March 1997Volume 39, NO.7

Newslelter of the Rochester NY Chapter,National Railway Historical Society

~The 5emmphare,•

The date is ~J 25. 1956 =d !h::::.C""'pt::! Pr:id=t, S=~l Grove:- 'd.~ves'Hcrse Cer 55on its "'~y fromEdgcnonPar\;:to RaiJ City RR Musewn. The placard on the roof reads'Rochester& PittsburgDepot, abovethe ",indo",~:'North& West Avenue~and on the bottom:'RochesterCll)'& BrightonR.R.Co.' To the rightof '55' is To the BayR R. Depot'. The signaboveSam'sbead reads:'North& WestAves',and in front 'Pittsburgh55 R.R.Depot'. (Yes,thereweredllferentspeIImgsforPIttsburgh!)To the best of our knowledge,this car is nowinstorageat the RochesterMuseum& ScienceCenter.

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Program for March 20:

The next membership meeting is at the40 & 8 Club on March 20th. Theprogram for March, "Modem SleamTechnology", will be given by Chaptermember, Ron Amberger. Ron "ill takea look at the development of steampower in the "Super Power" era. Start-ing "ith the Lima A-I, a demonstratorbuilt by Lima Locomotive Works, toshow the vel)' consemltive mechanicaldepartments of railroads what the possi-bilities of modem steam technologywould be like. The modem steamlocomotive "ill be examined in detaillooking at the water heaters, boosters,boiler making, high pressure boilers,waler tube fire boxes, 3~linder enginesand compounding. The t3Ik "ill be wellillustrated "ith numerous examplesdra\m from the literature of steamlocomotive lechnolog)'.

Cosgrove 'Remembr.anccs' 7Bus Trip 6Mystel)' Photo 2Weber Inte"iew 8Heron's RC\iew 8

- 50,000 (100%)

40,000 (80%)

"$30,162(60%)

- 20,000 (40"10)

- 10,000 (10%)

An intetYiew with Hisrorjcallnterest

Samuel GroverSamuel Grover is undoubtedly our oldcstChapter member. He ",ill be 95 yearsyoung come this May!

Sam ",as born on Arg)'le Street inRochester and graduated from the oldEast High School on Alexander Streetand continued his education at nightschool. His father \\as in the nurserybusiness. In the early 1930s, his familymoved to Pittsburgh, PA for a couple ofyears before returning to Rochester.

Sam joined the Chapter in 1951, spon-sored by Bill Gordon. He served asPresident in 1956 and \\as RecordingSecretary in 1959.

The meetings were held on the thirdnoor of the New York Central's clabo-

rate and magnificent terminal in down-to\\n Rochester. The Chapter's firstmeeting was at this terminal. Aner 1959when they had to vacate the terminal,the group used several meeting places:American Legion's British Legion Hall;Asbury Methodist Church; the RochesterMuseum and Science Center, and finallythe American Legion's 40&8 Club onUniversity Avenue.

Sam initiated our annual Banquets stan-ing \\ith the first on April 28, 1956 atBarnard Exempt facilities. The toast-master was attorney John Remington,and the speaker, Mayor Peter Barry, thehonoree.

He married Anna Briggs in 1950. She isa gracious hostess. Anna's family camefrom Glovemille area. (Rand Warner is

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The Semaphore

"A Second Chance".,. was the title of Chris Haufs articleappearing in the April issue of Railfan& Railraad, page 8. Reproduced is oneof Chris' color photos showing RG&E#1941 pulling Car 161 to NYMf.

Chris missed the opportunity of ridingany of the 'Stafford' cars back in the late1980s when he lived in New Jersey. Heis looking forward to not only ridingone of them now, but also being amotorman.

NYMTs recent acquisitionmentioned in March Trains

The article, entitled "The new Toledo,Peoria & Western" in the March issue ofTrains, mentions the New York Mu-seum of Transponation purchase of twoformer Philadelphia & Western "Straf-ford" electric cars.

The former lrnner was the KeokukJunction Railwa)". which was origina11ypart of the old TP&W. In March 1996.Pioneer purchased Keokuk Junction.Pioneer now lrnns 12 shortline railroadsin the Eastern U.S. (Trains. March1997, pg. 60)

60th Anniversary PizzaServed

At the Feblll3J)' meeting, two largepizzas were devoured. You rna)"missed!bat the pepperoni spelled '60'1 ThC)'came from Veltre Bakef)'. which bas theoldest brick O\'ens in the city.

This Month's "Mystery Photo" .See Page 7 for location and details.

March 1997

Track Car TrainingSchedule:

All sessions are on Saturday and at theR&GV Museum.

