The SemaphareII

I

• Newslefter of the Rochester NY Chapter, NRHSP.O. Box 664, Rochester, NY 14603; Published Monthly

November 1999Volume 42, NO.3

Program lor November 18 Meeting'

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~""'1 •••••••by

111??1 11111111To be Announced at the

MeetingThree possibilities are being pursued

by Jack. However, a conf=tion wasnot received' by the time this issue was"put to press".

Any of the three possibilities are sureto be interesting and infonnative, so planto attend.

With the Fall Foliage Trips over, theChapter Store should be well stocked foryour shopping of the latest books, videos,and whatever.

Program CommitteeJack Matsik (Chainnan) 442-6269Bill Limburg 586.9470Dan Cosgrove 352-6931Dave Luca (Board liaison) 288-ll318

The Committee \.\o'elcomes suggestionsand ideas for future programs. Contact anyof the Committee members.

Notice!!!Library is changing to Winter

HourslThe library ",11 be opened for general use onSunday afternoon, November 21 between the

hours of 2 and 5 PM.

Come and browse or borrow a book or m'o.The colfee ",11 be ready.

Chapter Store at BataviaShow: Nov 14

The Chapter mil have a table at the

•

pcoming Batavia model railroad show onunday, November 14. On display mil be

l... merchandise from our "storen• The show

runs from 9:30 to 3:30 at the Batavia DownsRace Track.

Your Editor apologize.! for incorrectingan incorrect date in the October issue!

RL&B Trolley #206 is HerelFo;eman • Bernie Cubit!

It took about nine days work straight, butGeorge Knab and crew and Jelf Green mththe special streu:h trailer trucking rig, havedelivered our Rochester Lockport & Buffalointerurban trolley #206 to the RGVRM siteat the beginning of September.

Two days were spent in loading. anotherday for delivery, and another day for unload-ing. All went well and the trolley is now upon blocks and being worked on.

Thanks to George and Jelf and all theirhelpers at both ends - Lyell Caleb, BernieCubiti, Chuck Whalen, Rand Warner, DanWaterstraat, Scott Gleason, John Redden,Dale Hartnett, Bob Mader and others.

The trolley is presently upon blocks at aninterim location, but George Knab hasstarted on a rubber tired dolly to make #206movable at our sileo

Trolley #206 was featured at our ChapterPicnic. Access was provided using one of ourportable stair units.

Bernie Cubitt is continuing work onpaintiog of #206 exterior. We are paiotiogon simulated windows and transoms till weget them all uncovered and refurbished.

The interior of the trolley is largelywunodified. and clearly shows where theseats were fastened. The bulkhead partitions

Bernie Cubirt found RL&B #206 under a.shed in KnO*'/esville, NY. Before its amvalat RGVRM, he painted the exterior in one offfleroOOsrowsrn~u:mM~bro~with ivory. It look3 GREAT - even if it nowsits 011 blocking! Bernie Cubitt phot~

to separate the passenger, smoking, andbaggage compartments are partially com.plete.

Recent work has involved scraping inte-rior paint and tarping exterior roof for v.interprotection.

. Call Bernie at 352.3064 if you can help.We are hoping to start regular weekly workparties on Tuesday afternoons.

This trolley is ahnost 100 years old andis surely worth saving. We have a restorationfund set up in our Treasury. We could surelyuse your donations toward this worthyproject. RW

Looking for GiftIdeas?

6iU :Ide•• Ro 1: For gifts for yourspouse, relative, friend (or yourselfl), seePage 2.

13m :Ide.. Ro 2. For gifts for theChapterlRochester & Genesee Valley Rail-road Museum, see Page 5. (Tax Planning)

Page 2

Fall Foliage Train RideReport

From Marie & Bob Miner.The Chapter, again this year, ran 14 rides

from Sodus to Newark and back. I say "andback" because we are llIIUlZedat bow manypeople ask if it is a round trip.

Overcoming a couple of problems, wedid bave a very successfurseason (5400+-).Ten of the rides were sold out

We would like to thank all who helpedmake these trips bappen. The car hosts, theparking lot crew, the sellers of snacks,souvenirs and tickets, the ticket phoneanswerers and everyone who put forth effollA few people who were not signed up towoIl< carne out anyway because they knewan extra band' is always needed. Jim Eastsigned up the woIkers and they all carne outand did a good job.

Our five faithful coach .cleaning mencarne way out to Sodus each week to cleanup the mess left by our passengers.

No one was there for ev.ry trip, exceptthe Miners. It was a very liiing time for us.We bave been involved for the pastil yearsand mostly enjoyed the times, but next fallwe will be amOng those' of you who taketrips in October.

Our recommendation to the Chapter Isto start looking now for 5Omeone to run'the raU trip. or risk not having )'ourbiggest money maker happen.

