The Railway & Locomotive

Historical Society, Inc.

Southeast Chapter

Newsletter No. 53, June, 1999

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SOUTHEAST CHAPTERSPONSORS RAILCAMP STUDENT

Derek Sands, a 15-year old student at Bishop Kenny High School, Jacksonville, Florida, will besponsored by the Southeast Chapter ofR&LHS, at the first 1999 session ofSteamtown’s Railcamp 1999. The sessionwill run from July 18 to July 24.

Derek and others will be workingand learning under the supervision ofNational Park Service rangers, employ-ees of Steamtown and volunteer counse-lors of the National Railway Historical So-ciety.

Students will experience during theweek: Train Dispatching -Railroad Opera-tions - Steam Locomotive Operation -Steam Locomotive Repair and Restora-tion - Modern Railroad Operations - Howto tell the story of railroad history to thegeneral public (interpretation).

Derek is a very active rallfan, a mod-eler and an Operation Life Saver trainee.He also plays high school football.

The North Florida Chapter of NRHSis making arrangements for Derek totravel via Amtrak from Jacksonville toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, where NRHSrepresentatives will meet him for the jour-ney to Scranton.

Derek will be our featured speakerat our September meeting.

Read more on page seven.

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The Southeast Limited ispublished bi-monthly by theSoutheast Chapter of theRailway & Locomotive Historical SocietyP. O. Box 664Jacksonville, FL 32201

SOUTHEAST CHAPTER OFFICERS:James A. Smith ChairmanWilliam F. Howes, Jr. Vice-ChairmanPaul V. Newtson SecretaryJames H. Wilk TreasurerClifford J. Vander Yacht Editor

Have your tickets ready, please!by Cliff Vander Yacht

On a beautiful Saturday morning, we met at theKingsley Avenue/CSXT railroad crossing in OrangePark. After a brief review of the privately owned busi-ness cars parked there, we proceeded to the Winn-Dixie parking lot to gather ourselves into two vehicles.Thence down US-17 and SR-19 to Mount Dora,Florida. Mountain? Well, maybe just a large hill, butbig enough to generate bumper a sticker saying, “ICLIMBED MOUNT DORA!”

We arrived too early to wait for the 12:30 PMtrip, so we bought our tickets and shopped brieflybefore boarding the 11:00 AM trip.

The “Doodlebug” is represented to be the verylast car built by the Edwards Motor Car Manufactur-ing Company of Sanford, NC, because the Mt. DoraScenic Railroad bought the rights to that company’sname. The car is a Philadelphia & Western Brill carrebuilt to the Edwards four-window car end design.W. D. Volkmer in his Electric Rails column in theNational Railway Bulletin Vol. 64, No. 2, 1999, pansthis rebuilding. The chain-driven car performed its as-signed task very well in spite of the criticism.

We went two miles south of Mt. Dora to the endof safe trackage of the Florida Central Railroad, theowner of the right-of-way. Our delightful conductorgave us some interesting items for thought on the rail-road and surrounding businesses and residences. Thenwe went back over US441 and a trestle to our startingpoint, then two miles beyond. This is the beginningof active trackage of the FCRR. After some morewords from our illustrious conductor, we went backagain. An eight mile ride in about an hour.

In November of 1994, when we rode the FCRR,we had eaten at Okeefe’s in Travares, so we did itagain.

After lunch, some of us shopped somemore in Mt. Dora, the rest went to see theFCRR in Plymouth.

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SoutheastChapter Meetings

Our July 8th meeting will feature two pro-gram events. First, Chairman Jim Smith willpresent a brief slide shown on a trip he made tothe Kingsport - Erwin, TN area. So start thinkingabout AC’s and coal trains, along with the everpopular Q690/Q691 merchandise trains.! Our sec-ond feature will be a video titled Streak Of Or-ange which is being provided by Paul Newtson.Train Q651 is one of the most service sensitivetrains operated on CSXT, so the title truly repre-sents how it is handled on the railroad.

