NEXT CHAPTER MEETING: AUGUST 21 · Morse H12-44 formerly used at the Seneca Army Depot) and Lehigh...

Recreating a typical interurban scene from the prewar years, Rochester Chapter member Jeremy Tuke’s 1940 Buick Eight waits patiently for ex-Philadelphia & Western 161 to clear the crossing at Gile’s. This scene was made possible through years of dedicated hard work of volunteers fromboth the New York Museum of Transporation and the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. PHOTO BY CHRIS PLAYFORD, LIGHTING BY CHRIS HAUF

AUGUST 2008VOL. 50 No. 11

FOR FRIENDS AND MEMBERS OF THE ROCHESTER CHAPTER NRHS

NEXT CHAPTER MEETING:

AUGUST 21Enjoy Your Railroad!

Our last summer meeting at the Depot!Bring your friends to Industry to enjoy

a ride on our museum railroad!

IT’S SHOWTIME!The Rochester & Genesee Valley RailroadMuseum's premier annual event will beheld August 23-24 2008, with a “preview”at the Chapter's August membership meet-ing on Thursday August 21st around 6:00PM. This will be the tenth annual DieselDays event, showcasing several pieces ofour operational equipment. Plans are tooperate R&GV 1654 (our ex-Army 80-toncentercab), Army 1843 (our Fairbanks-Morse H12-44 formerly used at the SenecaArmy Depot) and Lehigh Valley 211 (ourRS-3m “Hammerhead” rebuilt with anEMD prime mover), along with caboosesErie C254 and the Penn Central transfercaboose 18526. We may also be using oneof our NYC Empire State Express passen-ger cars at the transfer point to showcase

progress with the important windowreplacement program (and provide shelterin case of inclement weather).

This year's operations will be markedlydifferent as our visitors will make the connection from the entrance point at theNew York Museum of Transportation tothe R&GVRR diesel equpment by electrictrolley rather than track cars as in the past.Passengers will board NYMT’s ex-P&Wtrolley 161 for the ride to the transfer pointnear BOCES Crossing. At that point theywill then board R&GVRRM equipment forthe ride south to Industry.

We will be needing the volunteer effortsof as many members as can help out, fromTrain Crew positions for qualified mem-bers, to assistance

INSIDETrain Bulletin . . . . . . . 2

Museum News . . . . . . 3

Bill Reid Tribute . . . . . 5

WA&G Plow . . . . . . . . 10

NRHS Updates . . . . . 11

Off the Train Wire . . 12

ROC H ESTE R C HAPTE R , NAT IONAL RA I LWAY H ISTOR ICAL SOC I ETY • EST. 1937 • ROC H ESTE R, N EW YOR K

(continued on page 8)

We celebrate our tenth annual Diesel Days this August 23-24

2 • AUG UST 2008 • TH E SE MAPHOR E • ROC H ESTE R C HAPTE R N R HS

The official publication of the Rochester Chapter,

National Railway Historical Society

Volume 50, No. 11

EDITOROtto M. Vondrak

PRINTING AND MAILINGGale SmithBob Miner

©2008 Rochester Chapter, NRHS. TheSemaphore is published monthly by theRochester (New York) Chapter, NationalRailway Historical Society. It is mailed freeto all Chapter members. Non-member subscriptions are $10.00 and run fromJanuary 1 to December 31. Chapter meetings are held the third Thursday of eachmonth, and the Board of Directors meets thefirst Thursday of each month. Any itemsrelated to the activities of the RochesterChapter the Rochester & Genesee ValleyRailroad Museum, and regional railroad history are gladly accepted.

www.rochnrhs.org

CHAPTER OFFICERS

PRESIDENTDave Luca

VICE PRESIDENTRobert Achilles

TREASURERDon Wawrzyniak

RECORDING SECRETARYJoe Nugent

CORRESPONDING SEC’YDave Scheiderich

NATIONAL DIRECTORBob Miner

TRUSTEESRon AmbergerLuther Brefo

Mike DowHarold Russell

Joel ShawJohn Stewart

TRAIN BULLETINSHORT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING

THE ROCHESTER CHAPTER NRHS

BILLY REID: 1942-2008It is with great sadness that we report our

long-time volunteer and good friend William “Billy”Reid passed away on July 15 after a prolonged hospitalization. Billy was our Track Superintendentfor many years, and the namesake of Reid’sCrossing on the demonstration railroad. We havepieced together a small tribute on Page 5.