Sick ListGeorge Knab, one of our ace heavy

equipment, construction, rigging, and weld-ing people. was taken sick early in October.He was fitst admitted to Park Ridge Hospi.tal, and has since been relocated to SI.Mary's Hospital. Your visit, card, phonecall, or prayers would be gneatly appreciate.We all wish George the very best in hisrecovery.

Curt Boyer, a very active member fromyears past, has moved from his home inFairport to St Johns Home, on the corner ofSouth Ave. and Highland Ave. He would bepleased to see you or hear from you.

Gift :Ide<1Ro. 1Don Wa\UZ}'fliak, Chapter Storekeeper,

will be happy to order books. videos, ele.Contact him at the next meeting, or call

288-4133. Email address: donwawrz@fron-tiernelnel

November 1999

Thank' YouI want to thank the Rochester Cbapter of theNRHS and Dan Walerstraat in psrticular forthe timely help in supplying ballast for ashort piece of storage track at NYMf. ThislnIck, now completed, will be used to store apair of interurban railway trucks that NYMfis importing from Japan. These trucks arealmost an exact replacement for the trucksthat were originally wider the NorthernTexas Traction psrlor car currently at themuseum. Thanks again Dan for driving that .huge front end loader to NYMf to supplyand spread the ballasl.

Charles <B.9binson

Library Report .Charles RObinson, Chaif11Jan

The library is going to switch to winterhours in November. The library will beopened for genenl use on Sunday after.noon, November 21 between 2 and 5 PM.The staff will stiJl be working at the Libraryon Monday nights, however check with thelibrary cbainnan Chartes Robinson, 377.4245, to be certain that someone will bethere on Monday evenings.

We bave recently received the JohnAuderson collection and Eric Drum andSteve Dagley bave been sorting and invento-rying this collection thai contains many colordiesel engine photos plus other items ofhistorical interest We do appreciate Mr.Auderson's family donatiug this material tothe Rochester Cbapter Archives.

John Stewart has done an outstandiug jobof selliug our surplus magazines and bookson the Fall Foliage lnIins. This is freeing upvital space in the library and is an importantfunction in raising funds for the Cbaplet.

Jony Gillelle and I are proofreadiug hiscataluging of the John Woodbiuy negatives.Dave Luca has added insulation. to thewindows and the unused dOOrin preparationfor winter. The cbainnan has been up on theroof, altemptiug to paleh the latest leak.Gale Smith continues with the task ofsorting and cataloging the new additions toour book collection.

The library's collection of Troim maga-zine is nearly complete with all issuesexcept for 12141, 3/42, 1/45 lhru 10/45,12145, 1/58 and 7/63. We would be inter.ested in acquiring these missing issues ifsome member has them. Otherwise ourTrains collection is complete!

Hopefully our new winter hours willprove convenient for the members.

The Semaphore

Membership InformationDues f~ the calendar year are:

Regular $30; StudentJRetlree: $25;Family;$40 Othe<membership levels areavailable. IncI1Jdesmembership In the Na'tionalRailwayHistoricalSoclely.

" a member d NRHS and wish to jointhe Rochester Chapter, dedud $15 fromtheabove categories.

Make check payable to RochesterChapter NRHS and send to: RochesterChapter NRHS, P.O. Box 1161, Webster,NY14580.

NRHS Dues for Year 2000The Membership Conunillee expects to

be receiving the dues psckets for theNationa! in early December. When they doarrive, you should be findiug a renewalpacket soon after.

Congratulations andBest Wishes to

Ch ristop her Ha uf andSusan Oakes

Chris and Susan were married on October4. Aud off they went to Hawaii for their

honeymoon. They're back!

Heintz desires REA infoAt the March Cbapter meetiug, two

members related an involvement in a firetruck restoration. Would they please contactLynn Heintz at 768~984 in regards toquestions about our REA truck and theirtruck.

Does any member possess a good set ofRailway Express Ageney signs? The areabout 5 inches high in 3 pieces, ext~about 5 feel.

Batavia bridge removedCSXlConrail and the City of Batavia

bave given railfans a gift of sorts. The"Jackson Skyway" (a bridge) was recentlyremoved and it provides a nice spot to shootlnIins crossing the hridge (TonawandaCreek) at lnIckside or on the 50 footembankment. LH •

The Semaphore

Rand Warner, Director, 425-8587

Tuesday Work Partiesstarting in November, we will be having

regular work parties starting at noon onTuesdays, and nmning through the evening.

Those who can come out daytimes canwork in the daylight outside in the afternoon.

Others can work: inside the bam after-noon or evening. We have lights in the newbam and found it to be swprisingJy comfort-able inside last winter. Those who can ooIycome in the evening can work inside thebam.

Current projects inside the new Restora-Alion Facility include:• • Subway Car #60

Burro CnmeBR&P caboosePRR CabooseRailway Express truckTrackMobilesMO.W. equiproentHeavy EquipmentGenerator trailerTrack can

NYC Caboose #19877Don Brown, former Chapter member and

one time NYClPenn-Central yard officeemployee at Rochester/Goodman Street yard,sheds some hiStorical light on our oldestcaboose.

