The Crusader “Preserving the Past for the Future”

October 2011

The Crusader RCT&HS 1

The 2060 Has Arrived

In Hamburg!

Our passenger car #2060 carbody, the former

grill-coach “Schuylkill” on the Pottsville-

Philadelphia train of the same name, arrived at our

Museum on Friday November 4. Previously in use

as Felty’s Diner in Fountain, Pa., it was donated to

the RCT&HS by Ben Bernhart in 2003. For the last

8 years it has been stored at Good Spring, Pa.

awaiting movement to our Museum. More details to

come later, but we wish to thank Frank Yanosky

and Kreitz Construction Services of Reading,

Anthracite Protective Services, the Cressona Fire

Co. No. 1, the Hamburg borough Police, and others

for their hard work and assistance in getting the

2060 moved safely over the road. Also thanks to

RCT&HS members Rick Bates, Randy Mengel, Paul

Payne, and Carl Rettstadt for their assistance with

the move. Now our next project is to get the #1189

parlor-diner moved from Strasburg.

Above photo: The #2060 southbound on Route 61 at Greenview Road, near Orwigsburg

Hamburg Museum Track Fund

Receipts Current Month: October, 2011 = $120.00

Total: May 2007 thru October, 2011 = $29,136.70

Payments Current Month: October, 2011 = $0.00

Total: May 2007 thru October, 2011 = $21,906.15

Current Fund Balance = $7,230.55

Pay Down the Loan Program

Receipts Current Month: October, 2011 = $806.00

Total: Nov, 2010 thru October, 2011 = $12,509.72

Payments Current Month: October, 2011 = $800.00

Total: Nov, 2010 thru October, 2011 = $12,500.00

Outstanding Balance = $84,500.00

Polar Express Party at the

Reading Railroad

Heritage Museum

Education Director Stephanie Smith is once

again bringing Polar Express parties to the RRMH.

At a Polar Express party, children are handed a train

style ticket which serves as their guide to the event.

Children hear the popular story, The Polar Express,

participate in games and crafts, and receive a goodie

bag complete with a coupon for the gift shop.

Children are then invited to visit with Santa and

Mrs. Claus in the museum and take in the sights and

sounds of the museum’s seasonal train displays.

Dates and times for the Polar Express parties

are December 10 and 18 at 10:15am and 1:15pm.

Each session lasts about an hour. Cost is $5 per child

accompanied by a paying adult. Space is limited!

Call the museum during regular hours to reserve

your spot at (610) 562-5513.

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OCTOBER 25th GENERAL MEETING 1st Vice President John Brown called the meeting to

order at 7:34 p.m. there were 5 officers, 43 members, and

visitor Curt Bell in attendance. John welcomed new member

Tom Schucker to the meeting. There is one change to the

September Crusader. The Lansdale parade for which the A5a

engine will participate in is on November 19th not the 9th. A

motion to accept the September 2011 minutes as printed was

made by Larry Mundell and seconded by Pete Urbaitis. The

motion passed.

EXECUTIVE BOARD Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com The October meeting of the BOD was held at 7PM on

October 4th at the RRHM in Hamburg, PA. Topics of

discussion and motions carried are as follows:

Financial – We received an invoice for $4,500 for

additional work Barwis Construction completed to

improve drainage at the museum site. This is work that

would have been needed to complete our site plan but had

to be done sooner than expected. The RCT&HS has been

moved to the next level of non-profit status due to our

increase in assets. This will require certain policies to be

developed and put into place. We also discussed train

meet profits, banquet profits, and budget planning for

2012.

Museum – The board approved submitting grant

application to the borough of Hamburg for Elm Street

money. Also approved were applications for an archival

storage grant and a collection storage grant through the

National Endowment for the Humanities. Rich Tobin

submitted an update to the electrical project to power the

buildings on the south side of our Hamburg property. The

board passed a motion to spend up to $6,900 on this

project. Other topics discussed were legal issues with

Northeast Salvage, theft of 100 feet of copper wire and

security upgrades.

1189 – The RCT&HS has received the title to car 1189 in

September. Plans to raise $15,000 to move the car were

discussed.

Other - FP7 repairs, the 2060 moving project, wood car

personal loan repayment, and the Schuylkill Haven

property.

The next general meeting of the Executive Board will be

held at 7PM at the RRHM in Hamburg, PA on November 1st. BUDGET & FINANCE

John Brown 717-426-2238 JWBROWN929@AOL.COM

The financial records for the 3rd quarter have been

audited. The records are accurate and complete.

The last Crusader contained a flyer to make a donation to move

car 1189 from Strasburg to Hamburg. Please make a donation

so we can move the car before December 31.

TREASURER’S REPORT Jim Adams 610-777-3764 adamsjimca@comcast.net

A motion to refer the Treasurer’s Report to the

Finance Committee for audit and vote was made by Don

Davis, seconded by Bill Hodson. The motion Passed.