LECTURE AT GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSEChapter member Tom Tischer will be giving a rail

orientated slide show/lecture at the GeorgeEastman House in Rochester on Thursday eveningSeptember 11 at 6:00 pm. The presentation will bethe first lecture of the season for the “Wish YouWere Here” series which Tom also sponsors.Thetitle of Tom’s lecture is "Trains: What We Have andWhat We Have Lost.” The presentation will coverthe world, but with emphasis on American trains.

AUGUST CHAPTER MEETINGFor interested photographers, we are planning

another night photo shoot for the August 21

Chapter meeting after a great session was held dur-ing the July meeting. The shoot will begin around8:30PM, and we will plan to depart from theR&GVRRM by train around 8PM. You will only beable to access the photo shoot sight by riding thetrain. Our plan is to shoot the R&GVRRM's dieselpowered train meeting the NYMT's trolleys atBOCES Crossing as this will be the first Diesel Dayswhere visitors will transfer directly from trolleys totrains! In addition to their camera capable of a bulbsetting, participants in the photo shoot should bringa tripod, cable release and a small flashlight to aidin walking. We are going to also ask a five dollardonation to the museums' from each photographerto help offset the costs of operating the equipmentfor the session. Anyone wishing to just watch can doso for free! You don't have to be a Chapter memberto participate.

Everyone is welcome! For questions on the ses-sion, please contact Chris Hauf. Some of the pic-tures from the July session can be seen in this pub-lication and all of the setups can be seen on themuseum's website, www.rgvrrm.org

PLAN AHEAD: Next Meeting:

September 187:00 PM at 40&8 Club

JOIN ROCHESTER CHAPTER NRHSAnnual Dues: $53.00

Rochester Chapter NRHSP.O. Box 23326

Rochester, NY 14692-3326

TWO TROLLEYS, NO WAITING. At the NYMT carbarn, ex-P&W 161 and 168 pose for our night photography session held during the July chapter meeting. Did you miss it? You get one more chance! Chris Hauf will organ-ize another night photo session at the August meeting. See details below. PHOTO AND LIGHTING BY CHRIS HAUF

WWW.ROC H N R HS.ORG • TH E SE MAPHOR E • AUG UST 2008 • 3

MOTIVE POWER DEPT.LV 211: A significant amount of activity inJuly centered upon LV 211 to prepare it forduty during the July Chapter meeting and“Caboose Day” Sunday. Mike Dow andChris Hauf organized the activity.Mechanical work was performed by MikeDow, Dave Scheiderich, Dave Luca andLuther Brefo. They adjusted the enginegovernor, fixed a leak in the main air reser-voir valve. Luther crawled under the loco-motive and added suspension bearing oil.Dave and Mike took an engine oil sampleto send off for analysis. Windshield wiperswere replaced and the cab and short hoodcleaned out. Chris Hauf buffed up the exte-rior of the engine to make it shine like new.

RG&E 1941: Work has also continued onthe 1941 GE center-cab restoration duringthe month. Joe Nugent took the lead withhelp from Ron Amberger, Joel Shaw, PeteGores, John Stewart and Chris Hauf. All ofthe windows were removed from the cab toprepare the engine for a new paint job andso that new rubber gaskets could beapplied when they are re-installed. Joe andJoel cut and formed new conduits for theemergency fuel cut-off cables. Ron cut dia-mond plate and Joe welded these pieces inbehind the ladders that needed new back-ing plates with help from John Stewart.Chris Hauf started fabricating temporarywork horses to hold parts for sand blastingand painting. Lynn Heinz has donated asteel engine bell to be used in regular serv-ice on the engine.

EK 6: Our GE 80-tonner EK 6 remainsout of service pending diagnosis.

EK 9: Our ALCO RS-1 has not yet beenfired up this season, but may be activatedby the time you read this.

USA 1843: Our F-M has been runningwell this season, pressed into variousassignments through the spring and sum-mer, including hauling two of our ESEcoaches during the June Chapter Meeting.