March 29: 1010 11:30; Class Room

Aprll 5: 10 to 11:30; Class Room

Aprl119: 10 to 11:30; Class Room &

1 to 3: Hands On Training

Aprll 26: 9 to 3; Hands On Training

May3: 9 to 3; Hand On Training

For more information, or if the abovetimes are not convenient for )"011, pleasecall Jeremy Tuke at 359-8944.

Don Shilling assumesHistorian Post

Because nf increased family responsibili-ties Keith BlackalI bas resigned asChapter Historian.

We thank Keith for his devotion tocollecting, organizing and protectingthose items !bat document our Chapter'shistof)'.DonO\'llDShilling bas agreed to becomeour Historian. adding to his duties asVISitor Operations and RestorationBuilding Fund coordinator. This shouldbe "right d<rnn his aIlC)'oas Don basgi\"CIlnumerous talks and seminars onlocal histol)'.

Save this Date: May 17Ma)' 17 is the dale of our AnnualBanqud. Details to follow.

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Membership CommitteecRgportNo Report received for this month"issue.

'rake J{oteThis will be the next to last issue of TheSemaphore you will receive if you havenot paid your 1997 NRHS dues. If youhaven't paid. you should have receiveda "final" notice from the National bynow.

NYMT 1997 Schedule ofEvents

May 18 Track car rides begin.

May 18 "Model Railroad Grand Open-ing" The crew of this HD-gaugemodel railroad bas worked all winterto enclose the display area, andupgrade it for this evenl

June 22 "East Roehester Day" Bothmuseums will commemorate the rolethis community and its residents havepla)"ed in railroad histOf)'. Residenll..of East Rochester will be admittwfree (with an additional charge for atrack car ride). and include a tourinside a refrigerator car built at theDespatch Car Shops.

July 20 "Antique Truck Show" Themuseums will host the AmericanTruck Historical Society with displaysof antique ,'ehicles and fire trucks.

Aug. 2&3 "60th Anniversary" of theRochester Chapter of the NationalRailway Historical Society as it cel-ebrates 60 years of growth andprogress. Special events and exhibitswill be held both days highlightingthe milestones of the Rochester Chap-ter and its Rochester & GeneseeVallC)'Railroad Museum.

Aug. 17 "Railroads in Stamps" LocaIstamp authority Norman Wright willpresent slide talks at 1:30 and 3:00 onthe way railroads have been featuredon postage stamps. Mr. Wright willautograph his new book "Railways ofthe World on Stamps. published bythe American Philatelic Association.Copies will be available in the •shop.

001 26: Last day of track car rides.

The Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society will be celebratingits 60th Year during 1997. Any ideas to commemorate this milestone are welcome.Contact Chapter Presidem. Dave Luca at 288~318.

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The Semaphore .

Rand Warner, Chairman, 425-8587

GeneralThe winter weather may slow someactivities down, but we never stop.Many projects, both indoors and out.doors, are continuing Saturdays andweekdays. The fun and fellowship neverquits.

We have had a '-cry open winter SO farin 1997. This makes for a great opportu.nity to easily chase old rigbts-of.wayand discover previously unknown arti.facts.

Buildings and GroundsDavid Wca. Supt.. 2lJ8..03J8

Bernie Cubiu has made up a list ofneeded work he can do on the RL&Binterurban station.

Dave Luca has a list of work to bestaned on the NYC RR flagman'sshanty.

Additional small railroad structureshave been located and catalogued.

Additional avenues for land expansionare being im-estigated.

Track & Right-of-wayRand Warner. Acting Supt. 425-8587

Track priorities for 1997 were discussedat a joint NYMT • RGVRM meeting onFeb. 21.

Possible additional trackage locationsand routings north and south of Rle 251have been scoped out by Rand Warnerand Charles Harshbarger .

Additional resources for further trackmaterials have been identified and cata.logued.

March 1997

Electrification CommitteeRand Warner, ChIn. 425-8587

Additional resources for poles are beingidentified.

The Committee of NYMT and RGVRMpersonnel met on Feb. 25 to reviewplans, priorities and actions.

Resources for permanent and temporaryDC power are being pursued and devel.oped.

Needed overhead line hardware will beordered for the first 1000 feet of line.

Data base of regional and local trolley!interurban car bodies and artifacts isbeing reviewed and updated.

This committee could use some morevolunteers.

Development CommitteeJeremy Tuke. ChIn., 359-8944

The committee has had three meetingsto establish plans, priorities and actions.

A presentation package is being devel•oped.

New flyers have been done up by ChrisHaW.A table "ill be manned at EdgertonTrain Show.

Lists of needs and resources for finan-cial, physical and senice requirementshave been made.

Safety CommitteeJohn Redden, Coordinalor. 594-2227

Lists of safety issues and concerns arebeing collected and summarized from allour functional areas; to identify anyhazards to our ,isitors, volunteers, orequipment operations.