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SALES Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com (for mail order questions contact Dave Heffner at 717-290-1493 daverj1@verizon.net) We have lots of new models available in the gift

shop and on the sales table. We will be restocking many of the

items we have been carrying in preparation for the Christmas

season.

We were at our train meet in Leesport and did well

but we could have used more help. I want to thank everyone

who has helped with sales in the gift shop at the Museum and

our shows this month.

Next show is the Allentown Train Meet November

12 and 13. Following show is the PA Christmas Show at

Harrisburg November 30 thru December 4 with set up being

all day on November 28.

FUND RAISING COMMITTEE Jonathan Barket 570-366-1533 jono1920@aol.com No report.

MEMBERSHIP

Melanie Zimmerman 717-445-6301 rcths.membership@juno.com As of October 25 we have 55 new members and 921

renewals for a total of 976 members for 2011. Currently the

membership breakdown is as follows: 684 Individual,

Lifetime or Honorary, 97 Family, 114 Contributing, 54

Sustaining, 17 Corporate, and 10 Student memberships. We

had a total of 1002 members at this time last year. We also

have nine members for 2012.

We are accepting renewals for 2012. The dues are:

Individual - $35 ($45 outside USA), Family - $43 ($53

outside USA), Contributing - $55, Sustaining - $100,

Corporate - $150, and Student - $15.

Society memberships make great Christmas or

Birthday gifts for your family and friends. Please mark your

envelope accordingly and allow plenty of time for us to get

the gift membership processed. Indicate where you would

like the gift membership sent, either to you, so you can

present it, or directly to the recipient.

LONG RANGE PLANNING TASK FORCE Carol Adams 610-777-3764 adamsjimca@comcast.net No report. MUSEUM OPERATIONS

Dale Woodland 215-723-5848 dwwrdg@verizon.net Dale led a field trip to former Reading facilities in

Reading for an Albright College class on October 4th. The

college donated $50 to the museum. Special tours in October

included a Cyber School group (10/8) and an NMRA group

(10/22) and Scout Merit Badge classes (10/23). We have been

contacted to put on a display at the Berks County IU January

26, 2012 between 4:40 and 6PM. We also received two

inquiries from Hamburg HS students to do community service

at the museum. Hamburg’s Our Town Foundation would like

to have an evening meeting at the museum November 15th or

16th. We also have been contacted by a professional

photographer who would like to use the museum site for at

least two workshops in 2012. Kutztown University is filming

a segment at the museum for a community program they do.

Travis Lenhart and his bride-to-be had their engagement

photos taken at the museum. A special thanks to John Funk

for being flexible as our museum host when the rains forced a

change in the date. We thank the Lenhart’s for their donation.

Our Polar Express Parties will be December 10 and 17.

CURATORS REPORT

Paul Troutman 610-926-4919 ptrout@epix.net Tip of the Month: A handy mixture to keep on hand is 95%

TURPENTINE and 5% BOILED LINSEED OIL. It can be

used to clean furniture, painted metal, and unpainted metal. It

has a cleaning action that does not become gummy. On fin-

ished furniture it imparts a bit of a shine. This mixture is

often better than using a commercial lemon oil polish that

may contain harmful silicates. (To make your own mix just

buy a quart can of PURE TURPENTINE. Remove 3 liquid

ounces of the turpentine from the can and add 1 1/2 liquid

ounces of BOILED LINSEED OIL to the can. Let it sit for a

few minutes to mix). Apply with a cloth and wipe off. It can

be applied with fine steel wool to clean lightly rusted metal.

NOTE: NEVER KEEP OILY RAGS OR STEEL WOOL IN

THE HOUSE. ANY OILY RAG CAN RAPIDLY IGNITE

BY SPONTANIOUS COMBUSTION. MUSEUM BUILDING COMMITTEE

John Corbit 610-781-1939

Scrapping has slowed in that the large items have

been removed. We earned about $8,500 for the material that

was recently scrapped. The tool shed in Lenhartsville that

was in a recent Crusader is ours if we move it. The committee

recommends that the building be disassembled to move it to

Hamburg. Once a location has been determined, the building

can then be reassembled for display and use. TRACK & GROUNDS Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com

We continue with the regular mowing and grounds

work. The grading contractor was back and completed some

of the work that needed to be done but got chased by the rain

again. They still need to spread the ballast layer over the areas

where we will be building track. We were able to put the

track that was built to hold the wooden cars back in place and

move the wooden cars back to where they had been. We also

move some of our stored items out of the way for the move of

the 2060 to the Museum. We will be moving the other track

panels into place for unloading the 2060 and the possible

move of the 1189. I want to thank everyone that helped this

month. Anyone that can help with any of this work, please

contact me.