R&GV 1654: Our ex-Army center-cab

switcher has been activated several timesthis season for chores around the museum.

—Ron Amberger

TRACK CAR OPEATIONSThe track cars are back in good runningorder thanks to the efforts of Bob Mader,

ROCHESTER & GENESEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUMV I S I T O U R W E B S I T E : W W W. R G V R R M . O R G

MUSEUM MANAGERS

RAILROAD: Chris Hauf(585) 381-8583 [email protected]

INFRASTRUCTURE: Dave Luca(585) 288-0318 [email protected]

WEST SIDING PROGRESS! The R&GVRRM's new LA&L siding switch was installed in July afterbeing built as a panel back in January. Looking north along the LA&L main, we see the museum'sCatD7E dozer positioned next to the new switch after having done some rough grading for the first400 feet of the siding. ABOVE: Dan Waterstraat has the controls of one of the museum's Caterpillarroad graders as he works the earth north of the new LA&L siding switch to prepare it for installa-tion of the first 400 feet of the siding. PHOTOS BY CHRIS HAUF


Bob Miner and others. Ted Strang fromNYMT has converted TC-1 to 12 voltoperation. Its generator had failed with aburned out winding, which in turn causedthe bearings to freeze. A replacement 6-volt generator costs as much as a 12 voltgenerator plus new fuel pump, voltage reg-ulator, etc. The decision was made toupgrade TC-1. In the meantime, TC-2 tookover its responsibilities.

Because of the efforts of our trolley elec-trification crew working 8 hour plus days,a considerable amount of new wire hasbeen installed. Rail bonding (to allow forelectrical conductivity across joints) isbeing done and the trolley is now able tooperate to Boces Crossing. The track carswill not operate on Diesel Days. Insteadthe trolley will make the run from NYMTto the transfer point near Boces Crossing.

This decision has many merits. First, thetrack cars are old and not mechanicallyreliable as we would like them to be. Onefailure can totally disrupt operations.Secondly, they have a smaller passenger

carrying capacity than the trolleys. Third,the trolleys add a dimension of excitementto our already popular event. Increasedinterest from the trolleys will allow bothour museums to continue in their missions.

We are seeking track car operators tohelp finish out the summer season. JayConsadine and Al Emens are scheduled forAugust 31. A third operator just to givethem a break from 12 to 3 would be wel-come. The remaining Sundays inSeptember and October have numerousopportunities available. Please rememberthat this may be the last year for Sundaytrack car operations as we know them. Donot pass up what might very well be yourlast chance to operate. Please call HaroldRussell at 585-427-9159 or e-mail at [email protected].

—Harold Russell

TRACK DEPARTMENTProgess on the Western Siding (west sideof the LA&L mainline, opposite our muse-um) that will hold our excursion trainset

continued through July and early August.The LA&L track crew installed our 132RENo. 10 switch, which was assembled earlier as a panel. Siding construction hasbegun, with more than 90 feet of trackbeyond the fouling point completed byearly August. From where we left off wehave installed a half panel of 110RE.Beyond the 110, we have installed two(soon to be three) full panels of 90AS.Thanks to Dan Waterstaat, Scott Gleason,Dave Luca, Dave Chapus, DaveScheiderich, Chris Hauf, Rand Warner, andRick Israelson. Vehicles and machineryused in the process to date include but arenot limited to the Army Chevy 5/4 TonPickups (RGVRRM 1), the “President'sVehicle” Ford Ranger (RGVRRM 1/2),the “Hi-Green Machine” (Army flatbedtruck restored by Mr. Dan Waterstaat), theFord Forklift, the Trojan Loader, Cat D7E,Cat RoadGrader, and our ex-Kodak ParkRail Drill (powered by Briggs-Stratton).