In more recent times, this caboose wasused on the Rochester-to-Cbarlotte Belt Line- up to the early-to-mid 1960's.

Some of the employees working this job,and using this caboose, included Bobevoutry, Bill Bassett, Sammy Sabin and JerryChancy.

This kind of info really puts somepersonality 00 the caboose - thanks a lotDon.

November 1999

Track WorkActing Sup/.: Rand Warner

Over 700 feet of rail was removed from asiding in SpenCeIpOIlin September. Genrgeand Dave Knab led the removal effort usingtheir diesel backhoe and tractor trailer. Theywere assisted by John Redden. Dave Luca,Rand Warner, Chuck Whalen. Bernie Cubitt,Bill Chapin. Norm Shaddick, Dan Cosgroveand Dee Mowers. The rail was removed,dismantled, and loaded in ooe long day.PrevioUs work had prepared the rail forremoval.

Over 500 feet of rail was removed from asiding in Rochester in September. Georgeand Dave Knab, assisted by Dave Luea andRand Warner pulled the rail and loaded theKnab's tractor trailer, using a borrowed forklift machine.' The rail had been previouslyprepared for removal.

The above rail will net us over 600 feetof new siding construction at the RestorationFacility - giving us badly needed storagecapacity.

Joe Scanlon, George Knab, Scott Glea-son, Dan Waterstraat, Neil Bellenger, BobMader, and others, have been bard at work,excavating and grading, for the new sidingtrack outside the Restoration Facility alongthe west side.

We are currently staging materials forbuilding more panel track, and should beinto construction by the time your read this.The panels will be used for the above newsiding at the Restoration Facility.

Mark Pappalardo, John Redden. BobMader, Neil Bellenger and Co. will involverepositioning and replacing switch timbers,realiguing the frog with the main, and thenrealiguing Siding #6 with the realigned frog.

Work remains to be completed on thepassenger loading siding at NYMT. Thereare more ties to be replaced or respiked, anda number of timberS to be replaced at theswitch. Then we can continue with ballastingand tamping to get this track into ~t classshape for the next season. Dale Hartnett andhis Explorer Scouts are working on thisproject, along with John Stewart and others.

We have authorization from our NRHSand NYMT Boards to purchase a quantity ofrelay quality ties. Vendors for ties andtransportation are being contacted for avail-ability and pricing. We currently have onhand enough ties for about eight panels (250feet) of trackage. New kegs of bolts are alsobeing procured. We are in good shape forspikes, but we are still looking for more 80#Dudley rail. Do you know of any moresidings we could pull up locally?

Page 3

Construction & Equipment"All in A Days Work" (again). Dan

Waterstraat has painted one of our newlO-wheel Army dump trucks a neat green.and it sports the NRHS emblem andRGVRM lettering.

Art Mummery, assisted by Bob Maderassisted by, are rebuilding'the air brakes onour second new Army dump truck to get itinto working service. They also have ourArmy lube trailer, with compressor, running,to support the construction fleet.

Scott Gleason, Dan Walerstraat, CharlesHarshbarger, Neil Bellenger, Chris Hauf,Jim Johnson, Joe Scanlon, Rand Warner arecontinuing work started by George Knab tobuild new trackage at our Restoration Facil-ity. They are using the Chapter's 0-7bulldozer, Trojan loader, Galion roller, Armydump truck, Hi-Rail dump truck and otherChapter heavy equipment

[Editor" Note: In the April ond Mayi.sues, Rand documented the .tolwJ of ourvarious JIeet&~ He ha.J updated them andthey will appear here and in subsequentissues aJ space penn.iu.]

Track Car FleetSupl.: Jeremy Tuke, Dan Waters/raat

Te-2 Llotar Car

Presently in reserve service for carryingvisitors on tours. Has been converted to4-wheel drive.TC-3l1otor Car .Roelloblle.

Presently in regular service. SlaIler re-built several times by Bob Mader and NormShaddick. Used for hauling weekday andSunday visitors.

Tc-4 Motor Car "UaderUobll.-

Presently in MOW service by track crewsand signal crews. Has air brakes.re-s Motor Car D&UU #1 Fairmont

Inspection car. In occasioual use. Not forhauling trailers.

Tc-6 0&1111 #2 Fairbanks

In occasional use. Will haul trailers.Trailer Car #2 .Neil Bellenger.

In regular use for hauling our manyvisitors.

Trafler Car #3 "Barbara Richards.

In reserve status for hauling on extraheavy visitor days or for large, special eventHas air brakes.

LV RR Push Car

Rebuilt by Dan Waterstraat In regularuse by track and signal crews.

(Continued on Page 4)

Page 4 November 1999 The Semaphore

•••••Passenger Car Fleet

supt. Bob Miner

Reading RR Push CerNeeds rebuild Would be useful for track

work Not in.service presently.