Responses are being de\-eJoped to ourinsurance audit inspection of last fall; byNYMT and RGVRM.

Electric blue ligbt safety lanterns havebeen procured.

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New Restoration BuildingProject

Don Shilling • 'Spark Plug'

Thanks to two of our members forpromising a repeat of their large 1996pledges again in 1997.

Joe Scanlon & Co. are working ongrading plans, options and a1ternativcs.

Dave Luca is working on layouts forvarious track plansl vs. building locationarrangements.

A new building will provide a great leapforward: Work on projects all year long,any time, any weather. Don't have tokeep putting everythitig away each day.Support from additional tools, cranesand equipment More effective, efficientand productive. Better morale and moreenthusiasm. Undertake efforts not prac.tical to do outdoors. Work on equipmentoff season to be ready for use. Lessdistraction from summer outdoorprojects. More focus on indoor projects.

Tool Car & ShopsCharles Harshbarger. Supt..

266-8339

Additional cabinets are now installed intool car for parts and catalogues.

A list of available shop equipment forour new building is being catalogued.

Jeremy Tuke is arranging delivery of alarge shop air compressor.

Engineering Dept.Jim Johnson. Supt.. 467-J672

Entire north waiting room of Depot hasbeen rearranged for bener utilization bycomputer, files, maps, desk and draftingfunctions. Additional new file cabinetshave been installed.

We have located a source for a 0.1000amp DC c1ip-on ammeter to assist inlocomotive trouble shooting and trolleyelectrification projects.

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Freight EquipmentChris Haul, Supt., 381-8583

Inspection trips around the region havebeen made by Chris Hauf, Jeremy Tokeand Rand Warner to locate, inspect andcheck out transpon arrangements forseveral possible acquisitions.

The B&O bay window caboose wasturned on the NYMI' loop for furtherpaint work as soon as Spring weatherpermits.

Passenger EquipmentRobert Miner, Supt., 671-3589

Work details for the excursion car setand museum collection were publishedlast month.Chuck Whalen. Bernie Cubil1, DaveBenke and Rick lsJaelson are continuingexterior, interior and trim work on theErie Stillwell coach.

Dave Luca has unearthed considerableinfo for Gale Smith on the Pine Fallssleeper-lounge.

Visitor OperationsDonovan Shilling, Supt., 381-3171

Dan Waterstraat has constrlJCteda beau-tiful Depot entrance semaphore sign andis now building a set of wooden supponsigns for our display placards.

Don Shilling, ",ith help from others, ispuning together a new theme display atthe Depot for our 60th Anniversaryseason.

Don is re\ising the Hand Book forDepot guides

Motive PowerJohn Redden, Supt., 594-2227

Work details for each locomotive werepublished in the FehruaJ}' Semaphore.

The Kodak. Fairbanks-Morse andRG&E locos have been operated duringthis winter season.

Money is being raised for a replacementCummins L-6-l diesel prime mover forEKC #6. Several are available.

March 1997

Communications, Signals &Power

Neil Bellenger, Supt.; 359-9985

Dick Holben is checking out and rehab-bing our ponable and stationary radiosfor the coming season.

Surplus signal equipment has been iden-tified for pick up as weather permits.

LV RR and NYC RR signal andtelephone hardware has been dismantledand moved in.

Additional circuits are being installed inDepot to suppon copier and computerequipmenL

Train OperationsJohn Redden, Supt., 594-2227

Plans are underway to present trainingon air brake system operations as aprecursor to engineer/fireman training,and to also augment our previous brake-man uaining.

New electric brakeman's lanterns havebeen procured.

Maintenance'of WayEquipment

Norm Shaddick, Supt., 865-2773

Norm Shaddick. George Knab, JohnRedden. Rob Mader. Rand Warner andBob Miner are working on the update ofthe Cletrae engine from TC-2 motor car.The engine and transmission have beenpulled and the engine is now disas-sembled.

Cot/ection ManagementDonovan Shilling. Chm., 381-3171

We ",ill be building a data base of allmajor collection items this year; includ-ing moti,-e power. rolling stock,MO.W. equipment and constructionequipment Next year. we will go afterthe smaller items and anifacts. GiveDon a call if you'd like to help oul

Acquisition CommitteeJohn Redden, Chm .• 594-2227

We solicit your inputs on equipment orartifacts you ma). be aware of or inter-ested in. so that we can get this info into

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That's Neil Bellcngeron the pote salvagingitemsfroma LehighVallcyright-of-way.

On this trip. Neil, Charlie Hsrshbarger,Mike Dow and Rand Warner acquiredLehigh Valley RR telephone and signalequipmentand bardWBIe.