Up above, Switch 6 is seeing more atten-tion. Mike Dow,

The first of our excursion set coaches has entered our Restoration Building. The goal is to cycle each one of our coaches through the shop and givethem some needed attention. Having the coaches on-site at the museum has been a tremendous help. PHOTO BY DAVID SCHEIDERICH

MUSEUM NEWS CONTINUED

(Continued on page 6)


ROCHESTER & GENESEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM NEWSV I S I T O U R W E B S I T E : W W W. R G V R R M . O R G

William “Billy” ReidWILLIAM “BILLY” REID died July 15, 2008at Strong Memorial Hospital followingam extended illness. He was born inAlbion in 1942, to William and AgnesReid. Bill was a railroad man most of hislife having recently retired from GeneseeValley Transportation, formerly workingfor Conrail and NYSDOT Highway Dept.He volunteered at the Rochester Genesee& Valley Railroad Museum as our TrackSuperintendent for many years, and is thenamesake for “Reid’s Crossing” on ourdemonstration railroad. Billy was also anactive volunteer at the New York Museumof Transportation.

A familiar sight around the museumwith his ever-present Swisher Sweet cigar,nearly everyone at the museum has astory to share about Bill. He was a very dedicated and resourceful member of ourgroup, committed to our shared success.Billy personally spread the 56 loads of ballast brought in to NYMT by the Army

Engineers when we were constructing therailroad at that end. He also installed allthe culverts on our main line, before trackwas built, using only a loader. Bill gradedmost of our main line right of way using a borrowed road grader and our own Romeroad grader. As Track Superintendent forthe R&GVRRM, he was involved inarranging several donations of track material, as well as the transportation forit. “He sure was a one-of-a-kind, self-made man, and we all miss seeing himaround the property,” said Rand Warner,Museum Manager during the height ofBill Reid’s volunteer activity.

Bill Reid leaves behind family, including12 grandchildren; four great-grandchil-dren, many friends, railroad buddies, aswell as his fellow brothers and sisters ofthe Albion Fire Department in which heserved for more than 50 years.

—Otto Vondrak, Charles MonteVerde,and Rand Warner

TOP,TOP RIGHT: Billy Reid gives a short speech,during the unofficial Golden Spike ceremonyheld by the team of R&GVRRM & NYMT volun-teers that had just completed the joint museumdemonstration railroad that day. Billy was theR&GVRRM's Track Superintendent for manyyears and Reid's Crossing along our railroad isnamed in his honor.MIDDLE: Billy Reid operatesone of the R&GVRRM's front loaders during thefinal stages of the construction of the demon-stration railroad between the R&GVRRM andNYMT. Billy seemed to almost always have histrademark Swisher cigar in his mouth. Thisimage was no exception. PHOTOS BY CHRIS HAUF

ABOVE: Billy at work on the Genesee ValleyTransportation lines. Bill retired from GVTafter a long career with NYSDOT and Conrail.PHOTO BY CHARLES MONTE VERDE

with the use of our Tamperhas brought up the west rail on the switch toa positive elevation. The tamper is back atthe shops for some maintenance. Becausethis project needs to be completed beforeDiesel Days, Mike Roque and JessicaStallone have lead a team of volunteers inworking the remainder of the switch byhand with the use of R&GV 1654 as an aircompressor, air-powered hand tampers, andtrack jacks. Someday in the future thisswitch will be rebuilt north of its currentlocation to alleviate many of the elevationissues it is now plagued with. Thanks also toDave Luca, Rand Warner, and others.

Anyone can help with track! Lend ahand some time, you’ll be amazed at whatyou can do with a few simple machines ina couple of hours. We’ll teach you every-thing you need to know.

—Luther Brefo

THANK YOU...• Rand Warner for donations of assorted

tools and supplies.

• Ray Howard for donation of a handcart.

• Lynn Heintz and others for donation oflarge pallets.

• Lynn’s neighbor for the donation of a2-wheeled baggage cart.

• Jeremy Tuke for donation of Round Upherbicide concentrate.