The August 12th meeting will be a presenta-tion on Railfair ’99 to be given by three SoutheastChapter members who attended the BIG show.Reid Adams, Bill Howes, and Jim Smith will sharetheir experiences and slides of this special jointR&LHS/NRHS convention. Come on down forsome California railroading!

BELOW: The R&LHS Group: Art Towson, JimSmith, Cliff Vander Yacht, Bill Howes and ReidAdams at the scene of the Mt. Dora Doodlebug.

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[The NRHS], in cooperation with the Na-tional Park Service, embarked on a path towardthe future of the rail history movement with thehosting of Railcamp 1998 July 19-25 at theSteamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA.Nineteen young adults between the ages of 14 and18 spent a full week learning all facets of rail pres-ervation, rail history interpretation, transportationcareer opportunities and railroad operations. Theirhigh level of interest and enthusiasm was readilymatched by a cadre of Park Service, NRHS andrail-associated personnel, all committed to provid-ing an educational, yet enjoyable, experience.

The railcamp concept originated with CoastalPlains Regional Vice President James M. Phillipsand Northeast RVP Bruce J. Hodges, who ad-vanced the idea to their fellow regional vice presi-dents during their usual meetings at NRHS boardof directors gatherings. Hodges, in 1997, ap-proached the Steamtown management to gaugetheir interest in cooperating on this venture, towhich he received a positive response. RaySauvey, of the Steamtown Institute, a joint eco-nomic development venture of the University ofScranton and the Steamtown Site, facilitated theplanning and negotiating sessions held with in-creasing frequency through late 1997 and early1998, establishing the desired goals of Railcamp1998, the pilot project.

Seven goals were advanced as the planningprocess moved forward:1. To develop a hands-on experience that would

give students an understanding of a railroad(developing an understanding and appreciationof the complexity of the railroad operating sys-tem).

2. To give students access to the Steamtown ex-perience at a higher level than the regular visi-tor.

3. To develop an appreciation of history and linkrailroad history to the larger context ofAmerica’s cultural heritage.

4. To develop an appreciation of preservation ofour heritage and foster attitudes of caretakingand stewardship.

5. To develop an appreciation of the role of mo-dem railroads.

6. To develop an appreciation of the role of rail-roads in the creation/promotion of the NationalPark Service.

7. To develop a curriculum that is strong in help-ing to promote career choices.

Steamtown Superintendent Terry Gess des-ignated newly-arrived Assistant SuperintendentHarold “Kip” Hagen to guide the project to frui-tion, and Hagen, through eager Steamtown sub-ordinates, developed an all-encompassing curricu-lum which evolved to easily fill out a busy weekfor potential attendees. Sauvey, meanwhile,worked with the University of Scranton to insurethat all on-campus logistical needs, including lodg-ing and meals for Railcampers (and their counse-lors), were provided for.

Because of some insurance concerns as wellas the usual glitches associated with trying some-thing the first time, publicity for Railcamp 1998reached its desired audience later than anticipated.But numerous NRHS chapters quickly came for-ward and expressed an unanticipated commitmentto sponsor attendees to the event, and they usedvarious means, from newspaper releases to essaycontests, to solicit and select candidates.

Hodges and the writer, meanwhile, set aboutfinding counselors willing to spend a week of theirsummer sleeping on hard college-dorm mattresses,arranging some outside activities to occupyRailcampers’ spare time, as well as gauging re-sponse to publicity, answering correspondence and

RAILCAMP 1998 ...DEVELOPING NEW TALENT

IN RAIL PRESERVATION

R. L. Eastwood, Jr.Photos by Bruce Hodges

[Reprinted form the National Railway Bulletin, Volume 64, Number 1, 1999, with authoriztion of the NRHS. -ed]

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such tasks as assigning rooms and roommates forregistrants. When Railcamp time arrived, 17 boysand two girls had been signed up. Nine differentchapters sponsored 11 participants, with the othereight having signed up through magazine listingsor gifts from relatives. In addition to the above,counselors included Charles J. Benz of DelawareValley Chapter, Harla Lazur from Utica &Mohawk Valley Chapter and the late Eastern Re-gion Vice President Bill Mathews, from Pottstown& Reading Chapter.