(Continuedfrom p•.••iOlLJ column) •

our toiiJ. data base mix of opponunities,priorities and needs.

We sure do have a lot of greatinformation and opponunities underpursuit at this time. Our 60th Anniver-sary should be very interesting!

Construction and Equipmentby Joe Scanlon. Supt., 392-8841

lust because we can't move any din outat the museum doesn't mean the dingang hasn't been active.

Joe Scanlon's Cat 02 bulldozer has beentotally disassembled by George Knab,An Mummery and Joe, in order toreplace the steering clutches and brakes.The machine is now ready for cleaning,pans replacement and reassembly, andshould be moving din by springtime.

We haven't been dormant in the acqui-sition depanment either. Through themissionary work of George Knab andJoe Scanlon. the Concrete Pipe andProducts Company has offered to doruAa Nonhwest 25-ton crawler cranl!"Model 25-0 to the museuml

(Continued on nUl poge.)

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March 1997

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Members prepare to remove the boom from recently acquired Northewest Model 25Dcrane. Joe Scnalon photo

In order to replace the steering clutclles,the Cat D2 dozer requires almost totaldismantlement Joe Scna/on Photo

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Construction (Cont'd from Page 4)

The Northwest, of 1957 vintage, is anabsolute classic as far as historicalconstruction equipment goes, and isequipped with a Murphy 4<ylinderdiesel, a trademark feature of Northwestcranes. This crane is in very goodoverall condition, but basn't been oper-ated in approximately ten years.

Art Mumme/)' went to work on theMurphy diesel, which would crank overbut wouldn't fire, Art fashioned anindependent fuel pump and fuel supply,but it still wouldn't fire. Art then took

more drastic action and disas-sembled the injector system. Oneinjector W1l5 frozen soli,!-

Now what do you do with a 40)-eat old injector that's possibly!>e)'ond repair? Answer: youdraw upon the resoun:es of yourehapter membership. New mem-ber Waite' Morey, whose heavyequipment shop is nearby, justhappened to have a full set of

Murphy diesel injectorsI So we found areplacement injector for this antique engine nota half a mile away from where the Northwestcrane is parkedl Talk about luck!

Joe Scanlon and Walt Morey replaced theo-rings on the old usable injectors and ArtMummery put the engine back together. AfterArt cranked the engine about 3 te\'olutions asmooth mn,cmg diesel eame to life and is =dyto work!

Walter Morey offered to use his own lowboytractor uailer to move the Northwest to hissbop so that we could adjust all of the controlsso that the machine will be ready to work byspringtime.

Our special thanks to the Concrete Pipe andProducts Company of 875 Howard Road,Rochester for the donation of this classic crane,

We are also especi3lly grateful to membersGeorge Knab, Walter Morey and Art Mum-mery for the contribution their combinedtalents have made to the capability of thischapter with their many achievements!

Stay tuned - there are more exciting develop-ments on the horizon!

Finger Lakes Railfair ShowMarch 22 & 23The Cornell Railroad Historical Society andCornell Chapter, NRHS will sponsor the 7thannual Finger Lakes Railfair near Ithaca. NY.This fair is at the New York State Armorylocated along NY 13 just northeast of the c~ty.Displays and dealers are featured.

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! The Semaphore

also from Gloversville area. and theGrovers introduced Rand to our Chap-ter.)Mr. Grover's only railroad experiencewas also his fint job. He worked for theRochester, Lockport and Buffalo Rail-way, first as an errand boy, finallyelevating to pay master. Those were thedays before armored cars. He would goto the hank to pick up cash for thepayroll (without a guard) and then travelthe line to pay the employees - in cash- not checks or direct deposit.

During the depression. Sam held numer-ous jobs, but was never out of work.After coming back from Pittsburgh, Samwas employed for a gasoline compaoy.Other jobs were "ith Taylor Instrument.driving a bakery wagon. and workingfor a laundry compaoy. Longer termemployment came "ith Alling and Coryfor about 12 years in their offices, thenMonroe County Social Services for an-other 12 ).ears before his retirement atage 70.

Sam was a Chapter Officer at the timeRochester's Subway was up for aban-donment. He actively corresponded "iththe media. local. state and federalgovernments to retain this se"ice. Noluck. He. along "ith then Mayor PeterBarry, a Charter Chapter member. thendirected their efforts to acquire artifacts,mainly horse car #55 and electric car#243. Car 243 had been converted into asand car and used until 1941. These carswere stored at Edgerton Park.

