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THE FLATWHEEL The Official Monthly Publica on of the Central Florida

Chapter of the Na onal Railway Historical Society

February 2012

March Meeting Monday, March 12th at 7:00 PM

Central Florida RR Museum 101 S. Boyd St., Winter Garden, FL

Refreshments Provided By: Frank Milmore Program: Railfanning With Danny Harmon

By: Irv Lipscomb

Upcoming Events Winter Live Steam Meets:

1. Big Boots & Western RR = February 6 – 12, 2012 2. Ridge Live Steamers = February 23 – 26, 2012

February 4, 2012 — CFCNRHS Quarterly Board of Direc-tors Meeting, CFRR Museum, 8:30 AM.

February 11, 2012, Jacksonville, FL—Southeastern Railroadiana Collectors 34th Jacksonville Rail Fair, Rail-roadiana and Model Train Show, 9:00 to 4:00. Admission $7 (under 12 free), Prime Osborn Convention Center, 1000 Water Street (former Jacksonville Terminal). Details: Charlie Miller, 3106 N. Rochester St., Arlington, VA 22213-1348, (703) 536-2954, rrshows@aol.com. Website: http://www.gserr.com.

February 22-25, 2012 — Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine Club’s 20th Annual Antique Engine & Tractor Show, 7000 Avon Park Cutoff Road, Ft. Meade, FL, 33841. Call 863-285-9121. Website: http://www.floridaflywheelers.org.

March 2, 2012 — NARCOA Motorcar Excursion over the Florida Central RR roundtrip between Eustis and Mt. Do-ra.

March 3, 2012 — NARCOA Motorcar Excursion over the Florida Central RR roundtrip between Eustis and Winter Garden.

March 4, 2012 — NARCOA Motorcar Excursion over the Florida Northern RR roundtrip between Ocala and Can-dler and Ocala and Lowell.

April 14, 2012 - Deland, FL — 39th Florida Rail Fair, Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 East New York Ave-nue, 9 am – 4 pm, Admission: Adults $7.00, Under 12 Free. Contact: Charles Miller, 386-736-8185, rrshows@aol.com. Website: http://www.gserr.com.

Continued On Page 2.

February Museum Work Sessions Wednesday, February 1st, 8th,

15th, 22nd & 29th 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM

These Work Sessions Are Limited To Those Who Have Been Trained in Past Perfect.

February Meeting Monday, February 13th at 7:00 PM

Central Florida RR Museum 101 S. Boyd St., Winter Garden, FL

Refreshments Provided By: Chuck Ansell Program: FEC Railway’s Key West Extension

By: Ken Murdock

February Birthdays David Rhea 2/4 Dan Crusie 2/6 Dan Martin 2/20

Diane Hardwich 2/21 Ken Murdock 2/27

Chapter Member Tindell Cobb is a Superintendent for C.J. Bridges Railroad Contractor, Inc. and has been out of state for most of the past 6 months installing 9.5 miles of track and 29

switches for a new quarry for APAC/Oldcastle Materials in Camak, Georgia. The photo at left is the load out facility. Two more photos on Page 2.

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Al Pfeiffer’s Photo Corner This feature focuses on photos taken by our own Chapter member Al Pfeiffer. Over the years, Al has taken thou-sands of photos related to our favorite hobby and he would like to share some of them with us. Each month, three of Al’s photos are featured.

CSX #7340 Southbound at Fatio, FL on October 18, 2010.

FEC #106 Northbound in Fog at MP113 (South Daytona, FL) on February 17, 2011.

Amtrak #76 Southbound With Train #91 at Deland, FL on June 5, 2010

Upcoming Events Continued From Page 1

May 5-6, 2012, The Villages, FL — The Villages Spring Train Expo, Lake Miona Regional Recreation Center, 1526 Buena Vista Boulevard, 9 am – 4 pm Sat., 10 am – 3 pm Sun., Admission: Adults - $5.00, Children Under 10 – Free. Contact: Alan Goldberg, 352-205-4322, amgold15@hotmail.com, Website: http://villagerailclubs.blogspot.com.

May 18-20, 2012, Winter Haven, FL — Sunshine Region NMRA Convention "Rails on the Ridge" will be held at the Best Western Plus Park View Hotel (former Admiral's Inn). Interested people can contact the registrar, Bob Gangwish via email at BobGang.aol.com. The Convention website is http://ridgemoderailroadclub.webs.com/.

May 17-20, 2012 - Birmingham, AL — R&LHS Annual Convention,.

August 18-19, 2012, The Villages, FL — The Villages Summer Train Expo, Lake Miona Regional Recreation Center, 1526 Buena Vista Boulevard, 9 am – 4 pm Sat., 10 am – 3 pm Sun., Admission: Adults - $5.00, Children Under 10 – Free. Contact: Alan Goldberg, 352-205-4322, amgold15@hotmail.com, Website: http://villagerailclubs.blogspot.com.

Below: Two more photos from the job Chapter Member Tindell Cobb just finished in Camak, Georgia. Looks like Tindell might have the makings for a great program at a monthly meeting.

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Ocala. Friday’s excursion included 14 motor cars and one hi-railer; two Chapter members participated in the event. Saturday’s excursion included 17 motor cars and two hi-railers; three Chapter members participated in the event. The Chapter also provided coffee and donuts for excursion participants prior to their departure from Winter Garden. Sunday’s excursion in-cluded 14 motor cars and one hi-railer; two Chapter members and one guest participated in the event.

Apr. 10-11 The Central Florida Railroad Museum was open for the 11th Annual Bloom & Grow Spring Fever in the Garden event in downtown Winter Gar-den. The Museum was open eight hours on Sat-urday and five hours on Sunday. Four Chapter members manned the Museum on Saturday and Six Chapter members manned the Museum on Sunday. Estimated attendance was 325 for Sat-urday and 150 for Sunday. The Greater Florida Lego Users Group (GFLUG) set up and manned two large Lego displays in the Museum Meeting Room both days. Seven members manned the display on Saturday and five members manned the display on Sunday. The Museum and Lego displays were a big hit with the attendees.

April 30 The Florida Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club held its annual Morse Day Celebration at the Central Florida Railroad Museum between 10 AM and 4 PM. The annual meeting is held in celebration of the birthday of Samuel B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code. Club members displayed and demonstrated an-tique and replica telegraph instruments and equipment. Using modern technology, a tele-phone line was converted to a telegraph line and telegraphic greetings were exchanged with other Morse Telegraph Club chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada. A computer program al-lowed the content of the telegraphic transmis-sions to be displayed on the museum TV set so that non-telegraphers will be able to follow along. Chapter members Clarence Hurt and Al Sharp hosted the event.

July 8 Chapter members Al Pfeiffer, Phil Cross and Roger Wilson and Chapter Friend Dwight Stof-fel travelled from Central Florida to Winnsboro, SC for the visit to the South Carolina Railroad Museum on the 9th. On their way up they did some railfanning. Their first stop was in Hamp-ton, SC at the Hampton & Branchville RR. Af-ter taking photos at the engine house in Miley, SC and the general office in Hampton and of the CSX local at Hampton, the group proceeded west to Fairfax, SC to get back on Highway 321 and then head north towards Columbia. Of course the group stopped and photographed the depots in each of the towns along the way. By this time it was starting to get late in the day, so the group headed north for Winnsboro to check in the motel and meet Chapter members Jerry & Diane Hardwich and Lloyd & Sylvia Brown

Central Florida Chapter NRHS 2011 Annual Report

• Bill Dusenbury – President • Chapter meetings held at the Central Florida RR

Museum. • Chapter continued as Partner in Education with Lakeville

Elementary School. • Chapter membership for the year totaled 71 regular, family

and local members. • The Central Florida Railroad Museum had a record attend-

ance of 7,785 visitors. • Chapter members donated a total of 2,082.50 hours for the

operation and maintenance of the Central Florida Railroad Museum.

• Monthly work sessions were held at the Central Florida Railroad Museum.

• The Central Florida Railroad Museum is operated under a cooperative agreement between the City of Winter Garden, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

Jan. 15 Fifteen Chapter members and guests went on an

Amtrak trip from Winter Park to Tampa and return. While in Tampa, the group rode the downtown TECO trolley system, toured the Tampa Union Station and visited the American Victory Ship Mariners Memorial Museum. On time Amtrak departures and arrivals added great-ly to the enjoyment of the group. Museum Cura-tor Ken Murdock's nine year old grandson, Con-ner, who is a budding railfan, especially was delighted with his first trip on Amtrak and riding a trolley car for the first time.

Feb. 26 Nine Chapter members and two guests went on a Chapter field trip to the Florida Live Steamers Annual Winter Meet at Dundee. A number of steam and diesel trains were operated throughout the day. The members and guests rode just about every one that was hauling passengers.

Feb. 26 Four Chapter members and two guests went on a Chapter field trip to Florida Flywheelers’ Annual Winter Show at Fort Meade. They enjoyed the many events that went on throughout the day. The site is very large and no one took a golf cart to ride and make it easier to get around the site. Plans are already being made for next year’s event and golf carts will definitely be a part of the on-site transportation plans.

Mar. 25-27 The North American Rail Car Operators Associ-ation (NARCOA) sponsored their annual motor car excursions on the Florida Midland RR (Friday, March 25th), Florida Central RR (Saturday, March 26th) and Florida Northern RR (Sunday, March 27th). Friday’s excursion was roundtrip from Lake Wales to Frostproof and return. Saturday’s excursion was roundtrip from Winter Garden to Tavares and return. Sunday’s excursion was from downtown Ocala south to Candler, north to Lowell, and then return to

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the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation’s Annual Music Fest. The rainy weekend dampened the spirits and attendance at the event.