Our “Hammerhead” Alco RS-3m rounds the bendsouthbound at Scanlon’s Curve during a photorunby at our July Chapter Meeting. Notice thetrolley poles in the background, signs of progressby the NYMT electrification crew. ABOVE: Asthe skies grow draker, the lighting effects on LV211 become more apparent.The distinct number-boards were replaced and restored by museumvolunteer Neil Bellinger in 1990. BOTTOMRIGHT: Vintage kerosene marker lamps on theErie caboose add ambiance during an eveningrun at the museum. PHOTOS BY CHRIS PLAYFORD

(From page 4)


ROCHESTER & GENESEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM NEWSV I S I T O U R W E B S I T E : W W W. R G V R R M . O R G

• Blue Flags

• No. 3A crushed stone ballast for newtrack construction

• Non-asbestos boiler lagging for Heislerfireless steam locomotive

• Cantilever passenger car jacks for useon our excursion trainset

• Donations/sponsors for proper grade ofLexan plastic sheets for fabricatingouter window panes on excursion cars

• Sheet steel in 0.085” thickness forrehab of Rochester Subway car 60

• Cases of soda/pop in cans

• Open-end wrenches larger than 1”

• Pallet racking crossbeams

• Good used, or new, rims for Bobcat 610

• Socket sets - 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4" drive

• Sturdy wood, metal, or plastic pallets

• Track bolts for 80-lb. or 90-lb. rail

• Working tractor backhoe

• Ballast hopper car

IF YOU CAN HELP PROCURE ANY OF

THESE ITEMS PLEASE CONTACT:

Rand Warner at (585) 425-8586Chris Hauf at (585) 381-8583Dave Luca at (585) 288-0318

Visit the Museum on-line:

www.rgvrrm.org

WANTED

NEXT EVENT:Diesel Days

Aug. 23-24

TOP: Is this the photo line for a hotmainline steam excursion? Nope, it’sChapter members enjoying a speciallyorchestrated photo run-by with LV 211as part of the entertainment during theJuly Chapter Meeting. The location isnear Scanlon’s Curve. ABOVE: At firstglance, it could be railfans riding the lastlate-night run of a fallen interurban inthe 1960s, instead it’s one of NYMT’strolley cars bringing participants of thenight shoot down to Gile’s Crossing,coordinated by Chris Hauf for the JulyChapter Meeting at the museum.PHOTOS BY CHRIS PLAYFORD

RIGHT: Chapter member Ryan Kane isnow living in the Syracuse area, and hasbeen volunteering as a summer car hoston the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Allhis years of volunteering at our museumhave paid off! Don’t worry, he’ll be atDiesel Days. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY RYAN KANE

as Depot Guides,Car Hosts, concession and transfer pointpositions. Please consider helping out withthis fun and busy event this year as weagain showcase our wonderful museumand the operating equipment we haveavailable. Please contact Jeremy Tuke([email protected]) if you are avail-able to volunteer so that we may planaccordingly. We are planning to have spe-cial commemorative yellow t-shirts avail-able for volunteers to wear during theevent (watch for announcements as we getcloser to the event). Not only are they agreat collectible, these T-shirts help identi-fy museum volunteers instantly, so our vis-itors know who to turn to for assistance. Ifyou have a T-shirt from a previous DieselDays event, you may wear that as well.

Diesel Days is our most popular eventwhere we get to show off for the public allof our hard work from the past year. Withyour help, we can make it a sucess!

—Jeremy Tuke


LOOK AHEAD... LOOK SOUTH... Remember the old Southern Railway advertising slogan? The R&GVRRM Operations Department was “looking ahead”by helping two Chapter members complete their training this summer.ABOVE: During hands-on training for engineers, Fireman Ron Amberger operatesthe museum's former Lehigh Valley RS-3m 211. BELOW: Completing his hands-on training for conductors, Brakeman Rick Israelson poses in front ofhis train, also led by the 211. If you are interested in learning more about operations, contact Mike Dow or Mike Roque. PHOTOS BY MIKE ROQUE

SHOWTIME(continued from page 1)


NRHS Grant Awarded forLocal Caboose RestorationThe Niagara Frontier Chapter was awarded$3,000 as part of the NRHS RailwayHeritage Grants Program. This money willgo towards the replacement of 22 win-dows, and the cosmetic restoration of twohistoric cabooses in their collection.Conrail 21005 is former New York Centralcaboose built at Despatch Shops (EastRochester) in 1963. It passed to PennCentral and eventually Conrail as class N-7B, retaining its original number. Thecaboose may be restored as Conrail orNYC. Erie C-348 is a riveted steel baywindow caboose built at Dunmore Shopsin 1953. In 1976, the caboose was sold toDelaware & Hudson, becoming their35805. The caboose was acquired fromGuilford in the mid-1980s when the carwas based in Oneonta. Congratulations tothe Niagara Frontier Chapter!