Negotiations were made to loan thesecars to Dr. Stanley Groman of Rail CityRR Museum. On April 25, 1956, Dr.Groman and others of his staff came"ith twOtrailer trucks to transport thesecars to his museum. Later Rail Cityceased operations. so in 1967, Sam andPeter were active in retrieving thesecars.Both cars then went to the Mageemuseum in Pennsylvania After the bigflood of 1972. they were brought back toRochester. Car 243 (the sand car) is atthe New York Museum of Transporta-tion. Car 55 (the horse car) is with theRochester M=um and Science Center.

Mr. Grover has retained quite a collec-

March 1997

Picture of last meeting held at the NYCstation, 3rd floor. Harold Caulkins wasPresident, Sam Grover, Secretary. Reed(pete)Lovelessis next to "indow.

tion of correspondence and artifacts ofChapter History and Railroads. Here orejust a few ertractions:

Representati,"Cof early trips was one onan Erie Railroad to Corning, with around trip fare of S5.55. A 1959 tripto Hornell in October included Mr. &Mrs. Edward G. Hooper. ex-presidentof NRHS. then Chairman on theBoard.

In the 19505 the NYC Terminal re-een"Cda face IiIl Ticket office andbaggage counter ,,-ere relocated tocoocourse, and "looked good." Auo-=t light fixtures replaced ancientones along walls and benches which,,-ere painted green. Heating and aircirculation devices installed.

The Semaphore was one page legal size"ith hea,ier colored cover mailed atthree cents; PO &., was 68. Co\"Crprinted one side. A picture of aboutten members was included with allissues in 1959 to honor their lastmeeting at the NYC Depot.

1957 !lC"sletter stated foUowing: Chap-ter formed on Feb. 27. 1937. Memberswere: John G. Woodbury, John G.Abbott. George Slyford, WilliamBuckland KMI S,,-eeney,Peter Barry,and Charles W. Yingling.

A 1986 letter listed departed membersas of 1953 as: Peter Barry. HaroldCaulkins. A. Whitman Crittenden.Rick FeelC).,Bob Gerling, Fred Men,John Remington. Bill Sloan. FosterWilson. and Ward Shafer.

A letter. with Sam as President, to Dr.Groman of 6n/56 on acquisition ofcar. Mentioned were: Peter Barry.Mayor; William A. Lang of RochesterTransit Co, for request for car(s) andother items from the subway.

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•Car 60: huilt 1916 by Cincinnati CarCo. of Cincinnati on order of Rome-Little Falls line of NYS RailwaYlASingle ended of Interurban type in.multiple unit operations. Ran twoyears for Utica-Clinton of NYS RR. In1938, she and nine others sold 10Rochester Transit. First lent by Roch-ester Chapter to Rail City, thennegotiations with Seashore TroUeyMuseum at Kennebunkport, Maine torestore car (1968). A TroUey Fundstarted. This effort was abandoned.Car 60 went to the New York Mu-seum in Albany.

About some of those members'Ward Shaffer worked for RRFred Men was ticket agent.Peter Barry was mayor and chartermember.

John Remington was hanker.Peter Barry was Executi\'e VP of Mon-roe County Sa\'ings Bank and also theMayor in January of 1967. He wasacti\"C in retrieval of Chapter carsfrom Rail City.

Jack Collins worked on Semaphore anlla.was working at Office of Distri.Signal Engineer in Syracuse for NYC.

Chapter Bus Trip to KinzuaViaduct and SteamtownJune 21-22

Attached with this issue of The Sema-phore, is the flyer "Trains, Planes, andAutomobileslll" which is really aboutthe Rochester Chapter sponsored bus tripto: 1) ride a train over the KinzuaViaduct at Kane. PA, and 2) \'isit andride a steam train at Steamtown inSCranton. PA.

The trip leaves at 6:30am by Blue Birdbus on Saturday, June 21. stays over-night at SCranton and returns about9:30pm on Sunday, June 22.

The prices are S170 per person singleoccupancy, and S135 per person fordouble occupancy. NRHS members get aS5 discount. Price includes bus. all rides,museum entrance, hotel, Saturday lunchand drivers tip.

Send reset\'ation and check, payable.NRHS-Rochester to: NRHS-Rochester,c/o Mike Byrne. 49 Weiland WoodsLane, Rochester, NY 14626.

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The Semaphore

Thonb 10 ...Joe Scanlon for arranging donations oflarge wall mounted railroad map andcomputer equipment

Walter Morey for donation of injectorfor Murphy diesel prime mover in crane..

George Knab for fabricating piniongear for Galion Chief 3-wheel dieselroad roller.

Don Waterstraat for materials for free-standing wooden signs for Depot anddisplay cars.Rand Warner for tools, supplies andequipment

NYMT for use of back barn area andengine stand to work on prime moverfor TC-2 motor car.

LalT). Betler for loan of engine boist toassist in rebuild of TC-2 motor carprime mover.