Oct. 8 Tourist Train Operations on the Florida Central RR: The Tavares, Eustis & Gulf Railroad’s Or-ange Blossom Cannonball began regular service. Thirty-eight passengers rode the inaugural trip. The owner of the new operation is Mr. Richard Grigsby, owner of the Reader Railroad in Arkan-sas. The General Manager is Chapter member Neil Bagaus. Motive power is a 1907 2-6-0 Mo-gul built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The consist includes two coaches and a combine; they were built in 1915 for the Memphis, Dallas & Gulf Railroad.

Nov. 17 Six Chapter members attend a Past Perfect train-ing seminar at the Winter Garden Heritage Foun-dation’s History Center. The training seminar was presented by Lynn Sylvester, Head Archivist, of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation’s His-tory Center. Those participating were David Rhea, Frank Millmore, Roger Wilson, Al Sharp, Irv Lipscomb and Ken Murdock.

Nov. 19 The trip to the Plant Museum in Tampa was post-poned until Saturday, December 10th, so that the Chapter could pick up a major donation of filing cabinets, flat files, book shelves and chairs from Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering firm in downtown Orlando. This donation required two trips to Orlando using a 14-foot U-Haul van. The van was completely filled on both trips. All of these items are planned for the library when it is moved and expanded to the Roper Building. Those Chapter members and friends of the Chap-ter participating were Phil Cross, Roger Wilson, Al Sharp, Patrick Smith, James Benson, Irv Lip-scomb, Ken Murdock and Irv Lipscomb’s son Rob Lipscomb.

Dec. 4 The 2011 Chapter Annual Banquet was held at the West Orange Country Club. Guests included Mr. & Mrs. Clement White from St. Petersburg and Mr. & Mrs. Addison Austin from LaBelle. During dinner, Mr. Armando Velasquez, an ac-complished keyboardist, entertained the attendees with some great railroad-themed, Christmas-themed and classic numbers on the keyboard. After dinner, the Chapter Officers for 2012 were sworn in by Lloyd Brown. The program was a PowerPoint slide presentation entitled Henry Flagler’s Railroad Hotels, Homes and Churches presented by Ken Murdock. A total of 40 mem-bers, spouses and guests attended and enjoyed the evening’s activities and entertainment.

Dec. 10 Eleven Chapter members and guests (Ken Mur-dock, Ken’s son Craig, Ken’s grandson Connor, Al Sharp, Patrick Smith, Frank & Phyllis Mil-more, Roger Wilson, Roger’s daughter Leah, Clarence Hurt and Phil Cross) travelled to Tampa and visited the Henry B. Plant Museum, located in the former Tampa Bay Hotel. The former ho-tel is also part of the campus of the University of Tampa. Following the museum visit, the group

for supper.

July 9 Thirteen Chapter members, spouses and friends went on the trip to the South Carolina Railroad Museum on Saturday, July 9th. They arrived at 9:00 am and took the 10:00 am train ride. They had a photography chase of the 1:00 pm trip. They then rode the 2:30 pm train. This was fol-lowed by a trip on four motorcars which includ-ed two miles of track not used by the railroad and a view of the “China Wall.” Former Chapter member Frank Brubaker and Museum General Superintendent were great hosts.

July 10 The group that visited the Museum on the 9th split up for their respective return trips home. Jerry and Diane Hardwich headed for their daughter’s house southwest of Atlanta. Lloyd and Sylvia Brown headed the mountains in NC to visit with friends. After breakfast in Colum-bia, SC, Al Pfeiffer, Phil Cross, Roger Wilson and Dwight Stoffel headed south through Geor-gia for some more railfanning, making stops in Camak, Warrenton, Warthen, Sandersville, Ten-nille, Wrightsville, Adrian and Soperton. The group stopped in Waycross for supper and then headed south for home, arriving back in Central Florida around 10:00 PM. Al Pfeiffer took more than 300 photos on the trip and promised to share some of them with the Chapter at a month-ly meeting later in the year. Roger Wilson took about 100 photos and shared some of them with the Chapter members at the July monthly meet-ing.

July 21-24 Chapter Member Roger Wilson travelled to Rock Island, IL for Train Festival 2011, which he described as BIG!! The Festival featured seven steam engines, eight diesels and one river-boat. Roger went on three excursions pulled by steam and a dinner cruise on the Mississippi on the riverboat. After the festival he visited the John Deere headquarters, pavilion and manufac-turing complex in Moline, IL. The pavilion had old and new John Deere equipment. The John Deere Store had everything John Deere for sale. Next Roger went to Rochelle, IL to the visit the railroaders’ platform to watch Union Pacific and BNSF trains at the diamond. He was there for an evening and all of the next day. There were plenty of long trains and he took plenty of vide-os. After Rochelle, IL, Roger visited Union, IL and the Illinois Railroad Museum. The Museum has nine barns full of artifacts, plus track after track of uncovered artifacts, including trolleys, steams engines, diesels, passenger cars, trolley buses, and interurban cars. He spent a total of eight hours at the Museum in order to see every-thing. He spent a grand total of ten days rail-roading and railfanning.

Oct. 1-3 Five Chapter members (Patrick Smith, Ken Mur-dock, Chuck Ansell, Phil Baker & Dan Crusie) manned the Museum the afternoon of the 2nd and the afternoon of the 3rd in conjunction with

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A visit to the Ridge Live Steamers complex in Dundee – Chuck Ansell & Roland Patrick. February 25, 2012.

A visit to the Florida Flywheelers Site near Ft. Meade – Bill Dusen-bury, Ken Murdock & Phil Cross; February 25, 2012.

A visit to Sanford’s forgotten railroads – Ken Murdock & Frank Mil-more.

A one-day trip to the North Florida Railway Museum at Green Cove Springs, Clay County Historical & Railroad Museum at Green Cove Springs (Includes the Bud Hess Railroadiana Collection), and the Northeast Florida Live Steamers & Railroaders West Tocoi & Bostwick Railroad located in the Green Cove Springs/Bostwick area – Phil Cross & Ken Murdock.

A photography trip to Folkston – Bill Dusenbury & Roger Wilson.

A weekend Amtrak trip, possibly to Miami – Chuck Ansell.

A trip to the Flagler Museum (Whitehall) in Palm Beach, FL – Jerry & Diane Hardwich.

A trip to the Disney train/Monorail station – Coordinator(s) Needed.

A trip to the NASA JJ Railroad at Cape Canaveral – Coordinator(s) Needed.

A trip to the Sandersville Railroad in Sandersville, Georgia – Coordi-nator(s) Needed.

Museum Curator Report – Ken Murdock

2011 CFRR Museum Report – 581 visitors for December and 7,785 visitors for 2011. 122.00 volunteer hours donated by the membership during December and 2,082.50 hours donated for 2011. Volunteers are asked to enter their hours in the record book at Denise’s desk or email them to Denise so that the Chapter has an accurate record of all hours do-nated.

Past Perfect Training Class was held last month.

The donation of flat file cabinets, regular file cabinets, book shelves & office furniture by Parsons Brinckerhoff was the largest of 18 donations in 2011. Donations in January 2012 include some Maine Central items from Phil Cross, a lithog-raphy of old 41 “The Manatee”, an ACL Florida resort map from 1927 from Russell Tedder, some Norfolk & Western china from Al Sharp, and a box of miscellaneous china from Wayne Colleran.

January 28 is this month’s work day at the museum.

Museum Host Schedule for February 2012 – Ken Mur-dock obtained volunteers for museum hosts in the ab-sence of Vice President Irv Lipscomb.

President’s Report – Phil Cross Winter Garden Heritage Foundation Board of Directors Ac-tivities for December – The Foundation focused on the pur-chase of the parcel of land immediately east of the Heritage Museum from the First Baptist Church. A committee has been formed for fundraising for the construction of the new History Center on the property and a second committee has been formed and is busy at work on the design for the new History Center.

Website Committee Update – The Committee met on Monday, December 12th at the CFRR Museum and dis-cussed a number of potential updates for the website. Much of the updates can be worked on and decided on by the committee through e-mail. Work will begin soon.

Library Committee Update – Chairman Jerry Honetor and Committee Member Roger Wilson continue to work on the cataloging of the books, periodicals and videos in the library.

travelled to Ybor City and had lunch at the fa-mous Columbia Restaurant. After lunch, the group took a round trip ride on the Tampa Electric Company’s restored streetcar line. Following the trolley ride, Clarence Hurt and Phil Cross visited Tampa Union Station.

Central Florida Chapter NRHS Combined Board & Regular Meeting

Central Florida RR Museum January 9, 2012

Call to Order – President Phil Cross called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

Meeting Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance – David Rhea led the prayer and pledge.

Recognition of Visitors – No visitors. Members the Chapter had not seen in awhile included Phil Baker, Vic Saul and Dan Crusie. New members attending were Joe Lehmann, Richard Bazzo, and Keith and Renda Mackey.

Recognition of Members/Friends Concerns – Irv Lip-scomb was sick. Al Webber paid his local dues and will serve as an Alternate National Director for the Chapter. The Chapter received a Christmas card from Al Pfeiffer. His new address is 170 N. Chaparral Lane, Mena, Arkan-sas, 71953.

Approval of November 12, 2011 Board Retreat Minutes – Chuck Ansell made a motion that was seconded by Jer-ry Honetor. The vote was unanimous.

Approval of November 14, 2011 Combined Board & Regular Meeting Minutes – Jerry Honetor made a motion that was seconded by Chuck Ansell. The vote was unani-mous.