NRHS Publications UpdateNational continues to get their house inorder and try to recover from years of dis-array and confusion. You may have noticedan increased delivery of back issues of theNRHS Bulletin. Various contractors havebeen working with the NRHS to producethe late issues and get them out to themembership. Currently, the Fall 2007Bulletin should already be in the mail by

the time you read this. Work has alreadybegin on producing four Bulletins for the2008 year. Once complete, the NRHSBulletin will be completely caught up, andthe normal publication schedule willresume for 2009. Congratulations are inorder to National and the Bulletin staff fortheir dedication to make good, rather thanabandon the project and alienate the loyalmembership.

The 2007 Activities Annual Yearbookshould be mailed out during October. Avacancy has opened up for the position ofYearbook editor, with no volunteers to fillit as of this writing. Participation from theChapters appears to be down, with lessthan 75% submitting activities reports.Hopefully these numbers will increasewhen our publications return to a normalschedule and faith is restored in the sys-tem. There was no date announced for theproduction and mailing of the 2008Activities Annual.

NRHS Membership RenewalsRecognizing they need help with adminis-trative tasks, National has taken steps tomove many of the Society’s membershipfunctions to Fernley & Fernley, aPhiladelphia company that specializes inproviding management services for non-profit organizations. Many Chapters havecomplained about this year’s membershiprenewal process, which was supposed tostreamline data collection and processing.The plan developed by Fernley & Fernleywas to have each chapter fill out a pre-for-matted spreadsheet and e-mail it back tothe home office. Numerous glitches arosewith some Chapters modifying the spread-sheets, e-mails seemingly disappearingand lost, and other conflicts and miscom-munications beyond explanation.

As with any new process, there wasmuch to learn and National is workingwith Fernley & Fernley to identify theissues and make changes. National is also

working with Chapters that have not yetprocessed their renewals. Everyoneinvolved is working hard to make sure thenext renewal process goes smoothly. In thelong run, working with Fernley & Fernleywill free National to advance the goals ofthe Society, without being bogged down byadministrative work.

NRHS Conventions UpdateThe North TexasChapter was ourhost for the 2008Lone Star Railsconvention held in

and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metro-politan area. The June convention waswell-attended, and provided a variety ofinteresting excursions and tours. From thelatest Amtrak and DART commuter trainsto vintage trolleys and steam operations,there was something for everyone.Reactions have been largely positive, andthe North Texas Chapter should be con-gratulated for a job well done.

Unfortunately, the group proposing tohost the 2009 convention in Orlando,Florida retracted their bid. Fortunately,National has stepped up to the plate andwill be sponsoring the next convention inDuluth, Minnesota. The 2009 Conventionwill be held August 10-16, and the pro-gram is still being put together as of thiswriting. Minnesota is home to the famousCopper Range, well-known for iron oremining and rugged scenery. While nothinghas been finalized, one can assume thatsteam engines like Milwaukee 261 andSoo Line 1003 will be involved. Closer tohome, preparations continue for the pro-posed 2010 convention in Scranton, Pa.,hosted by the Lackawanna & WyomingValley Chaper. While no details have beenreleased at this time, it's a safe bet that thelocal railroads and Steamtown NHS willplay a part in convention activities.

—Compiled by Otto M. Vondrak

STRAIGHT FROM THE TOPNational Railway Historical Society News


Our snow plow was built by Russell in1921 for the Boston & Maine railroad. In1960, it was sold to the Wellsville, Addison& Galeton, a shortline comprised of former B&O branchlines in New York andPennsylvania. After the WAG shut down in1979, snow plow X-3710 was sold to a private individual who repainted it into aversion of B&M decoration. The plow waspurchased in 1997 and donated to theR&GV in 1999. After careful evaluation, aslow and steady restoration process wasstarted, led by the Marks family.

Before the rains of 40 days and 40 nightscame to us (or what seems like it), restoration work was performed again onthe WAG plow. During the months of May,June, and part of July significant sandingand priming occurred as well as windowframe replacements. The back west half ofthe plow was completely primed (with theexception of the first top board, woodreplacement work is still needed beforepainting) and parts of the back end weresanded and primed as well. Hardware onthe rear, including a steel corner brace andthe uncoupling lever were removed to gainbetter access to the wood with a sander.Both of the two window frames on the eastside have also been replaced with newwood, primed, and caulked.