Falrmon! Track CraneIn service for track work Needs to have

parlting brake reactivated.

Track Crane Boom Car

In service to carry track tools and trackcrane tools.

2 Collapsible Push CarsIn occasional service for track work and

off site track demolition projects.

Thanks to ....Allan J. Goldstein of Goldstein Manage.

ment, Inc. for donation of 350 feet of trackbehind Jubilee Market al Spencerport - aformer private siding.

Fred Koch of Plywood Plastics Corp. fordonation of 250 feet of industrial siding inRochester at Burrows Street

George and Dave Knab for assistancewith loading and trucking track material toour Museum site.

Neil Bellenger for use of truck, trailerand backhoe tractor.

John Redden for use of trailer.

o Blocking: 4"1<4", 6"x6", 8"x8" andlarger

o Stencil cuttero Passenger car wheel sets, roller bearingO. Freight car wheel sets, roller or plain

bearingo Cantilever passenger car jacks

o Light weight knuckle couplers for tro.leys

o Brooms and dust pans for our buildingsand cars.

o Step ladders, any size or typeo Sources of stained glass for trolley cars

windowso Rail skates for wheel chocks for parked

rolling stocko Lackawanna high speed trucks from ca-

boose. express. or milk caro 80# Dudley rail, track, switcheso Relay quality 6"1<8" ties and switch

timberso Hydraulic fluid for our construction &

M.O.W. equipmento Good working repJacement "STAnON

AGENT' stove for our Depoto Good usable flat car 50'.53' long, for

line car projeclo Hydraulic excavator on track or rubber.o Safety cones, any size, red, yellow, or

orange.

o For depot a ::~. CD player IcaChris Hauf at 381-8586J

For SaleExcess signal materials; call Neil Bel-

lenger, 359-9985Excess .track materials; call Rand

W.mer, 425-8586Excess construction materials; call Joe

Scanlon, 392-S84IExcess Construction equipment; call Joe

Scanlon, 392-8841Excess Machine tools; call Ron Am-

berger, 242-9511

Rochester Subway Car #60Foremen: Rand Warner & Dave Luea

Work is progressing vigorously onWednesdays with our AM and PM workcrews of Jim Moore, Warren Shantz, DaveBaer, Cliff Rogers, Hiram Collette, Bob VanVaolkenburg, Rand Warner and Dave LucaBernie Cubitt and Bill Chapin have beenworking on Saturdays.

We are basically removing all interiorwood and trim" so that we can get at themeta! framing and skin for needed repairs.Most Woodis off the west side so we will bestarting the east side next.

Once the wood is off, then we can startMlGmGJPJasrna sheet meta! patching atdeteriorated areas. There is considerablework required at the window sills, along thebase of the. sides, and where the roof skinmeets the side skin.

This car is virtually 100% complete,which is prettYamazing for a car last used in1956 and having been at several. locationsover the years since.

The few things missing for this car are atrolley pole assembly, one seat cushion,brake controller handle, destinstion rollsigns, and one coupler.

Although the good news is that the car isvirtually complete, the bad news is thatvirtually everything will need attention inorder to return the car hack to service. Thisis a substantial project, but one which shouldhave a high level of community interest andsupport - so many people rode the subway,or their parents or grandparents.

Call Dave Luca at 288-0318 or RandWarner at 425-S586 if you can help out.

We have an active Trolley #60 Fund setup in the Chapter Treasury and can use anydonations of time or materials. We have alsoreceived an 51,800 grant from NRHS Na-tional to apply to the exterior cosmeticrestoration ouly.

(Coned from Page 4)Track Cars

DL&W BaggageServiceable. RePainted and relettered

Used for visitor tours with a variety of newinterior displays provided by Chris Hauf.Interior restored

E.L MU Power CarServiceable. Interior restored. Awaiting

roof work Used for group tours. Exteriorawaiting repainting.

Erie SUliweliCoachOut of service. In major interior rehab.

Exterior resheeted, repainted, reletteredCeitings are now being refurbished by ChuckWhalen and Co.

Snow FightingThis winter of "Y2K" we should really

be able to fight back - .if you count all ouremerging snow fighting options:

I. TrackMobile with wedge plow.2. Kodak Park RR snow brush3. Locomotive with pilot plow4. MEClWAG push plow5. NYMT trolley sweeper running from

tag power unit (or diesel locomotive).

PRR RPO CarServiceable. Used for storage. Stored

materials to be relocated Awaiting newpaint and lettering. Need mail handlingapparatus.PRR Pine F.llsS ••••par-lounge

Out of service. Used heavily for visitor.tours. Interior in rehab. Exterior repaintedand lettered on one side. Awaiting majorexterior sheet meta! work

. 8&0 BaggagalTooi CarOut of service. Used heavily as tool and

shop car to support all other projects. To berelocated near to Restoration Facility in thefuture.