MOTIVE POWER AND ROLLING EQUIPMENT

John Stoudt R.E. 610-775-1197 /Tim Weidner M.P. 610-780-0497 Work continues on the tender, tool car, MU cars and

others. Also the RS3 received attention.

PASSENGER OPERATIONS Dale Woodland 215-723-5848 dwwrdg@verizon.net The FP7’s are still not in service at Steamtown. Lack

of shop space is holding up repairs. Dale, Jim and Carol

Adams and Rich Tobin attended a meeting in Pottstown on

October 12th which was held to begin planning tourist train

service on the former Reading Colebrookdale Branch between

Pottstown and Boyertown. Nathaniel Guest is spearheading

the effort and has ambitious plans which include the use of a

steam locomotive. The meeting was attended by local

politicians and community leaders. We may be involved with

some of our equipment.

ACQUISITIONS Steve Schwartz 610-434-1289 schwartzsj@juno.com

No report. SAFETY Duane Briscoe 610-777-4196 This month we worked on inspecting and installing

fire extinguishers and emergency lighting at the museum. ARCHIVES / PUBLICATIONS / CALENDAR Rick Bates 610-647-9359 rbates@voicenet.com

Archives

Thanks to the following for recent donations to the

Archives: a collection of 1800s-era P&R documents from

Sue & Larry Bunce; some railroad books from Paul Kutta, a

nice collection of railroad magazines from our late member

Carl Kershner, donated by Joel C. Kershner; and some books

and other items from Glenn Speicher.

Publications

Work is underway on the remaining Bee Line issues

for calendar year 2009.

Calendar

The Year 2012 calendar is completed. The theme is

“Steam and Diesel on the Reading Railroad.” Please contact

the Sales Committee to purchase a calendar.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Andew Dietz 914-886-3459 Andrew.dietz11@albright.edu

No report. MAILING

Ken Riegel 610-777-4555 RCTHS214@comcast.net

No report.

MODULAR Jonathan Barket 570-366-1533 jono1920@aol.com

We have been very busy working on many different

modules over the past few weekends. Our main focus has

been Schuylkill Haven where we have had it in the layout at

Pottsville to test the trackwork and wiring. We continue

working on this and have been adding houses and trees to get

the real feel of the area. There are several other buildings that

are in need of being built and several details to be added to

this scene. Schuylkill Haven is planned to be used for our

upcoming Harrisburg Show.

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We have also been working on Saucon to sure up

some of the track work to eliminate derailments and upgrade

some wiring. This scene will also be included in our

upcoming Harrisburg show.

One of our newest scenes that is taking shape is our Hess

Refinery section. This scene has been ballasted and some

other scenery work is starting to be applied.

And an update to our computer dispatching system,

we continue to work on signaling completely around the

layout. We have updated the screen to include 2 monitors

and more sensors around the layout. There is only about 20

feet to detect and you will be able to watch a train progress

completely around the layout from the computer. We also

have added several more powered switches that are computer

controlled. More signals are being custom built to be

installed on the layout.

If anyone would like to take part in our work

sessions please feel free to contact me.

As far as our next show, we will be setting up in

Harrisburg at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex for the

Christmas and craft show. We will be in our normal location

and set up time will start around 9AM on November

28th. There will be several of us there on Tuesday

November 29th to work on several of the modules. The

show officially starts Wednesday November 30th and carries

through Sunday December 4th when we tear down. You will

need to contact me for parking passes and admission passes

if you are unable to make it for setup otherwise you may

need to pay for parking and admission. I hope to see you

there! MODELING -John Greene 215-721-3006 greene@netcarrier.com

The HO scale 16th street tower will be available for

the holidays. 52’ 6” steel gondola cars, of which Reading

had 2001 cars, are available through Tangent Scale Models.

Currently models for the B&O, LV, and WM are available.

You can purchase undecorated models and get decal them

for Reading or if you wait, Reading cars will be coming

soon. Bethlehem Car Works has a new model available, a

PBr Reading modernized coach.

TRAIN MEET Chuck Race 610-777-2053 Dale Miller has resigned as chair of the train meet

committee. Chuck Race has agreed to take on this responsi-

bility for now.

CONVENTION COMMITTEE

John Greene 215-721-3006 jgreene@netcarrier.com

April 21st is the tentative date for next year’s con-

vention.

WEBSITE AND CORRESPONDENCE

Norman O. Mueller 610-446-6651 rcths.questions@verizon.net Mike Sakal 610-777-3268 msakal@comcast.net No report.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Lee Schultz 610-845-2414 and Rick Bates Nominations are open for President, 2nd VP,

Secretary and two directors. Please call Lee at 610-845-2414

if you would like to make a nomination.