Treasurer’s November 2011 and December 2011 Re-port and 2012 Proposed Budget – David Rhea present-ed the Treasurer’s Report and declared the Chapter sol-vent for 2011. Chuck Ansell made a motion to table dis-cussion of the 2012 Proposed Budget until the Board Re-treat on February 4th due to the length of tonight’s pro-gram. Jerry Honetor seconded the motion. The motion to table was unanimous.

Vice President of Membership & Programs Report – Jerry Honetor

Membership Status Report Current Membership – 71 Members. Renewed Members for 2012 To Date – 40.

Monthly Programs – Tonight’s program is Running Steam in Poland by Keith Mackey. Next Month’s program is FEC Rail-way’s Key West Extension by Ken Murdock.

Chapter Events and Field Trips – The following is a list of planned/proposed trips. Trip coordinators have been selected for 7 out of the 10 planned/proposed trips. Trip information will be made available to the Chapter membership and “Friends of the Chapter” as soon as it is available. We still need trip coor-dinators for the trips to Disney, Cape Canaveral, and Sanders-ville, GA.

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Activities included outside clean up, housekeeping chores, in-stalling shelving in the new office to store our large and growing video cassette collection, polishing and cleaning recently donat-ed dining car items, planning for a railroad art display using Dan Crusie’s outstanding work and working on the collection invento-ry. Yes, I did say working on inventory!

It is true! It has begun! We have Past Perfect up and running on two chapter laptops, two personal laptops and two chapter desk-tops and between 75 and 100 pieces of railroad dining car mem-orabilia have now been inventoried! Past Perfect has been a real learning experience but we are gaining on it each time that we work with it. We are now looking forward to pressing on as fast as time permits. The long pause between training in November and actually starting to work with it, mainly caused by the Christ-mas holidays, has had its effects but we are slowly overcoming that issue.

We have had three special workdays to get Past Perfect moving. On January 11, Al Sharp and I came out to the museum and met with Ken Lyons, the Heritage Foundation’s computer person, and got all of the bugs in the chapter’s computers resolved. Then on January 18, Al Sharp, Roger Wilson and I came out to start the inventory and to begin getting up to speed on it before get-ting too many members involved. Al and I returned again on the 25th and continued the inventory. Frank Milmore got into Past Perfect during the Saturday workday and began pulling his hair out. We are beginning to feel a little more comfortable working with it now and are ready to open it up to the rest of our mem-bers who went through the training class in November.

We will soon be opening it up to all members who want to learn the system and get involved. We are planning on having special Wednesday workdays each month for the inventory plus the regular Saturday workday each month. We also became aware that new member Joe Lehmann is very good with computers and can resolve our future computer problems without bringing in a paid technician. Joe also said he should be able to master Past Perfect without any problem and will be able to help the rest of us as we fumble along. Welcome aboard Joe! Welcome aboard Richard Bazzo! Richard pitched in and helped Allen Quinn install the shelving in the new office. It’s great to see our new members immediately get involved.

December donations included a rail bender and it is heavy! An-other donation included five pieces of N&W china, two pieces of SAL Orange Blossom Special china, one piece of ACL china, four pieces of C&O china and two pieces of Southern Railway china. Then in January we had another very nice donation of dining car memorabilia which included six glasses; one ice tea spoon, fork and knife, two steak knives, ten plastic stir sticks, thirteen cloth napkins and four wood pencils all marked Pennsyl-vania Railroad. The donation also included five wood clothes hangers and four cloth towels all marked The Pullman Company and seven grapefruit spoons and two ice tea spoons marked Southern Railway plus several key rings with a variety of keys. Another donation included four decks of unused Chessie Cat playing cards and a brass L&N lock. We are blessed to have so many retire in Florida, visit our museum and see our fabulous collection, then begin thinking about donating their keepsakes to us. The quality of donations seems to continue to improve. Thanks to each of you who are working hard to make our muse-um a success.

Next Quarterly Board Retreat – Saturday, February 4th at 8:30 AM at the CFRR Museum. The Board will be discuss-ing the future of the Central Florida Chapter NRHS. All members are cordially invited to attend and participate in the discussion concerning this most-important agenda item, as well as the rest of the agenda.

FCRR, FMRR & FNRR Update – In the absence of Bill Dusenbury, Phil Cross reported that one item of note is that Florida Central Railroad is the official work train con-tractor for the Sun Rail project. Bill Dusenbury was busy this evening unloading the circus train in Orlando.

Tourist Train Operations on the Florida Central RR – Neil Bagaus reported that the Orange Blossom Cannon-ball received their FRA final check last week and passed with flying colors. They had 6,300 visitors in three months. This past month, the Baldwin went back to being a wood-burner making it the only wood-burning engine in regular service in the United States. They are burning oak so it reminds everyone of Sonny’s barbeque. The gift shop in Tavares is now open. Last month they filmed a music vid-eo, “Get On This Gospel Train,” on the train. The train is in the soon to be released “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” They have one more coach and a caboose with cupola seating for eight coming in the near future. A high-lighted event is the 105th birthday of their Baldwin engine. Special pins will be given out. They will start a wine and cheese run in February.

Items from the Board of Directors – None.

Items from the Membership:

Richard Bazzo had information that there will be a Maglev train from the airport to downtown and to Dis-ney. Full plans should be released in February.

Clayton Bishop did not see anyone at last week’s postcard show. There was one postcard of the Lake Mary Depot that had an opening bid of $295.

Numerous members gave information on the train cur-rently displayed in downtown Orlando going to the Florida Railroad Museum near Tampa.

Tonight’s Refreshments Provided By: Lloyd & Sylvia Brown

Meeting Adjournment – Chuck Ansell made a motion to adjourn that was seconded by Frank Milmore. The motion to adjourn was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 7:58 pm.

Tonight’s Program – Keith Mackey presented an excel-lent program on his travels to Poland in September 2011 for five days of operating various steam locomotives in regular passenger train service. The program is open to the public, costs are very reasonable and there is usually a long waiting list.

January Museum Report By Ken Murdock, Curator

We had another outstanding museum workday in January with 9 members participating including two new members, Joe Leh-mann and Richard Bazzo. Others who came out were Phil Cross, Lloyd Brown, Allen Quinn, Al Sharp, Irv Lipscomb, Dan Crusie and me. Dan stayed and hosted the museum in the afternoon.

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Chapter Members: Don’t forget to or-der your own personal Chapter name badge. The cost is only $5.00. They may be ordered from Chapter Treasurer David Rhea. See David at the monthly meetings or contact him at 407-656-8749 or rhead43761@ yahoo.com.

The Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Central Florida Railroad Muse-um. The Museum is located at 101 South Boyd Street in downtown Winter Garden immediately north of the water tower. Guests and visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend.

All correspondence and other materials for the Chapter should be mailed to:

CFC-NRHS PO Box 770567 Winter Garden, FL 34777-0567

Or e-mailed to the Chapter at: CFCNRHS@gmail.com.

Web page: http://www.cfcnrhs.org

Mission: The mission of the Central Florida Chapter is to promote railway heritage preservation and educate its members and the public about rail transportation, its histo-ry and impact, with a focus on Central Florida.

Through the operation of the Central Florida Railroad Mu-seum, the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society is committed to the collection and preservation of railroad history, with a special focus on Central Florida, and the restoration and exhibition of rail-road memorabilia for the education and enjoyment of pre-sent and future generations. It is the Chapter’s intent that each visitor to the Central Florida Railroad Museum leave with such a pleasurable experience that they will tell oth-ers about the Museum and return again and bring friends and family with them. President: Phil Cross Crossrails@earthlink.net 407-509-4572 Vice President — Membership & Programs: Jerry Honetor JerryHonetor@yahoo.com 407-957-8788 Vice President — Education: Irv Lipscomb ilipscomb@cfl.rr.com 407-895-4749 Secretary: Les Westlake LesWestlake@comcast.net 352-434-6160 Assistant Secretary: Clarence Hurt clhurt@smartcity.us 407-347-1031 Treasurer: David Rhea rhead34761@yahoo.com 407-656-8749 Assistant Treasurer: Frank Milmore fmilmore@earthlink.net 407-366-8941 Museum Curator: Ken Murdock rmurdock4@cfl.rr.com 407-277-5719 Historian: Phil Cross Crossrails@earthlink.net 407-509-4572 Flatwheel Editor: Phil Cross Crossrails@earthlink.net 407-509-4572 Webmaster: Phil Cross Crossrails@earthlink.net 407-509-4572 Immediate Past President: Bill Dusenbury sclbill@hotmail.com 352-360-0136

The Central Florida Railroad Museum is located at 101 South Boyd Street, Winter Garden, FL, 34787 (downtown Winter Garden, immediately north of the wa-ter tower).

The Museum is open daily from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM (excluding selected holidays) or by special arrange-ments. Large groups are encouraged to contact the Mu-seum at 407-656-0559 to arrange for their tour in ad-vance.

The Central Florida Railroad Museum is operated under a cooperative agreement between the City of Winter Garden, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

The Flatwheel is the official monthly publication of the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Opinions and views expressed in this publica-tion are those of the editor and contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the members, officers or di-rectors of the Chapter.

Material for the Flatwheel (including exchange newslet-ters) should be sent to the editor via e-mail at: Crossrails@earthlink.net.

Please Note: Material from The Flatwheel may be re-printed in other publications provided credit is given as to the source.

T&G DVD The Whistle Blows No More….A History of the Tavares & Gulf Railroad 1881-1969

Available at the Railroad Museum for $20.00 Get your copy today!!