Wonted• Cantilever jacks for lifting passengercars.Seats and cushions for Erie Stillwellcoach.Milk cans for Erie milk car.Ice tongs for MDT reefer car.First aid kits for all locos and ca-booses.

• Battery set 32v for RG&E loco # 194I.Good metal detector to assist in locat.ing buried objects.Pair of freighl car trucks, roller orfriction bearings.

<[he ,1lnswer 10 lhe Mystery<P1w1Oon <Page 2.

The 'Mystery Pbolo' for Ibis month isfrom the files of Dee Mowers. Justrecently, he came across his negati\"esshot back nn May 14, 1952, and badprints made.

This is just one of SC\"CraIshots of a .wreck near do\mtown Spencerport. onthe NYC's Falls line. Se\'eraI housesalong the right-of-way were damaged.

At Ibis time, the Falls line was twotracks. A track gang was replacingtrack and bad removed spikes from therails. The train was routed over Ibistrack with the assumption that therewere enough spikes to hold the rail inplace. There weren~!

March 1997

An Incident at Lyons, NYby Dan Cosgrove

One evening in the 50s, I was dispatch-ing the East End of the SyracuseDivision main line when Ibis littlebappening, bappened. At the time I amreferring 10, we were in the throes ofwhat is now called "downsizing". Wewere downsizing from a four track mainline to what eventually would become atwo track main line, and this was in theperiod of adjustment Al Ibis time, theWest Shore was closed, and we wereoperating on Phase One of many tocome. Tower 6 at Jordan, New Yorkwas closed, as was Tower 8 at PortByron. In their place we bad our first ofmany to come, CP-7, CP meaningControl Point, and in Ibis case CP-7 wascontrolled from SSI5 al Lyons by thelowerman there under our direction. Thefour tracks bad diminished to threetracks and the three track main line attbat time ran from Syracuse Junctionwhere the freight tracks split to goaround the lake. knO\m as the LakeLine, and the passenger tracks werereferred to as the High Level in toS)Tacuse Station. Lale in the eveningthe operalor al OJ (Syracuse Junction)came on the line and reported that hebad DH-3 on the bell (on the approach)and whal was my pleasure? No. IS, theOhio Stau Limited, was getting nearSyracuse, but I felt I bad time so I toldhim to put him on I. Then hedging mybets a bit. I called the operator al SSI5and told him to hold on I at CP-7 andlet me know wben OH-3 hit Al Ibistime we had four classes of freighttrains. We had S)mbol trains whichwere secood onl). to passenger trains,regular freights. "Jiggers" and LocaJs.S)mbol freights do not exist today but inmy time S)mbol trains gOI as muchpreference as was possible. DH-3 was aCorning fasl freight I can make Ibismore complicated and I will. Among theS)mbol trains there were varying de.grees of heat For instance MC-I andMC-3 were "hot" Michigan Centraltrains, and MC-7 was a symbol train forthe Michigan Central as well, bUIMC-7was not as hOI as the other two. When

- you handIed a train all these factorswere entered in as well. OG-19 was a

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symbol train, but DG-19 was only just ashade over a jigger as far as protectinghis schedule was concerned. DH-3 was asymbol freight and while it was not ashOIas MC-I would be, he rated gettingas good a run as I could get him.

When we changed the operation fromfour track operation to three trackoperation, a new philosophy was ad-vanced to the dispatchers. We were toalways protect the passenger trains, andone of the new prime rules advanced tous was that a passenger train could nOIenter a block with a freight train aheadof him. However, if the freighl trainahead of him was on the approach of thenext tower, it would be proper to allowthe passenger train to come in the blockbehind him. With Ibis in mind, the restof the story -.

Earl Crandall, the operator at SS-15came on the phone and advised thaIDH-3 was on the bell at CP-7. By now,IS bad made his station stop and wasout of the station. I told Earl to let DH-3go at CP-7 and to hold behind him.which he acknowledged. In a very shorttime Earl came back on the phone -"Danny, on the bell on I at 7". "OK.hold on I" and just as I said that Earlbroke in again. "Danny, you must haveyour lucky rabbit fOOlwith you on thebell on I al Lyons." "Okay, let IS go at7 and put DH-3 to the Pennsy". IIlooked perfect: DH-3 would cross overand IS wouldo't even see a yellowsignal and the

railroad would be wide open. And thatwas that However, it wasn't really overyet Aboul 5 or 8 minutes laler, Earlcame back on the phone. "Danny, DH-3seems 10 have stopped on the crossovers,I haven't heard from the crew yet""Okay, hold on I and 3 aI7."