A problem that has been an issue allthroughout the removal of the old paint isbeing able to remove it efficiently. Thatissue was just resolved last month. I mustsay that 60-grit sandpaper on a high powered sander is just what is needed forremoving old paint… from anything! Thismakes for extremely fast sanding, allowingfor more surface area to be covered andprimed in shorter amounts of time.

Future work will include completelyreplacing the east side door as it has deteriorated beyond repair, replacing morewindow frames, patching holes in the original wood on the back end, more woodreplacement in other areas, and maybeeven installing a brand new roof – and of

course more sanding and priming.Earlier this year, Chris Hauf submitted a

grant application to the Amherst RailwaySociety in hopes of receiving a grant worth$650 to be spent on a new membrane rooffor the plow. A few weeks ago word wasreceived that the application was success-ful and the above amount would now beadded to the WAG Restoration Fund. Thisis a significant boost to our restorationneeds. Thanks to Chris for his efforts.

Although the grant money is a veryimportant part of the restoration progress,your continued donations are just asimportant. Your donations will help fundall sorts of materials purchased in thefuture, including heavy lumber that will be

needed to rebuilding the actual plow sec-tion. Thanks to all for your continued inter-est and donations!

—Jesse MarksVisit www.wagplow.org for more info!

AT A GLANCEBuilder: Russel Snow Plow Co.Built: 1921Road/Number: X-3710(ex-B&M, sold to WAG 1960)Weight: 80,000 lbs. (estimated)Acquired: 1997, donated 1999

SNOW SURVIVORWAG X-3710

HOW NOW BROWN PLOW? Decorated as Boston & Maine X-3215, our former WAG plow is shovedup the hill by our FM switcher in 1997. ABOVE: Jesse and his dad Charlie Marks have been hard atwork stripping and priming the wood surfaces of the plow in anticipation of a full cosmetic restora-tion. Most of the work has been performed outside, as seen in this July 2008 photo.The mechanical systems have been tested, including the air pistons that control the plow wings. PHOTOS BY CHRIS HAUF


As I write this short column, we have justcompleted one of our first events of the sum-mer, Caboose Day. This newly establishedevent helps us warm up and work out kinks inoperations and equipment so we can betterprepare for the “main event...” DIESELDAYS! Yes, by the time you read this, count-less many volunteers have spent untoldmonths getting our museum ready for ourmost popular public event.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.We only get one chance to make a good firstimpression. Police the museum grounds fortrash and litter. Can you come out and help us

organize our spare materials? Maybe spendan hour and help us clean and polish? If youcan’t spare an hour before the event, can wecount on you to lend a hand during DieselDays weekend? August 23 and 24 is our timeto shine, and with more people opting foractivities close to home, we have to do every-thing in our power to make everyone’s visitworthwhile. We’ll need folks to help as carhosts, gift shop sales, train operations, tourguides and more. Just let us know you areavailable, we’ll give you a chance to help!

—Otto M. Vondrak,Semaphore Editor

—p.s. Busy summer down here. We stillhave cab units on Metro-North. This FL9was sent to rescue this leased GE P40 backin July. I’ll see you all at Diesel Days! -omv

Editor’s Corner email: [email protected] telephone: 585.820.2341

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS: Any materials related to the activities of the Rochester Chapter, the Rochester & Genesee Valley RailroadMuseum, as well as the history of Rochester’s railroads are welcome for publication in the Semaphore. All written materials should be submitted as Microsoft Word or plain text documents, and all photographs as high-resolution JPEG files. Materials and inquiries should beemailed to the Editor at [email protected] or call (585) 820-2341.