February Museum Work Sessions Wednesday, February 1st, 8th,

15th, 22nd & 29th 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM

These Work Sessions Are Limited To Those Who Have Been Trained in Past Perfect.

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Rail News Courtesy of Chapter Member Roger Wilson

Downtown Train On Track For Tavares Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2011

CHRIS GERBASI | Staff Writer | chrisgerbasi@dailycommercial.com

As the Tavares downtown moves into the future, it will begin to look more and more like its past. A replica of an 1880s train station will soon be in the works, not far from the Pavilion on the Lake project, a replica of a two-story pavilion built in 1912.

The city council has given the green light to proceed with plans for the reconstruction of the historic train station at Wooton Park. The final design and a final guaranteed price will come back to the council for approval, city clerk Nancy Barnett said.

The 2,800-square-foot facility has a "not to exceed'' budget of $450,000, but Bill Neron, director of economic development, said the final cost could be lower. Lease agreements with two tenants at the station will pay the full costs over time, in effect giving the city a free building, Neron said. Construction is expected to begin in the spring and take four to six months for completion, he said.

The city previously constructed a replica of a train loading platform, at a cost of $211,000, used for the Orange Blossom Cannonball steam engine tourist train that departs from downtown. In the late 1880s, the Atlantic Coast Line railroad built a station next to the original loading platform on the triangle property abutted by Main Street and St. Clair Abrams Avenue. The train station was destroyed by fire in 1988.

Lease agreements with the Tavares Chamber of Commerce and Tavares, Eustis and Gulf LLC, which operates the tourist train, were approved last week, Barnett said. The railroad contract has been signed, while the chamber contract has not, Neron said.

The chamber has a contract with Progress Energy to purchase the current chamber building on Sinclair Avenue, a city staff report said. Once the sale is completed, the chamber will advance the city $150,000 towards construction costs for the train station and be credited with a lease payment for 15 years. The chamber would also have an option to lease the space for an additional 10 years.

Neron said the city would borrow the other $300,000 internally. The debt service would be paid over time through the lease agreements.

The city also is about to begin work on the Pavilion on the Lake project, on Lake Dora near Disston Avenue. The project is in the design phase and has an estimated cost of $3.36 million, said Tammey Rogers, director of community services. The pavilion is expected to be completed in about 18 months, she said. The pavilion will be a venue for art shows, weddings, formal dinners, conferences and community events.

Both the pavilion and the train station are being designed by Blaise Fiebach and Associates of Leesburg.

Union Pacific Railroad Reminds Photographers To Follow Safety Guidelines Media contact: Mark Davis, 402-544-5459 or mwdavis@up.com

"As part of our UP CARES initiative, we want to remind photographers that walking on or near railroad tracks is extremely dangerous because you never know when a train will come along," said Dale Bray, Union Pacific director – public safety. "We urge professional and amateur photographers alike to set the right example for others by adhering to the safety guidelines.

"It can take a mile or more to stop a train and by the time a locomotive engineer sees you on the track, it is too late."

Union Pacific urges photographers to read and understand the company's policy for photographers as they follow their passion or work.

Union Pacific is committed to public safety through various outreach channels such as community events, media outreach, law enforcement partnerships, employee resource groups and Operation Lifesaver. The UP CARES (Union Pacific Crossing Accident Reduction Education and Safety) public safety initiative brings together communities in a collaborative and caring effort to promote railroad grade crossing and pedestrian safety.

UP CARES activities include: • Grade crossing enforcement with local, county and state law enforcement agencies; • Safety trains that provide local officials a firsthand look at what locomotive engineers see daily while they operate trains

through a community and • Communication blitzes that educate the community at events or media outreach.

Anyone choosing to walk on or near railroad tracks could face a tragic consequence. Last year, 442 people died and 388 were injured while trespassing on railroad property throughout the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Do not become a statistic; stay off of railroad property when taking video or photographs of trains.

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About Union Pacific

One of America's iconic companies, Union Pacific celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2012. Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. Today, Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America's infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and emphasizes excellent customer service. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.

Union Pacific Policy For Photography And Video Recording Safety is of paramount importance to Union Pacific Railroad. Taking pictures or video while on Union Pacific property is dangerous, so when taking pictures or video of Union Pacific Railroad trains or structures:

• Stay off Union Pacific Railroad property. This includes tracks, bridges, buildings and signal towers. • At passenger stations, Amtrak and Union Pacific's commuter partner guidelines must be followed. • Obey all safety rules, regulations and instructions provided by law enforcement and Union Pacific employees.

Violators are subject to a citation for trespassing on railroad property. Union Pacific will seek removal from publication any photograph or video that violates this policy.

Union Pacific clarifies photo policy Published: January 4, 2012

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific stirred some buzz last month when it announced a new photo policy, and many railfans assumed that UP was cracking down on railfan photography. However, it turned out that UP had something else in mind.

The new photo policy sounded pretty tough on the surface, particularly a paragraph that said, "Violators are subject to a citation for trespassing on railroad property. Union Pacific will seek removal from publication any photograph or video that violates this policy." There also was a stern warning against setting up cameras between the rails for head-on run-over shots.

However, Mark Davis, a spokesman for the Union Pacific in Omaha, said those policies are not aimed at the vast majority of railfans. Less than 1 percent of railfans would deliberately do something so foolish or dangerous as digging a hole in the ballast to plant a camera, Davis acknowledged. The last time that happened, UP's safety team saw the posting of the video on YouTube and reported it to Davis. Davis pointed out that planting a camera within an active railroad track was automatically trespassing.

More importantly, the big problem is imbedded in the first sentence of the policy, and was not aimed at railfans at all. It seems that a fad has begun among professional photographers to use railroad tracks as a setting for high school graduation photos. These photographers set up their tripods in the middle of mainline tracks and pose students on the tracks. In at least one case, the photographer set up inside a tunnel with the student inside, highlighted by the tunnel portal in the background.

Union Pacific police and safety teams are quite concerned about this fad, which seems to be growing rapidly. Plans are now being discussed for what to do in the upcoming graduation season. Among other things, the entire railroad police force and other UP officials may give hundreds of talks at high school convocations asking students to be careful and to report any photographer who suggests such a shot. Those photographers could get a visit from UP cops pointing out the penalties for such blatant trespassing.

For railfans, the UP is not the old, hostile UP. Davis said the Union Pacific welcomes fans and welcomes the thousands of photos they take. In fact, in the same part of the website where UP warns of dangerous trespassing, is another set of advice for railfans.

That advice, which can be found athttp://www.uprr.com/she/policy/index.shtml, begins, "Union Pacific Railroad has always valued the countless numbers of persons that have taken photographs of our trains and structures over the years. While we appreciate all of the photographers’ efforts, we also want them to follow their passion or their profession safely."

That statement, which got little notice, explained why the new policy was articulated, including a reference to the problem with graduation photos. It even offered some advice on how not to trespass inadvertently. "While it is easy to determine rail yards and rail structures such as bridges would be off limits – along the tracks, it may not be so easy to determine what is or is not railroad property," the statement said. "When in doubt, take the safe way and photograph from identifiable public property, such as the shoulder of a public road."

Davis said that even if UP police see railfans trespassing inadvertently or in some non-threatening way, they will merely point out where the property line is and guide them to public property. No one at UP is looking to harass or be unfriendly to railfans, he said. Davis also said the UP understands that railfans can be another set of eyes for dangerous or threatening situations.

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Amtrak's Management Buyouts Take Effect Published: December 28, 2011 — Chris Guss

CHICAGO — The effects of Amtrak’s management buyout program, announced in late October, will become evident in the days and weeks to come, with most employees that participated having finished their positions on Dec. 16.

Amtrak officials communicated during the week of Dec. 12 that most positions will remain unfilled for the foreseeable future until they can determine which positions can be eliminated as part of the restructuring. This would exclude vacated positions that they consider “safety sensitive” positions within the company. This would apply to positions such as road foreman or trainmasters with direct oversight of operating personnel.

It appears, at least for the time being, there are exceptions. For example, the first 1,608 miles of the California Zephyr’s trek between Chicago and Salt Lake City is typically managed by three road foreman of engines for Amtrak’s engineers. The three road foreman positions are based in Chicago; Omaha, Neb.; and Denver.

The position based in Omaha has sat vacant since March 2010, while the road foreman based in Denver resigning and going back to his craft as a result of the buyouts. This leaves only the first 280 miles from Chicago to Ottumwa, Iowa, covered by an active road foreman. Thus, more than half the Zephyr’s total mileage will occur on territory with no road foreman.

Apparently Amtrak has identified someone to fill the road foreman position based in Omaha, but the individual hasn’t been released from his current position, so it remains open. Another position vacated by the buyout was the road foreman that oversees the 32 engineers in the Chicago terminal. As of today, Amtrak hasn’t selected anyone to replace the employee who retired effective Dec. 16.

When asked about filling the positions deemed “safety sensitive”, Amtrak’s Steve Kulm, Director of Media Relations, responds, “Safety is Amtrak’s top priority. We have a deep bench of qualified and seasoned railroaders who are able to step up to fulfill critical roles and responsibilities while we move forward with the formal hiring process for key positions.”

Without a doubt, Amtrak has other personnel covering these open positions as best as possible, but their ‘bench’ of personnel will have to step up soon to fill the void created by the recent buyouts.