On Sunday, July 19, the five counselors ar-

rived at air-conditioned Gavigan Hall,on the University of Scranton campusoverlooking the Steamtown mainlineand downtown, awaiting the arrival oftheir charges. By late afternoon, coun-selors and campers were settled in andall went to dinner in the University’sdining facility, where introductionswere made, orientation and safety brief-ings were held.

Following a sleepless night ofanticipation, everyone walked to break-fast, held each morning at “The Estate,”the magnificent 1867-vintage mansionof industrial magnate Joseph H. Scran-ton located in the center of the UofScampus. Railcampers found out earlythat the University’s caterer, ARA Ser-

vices, would provide plenty to eat for the entireweek, and no complaints were heard about insti-tutional food.

After a one-mile walk from the dorm to theSteamtown Core Complex, Railcamp 1998 wasofficially underway as Assistant Superintendent“Kip” Hagen greeted everyone, introduced hisstaff and provided safety instructions to everyone.Monday, July 20, was spent entirely on methodsof interpretation of rail history, with morning class-room sessions giving way in the afternoon to first-hand inspections of equipment under restoration,

as well as completed and untouchedexamples to show how the job is doneand how the story is told. InterpretiveSpecialist Glenn Smith, Rangers BillClark and Kenny Ganz, RestorationSpecialist Wayne Dobson and CuratorElla Rayburn all provided heavy em-phasis on the need to insure that equip-ment is not only preserved and re-stored, but that there is the ability totell what the equipment did and why itis important to the heritage of our na-tion.

But, as long as the day was, ev-eryone still was able to muster the en-ergy to travel by chartered bus to Lack-awanna County Stadium for a Triple-Aminor league baseball game betweenthe Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Baronsand the Durham, NC, Bulls.

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Arising early on Tuesday morning,Railcampers were told to wear gear that they could“get dirty,” and by the end of the day that promisehad been fulfilled. Railcampers were split into twogroups, alternating between a roundhouse sessionwith Roundhouse Foreman Roger Samuels andLocomotive Shop Foreman Chris Ahrens. Afterbeing challenged to remove all the bolts from thesmokebox door of former Boston & Maine Pa-cific 3713, under restoration, the Railcamp crewtackled the project and went back to the dormsthat evening very dirty, but proud that their mis-sion was successful!

In order to provide abit of a breather in a busyweek, Wednesday was des-ignated as “career day,”with Railcampers gettingthe opportunity to visit andinteract with professionalswho could provide careeradvice. In the morning, theywere bused to JohnsonTechnical Institute, a Scran-ton trade school, where theywere provided a tour and in-formation on variouscourses that could preparethem for careers. Followingan enjoyable barbecuelunch prepared and servedby Steamtown’s mainte-nance personnel, Railfan & Railroad ManagingEditor and NRHS Member Steve Barry told howhe went from being an accountant to the staff of aleading rail publication. Following Steve’s pre-sentation, at which Railcampers were presentedT-shirts, Steamtown Volunteer and Amtrak Engi-neer Tom Wyatt spoke on the challenges of beinga locomotive engineer on a high-speed railroad inan urban environment.

Thursday morning found participants in therestoration shops, with the split groups alternat-ing between the welding and woodworking areas.As counselors nervously watched, Railcamperswere exposed to plasma cutting, hot riveting andarc welding, with all tasks successfully and safelyexecuted. Venturing into the woodworking area,campers were shown the intricate woodworkinginvolved in restoring a Birney streetcar in the

Steamtown shop. Throughout the day, campers inpairs went off to learn how to fire Baldwin Loco-motive Works 0-6-0 No. 26 as it made its shuttleruns around downtown Scranton.

Tired as they were, Railcampers would notbe satisfied until they had experienced RailroadOperations Day on Friday, July 24. SteamtownChief of Railroad Operations Mark Brennan andhis staff went out of their way to insure that Rail-camp 1998 closed on a high note. Crammed intoan all-too-short day were an Operation Lifesavercourse, dispatching, yard operations, locomotivefamiliarization, tower operations and on-train op-

erations. Each participant was provided his owncopy of Steamtown’s huge Operating Rules book,and Steamtown Engineers Seth Corwin and BobHutchinson guided two separate groups throughmost of the above areas of rail operations. A visitto Bridge 60 tower saw dispatcher Sam Botts pro-viding hands-on completion of a train dispatch-ing worksheet, with alternating groups receivingForm D instructions for the normal Steamtownexcursion trains to Moscow and return. Engineer,brakeman and general yard procedures were alsocovered during this busy day.