PH

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BY

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O M

.VO

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HEY, REMEMBER OUR BURRO CRANE? Many people may not realize that the Chapter rosters a BurroModel 40 railroad crane.The Burro has resided in the restoration building for nearly ten years, the subjectof extensive work by many dedicated volunteers.The Burro Crane was donated by Vitale Bros. Contractingin Piffard, NY. It came to them from the Foster-Wheeler plant in Dansville. The crane was transported tothe museum by truck and was unloaded on a rail jig made up by George Knab. Richard Bean did considerable work on the unit as project leader. Among the tasks completed, a Detroit Diesel 453 enginewas installed about eight years ago. John Redden installed a new air pipe line from one end to the other toallow pass-through so it can be moved as part of a train. The boom which Bernie Cubit and Richard Beanpainted is in the lower yard and ready to go. Chris Hauf, Norm Shaddick, Rand Warner, Art Mummery, Dave

Luca, Rand Warner, Bob Mader, and several others have performed extensive work work on the crane. It has received much attention, but needs a littlemore to be ready to go to work on the museum's demonstration railroad.With our new upper yard and connected track, moving it out is now a reality!Rand Warner is leading the new team to complete the work so please contact him if you would like to lend a hand.To take a look back, here we see theBurro Model 40 in 1997 heading north up the museum mainline. Once reactivated, the crane itself will be self-propelled.You will note the absence ofthe restoration building in the background as it was not yet constructed! PHOTO BY CHRIS HAUF

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THESEMAPHOREROCHESTER CHAPTER

NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETYP.O. BOX 23326ROCHESTER, NY 14692-3326

EXCURSION TRAIN SET: The long-await-ed dream of working on our Empire StateExpress cars at our museum location started just a few months ago and hasalready yielded miraculous results. Manywindows have been replaced for the firsttime in many years. Now the next phase ofthe dream is complete as we have placedthe first coach into the RestorationBuilding. The plan is to work on each car,one at a time, and address issues that needattention or repair. The first car went intothe shop on July 26. Completion of theUpper Yard helped make this possible.

NYMT ELECTRIFICATION: Overheadwire, brackets, downguys, backbones andpulloffs have been installed all the waysouth to the NYMT-NRHS property line.Conductive rail bonds have been complet-ed about 2/3 of the way down from the

BOCES Crossing to Reid’s Crossing.NYMT trolleys have been operated to thelimit of the rail bonds during the week ofJuly 21, following installation of pulloffsand backbones to support the overheadwire. The NYMT now has a lengthenedride through beautiful rural scenery thatwill only get better as time permits toallow further extensions.

MILK CANS : Lynn Heintz is painting allour old rusty milk cans. These cans aresuitable for display in our Erie milk car, theDL&W baggage car, and even the NYMTtrolleys. They would also look good prop-erly displayed around our Erie depot,around our freight section or on our bag-gage cars. These cans were always proper-ly painted and kept clean, as they carriedfood products to market.

TIME TO MOVE? With all of the increasedtrain and trolley operations coming intoplay on our demonstration railroad, now isthe time to consider relocating ourRochester, Lockport & Buffalo trolleywaiting room and our New York Centralcrossing watchman’s shanty. In an appro-priate location, these two structures would

do much to help tell the story of railroad-ing’s past. Explaining the functions of thecrossing shanty and the waiting roomwould be much easier if they were put towork alongside our railroad.

BURRO CRANE: We are currently assem-bling a team to finish up our Burro Model40 locomotive crane. Many volunteers per-formed countless hours of work to refur-bish this unit, and a modest amount ofwork remains to get this unit out of theshop and into active service.

SCHRAM COMPRESSOR: This little gaso-line powered air compressor is really pay-ing off. It supports a jackhammer for spik-ing or tamping or breaking up concrete. Itis also fairly small, light and portable.Easily placed onto a push cart, it has quick-ly become an indisepnsable part of ourwork sessions. Bob Mader, Rand Warnerand Dave Luca have been providing thenecessary tune-ups to keep the unit inworking order.

Off theTrain Wire

—Compiled by Rand Warner

Visit the Museum on-line:www.rgvrrm.org

Chapter Meeting:

August 216:00 PM at Industry Depot

Route 251, Industry

Next Chapter Meeting:

September 187:00 PM at The 40&8 Club933 University Ave., Rochester

Annual Chapter Picnic:September 6

Industry Depot

NEXT CHAPTER MEETING: AUGUST 21 · Morse H12-44 formerly used at the Seneca Army Depot) and Lehigh...

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