General Electric To Open Locomotive Remanufacturing Plant Published: December 27, 2011

ERIE, Pa. — General Electric Transportation will open a new $35 million plant to remanufacture diesel locomotives in Grove City, Pa., the company announced Tuesday. The new plant, slated for a 2013 opening, will be constructed on the grounds of the plant where GE currently builds prime movers for its Evolution-series diesel engines.

The company expects the market for remanufactured locomotives to increase. As Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards for off-road diesel engines grow tighter, traditional in-house rebuilds become more difficult. Electro-Motive has profited off this need through its 710ECO rebuild program.

The current Grove City site produces approximately 2,000 diesel engines per year, and is one of the largest locomotive prime mover manufacturing sites in the world. Final assembly of GE’s diesels takes place in Erie.

Union Representing London, Ontario, Electro-Motive Workers Asks For Federal Help

Published: December 27, 2011

LONDON, Ont. — Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza has asked the Canadian government to review Caterpillar’s 2010 acquisition of Electro-Motive Diesel. The request comes as workers at the plant fear being locked out after their current contract expires Jan. 1.

Lewenza wants Canada’s Minister of Industry to demand an explanation from Caterpillar as to its intent for the London plant. With plants in Muncie, Ind., and Mayfield, Ky., now producing EMD diesels, Caterpillar doesn’t need the London plant as much as the independent EMD did. Workers fear the company plans to lock out workers as a way to shut the plant down.

L'affaire Des Toilettes Posted January 6, 2012 By Fred Frailey

Have you noticed that we seem to have a lot of potty problems lately? Amtrak is about to replace a concrete slab that has served as its station in Beaumont, Texas, with a 1,800-square foot structure that contains neither a bathroom nor air-conditioning, reports the Beaumont Enterprise. (Advises the newspaper: If you gotta go, go out back.)

From Amsterdam, my Dutch correspondents send word that train riders have rebelled against new short-distance trains whose coaches contain no toilets. The Dutch national rail operator NS apparently judged toilets to be a 90,000-Euro luxury its customers could do without when it placed the order with Bombardier.

Only too late did the train operator realize that the time people absolutely have to use the facilities is always when there is no facility. So guess what NS decided to do? It announced a few days ago that conductors will hand out plastic biodegradable bags

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to passengers who’ve gotta go. They can fill the bag by ducking into what Dutch News calls the “empty driver’s cabin,” whatever that is.

But what happens next? Do you take the bag home? Throw it out the door at the next stop? Deposit it in a designated location on the train? Hand it back to the conductor? News stories leave us clueless.

Those of us on this side of the pond could give the Dutch some advice. After all, when pressed by its train-service employees, the other NS, Norfolk Southern, which distained working toilets on locomotives, tried to solve its problem by issuing each crew member a toilet bag when they reported for work. Each crew member had to account for that bag at the end of the tour of duty — no throwing them along the right of way. Ultimately the railroad did the right thing and installed toilets. I suspect that Norfolk Southern chairman Wick Moorman would suggest to the Dutch passenger train company that the bag solution will only end in grief.

Funny how bad news like this travels in threes. On Christmas Eve our sewer line became hopelessly stopped up. Some $2,500 in plumber bills later (try not to call a plumber on a Christmas Eve Saturday) it was still nip and tuck. So I reached back into Norfolk Southern history and suggested we use bags to conduct our personal business. My family was not amused.

I hope I have not offended you. I kept this discussion on an adult level. But holding a straight face wasn't easy.

Electro-Motive Locks Out Workers At Canadian Plant Published: January 3, 2012

LONDON, Ont. — Electro-Motive Diesel has locked out union workers at its London plant after the local union refused a 50 percent wage cut, CBC News has reported. Pickets have set up outside the plant, and while locomotive production at London has stopped, the Caterpillar-owned company continues assembly at its U.S. plants.

Unions fear the eyebrow-raising demands for wage cuts and the subsequent lockout are Caterpillar’s way of shutting the plant down and moving production to its U.S. plants. Caterpillar’s other locomotive-building subsidiary, Progress Rail Services, operates a plant at Mayfield, Ky., while EMD opened a new plant at Muncie, Ind., this year, which Caterpillar developed after buying the company.

“For a profitable corporation to come in and demand a 50 percent wage and benefit cut is really quite unprecedented,” said Canadian labor analyst Jason Russell.

EMD shot back at the union in a statement Sunday. “The union’s changing positions have created an environment of uncertainty that is not in the best interests of the company’s employees, customers, suppliers, and owners,” it said.

Florida East Coast Railway To Add Georgia Trucking Station Published: January 3, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida East Coast Railway will add a second trucking “relay” station in Georgia in an effort to expand its intermodal franchise, the Journal of Commerce has reported. FEC-employed truckers will forward trailers from the new station to Jacksonville, where they’ll be loaded on flatcars bound for destinations in South Florida.

FEC already has a relay station in Savannah, Ga. The stations offer trucking companies the ability to turn their loads over to the railroad outside of the Florida peninsula. Truckers who take loads all the way to the Miami area on Interstate 95 face a long drive down the peninsula and a similarly long drive back up, and a backhaul is seldom available.

“We think of ourselves as the trucking company’s owner-operator in Florida,” said Jim Hertwig, FEC’s president and CEO and a former trucker himself. “All we are is an extension of their network.”

Hertwig says FEC’s intermodal service to South Florida can shave 10 hours off a traditional haul, and the load “gets delivered while the original driver is still in bed.”

Stumping In Iowa: Mitt Romney Says He'd End Amtrak Published: January 3, 2012

CLIVE, Iowa — Mitt Romney promised Iowa voters yesterday he’d cut all funds to Amtrak, a repeat of a promise he made in a policy statement on his website in November. Romney, who leads polls both in Iowa and nationally for the Republican nominating contest, has made the pledge before as part of his plan to balance the federal budget.

“Those programs that don’t pass the following test, we get rid of,” Romney told the audience. “This is my test: Is this program so critical it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for?”

The federally owned passenger railroad was one of three programs Romney singled out for elimination as part of his effort. “Amtrak ought to stand on its own two feet, or its own wheels, or whatever you’d say,” Romney said.

Amtrak’s 2012 appropriation was $1.4 billion, or roughly .02 percent of the $6.2 trillion federal budget.

The other two programs Romney promised to defund were:

The National Endowment for the Arts, which won $146 million in 2012 funds, or roughly one-tenth Amtrak’s total.

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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which would reduce the federal deficit by $132 billion between 2010 and 2019, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Three CSX Trains Involved In crash Published: January 6, 2012

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. — A CSX train rear ended another on in Porter County, Ind., near Valparaiso. The crash sent debris into a passing train and derailed it, Chicago area television and newspapers reported.

Footage from helicopters showed tank cars and double-stack containers in the debris. Two crew members were injured and taken to area hospitals for treatment. The wreck took place about 1 p.m. Friday. Firefighters were still working to contain the burning cars.

Liability Issue Next For Amtrak Service On FEC Published: January 6, 2012

COCOA, Fla. – Before passenger service can be inaugurated along Florida’s East Coast, the state will have to pass legislation approving liability protection for Amtrak on state-owned tracks from West Palm Beach to Miami, the Treasure Coast Palm reported.

Florida State Rail Manager J. Fred Wise said this might be the year the Florida Legislature approves the liability protection for Amtrak. That’s the top issue that needs to be ironed out, he said, before Amtrak will agree to bring passenger service to the Florida East Coast Railway route.

Mike Latiff, Amtrak’s senior station-planning officer, told the Palm he has been working with Wise and Florida East Coast Railroad officials for about 10 years on the project. But they never got to address who would be responsible in case of accidents. “We have never reached the stage before where we discussed liability,” Latiff said.

Latiff was optimistic that Amtrak will come to the east coast of Florida. “This a new year, and it’s going to happen,” Latiff said. “We are committed to making this happen.” He said Amtrak can access a potential 8 million potential passengers on Florida’s East Coast.

Wise said Florida has set aside $118 million in the State Transportation Trust Fund for stations as a possible match for a future federal grant. He said senior engineers from Amtrak, Florida Department of Transportation, and the Florida East Coast must meet determine the next steps for the project.

General Electric Wins Locomotive Order From South African Freight Line

Published: January 10, 2012

ERIE, Pa. — General Electric has won an order to assemble 43 C30ACi diesels for South Africa’s Transnet. Transnet will now have a total of 143 of the GE export model.

Under the terms of the order, GE Transportation’s U.S. plants in Erie and Grove City, Pa., will build the locomotives’ parts into a kit, then ship the kit to the GE South Africa Technologies plant. There, workers will assemble the diesels.

The kits are to begin shipping in this year’s second quarter, with deliveries to Transet set for June 2013.

The C30ACi is a 3,300-hp diesel that uses an electronic fuel injection system to limit fuel use to just what the engine requires. They feature A.C. traction motors and modern dynamic brakes.

Boardman: Amtrak Won't Push For Daily 'Sunset' Published: January 11, 2012

WASHINGTON — Amtrak won’t push for negotiations with Union Pacific over the $700 million tab the freight railroad wants in order to host a daily passenger train over its Sunset Route between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas. Amtrak President Joseph Boardman made the announcement at a press conference today, in which he also outlined planned equipment acquisitions, Northeast Corridor infrastructure improvements, and organizational changes on tap for 2012.

Another key revelation from the conference: Boardman said that the company had no immediate plans to expand capacity by adding to the upcoming California and Midwest bi-level passenger car order.

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008’s section 210 mandated that Amtrak study ways to improve the performance of its long-distance trains, starting with the worst financial performers. The subsequent report demonstrated how revenue and ridership on the tri-weekly Los Angeles-New Orleans Sunset Limited could be increased dramatically by re-deploying its equipment as part of a daily Chicago-Los Angeles Texas Eagle with a daily New Orleans-San Antonio daytime connection (“Passenger,” December 2010).