The Semaphore November 1999 Page 5

Christmas Giving Opportunities

Gilt Jdezl Ro. 2• Year End Tax Planning

This has nothing to do with the Y2Khype. It is just plain common good sense.Now is the time to begin thinking about

your tax situation for 1999 and 2000, not onChristmas Eve or New Year's Ever or April14th.. Could you improve your tax situation by

a donation now. or early next year, to our taxexempt 501(c) 3 Chapter. We have manyfine projects that could benefit from a cash,or in-kind, or appreciated stock contribution.Talk to our attorney or tax preparer early

on. Under the right cin:urnstances you might

Rostoratlon Building:Floor Slabs: S25,000

(5 @ S5,000 each)Exterior Tracks: :.. S5,000Interior Tracks: :.. S3,000Underground Utilities: S2,OOO

Rochostor Lockport & Buffalo Inbtrurban

11206:• Trucks and Bolsters: SIO,ooo

Pilots, Couplers, Truss Rods & Related:................................................. S5,000Exterior Rehab: S5,000Interior Rehab: S5,OOOInteri F 'shings .or UIDl : •••.••.....•••.•. S5,000

Holsler ll-4-4Fireless Steam Loco:Lagging Removal: S5,000Charging Boiler: S2,OOORunning Gear. Sl,oooCosmetics: S1,000

•

Tioga Central ExcursionTrain Severely DamagedShelden King called to recite an article

in the October 24th issue of the ElmiroStar-Gazetre.

In the early morning hours of Saturday,0cL 23, a switch engine based in Wellsborostarted an unmanned journey down the !ioeto Wellsboro Junction, where the TiogaCentral's exception excursion/diner train waslocated. . It seemed that the engine broke freeof the chain blocking its wheels, ripped out aderail and picked up speed estimated at 50mph when it hit the baggage car of the.excursion fleet. Damage to all of the carswas extensive; some is believed to bebeyond repair.

The excursion train was to be used .thatweekend for a special Wellsboro festival thatwas heavily promoted.

even want to set up a charitable lead trust.charitable remainder trust, or other fInancialarrangement to benefit the Chapter, ourMuseum and our many other worthwhileactivities.The new Restoration Facility building

shell that we are enjoying so much todaywas made possible by the thoughtful consid.eration of many people in .many differentways only yesterday.Please give this malter some serious

consideration. You can designate your gift toany project or activity of your choice. RW

(The listing in the columns below repre.sents current funds and/or goals.)

Rochester SUbwayCar #60:Running Gear Rehab: ...•......... S25,000Steel Framing Rehab: SI5,OOOExtenor Sheet Metal: : SIO,oooInterior Appointments: S5,ooo

Vulcan ll-4-4TSteam Loco 1112:Boiler work: S20,000Firebox Work: SIO,OOORunning Gear. S5,000Lagging Removal: S5,OOOJacketing: S2,500

Erie Dopot Building:New Roof: SlO,ooOPlumbing: S3,000Drainage: S2,000Flooring: S1,000

TOTAL: S185,500

(WOW! And these are the estimates/goals tosee just ~ projects to completion.)

Yard at Lyons Closes, etc.Shelden King reports ihat the Lyons yard

was closed by CSX effective November 1.Yard activities were transferred to theRochester yard.Also, he reported that Finger Lakes

Railway is negotiating with NS to purchasethe Lyons to Geneva trackage of the formerNYC Fallsbrook Line that connected Lyonsto the Pennsylvania coal fIelds.Shelden presented a program on the

history of the Elmira and Cortland branchof the Lehigh Valley at the Septembermeeting of the Cornell Railroad HistoricalSociety.

The Caast Daylightby Harold Crouch

Mr. Bill Heron's account of his .trip onthe "Coast Starlight" in the July issue of TheSemaphore was most interesting and quitedifferent (better) than the one the lateGenrge Hocksday, his wife, and 1 took backin October 1989.We were headed. for San Francisco

California for a railroad meeting and so tookthe California Zephyr out of Chicago. Thesleeping car going to San Francisco was soldout three months in advance! However~ weobtained space in the car going to LosAngeles.Going out of Denver, Colorado, 1 sat in

th~ observation car - the one with the largeWlOdowsthat Mr. Heron described -to viewthe scenery. A fellow came up to me andasked if 1 was a minister or judge! I said:No! Only a Ferroequineoligist! It turned outthat there was. judge on board that day andso a wedding was held going to Salt LakeCity!Going out of Denver, 1 noted a cut of

hopper cars loaded with ba1Iast standing onan outside track. These were "ButTer" carsfor the mainlioe as winds up to 100 MPHoccur h:"e. in the winter time! Dynamicbraking ISa must m this area!At LAUPT we took a taxi to Long Beach

