated by the Saint Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) Railway. continued on page 7 Above, Derail sign donated by Tony Chamblin. Left, Newly completed Woman in Railroading exhibit by Steve Kamm. Photos by Steve Kamm
The Dispatcher Page 7 EDUCATION REPORT continued from page 6 ORM continues to improve access and ease for visitors with disabilities by upgrading to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. A set of wheelchair tie-downs has been installed in the Chicago & Northwestern Combine car. Bathrooms in the yard office have been remodeled, from separate his and hers facilities to unisex toilets, with the north-most room being ADA compliant. Towel dispensers have been lowered, and new, lower mirrors have been installed. (These mirrors came from the March scavenger hunt in Texas!) Thanks to a generous donation by Jim Hackworth, new fold-down baby changing tables have been purchased and installed. Also, a new blue restroom sign has been placed outside the yard office. Brandon Fenton has recently donated an article and photographs dealing with model railroads at war. These items show how the US military used model trains to teach WWII era-soldiers how the rail system moved goods and personnel in support of the war effort. Once framed, they will be installed in the Model Train Car. Finally, volunteer coordinator Amanda Resnick has developed a volunteer recruiting table in the hope of encouraging more visitors to join the Oklahoma Railway Museum. This table was housed and staffed in the Baggage Room during the recent steam train run. If you know of anyone who might be even slightly interested in volunteering, please twist thier arm. We need to increase our numbers! Above, Drumhead donated by Bruce Sealy. Below left, New bathroom sign indicating ADA. Below right, Wheelchair utilizing the newly installed tie downs in the Chicago & Northwestern combine car.
Page 8 The Dispatcher Board Update By Drake Rice Actions from the March Board Meeting Reviewed budget and approved Department managers meeting was delayed until April 12th New footing poured for Le Flore depot 36th Street crossing signals project is proceeding Authorized $2500 for purchase and transportation of an interior from a RPO car. Authorized applying for the Union Pacific grant for funds to improve ADA accessibility Authorized applying for Oklahoma City Community Foundation Great Idea Challenge grant Board challenged to seek donations for museum expansion and participate Board voted to proceed with request for donation of a Santa Fe super hopper railcar Next meeting April 26th, 2018 Treasurer Report March 2018 Memberships $ 300.00 Birthdays $ 0.00 Donations $ 1,109.56 Gift Shop $ 31.41 Train Show $ 8,597.27 Other income $ 2,732.00 Total Income $12,770.24 Total Expenses $12,827.87 Upcoming Rail Related Events and Conventions National Train Day at Oklahoma Railway Museum May 5th, 2018 Come celebrate with us during our National Train Day Event. Visit oklahomarailwaymuseum.org for more details Visit the Oklahoma Railway Museum on YouTube youtube.com/c/ OklahomarailwaymuseumOrg NRHS Events May 30 June 3, 2018 2018 NRHS Spring Conference Advisory Council and Board of Directors Meetings St. Louis, MO August 7-12, 2018 2018 NRHS Convention Cumberland, MD October 11-13, 2018 2018 NRHS Fall Conference Advisory Council and Board of Directors Meetings Scranton, PA Additional information can be found at: www.nrhs.com
The Dispatcher Page 9 TALKING KATY RAILWAY AT THE ROUND BARN By Chuck Shinn In response to a call to ORM from the historical society that operates the Round Barn in Arcadia, I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon in March at the Round Barn talking about the times when the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad served the Arcadia community. I was best suited for this task as I spent my youth 4 miles east of the Round Barn and witnessed many MKT train operations in 1950s. I setup a table with copies of 1950 s passenger and employee timetables showing the listings of trains going through Arcadia. In addition, I had a copy of the Howard L. Fogg print of a Pacific steam locomotive posted. I began by telling folks that the MKT was the first railroad to come into Indian Territory in 1870. This line was built to link Kansas with North Texas to reach the C & C s cattle and cotton operation. After the opening of the unassigned lands the MKT would construct a line from Parson, Kansas to Oklahoma City. Parson, Kansas was a major hub for operations of the northern part of the railroad. Passengers and freight could