Boardman acknowledged that Amtrak loses more money on tri-weekly than daily trains and that the UP “used an astronomical number for us to go to seven days per week.” But he noted that an Amtrak Inspector General analysis said that “the kinds of decisions that were made by our marketing folks, without really looking at what the operations would really take, were wrong,”

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because, “as a company, you have to control what you can control, not try to control what you can’t, and what we can’t control is what the Union Pacific would want for the train to go west seven days a week.” Boardman added, “From my perspective, [challenging the UP’s number] was not the priority and I’m not going to do it now, either.”

Boardman asserted that the Northeast Corridor’s Acela and Regional trains “cover more than above the rail costs” and that intercity passenger trains in short-haul corridors cover their operating costs “when you add in the state support.”

Boardman said what Amtrak needs most from Congress is capital investment in the Northeast, and “for the Hill to decide what they want to do in policy investment is in long-distance trains,” because “long-distance trains [are] where we don’t cover our operating costs,” and “we’re not going to be able to do that forever.”

In response to a question from Trains columnist Don Phillips, Boardman said the company has no immediate plans to expand its railcar fleet beyond already announced acquisitions. Those include the 130 single-level baggage cars, sleepers, and diners now under construction in Elmira, N.Y., by Spanish manufacturer CAF, and a proposal to acquire 40 additional coaches for the 20 existing Acela Express train sets. Rather than add equipment by piggybacking a separate Amtrak order for bi-level cars onto orders that California and Midwest states are poised to place, Boardman said the company intends to continue rebuilding its Superliner fleet at its Beech Grove, Ind., shop.

“One of the things I learned in the transit business before I came to [Amtrak] is that as I added more trains during the peak hour, my losses increased,” Boardman said. “Right now, the business model that exists for long-distance trains is that as you add trains, your losses increase.” He added, “that’s not where our policy direction has been coming from, from the administration or Congress. The importance of us to run a good service at a cost that can be supported by the policymakers is critical, and I believe that is [achieved] by rebuilding the equipment we have."

Norfolk Southern Loads Largest-Ever Vessel At Lamberts Point Pier 6 Published: January 13, 2012

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Railway completed loading of the M/V Cape Dover, the largest vessel ever to call at its Lamberts Point Pier 6, early yesterday. The China-bound ship is carrying 159,941 net tons of metallurgical coal.

NS forces loaded the 951-foot-long ship in less than 48 hours to accommodate a tight schedule for the consignee.

The loaded ship represents 1,561 railcars of coal.

“This is the kind of capacity and service that makes Pier 6 the preeminent coal transloading facility on the East Coast,” said Mark Bower, NS’s group vice president, export, metallurgical, and industrial coal marketing.

Norfolk Southern Opens Key Patriot Corridor Terminal Published: January 19, 2012

MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. — Norfolk Southern formally opened its new Mechanicville intermodal terminal, a key part of its Patriot Corridor initiative, this week. Operations began at 12:01 a.m. Monday, with daily arrivals and departures to and from Chicago.

The Patriot Corridor is NS’s play for the New England intermodal market launched in conjunction with Canadian Pacific and Pan Am Railways. The Mechanicville terminal will serve Albany, N.Y., metro area shippers. It’s also a key site for intermodal trains bound for Ayer, Mass., as they’ll be “fileted” (single-stacked) eastbound and “toupeed” (double-stacked) westbound. That’s necessary because the Hoosac Tunnel in Massachusetts can’t clear double-stacked containers.

The terminal will handle containers only, including 53-foot domestic boxes, EMP containers, or ocean containers.

Canadian National Could Benefit From Stalled Pipeline Published: January 19, 2012

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Oil companies operating in the Alberta oilsands region may begin shipping oil by rail after they failed to gain regulatory approval for a major pipeline, the Vancouver Sun has reported. Canadian National’s branch to the Fort McMurray, Alta., area has gained traffic on account of the oilsands, and could gain more as oil producers struggle to move their wares.

Transcanada Corp. had proposed the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have carried crude from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Amid election-year squabbles, and under pressure from environmental groups on one side and House Republicans on the other, the Obama administration denied the pipeline’s application yesterday.

“Shipping crude by rail is definitely a bridge,” said Martin King, with FirstEnergy Capital Corp. “The costs are definitely higher, but rail has been helping.”

James Cairns, CN’s vice president of petroleum and chemicals, encouraged oil producers to use his railroad at an industry conference in November 2010. Cairns specifically envisioned CN handling trains of crude from Fort McMurray to the Pacific Ocean ports of Kitimat and Prince Rupert, B.C., for export to Asia.

Rail shipment of petroleum was an anachronism until a few years ago, when oil producers in the Bakken oilshale began shipping unit trains to refiners. Producers in the formation, which underlies parts of North Dakota, Montana, and

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Saskatchewan, suffer from inadequate pipeline capacity. They Keystone KL was to siphon some of that oil away as it passed through North Dakota, so its cancellation could mean more traffic for railroads there as well.

Canadian Pacific Announces 2012 Capital Plan Published: January 18, 2012

CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific announced that it would spend between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion for infrastructure, network enhancements, and expansion projects in 2012. CP President and CEO Fred Green said in a statement, “We are confident that the investments we are making under our 2012 Capital Plan will allow us to achieve a low 70s operating ratio in the next three years.” Green said in 2011 that CP would achieve an operating ratio in the low 70s within three to five years.

CP is under pressure to improve its performance from U.S. hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management LLC, which owns 14.2 percent of CP. Ackman is seeking to replace Green with retired Canadian National CEO Hunter Harrison.

CP plans to spend approximately $800 million to rebuild existing infrastructure; $275 million for capacity expansion, business development projects, and productivity initiatives; and $50 million for government-mandated projects, principally positive train control.

B&O RDC Moved To Maryland Museum Published: January 18, 2012

GAITHERSBURG, Md. – A former Baltimore & Ohio Budd Rail Diesel Car was moved to the Gaithersburg Community Museum last week. The car once hauled commuters between Washington and Baltimore on the B&O line through Brunswick. A truck moved the 85-foot car from the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.

The car is a Budd model RDC2, the designation for RDCs with a coach and baggage section. It was built in September 1953 as B&O 6551 and renumbered to 1951 in November 1956. It was renumbered again in 1979 to 9932. It was sold to the Maryland Department of Transportation in May 1980.

The RDC2 was restored and retrofitted by Worcester Eisenbrandt, Inc. at the B&O Railroad Museum’s restoration shop. The car is expected to open to the public in early March. The state provided a matching grant of $250,000 to the city for its restoration.

The City of Gaithersburg’s Community Museum is located in the restored 1884 B&O Railroad Station complex.

Indonesia Railways Install Concrete Balls To Keep Riders Off Roofs Published: January 18, 2012

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Railway staff in Indonesia have started hanging concrete balls above the tracks to try to prevent commuters from riding on the roofs of passenger cars, the BBC reports. The balls — which can deliver a severe blow to the head — will be suspended a few inches above the tops of cars at points where trains enter or pull out of stations, or where they go through crossings. The first balls were installed just above roof height near a station outside Jakarta.

More will be put up elsewhere if they are found to keep people off the roofs.

Previous attempts to deter roof riders included spraying roofs with paint, spreading oil on passenger cars, hiring musicians to perform safety songs, and installing barbed wire on car roofs. Officials hope that the latest move will prove to be the ultimate deterrent. Roof riders also face the possibility of imprisonment.

In 2008 at least 53 passengers died in an accident while travelling on the roof of a passenger train. Last year 11 people were killed. Most victims are electrocuted by overhead wire, but some fall off while trains are in motion.

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Indonesia’s railways are operated by the state-owned PT Kereta Api and the newly formed PT Kereta Api Jabotabek that operates the commuter lines in the Jakarta metropolitan area.

Restoration Group Acquires Frisco 2-8-2 Published: January 18, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The non-profit American Steam Railroad Preservation Association has completed the purchase of St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) 2-8-2 No. 1352. American Locomotive Co. built the locomotive in 1912 as a 2-8-0; Frisco rebuilt it in June 1944 into a 2-8-2. In 1956 the engine was placed on display in a Kansas City, Mo., park. It was later removed from the park and was the subject of an abortive restoration effort. The Mikado was eventually moved to Taylorville, Ill., where it is currently stored.

The Columbus-based American Steam Railroad Preservation Association was founded in 2005. The group plans to bring 1352’s smaller parts such as the air compressor and power reverse to Ohio to begin restoration work on them. The organization hopes to raise the money required by St. Louis’ Skyview Crane and Rigging to move 1352 to Ohio. The Association said it plans to initially operate a restored 1352 on the 12-mile Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad at Nelsonville, Ohio.

Several events are planned to help raise money for the restoration including a Father’s Day train and a Civil War reenactment train. For more information go to www.americansteamrailroad.org.

Senator On New York Fast-Train Project: Hurry Up Published: January 17, 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said today he’s frustrated with the slow rate of progress on implementing higher-speed rail between Albany and Buffalo, N.Y. CSX, Amtrak, and the New York Department of Transportation are still in talks nearly two years after the project first won funding.

“We need to get moving, and get moving now,” Schumer said. “CSX, Amtrak, and the state and the feds need to get together and come up with all of the necessary agreements so that we can sound the whistle and get this project going.”