California and stayed over night on th;Queen Mary, having dinner on board. Niceto get back to sea a8ain! The next morningwe took the Coast Daylight train to SanFrancisco. Nice to see all the oil wells alongthe coast! This was the second time 1 hadtraveled this way as back in the summer of1959 we had gone to Sunny Vale, Californiato Lockhead's missile plaot and loaded aU.S. Navy ''Polaris" missile in a New YorkCentral F1exi-Van. We then went from PaloAlto, California to Cape Canaveral, Floridaon the rear of freight trains - 6,623 milesround trip!Perhaps it will be recalled that San

Francisco had only recently experienced adevastating earthquake and devastation wasseen everywhere! Passing one point, a largecrane (NO it wasn't on loan from Industry,N.Y.!) hfted up a large chunk of concrete torevcal an automobile completely erushod!Rather sobering!After our meeting, we took the Coast

Starlight to Engene, Oregon to visit aSouthern Pacific RR friend of George's. AtOakland, the SP RR Depot was clused androped off - cracks in the building wall. (Ibelieve it has since been demolished.) Onarrival at Oakland, we leamed that the

(Continlled on Page 6)

Page 6

I:aast 5tarllfJhl: (Continued froot Pg. 6)

"Starlight" was two hours latel It turned outthat the train was coming on time "nen atruck and auto tangled at a public gradecrossing and necessary to wait for a \\reCkerto remove the \\reCkage. After getting startedfrom this delay, another (smalIer) earthquakeoccurred which meant a 10 MPH speed limitfor. the train. In due course, the "Starlight"amved at Oakland and we boarded thesleeping car to Eugene. Being quite tired, I"hit the sack" at once and slept like a log! .The next morning, 10 and behold, we wereeven laterl Shortly after leaving Oakland,some one in a station wagon tried to-crossthe tracka at a non-public crossing andbecame stuck! Amtrak gets stuck with all thedelays over which it has NO control!l

Since the Coast Starlight could notguarantee connections with the EmpireBuilder at Portland, Oregon, we took. aGreyhound bus from Eugene to Portlandamving in plenty of time for the EmpireBuilder. Going out on .the station platfOI1ll,what should I see (NO, not Santa and hisreindeerl) but Southern Pacific loco #4449frred up and getting ready for a trip the nextday. A hostler was on board and so I wasable to ask if the booster engine (on the #2trailing truck axle) worked. His replay was:Everytbiug worka! Didn't have enough nerveto ask about the Main Nut tho!

The Empire Builder amved in Portlandon time and we boarded the sleeping car forthe trip back east. Amtrak had been "skimp-ing" on car maintenance and it showed.However, the meals in the dinning car wereexcellent. Going thru Montana and NorthDakota, the land is so barren - no trees andvery little in the way of shrubbery! Nowonder the early settlers bad to build theirhomes out of sod - that is all that is there!Sure nice to get back to Minnesota, Wiscon-sin, and Chicago - civilization! We took #48,the lAke Shore Limited home.

It seems so odd for #48 to leave ChicagoUnion Station on the advertised only to go aquarter mile out in the yard and then standfor a half hour looking at a red signall Indays gone by when the Twentieth CenturyLimited left Chicago's LaSalle Street Sta-tion, it was a green signal all the way toNew York. Woe to anyone who put 8 redsignal in front of ill Perhaps #48 shouldleave LaSalle Street Station once againl

[Editors Note: I took the "EmpireBuilder" west out of Chicago in 1990 (a yearlater) and also was "impressed" with thebarren landscape of North Dakota and.Montana! By the time we reached Portland,

November 1999

the train was VNO hours late.[On the return, took the 'southern' route

through Denver to Chicago. Traveled aloug ariver between canyon walls. GREAT. FromDenver, the power to the dinaing car wouldkeep going off, so the dinner calls were""dely spaced. We backed into Union Sta-tion with no lights in the cars! To me, it waspioneering spirill Others didn't think so!] ..

nip Reoort

HALTON COUNTY RADIAL RAILWAYMUSEUM

By BiII HeronAttention all trolley fans! There is a l:Il:lll

operating trolIey museum handily located inneighboring Ontario. The Halton CountyRadia.l Railway Museum, operated by theOntario Electric Railway Historical Associa-tion, is not only reasonably close at hand,but also a standout trolley museum. In faclit's high calibre rightfully earns it a spot inthe top range of my ratings for tourist railvenues. I suggest that you go out of your wayto visit Halton.

By now you must be wondering whatmakes the Halton museum so good. First,there is an outstanding collection of cars, anumber of "roch are fully restored andoperated in regular service. Many of thesecars are from Toronto, (the Toronto TransitCommission has been quite supportive ofHalton). Others, not from Toronto, nonethe-less served in Canada, mostly in Ontario, butin at least one case, in Montreal.