At 5 PM, as Steamtown closed for the day,Railcampers in their familiar blue baseball capsgathered around the turntable in the Core Com-plex, where, with Canadian National 2-8-2 No.3254 patiently panting in the background, Super-intendent Gess, Assistant Superintendent Hagen

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and Railcamp Director Larry Eastwood presentedeach Railcamp 1998 “graduate” with a coursecompletion certificate. As the sun set over theLackawanna Valley, Steamtown hosted a hugepicnic provided by its employees for the staff, theRailcampers and their parents. It was a fitting wayfor everyone to say “thank you” for such an un-usual and wonderful experience.

As Railcamp 1998 closed on Saturday morn-ing, four different groups made presentations totheir peers and parents in the auditorium ofRedington Hall, from a three-evening project de-signed to encourage thinking about rail historypreservation and how to present it. In the scenar-ios, Railcampers were told to revitalize a half-abandoned river town around a tourist railroad,and show how it would be financially viable. Al-ternate groups worked on the theoretical restora-tion of a Reading T-1 4-8-4, only to discover thatthey could not raise sufficient funding to makethe project self-supporting. It was a valuable les-son in the pitfalls of historic equipment restora-tion which the Steamtown staff hoped Railcamperswould remember as they went home, many of themto share their experience and newly-learned skills

with their local chapters.Personal belongings and dirty laundry were

gathered, names and addresses exchanged alongwith “good-byes,” and the five counselors gath-ered to relax for review of the week’s events onthe bench outside Gavigan Hall. Railcamp 1998had indeed lived up to its expectations, and NRHSpersonnel on hand eagerly accepted SteamtownSuperintendent Terry Gess’s expressed desire tomake it an annual event.

As we enter 1999, plans have been made tooperate two “basic” RailCamps at Steamtown, July18-24 and July 25-31, 1999. Information can beobtained from NRHS headquarters in Philadel-phia. When asked about their experience at Rail-camp 1998, most attendees said they would re-turn to repeat the same course in 1999, even if thecurriculum did not change. This is certainly thebest testimonial to Railcamp 1998. Nineteenyoung adults had the experience of a lifetime, andthe five adults charged with their well-being hadfun, too!

R. L. Eastwood, Jr. serves as Senior VicePresident of the Society and was an NRHS coun-selor for Railcamp 1998.

Steamtown RailCamp - updateDerek Sands, will be leaving will be leaving Jacksonville on Saturday, July 17th to attend

Steamtown’s RailCamp at Scranton, PA. Sponsored by the Southeast Chapter of the R&LHS, we planon making his departure on the Silver Meteor a media event. So we need a big bunch of our localmembers to come down and see him off. Our friends from the North Florida NRHS Chapter will bejoining us as Derek starts his week-long RailCamp adventure. Some of us may even get together for anafternoon of railfanning in the JAX area before going to the see Derek get on the train. Our chapter isproud to promote railroading among young people by sponsoring this scholarship for Derek Sands toattend RailCamp. The Silver Meteor is scheduled to leave at 4:26 PM, so mark your calendar now andplan on spending a little time at the station on July 17th.

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Minutes of the Southeast Chapter, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society

The March meeting of the Southeast Chapter, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society washeld on Thursday, March 11, 1999, at 6:00 PM in the CSXT General Office Building in Jacksonville.

Treasurer’s ReportA) Dues are due.

Old BusinessA) Twenty-five copies of the Bulletin #86 Reprint sold at February’s train show.B) The organization has received no response to the February announcement concerning the

Scranton Rail Camp. Interest from local groups will be looked into.C) Larry Brennan and Jim Smith are to review a club web page with Don Hensley.D) Larry Brennan is to collect various corrections to the reprint that have been discovered. These

are to be published in the Southeast Limited.E) Discussion of Railfair ’99 June 21 through June 27 in California.