Schumer helped secure $58 million in federal funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to construct the first piece of a higher-speed rail line in the corridor. Similar awards in Washington, Illinois, and Michigan are moving forward. However, several agreements in New York have yet to be finalized, leaving the Federal Railroad Administration unable to obligate $76.5 million in grant money.

These include a service outcomes agreement between CSX and the state, which has so far been held up because of a disagreement on speed. CSX insists freight and passenger trains can’t coexist faster than 90 mph, while the state insists passenger trains move at 110 mph.

CSX, Schneider Ink Big Intermodal Contract Published: January 17, 2012

GREEN BAY, Wis. — CSX has won an agreement that will see it remain Schneider National Inc.’s primary provider of rail service in the eastern U.S. The railroad has held that role since 2008, but under the new multi-year agreement, the trucking company plans to grow its intermodal presence.

“We’re recommitting the expertise of one of the nation’s major railroads and one of the largest intermodal providers at a time when truckload capacity is getting tighter and shippers need creative new solutions to move freight,” said Bill Matheson, Schneider’s president of intermodal services.

Matheson says the East and Midwest will suffer the most from driver shortages this year. “Eastern intermodal service will provide significant relief to shippers who convert truckload freight, and Schneider will be significantly adding additional containers, tractors, and drivers to its fleet to prepare for the increased demand.”

In addition to CSX, Schneider has major intermodal contracts with BNSF, Canadian National, and Kansas City Southern.

Gloves Come Off In The Fight For Canadian Pacific Posted: Monday, January 16, 2012 By: Fred Frailey

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and the captains of industry who sit on the board of Canadian Pacific don’t play well together. Last Monday, after each side revealed the contents of emails they had exchanged in confidence, Ackman declared war, announcing he will wage a proxy fight in May to unseat an unspecified number of board members and compel the railroad to oust chief executive officer Fred Green in favor of his candidate, retired Canadian National CEO Hunter Harrison. By last weekend, even Canadian National was publicly involved, warning Harrison to “think twice” about going to work for the competing CP.

For those who have been asleep the past few months, the story up until now is this: Ackman’s New York investment company, Pershing Square Capital Management, bought 14 percent of CP’s shares. The railroad’s 70-year-old non-executive chairman, retired Royal Bank of Canada CEO John Cleghorn, offered Ackman a seat on the board and nothing more, and that only if

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Ackman would agree to cease making waves. But Ackman let it be known he wanted Harrison to run the poorly performing railroad in place of Green. And there the matter stood until Wednesday, Jan. 4.

That was the day that Ackman, 45, sent Cleghorn an email with the words “War and Peace” on the subject line, reports The Globe And Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. In this email, Ackman told Cleghorn, a military history buff, that his “border war” would turn into “a nuclear winter” if Ackman's demands for a new CEO (and two unconditional seats on the board) were not met. Ackman later told the newspaper: “I was laying out clearly and directly what was going to happen.”

Outraged by the upstart Yankee investor, CP’s board on Monday, Jan. 8, publicly broke off already-strained discussions with Ackman and formally dismissed the idea of hiring Harrison, who is widely credited with turning CN from the least-efficient railroad in North America to the most efficient. And within hours if not minutes, Ackman launched his “nuclear winter,” a proxy fight to prevail in the war over who will take Canadian Pacific forward as its CEO.

Canadian National waded into the free-for-all at week’s end with a curious public warning to Harrison, 67, who retired as that railroad’s CEO at the end of 2009 and whose non-compete agreement with CN expired at the stroke of midnight Jan. 1. CN told Harrison to reconsider joining forces with CP should Ackman prevail. Reached by the Wall Street Journal, Harrison said he has no intention of doing as his former employer wishes. “I had a two-year non-compete [and] the two years has expired," he said.

In any event, Canadian railroaders I’ve spoken with believe CN’s warning is really aimed internally at Keith Creel, an American who is CN’s own chief operating officer and executive vice president of operations and a Hunter Harrison protégé. The two men get along well. Should Harrison get the top job at Canadian Pacific, he almost certainly would want the far younger Creel to help him implement what would be far-reaching changes. And Creel in turn would surely seek to entice many of his own people to join him at Canada’s other big railroad. For Canadian National, this would spell utter disaster.

So gather your popcorn, get comfortable, and watch what happens, folks. I will leave you with this observation: Four years ago, a similar proxy battle played out at CSX in the U.S. CSX chairman Michael Ward faced in the Children’s Investment Fund, based in London, a far less-savvy opponent than John Cleghorn does in Pershing Square, which has a history of getting its way with lagging companies. And CSX had far more going for it, in the form of surging profits and fast-rising dividends, than CP does now. Yet for all of that, CSX lost.

Smithsonian To Pursue Restoration Of 'Jim Crow' Coach Published: January 16, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday will begin accepting bids on the restoration of a heavyweight partitioned, or segregated, coach for its new National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum is set to open on the National Mall in 2015.

The Smithsonian plans to restore Southern Railway partitioned coach No. 1200, and it will become an exhibit. The car seats 44 and was converted and renumbered in 1940 at Southern’s Hayne Shops in Spartanburg, S.C. A 2011 “Save America’s Treasures” grant will cover approximately half of the restoration and moving expenses.

The car is stored in Chattanooga, Tenn. The bid period will be open for four weeks.

For North Dakota's Railroads, The Bonanza Grows And Grows Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 By: Fred Frailey

An Associated Press story makes clear what I’ve been suspecting: With the Keystone XL pipeline perhaps five years or more from completion, about the only way North Dakota oil drillers will get their product to market is by train. The XL is the Canada-to-Gulf of Mexico pipeline that was to bring oil from Alberta’s tar sands to U.S. refiners, and along the way scoop up 100,000 barrels per day of North Dakota’s surging output. President Obama put the kibosh on that idea this month, forcing TransCanada Corp. to restart the approval process for the pipeline.

In the meantime, oil production in the Bakken Shale area of northwest North Dakota is ramping up rapidly. Last November, output passed the 500,000-barrel-a-day level. By 2013, state officials expect to drillers to pump 750,000 barrels per day from the stubbornly hard rock formations and to surpass 1 million by 2015. “Pipelines are by far the safest and most economically efficient way to transport oil, but we are left with a limited number of options if pipelines are off the table,” Tony Clark, chairman of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, told the AP. “Once the oil is flowing, it has to go somewhere.”

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Actually, if not by pipeline, producers have but one option: a train. A modern railroad tank car holds 700 or more barrels of crude oil. So a 100-car train can take 70,000 or so barrels of oil wherever the customer wants it to go. Presently, railroads estimate they are loading about 25 percent of North Dakota’s crude oil, the rest going by existing pipelines. But pipeline capacity cannot ramp up quickly. Therefore, for the next couple of years, as production increases at roughly the rate of 10,000 barrels or more per month, you either get the oil out of the state by rail or shut down your pump jacks, and that second option is really not in the cards.

Just do the math. One-fourth of 500,000 barrels a day, the current production, comes to almost two unit trains a day, which is about what BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway are carrying. By the end of this year, make that three or four trains per day, and in 2013, five or six or seven. At the moment, BNSF has six loading facilities for crude oil in North Dakota, CP two (but CP is also active in Saskatchewan). By 2013, BNSF’s loading capacity will expand to nine facilities in the state, and CP’s to three. So what I thought was overbuilding of these loading docks and associated trackage turns out not to be the case at all.

This is great incremental business, from just one state, and BNSF in particular has the infrastructure in place to move it. The question is, will expanded pipeline capacity break this chain of events? By the time the XL is built, presuming that it is, it will have room for just one-tenth of North Dakota’s oil output. Other pipelines will be proposed and built into the state, but the pipeline network is aimed primarily at Oklahoma and Texas, whereas prices are higher on the east and west coasts and places in between.

Hess Corp., one of the biggest producers in North Dakota, has begun to run unit oil trains from its loadout in Tioga, N.D., to an idle Sunoco refinery near Camden, N.J. via BNSF and Norfolk Southern. The facility has oil storage and pipeline access, presumably to Hess's U.S. refinery in Woodbridge, N.J. It’s business like this that railroads need to nurture, through pricing that is as competitive to pipelines as possible and with service that is as dependable as a ticking clock. Are BNSF, CP, and other railroads in the nation’s burgeoning oil fields up to this challenge? The answer is yes, if they choose to be.

CSX Sets 4Q, Full Year Records; Names COO, CFO Railway Age Rail Group News for January 25th 2012

CSX Corp. said late Monday fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents per share, up 13% from 38 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2010, as it recorded revenue of about $3.0 billion and operating income of $841 million. CSX also notched an operating ratio of 71.5%.

"CSX once again delivered record earnings per share while investing in resources to support high customer service levels and growth in the near- and long-term," said Michael J. Ward, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Our performance in 2011 has set a strong foundation for growth, and CSX remains committed to achieving a 65 percent operating ratio by no later than 2015."

CSX generated record performance in revenue, operating income, operating ratio and earnings per share for the full year as well. Revenue increased 10% to $11.7 billion, while operating income rose 11% to $3.4 billion. The Class I railroad’s operating ratio for the full year improved to 70.9%, and its earnings per share improved 24% to $1.67.

Despite the record-setting, Wall Street appeared unappreciative Tuesday, noting CSX earnings of 43 cents per share fell short of analyst expectations by a penny. Shares of CSX stock were down roughly 3.9% in early Tuesday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

CSX Corp. Monday said it had appointed Oscar Munoz as executive vice president and chief operating officer and appointed Fredrik J. Eliasson as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.

Munoz replaces David A. Brown, who has left the company. The company said the personnel change is unrelated to CSX's financial condition, business performance, or outlook.