Second there is the ride. About two milesin length, the mainline has a loop at bothends. A major portion of the line passesthrough, not a green tunnel, but a pleasantfotest, \ll1llUlITedby underbrush and provid.ing welcome shade on a hot sununer's day.To add interest; there is an old fashionappearing, fWlCtiOning ice cream store on

The Semaphore

line near the East loop. The East loop itselfis a lot more than one would expect. Inside.the loop there is an attractive sunken gardenreplete with a pool inhabited by a number ofomarnental fish. The pool is surrounded bymany varieties of flowering plants. Someoneat Halton has a very green thumb, because inaddition to the East loop sunken gardenthere are attractive plantings throughout theproperty.

The Halton tine uses a portion of a grade.which once was home to a Toronto Suburbanline that ran about 47 miles from Etobicoke,(Toronto), to the city of Guelph. InterestinglyToronto's trolley tines utilize a gauge of 4'10 and 7/8". One of the members with"nom I talked remarked that he never couldunderstand why the gauge stopped just aneighth of an inch away from 4' I I".Whatever, the Halton line's rails are 4' 10and 7/8" apart.

Third, there are the people. The Conduc-torn.Aotonnen that I met were Wlusual in thewarmth of their mendIiness and reflected agreat pride in their musewn as well as theirpleasure in providing guests ",th a goodtime and interesting facts about the musewnand its collection.

Which brings us back to the collection.Toronto's Peter Witt cars came in both"large" and "small" versions. Naturally Hal.ton has representatives of both sizes. I rodein car #2424, a beautifully restored exampleof the large size. It was built by CanadianCar & Foundry in 1921 for the TorontoTransit Commission. I also rode in car #327.an open car which looks like a horse car towhich electrical motors were added. car.327, however, is not as old as it looks. It is ateplica, built in 1934 by TIC for a com-memorative event in Toronto. I suppose.however, that 65 years of age suffices to

(Continued on Page 7)

The Semaphore

Halton ... (CoIIlinued lh>m Page 6)

&ualify #327 as an antique. My last ride wasin car #107, a unique combine built byOttawa in 1907 for the Montreal andSouthern Coooties line. It too is besutifullyrestored. including a sign near the frontwhich advises "Defense de Racher". I wasadvised that it means "no spitting".

A few of the other items in Halton'scollection include:, #2786, a smalI Peter Witt, built in 1923by CC&F. (Halton bas a total of fourWitts).

, #8, a heavy weight interurban car fromthe London and Port Stanley Railway. Itwas built by Jewett in 1915 and ispantograph equipped.

, #4000, the first Canadian PCC, built in1938 by CC&F.

, #1704, built for and by the Toronto Rail-way Company in 1913. It is a single truckconvertible car and is undergoing restora-tion.

, #5300 and #5301, a pair of M-I subwaycars from Toronto.

Several more PCC cars are on theproperty, a reminder that. during the 60's

••Toronto rostered the largest fleet of PCCcars in North America.. Halton's PCC fleetincludes #4684, which originally served inLouisville and then in Cleveland. It wasbuilt in 1946 by Stlouis Car. The onlyother US connection is an example of anelevated car, #48, from the Chicago TransitAuthority.

On the day I visited Halton, greatexcitement was in the air. Silk RoadTransport delivered car #797, a wood com-bine interurban. type which had operated onthe Lake Erie and Northern line. It was built .by Preston in 1915. Tbis car came from theSeashore museum in trade for Toronto car#2890, a smalI Peter Witt. Both the body for#797 as well as its ruuning gear wereobtained. One can look forward to seeingIbis handsome interurban in fully restoredcondition some time in the future.

Perhaps my delight in my visit to theHalton County Radial Railway will infectthe reader with the desire to go there. Yieldto the ternptalion to do so. Not only will youenjoy yourself, but you will see a model asto what a really excellent operaling trolleymuseum can be.

• Lake Shore Limited to split?Rumor was that lAke Shore Limited was

to split in October, with the second trainrunning from Boston to Chicago. CSX basnot signed on. (The ESPA Express, Nov1999)

November 1999

The ~oul~hukerby Ted Jackson

The October issue of the Semaphoreniade reference to some public tmhappinesswith regard to the B&O's coal load.ingfacility at Genesee Docks "nere TurningPoint PBrk is now located Coal.was broughtin on .the B&O and sbipped out by boatThere was a trestle on which hopper carswere shoved.. From here the hoppers wereopened and the CoaJwent into the hold ofthe ship by gravity. Sometimes the hopperswould become clogged. The most commonway to speed up the flow was to hit the sideof the hopper with a sledge hammer. Tomake this operation more efficient, in thespring of 1951, the B&O installed a coalshaker. This coal shaker was a clamp orharnesS of sorts which fit over a coal car andliterally shook it to empty the car morequickly. (The Pennsy used these at SodusPoint also.) The problem was that the shakerproduced a lot of noise which was consid-ered objectionable by the people who livedin the surrounding community who. took theGenesee Docks Corporation (a B&O subsid-iary) to court. The court ruled that theywonld be permitted to use this equipmentbut only between the hours of 7 AM and IIPM or some such time interval. This seemedto be a reasonable compromise and the furorquicldy subsided.