What had bappened was a real uight-mare. DH-3 had derailed, a faulty truck,and he had everything but track 3blocked. No. IS and several otherpassenger and freight trains were de-layed. The rest of the evening was hecticas you can imagine. I received nocriticism for the way I operated mytrains as I fortunately stuck to proce-dures as they were set down for us, andif it were not for the breakdown of

The Semaphore

equipment which I could not foresee, allwould have gone well. The railroad gaveus quite a bit of suppon and theyunderstood what was needed to give usroom to move our trains the way we sawfit, thank goodness. Would I have donesomething different, had the choice? Nota bit, the move I made was a good one.

A Review

Railroads In Early PostCards. Volume One: UpstateNew York.

By Ridwd Palma and HItV<)' RoehlReviewed by William Heron

This letter size, soft cover book, 106.pages, is not only an excellent referencesource, but also a very interesting pieceto browse, read and enjoy. Those postcards reproduced here mostly date fromthe first decade of the twentieth cenlUI)',a time when bU)ing and sending postcards was a booming activity. Naturallythey are in black.and.white.

The type of scenes pictured include notjust trains but things such as bridges,depots, interiors of cars or buildings anda few advenisements. That there are somany post cards related to railroadsattests to the public's interest in andfascination with the "iron horse."

Thc book is arranged geographically. Itstans in Syracuse and the immMiatearea. From there it mov'es••••.est stoppingalong the way at places such as Newark,Lyons and Clyde. For Rochester oneean find a good view of the BR&Pdepot, as well as Ontario Beach Park,the RW&0 rning bridge over theGenesee and the steam boat dock atCharlotte. The authors were kindenough to advise readers as to thecorrect way to pronounce "Charlotte."The suggest "Sha.loll." Also covered isthe famous race between a Rochesterand Eastern electric car and a stearntrain on the parallel Auburn Road.

From Rochester the views proceed west-ward including Batavia. Akron. Medinaand Lockport. Views in Buffalo includeone of the newest post cards in the book,a view of the New York Cenual stationin Buffalo, opened in 1929. Next comes

.March 1997

scenes in the southwestern pan of thestate. Bath. Hornell, Penn Yan andother places. And so it goes untilvinually all of "upstate" New York iscovered.

Adding a great deal to the book are theexcellent commentaries given for eachview. One ean learn a great deal aboutthe history of our region because the'commentaries include a lot of factualinformation. Plus, they are written inan agreeable style, as if a friend weretalking ••••ith you.

Anyone who looks through this book isbound to have favorite scenes. Two ofmine are a view of the LackawannaLimited ••••ith a "Mother Hubbard" on thefront eud and a view of the LehighValley's Black Diamond Express, ac'companied by a card ••••ith two views,one being the "kitchen" in the dinuingcar, the other being a view of a comerin the dinning room itself.

If you hav"Cll'tseen this book, it's wonhlooking for. The odds are you'll enjoyiL

An IntervlewJohn Weber

JolmWeber Ilivin& the Chaplcl'ssummaryofactivitiesat theAnnualBanquet

I was born during N",,,mber 1919 inTroy, N.Y., the elder child of Leonardand Emily Weber. Shortly, we moved toRochester and lived ••••ithin sight of theNew York Cenual main near the Blos-som Road crossing. AJthough I ean'tremember that, it may have infected meright there! I do recall my Dad takingme to visit the old Al1antic Avenueroundhouse on a Sunday afternoon.

Page 8

•At age seven, we moved to Irondequoit,unfonunately away from all that (but Idid then meet my wonderful ••••ife-t~Jane). An Q..Gauge, tinplate layout alsohelped considerably. After publicschooling, laboring jobs aud a time atKodak's Hawkeye Works, I enlisted inthe new 209th local anillery regiment.Training (Georgia), major maneuvers(Carolina) - then Pearl Harbor hap-pened. Married Jane in March 1942,school, then as LL with another newuuit in Texas.

On the 22 car troop train to the eastcoast, I enjoyed rides in two cabs. SantaFe 2.10-4 over the Glorieta Pass andr:rrw 4-8-4 in Michigan; six hourstotal, some at 80 MPH. Wow! Then.combat duty in Nonh Africa and Europecompleted the first five years for UncleSam. Oh yes, a 72 hour ride in a 40/8boxcar in France. Railroading at itsworst,

The West beckoned and we moved toBoulder where. in three years, I receiveda Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engi-neering at the Uuiversity of Colorad,a.and stayed for a master's. With only ~thesis to complete it, the Korean war hitand I was recalled to active duty inDenver. But, orders were delayed forfour months, so I took a job. Naturally,it was at the D&RGW Denver round-house as a machinist's helper. Usually,we prepared F's and PA's for theCalifornia Zephyr's run to Salt LakeCity. Great e.xperiencel