Currently, Duane Engle (Pres), John Greene (2nd

VP), Jeff Smith (Sec), Jim Blake (Dir), and Tim Weidner

(Dir) currently hold these positions.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dale Woodland (215) 723-5848 dwwrdg@verizon.net Tonight Kurt Bell has a program on the Reading’s

New Hope Branch. There has been a change in the remaining

program schedule in 2011. Rich Frey will do his Balkan

Railroads program in November and Dale will do his Minor-

ity Builders Advertisements program in December.

OLD BUSINESS

Mike Stehman reported that all the purchased security cameras have been installed. For $100 we can add more cameras if necessary.

NEW BUSINESS

Dale Woodland reported that we have been invited

to have a sales table at the December 10th

Southampton, Pa station event. If you are interested

in working this event on behalf of eh RCT&HS

please contact Duane Engle.

Pete Urbaitis reported a 5.6-mile section of the

Schuylkill River Trail recently opened in Chester

County between Cromby and Parkerford.

Gary Saggio reported that the Titus power station

will may be shut down due to new EPA regulations.

Work on the O gauge layout will begin shortly.

Please contact Tom Brown at (717) 279 - 6783 or

by e-mail at mjtsbrown@comcast.net if you are

interested in helping this year.

Bill Krug reported that Reading Company 1949-

1952 Vol. 2 is out featuring video shot by George

Gerhart has been released. The RCT&HS will have

these available for purchase is the near future.

Duane Engle reported that we had $249.25 in sales

at a recent event in Tamaqua.

Kent Herzer reported that the Lititz Caboose

Museum has closed for the season on Monday, Oc-

tober 24th. Member Dave Heffner, Kent Herzer,

and local volunteers welcomed 6,810 visitors

throughout a 112 day schedule. RCT&HS calendar

sales totaled 19. Donations accepted for the society

in the amount of $532.49 will go to the museum

fund for building repairs.

Tonight’s coal Bucket contained $144 and 11 envelopes.

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RCT&HS Corporate Members

Russell & Julia Angstadt; Bethlehem Car

Works, John Greene, CEO, Telford, PA (215)

721-3006; Centralia Coal Sales Co. ,Wilkes-

Barre, PA (570) 822-4135; Municipal &

Financial Services Group, Annapolis, MD (410)

226-910; G&K Hobbies, Bill Krug CEO, Reading,

PA (610) 374-8598; Health Insurance Solutions,

Inc., Tom and Nanette Poserina, Health

Brokers (215) 721-2220; “It’s All the Rage”

Hair Designs, In memory of Charles W. Moyer,

Jr., 1213 Penn Ave., Wyomissing, PA (610)

375-0816; Jonathan L. Shalter III,

Conservationist-Naturalist-Historian, Temple, PA;

Lancaster Chapter, NRHS, Christiana, PA (610)

593-4968; Outer Station Project, Benjamin

Bernhart, historian, author, publisher; PENNVIA

Private Railcars, Inc., Passenger Dome car

charters in the US and Canada, West Lawn, PA

(610) 678-3604; R. Harris Russo, MD,

Neurological Surgery, Kalamazoo, MI (269)

343-3939; Rabenold, Koestel, and Scheidt,

Attorneys at Law, Wyomissing, PA (610)

374-2103; Reading and Northern Railroad, Co., Andy Muller Jr., CEO, Port Clinton, PA (610)

562-2100; Security First Inc., Security, access

control, surveillance systems, 107 W. Lancaster

Ave., Shillington PA (610) 777-8890; Stackhouse

Bensinger Inc.: Civil Engineering, Landscape

Architecture, Land Planning Services, Traffic and

Planning Engineering, Storm Water Infiltration,

Municipal Engineering, Surveying/GPS, and Recreation

Planning & Design. Sinking Spring, PA (610) 777-8000

Town & Country Newspaper, Pennsburg PA,

(215) 679-5060

CLOSING

A motion to adjourn was made by Larry Mundell and

seconded by Dale Woodland. President Duane Engle

adjourned the meeting at 8:35PM.

Members Exchange: Larry Mundell 610-777-

5490 has the following G Scale items for sale.

Bachmann Golden Classics PRR 4-6-0 w/2 passen-

ger cars. Also, Bachmann B&O flat car, PRR wood

box car, PRR bobber caboose, 1 LH switch, 5 RH

switches, 8 sections of curved track, and 8 straight

tracks. Larry is asking $500 OBO total for all

listed.

www.readingrailroad.org

Mark Your Calendars

November 15: General Meeting of the RCT&HS at Trinity Bible Fellowship

Church, Rt. 73, Blandon, PA

November 30 - December 4: Modular and Sales at the PA Christmas and Gift

Show in Harrisburg, PA

December 10 and 17: RRHM Polar Express Party in Hamburg, PA

Save your Redner’s Tapes