Considering that no coal is now sbippedacross the Lake, we should remember that atone time coal loading facilities existed inRochester, Sodus Point, North Fair Havenand Oswego. What may not be so wellknown is that the B&O also sbipped out alot of salt through the same facility in thosedays. Salt did not have this C10isffigproblemand needed no coerCion to speed it on itsway.

Hamburg, NY group visitsMembers of a church-based model rail-

road club out of Hamburg, NY visitedRGVRM and NYMT in October.

Joseph G. Streamer wrote an all inclu-sive article for the November 1999 issue ofthe Empire Srote Expres., newsletter of theNiagara Frontier Chapter. Four high contrastphotos illustrate a few of our facilities.

Apparently, this was the result of apresentation by Rand Warner had given thatChapter earlier this year. Maybe we shouldestablish a 'speaker's bureau'?

A nice write-up.

Page 7

Edwards Motor Cars Now AvailableThe Edwards Motor Car Co. has been

reestablished. Originally organized in San-ford, NC in 1921, they had outputted 100cars before the last car was built in 1942..

The re-birth occurred in 1997 and theywill offer two models: Model 10 and Model20, besides Customwork. One new car basbeen built and is on lease to Mount DoraScenic Railway Company in Florida.

They are powered by a gasoline. enginemounted on the truck, rather than in the carbody. (TrainLine, Spring 1999]

Collect Timetables?The National Association of Timetable

Collectors is soliciting members. They put>-lish a bimonthly newsletter, The First Edi-tion, and a quarterly magazine, The Time-roble Collector.

Regular membersbip is $20. Informationfrom NATGC-Membersbip, P.O. Box 507,Newton, NJ 07860-0507.

~iiii:editor's. ComerWoe is me! After 200 copies of 420 came

oII the copier, noted the Nov. 4 date for theBatavia show. Ira Cohen, my proofreader,.noted that Nov. was not a Sunday. Sodutifu1Iy changed the masters to Nov. 7 (aSunday) and corrected the other 200 copiesby hand. Came home, looked at my notes,and it was Nov. 14; I had dropped the 'I'!

Probably in January, you may be receiv-ing a 12-page issue of The Semaphore, toaccommodate the backlog of material. Be-sides, the bolidays will be over, and youllhave time to .read on those cold nights!

Several should be on our BR&PIB&Ocaboose. Ted Jackson bas one on the '40&8',Dan Cosgrove and Bill Heron also havearticles awaiting - where is yours? Alsohave several 'mystery' photos for you toidentifY.

Looking over other newsletters, often seereferences to 'Semaphore' - and they do notapply to any article in our newsletter. Soconsulted the 1997-98 National Directory ofChapters and counted three other chaptersusing. that name: Conneaut (OR), LongIsland-Sunrise Trail (NY), and Sunbelt (OK)Chapters. Only Rochester has ' The Sema-phon!! ... well ....

However~ Dan Cosgrove sent a newslet-ter from the Mountain Valley Railroad Club(N-scale), called The Semaphore, based inCalifornia.

The SemaphareRochester ChapterNational Railway Historical SocietyP.O. Box 664Rochester, NY 14603

Chapter Meeting & Program:

??1?1 ?????by 117 1?11

November 18. 199940 & 8 Club

933 University Ave

IlflUPPY 'Ihun/a;gil'ing II

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDRochester, NYPermit #826

•The Semaphore is published monthly by the Rochester, NY Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. It is mailed free to all Chapter

members. Non-memba's subscriptions are $5.00 and run from Janwuy 1 to December 31. Chapter meetings are held the third ThlIDldayandthe Board of Directors meets the fIrst ThlIDldayof each month.

Roche.ter Chapter NRHS Officen:President: Chris HaufVice President: Steve OagleyTreasurer: Ira CohenRecording Secretary: Jeremy TukeCorrespondence Sec.: Don ShillingNational Director: Bob Miner

Trustees: Dale Hartnett, Charles Harsh-'barger, Dave Luca, Joe Scanlon,John Stewart and John Weber.

The Semaphore Staff:Editor: Gale SmithPrinting: Bob MinerlDave LucaMailing: Dan Cosgrove

InterNet (World Wide Web) address:httpJIwww.rochnrha.orgl

Contributions to The Senwphore are welcomed and encouraged from all readers. Theyshould be mailed to: Gale E. Smith, 299 Seneca Park Avenue, Rochester, NY 14617-2433.Phone: (716) 544.Q221. Contributors using a computer are asked to send their submissions onany MS-DOS diskette in ASCll formal, as well as a printed copy. Deadline: Flnt Day ofEach Month.

Building Shell Is Paid Forll

There is about $30,000 left in the fund to go towards installingthe concrete floor and p~ structure.

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