New BusinessA) Again, dues are due!B) The group needs to make a “Chapter Activities” report for the National organization.

Committee ReportsA) The April edition of the Southeast Limited will probably include a special insert on the “Eureka

& Palisade’s Iron Ponies” by C. W. Hauck. The cost is $50.00.B) Trip Committee — Reid Adams reported on several local and longer trips members could take

to discover railroading in the area. After much discussion some of the trips members thoughtsounded most favorable include a tour of Custom Car at Green Cove Springs, a tour of the St.Mary’s Railroad, a historical tour of railroading in Jacksonville by Larry Brennan, and rides onAmtrak in the area.

C) The Southeast Photo Book Committee reported on findings in the Jacksonville area and apossible trip to Tallahassee.

AnnouncementsA) The Clay County Railroad Festival is Saturday, March 13th from 10-4.B) The editor of the organization’s national newsletter has announced his plans to retire.

Next MeetingsProgram by Gary Sease on the Farewell to Conrail. Goodies to be provided by William Howes.

We are planning a joint NRHS/R&LHS meeting in April or May. The host would be Dick Hillman of theGeorgia Northeastern and the meeting would tentatively be held May 13th at the CSXT Southpointlocation.

Respectively submitted,

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Minutes of the Southeast Chapter, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society

The April meeting of the Southeast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Societywas held on Thursday, April 8th at the CSXT General Office Building in Jacksonville, Florida.

Old Business

A) There are a lot more Bulletin #86 Reprints to sell.B) Art Towson announced the group has made a final decision on a youth to sponsor and send to

the Scranton Rail Camp this summer. Fifteen-year-old Derek Sands is a student at BishopKenney High School. Travel arrangements have been made for Derek’s departure and returnto Jacksonville.

C) Larry Brennan is collecting corrections to the Bulletin #86 Reprint.D) A reminder — Railfair ’99 takes place June 21 through June 27.E) Also as a reminder — dues are due!F) The Southeast Chapter needs to make a “Chapter Activities” report for Nationals.

New BusinessThere was no new business to report.

Committee ReportsA) Reid Adams reported on possible trips for the group to take in the coming weeks. Plans are

being made to visit the Mt. Dora Scenic Railway Co. in Mt. Dora, FL. The organization islooking to head there on Saturday, May 15, and meet at the Orange Park Station at 7 AM fordeparture in members vehicles.

B) Bill Howes and Art Towson are to head to Tallahassee to search for photos for a SoutheastPhoto Book.

AnnouncementsThere were no new announcements.

Upcoming MeetingsA) The May 13th meeting will be a joint meeting with the National Railway Historical Society and

will take place at the CSXT Southpoint Building 1. The program will feature Dick Hillman’saccounts of the Georgia Northeastern.

B) The June 10th meeting will feature Gary Sease’s “Fairwell to Conrail”. Paul Newtson is to bringsnacks.

C) Derek Sands is to speak at the August meeting on his accounts of the Scranton Rail Camp.

Respectfully submitted,

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Railway & Locomotive Historical Society

Southeast ChapterP. O. Box 664Jacksonville, Florida 32201

A new tourist oriented rail line began operation out of scenic Mt. Dora, Fla. on December 17, 1998 over a linecalled the Mt. Dora Scenic Railroad. The line’s lone gas-rnechanical car is lettered Mt. Dora, Tavares & EustisRailroad. The car is billed as an Edwards motor car, supposedly built by the Edwards Motor Car ManufacturingCompany, of Sanford, N.C. that went out of business in the 1920s. In reality, the car is a rebuilt Philadelphia &Western 160 series Brill car that more recently was located at Keokuk, Iowa. The rebuilder, also in Iowa, hasdone a credible job of cloning an Edwards car, changing the end window configuration to the four-window Edwardsdesign. However, the Brill trucks and the rivet pattern in the car sides where P&W had taken a center door out,give away the car’s real heritage. [Electric Rails, National Railway Bulletin V64,No2,99]