"Oscar Munoz is a proven leader who has been an integral part of creating the company's vision and success," said Michael J. Ward, chairman, president, and CEO. "He brings tremendous business skills, a disciplined approach and a passion for superior results."

Munoz has been executive vice president and chief financial officer of CSX since 2003, responsible for all financial, strategic planning, information technology, procurement and real estate activities. Prior to joining CSX he held senior leadership roles at PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and AT&T.

Munoz is a member of the board of directors of United Airlines, as well as several local and national educational and philanthropic institutions. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California and a master's of business administration from Pepperdine University.

Succeeding Munoz as chief financial officer is Fredrik Eliasson, a 16-year veteran CSX executive. "Fredrik brings broad senior leadership experience and a track record of success in key financial and commercial roles," said Ward. "He has invaluable insight into creating value for shareholders and customers, as well as clear focus and skill in business execution."

Eliasson was vice president of sales and marketing for CSX's chemicals and fertilizer business and previously headed the emerging markets business. Before that, he was vice president of financial planning and analysis, overseeing all aspects of planning, forecasting and economic analysis activities.

Eliasson is on the board of directors of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Chamber of Commerce. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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The Following Article Courtesy of Chapter Member Warren McFarland Via Chapter Member Ken Murdock

The Following Steam News Article Courtesy of the FEC Chapter’s The East Coast Champion Newsletter

STACK TALK -- STEAM NEWS

December 2011 and January 2012 by Neil Moran

Georgia: Bowersville: The Hartwell Railroad Company wants very much to restore a suitable engine for excursion service between Bowersville and Macon, Georgia. A candidate is ex-Central of Georgia 2-8-0 Consolidation #509 (Baldwin, 1906) presently on display (since 1959) at Central City Park in downtown Macon. Locomotive #509 was one of twenty five class C4 Consols built by the Baldwin Company in 1906. The company would also like to negotiate with other railroads to allow trips to Atlanta and Savannah. The Hartwell RR operates about 140 miles mostly in north Georgia.

Wyoming: Cheyenne: By the time you read this , Union Pacific will have completed a monstrous tour that has taken the 4-8-4 #844 over 2900 miles through the southwestern part of our country, in honor of state centennials in New Mexico and Arizona; the 30-day tour started October 29 in Cheyenne, making 41 stops enroute. No. 844, the last steam locomotive built for UP (1944) returned to service in 2005 after one of the most extensive steam locomotive overhauls in the United States. The work, which started in the year 2000, included overhauling the locomotives, running gear, pumps, piping, valves and springs along with the replacement of its firebox, and extensive boiler work, the cab interior was also

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refurbished. In passenger service through 1957, the engine pulled crack UP streamliners, then ran in freight service for two more years, and was saved from scrapping and used for special service thereafter, running hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific’s ambassador of good will. In 2010 she traveled throughout Texas and parts of Colorado, earlier this year the locomotive traveled 2500 miles powering the Little Rock Express Tour Special. This locomotive is truly a bright star in the future of Union Pacific relations program, and they wouldn’t have it any other way!!

Texas: Amarillo: AT&SF pioneer locomotive 2-10-4 #5000 is on the road to operating under full power again, yes all quite true! No. 5000 will be restored at the Progress Rail Services facility at Amarillo, Texas. This engine began regular high-speed service in 1930, and as she demonstrated her demanding yet superior strength on the road, Santa Fe operating personnel christened her Madame Queen. After over 25 years of daily service, she was finally retired in 1955. With a stroke of good fortune, she escaped the torch, and was donated for static display to the city of Amarillo. After years of neglect, Amarillo businessman Sam Teague, using his own resources, began a decade of pleading and cajoling local politicians to restore the engine. Finally, they gave in, moving the Queen to a different location. Workers have now finished the complete exterior of the locomotive, and Mr. Teague is overseeing total rebuilding to operational standards. The restoration will be done in three phases: relocation, which has been already done; asbestos removal; and finally restoration back to full service. There has been no date set for this dream come true, but we can be very patient to see this behemoth come to life again. (Thanks to Larry Brasher, who provided this information via John Biehn.) For more information, visit www.railroadartifactpreservation.org.

Indiana: Elkhart: It may seem like a fairy tale, but a group of volunteers has assembled to return to service a former New York Central L-3 Class 4-8-2 Mohawk locomotive, #3001. She’s the same one that I wrote about almost a year ago, when the mayor of Elkhart wanted to restore her to running condition to run steam excursions. Well, that didn’t get very far, as the restoration would run close to a million dollars. The city official told the good mayor thanks but no thanks! Now a new group of volunteers has formed to try once again to return the Mohawk to running condition. The determined group is now raising funds to get the rust and other deterioration off the engine. Remember, #3001 has been outside and unprotected from the weather for decades. The first phase will run around $10,000; then they have to go inside the locomotive and do heavy repairs which could run up to $1 million (ouch), and that’s looking at it with rose-colored glasses. In its days in the sun, this Mohawk powered many general freight and passenger trains such as the Twentieth Century Limited, Commodore Vanderbilt, etc. This engine was also used on the Boston and Albany Railroad. With many New York Central Hudson types available for passenger service, the #3001 was mostly used in fast freight service; it was retired in 1957. After being on static display in Dallas, the engine was traded by the Museum of the American Railroad to the National New York Central Museum in Elkhart. We wish this group all the best; they will need it. (Thanks to the Elkhart Truth via Alex Mayes and John Biehn.)

Kentucky: New Haven: Ex-Louisville & Nashville Pacific #152 (Rogers, 1905), one of three modern-era L&N steam locomotives in existence, and the only one recently in operation, has now been taken out of service by owners Kentucky Railway Museum. The engine is due for its federally mandated 15-year inspection. According to Museum executive director Greg Mathews, “there are a number of items that have gotten to a point that must be worked on; there are some parts we don’t know about until we get the #152 apart.” He continues, “in addition to the boiler, there will also be work done on the leading trucks and rear trucks, plus the driving wheels; then comes the crown sheet, and flues. Now we come to the firebox that several pieces have to be replaced, and when you get into it, there are always some surprises. It looks like one-half to three-quarters of a million to complete the work.” The engine was originally restored by a group of volunteers, but these people are now much older, so the Museum will most likely send some of the work to contractors, and possibly bring a contractor on-site. Regardless of what is found, the museum plans to operate the #152 again. “Parking it and putting up a sign saying it used to run is what we don’t want to do,” says Mr. Mathews.

Tennessee: NRHS Chapter Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga, in November ran several steam excursions with gratifying results, using newly refurbished ex-Southern 2-8-0’s #630 and #154. The trips started on Tuesday, Nov. 8 with #630 running Chattanooga to Knoxville and return over the Norfolk Southern main line. Thursday Nov 10 saw the two engines operating on the Knoxville & Holston River Railroad using newly rebuilt #154 with good results, along with Washington & Lincolnton #203. On Sunday Nov. 13, Southern #154 powered a train to Alcoa Tennessee. At Alcoa, the 2-8-0 was met there by Southern #630, which returned the excursion train to downtown Knoxville. On Monday, November 14, once again #630 pulled a special to Chattanooga, but suffered a breakdown about the halfway point, so diesels had to be called in to get the train to its destination at Knoxville. Passengers were bused back to Chattanooga (which was the plan anyway, from Knoxville at any rate). With the exception of the last trip, all the steam engines performed well. It was also overheard in Knoxville, that Norfolk Southern wants 2-8-2 #4501 ready by this year for its 21st Century Steam Program.

Connecticut: Valley Railroad, Essex in November successfully tested their “New Haven” Chinese-built SY Class 2-8-2 #3025 (ex-Knox & Kane RR, Pennsylvania), and in December the engine began operating in regular service pulling holiday trips along the Connecticut River. She was joined by ex-Aberdeen & Rockfish 2-8-2 #40. David Conrad, Chief Executive Officer, said “it looks good and we are mighty pleased to have her here.” Upon arrival in Connecticut, she received numerous cosmetic changes to make her look like a New Haven engine. It has a New Haven-style cab with arched windows and its sports a genuine New Haven headlight, bell, whistle, and marker lights. The coalbunker and water tank were squared up to reflect an American-style tender, and handrails were rearranged in New Haven style. She made her debut in excursion service December 7 on the Valley Railroad’s annual North Pole Express trains. Ho, Ho, Ho!

West Virginia: Elkins: The West Virginia Railroad Museum, dedicated to preserving the heritage of West Virginia railroading, has two steam locomotives, #8 and #9, the last two engines that worked on the West Virginia Northern Railroad. The engines subsequently served on the Preston Railroad logging line, and were retired in 1960 when that pike quit. Enthusiast Earl Leap acquired the engines, and the Museum is working to restore #9. Boiler repairs are almost complete, and it will then be taken to Allegheny Welding where wheels and axles have been turned and trued. Main axle bearings and side rod bearings have already been repaired or replaced. The final steps are presently on hold, waiting for authorization to proceed with the final grant. (Thanks to Robert Kearns via Alex Mayes and John Biehn.)

Kentucky: Clearfield: Jerry Jacobson has added another steam engine to his collection: ex Morehead & North Fork, ex-Southern 0-6-0 #12, for his Age of Steam Roundhouse at Sugarcreek, Ohio. The Alco product had been owned by the M&NF since 1952. In its final years the 0-6-0 ran over a four-mile track carrying mostly coal, clay products and lumber; the line was abandoned in 1985. Mr. Jacobson is the former owner of the Ohio Central Railroad, which he sold to the Genesee & Wyoming in 2008; he just completed a new roundhouse to provide shelter to his fleet of steam engines.