make connections to St. Louis or Kansas City. The line was completed in 1903 and the first passenger car ran from Oklahoma City to Agra, OK in September of that year. Arcadia had a train station, a team track, and was the principle form of transportation until the coming of the hard surface road known as Highway 66 in 1927. Several people were surprised to learn that the highways were built following the railroads because that was where the towns were established. The station serviced two passenger trains, which were scheduled both directions, for many years. For many years the overnight train, the Sooner, had a through Pullman car that operated to Kansas City. I remember seeing that train operating westbound early in the morning as my parents and I went to school. I road this train once in 1954 from Luther to OKC, arriving at 6:00 pm. This service ended in the early 1950s. The other trains No. 25 and 26 operated into the early 1960s. Freight service on this line was handled by one train in each direction. Freight consisted primarily of empty gondolas going to the scrap yards located on Reno in Oklahoma City, and loaded gondolas headed eastbound to for processing. Cushing, OK was a major loading point for many years. However, with the introduction of pipeline development, traffic for all railroads declined to the point that no railroad serves Cushing today. When Lake Arcadia was constructed in the 1970s, instead of relocating the line around the lake, arrangements were made to move the train loads of scrap over the trackage rights on the Rock Island between Oklahoma City and McAlester, OK. The entire line from OKC to Bartlesville was abandoned in 1977. I enjoyed sharing my experience and knowledge with the folks at the Round Barn. Several people mentioned that they had been to the museum and enjoyed it very much.
Page 10 Santa Fe Box Car The Dispatcher David Townsend works on preparing the Santa Fe Boxcar for a coat of primer. Photo by Greg Hall Larry Dodd sanding. Photo by Greg Hall Volunteers clean out the Santa Fe boxcar to make storage room for the items salvaged from Flint, TX. Photo by Greg Hall Eric Dilbeck applies a coat of primer to the Santa Fe box car. Photo by Greg Hall Greg Hall applying primer. Photo by Eric Dilbeck The Santa Fe box car in primer white. The car was stored outside during our steam event in April. Photo by Eric Dilbeck
The Dispatcher Around The Grounds Page 11 Construction crews work on repairing 30th street crossing on our main line track. Photo by Eric Dilbeck Volunteers gathered to tarp the Le Flore depot before the rainy season. Photo by Eric Dilbeck The crossing is nearly finished. Photo by Eric Dilbeck The footing for the Le Flore Depot being dug by George Stephens. Photo by Eric Dilbeck Terry Birchett (L) and Guy Lynn work on replacing brake valves on one of our passenger cars. Photo by Greg Hall Concrete is poured into the newly dug footing. Photo by Greg Hall
Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73111-4417 Return Service Requested Page 12 The Dispatcher Timetable Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) - Open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM Closed on major holidays. ORM Train Rides - First and third Saturdays, April through August at 9:15 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM and 3:15 PM ORM Board Meetings - Last Thursday of every month at Oklahoma Railway Museum - 7:00 PM Oklahoma N Rail - For information call Rick Inselman (405) 412-1552 Central Oklahoma Garden Railroad Society Contact information: Steve Lemcke (405) 703-0209 e-mail steve.lemcke@att.net Marshall Douglas (405) 290-8989 Steve Kamm (405) 685-3755 email skamm@college.occc.edu Passenger Rail Oklahoma - Passenger Rail Oklahoma volunteers provide Amtrak depot hosting for the Hartland Flyer in City of Norman, OK most evenings, holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The depot opens at 7:50 AM. Contact Evan Stair at sfrr@aol.com, www.passengerrailok.org, or (405) 366-8957. Depot volunteer opportunities are available. Oklahoma S.W. Division NMRA - 2nd Saturday of each month, 1:00 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. Waynoka Station/Waynoka Historical Society - 202 South Cleveland, Waynoka, (580) 824-1886. If you can help, call Sandie Olson. Corrections Any changes to the above information or articles in the Dispatcher should be directed to the editor, Eric Dilbeck at eric@oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. For information on upcoming programs contact Anne Chilton at annem@oklahomarailwaymuseum.org.