Back in Rochester, I worked for A.a.Smith (8-52 parts), then 13 years at theold Rochester Products Div. (carbure-tors). At age 48 was a move to AJlianceTool as a project engineer. Projectsincluded machines for Kodak, Xerox,GM. Chrysler. the computer industl)',etc. One was an auxiliary calibrationfixture for the U.S. and NATO F.16fighter planes. In 1986 I formally re-tired, but have since been functiouing asmy one.man design service, some fulltime and some pan time. I'm a lifemember of the Society of ManufacturingEngineers. ••During 1990 I was told about th"'l!l"Rochester Chapter, and Dave Shields

(Connlinued on nut page)

The Semaphore . March 1997 Page 9

sponsored me. It has fulfilled my desireto railroad again by cleaning cars,parking autos, car hosting, museumguiding and serving as Vice PresidentBeing invited to run locomotives occa-sionaJJyis one of my life's high points.

Strong's "All Aboard" ShowThe Chapter, NYMf and model rail-road clubs participated in the StrongMuseum's" All Aboard" theme show onMarch 8 & 9.

Although the Chapler normally pro-motes the "Operation Life Saver" pro-gram. this aspect was handled by Con-rail this }'ear.

National's Heritage GrantsThe monies for the 1997 granl programcurrently stands at $20,000, including aspecial donation of $ 10,000.

Last year, $26,000 was available fordistribution for chapler projects. TheRochester Chapter applied, bUI did notreceive one of the len grants awarded.

editor'sCOIner

This is one of1\\" brochuresassembled andcomposed byChris HauLThis example

<It "'lIS available at- the StrongMu-

sewn Show onMaIcil 8 & 9.The other br0-chure promotesthe Chapter. Inaddition, Chrisis compilinganannualreportofChapter activi-ties for the De-velopmentCommittee.

...1« • cia;, 017'ranapor.ationllio1ory

. ..tth.

Rochestsr& eene-v.uTsy .

RailrDadMUleum

Ne ••.YadcMlJJIeum•.-:.ol'Ibwsportalian

•••••••

With the ne.Xl several issues of TheSemaphore, your editor plans 10 includearticles describing some aspect of theChaptets early histol)'. In this issue, itis an interview with Mr. Samuel Groverand Chapter activities in the 1950s.

On line is an interview with EdwardVanLeer, who recently received his50-year gold pin from the National.

Concerning railroad maps of MonroeCounty, I have found numerous maps atRUDdel'sRochester Library, but they arevel)' large. Then this morning, receiveda call from Mary Hamilton Dann whohas assembled such a map from thosefound at the Gates' library.

Bill Heron has sent several more re-views, and I think there are one or twomore of Dan Cosgrove's 'remembrances'in the que. Also a couple of mystel)'photos. - and several inteniews, withmany more 10 do.

ALL ABOARD ••,

Plan on picking up both brochures atthe next meeting and distribute 10potential parties .

Pass out a few •••"Rival Conrail bidden agree on deal"was the headline in USA Today's articleon March 4th. Conrail's managementwanted to sell only a complete packageto CSX However, their stockholdersvoted 'no', as Norfolk Southern wasoffering a higher bid.

Now the proposal is for CSX to matchNorfolk Southern's bid. CSX willpurchase Conrail, then sell portions of itto NS (against Conrail's original objec-tive.) Both CSX and NS wish entry toNew York City, which Conrail holds.CSX will retain the former NYC track-age. and NS will get the former Penn-sylvania tracks. Shippers should likethis proposal as competitive east-westroutes would be established.

So the 'Pennsy' and 'Central' go hack tobeing competitors of a century ago!

NRHS NEWS

What goes around, comesaround!

National Convent jon dates'

1997: June 25-29: Salt Lake City, UT

1998: July 8-12: S}T3cuse.NY

1999: June 22-27: Sacramento, CA

1997 COD,'eDtioDUpdat" Pre-regis-trants will have first choice for ticketorders for the several train excursionsbeing sponsored by the PromontoryChapter. Registration material was sentonly to those NRHS members whorequested it For information, call1-801-355-5871 between 9 am and Ipm, Mountain Standard Time.

At a recent Board of Directors meeting,President Molloy e.xplained that muchof 1996 was spenl dealing with the lossof AJIan Vaughn and the membershiprecords situation. Still membership ser-,ices w<:re maintained, the RailwayHeritage Grants program e.xpanded,andsaw an increase in financial contribu-tions. The maintenance of membershiprecords, which was done by an outsidefirm (that goofed it up), is now done aNRHS headquaners.

The printing and distribution of NRHSNEWS was transferred to LancasterCounty, PA where the cost is half ofthat encounlered in Philadelphia.

(Continued from Page 8)Weber

American Freedom TrainsA recent graduate of a film schoolwishes to prepare a video documentaIyof the 1975-76 journey of the AmericanFreedom Train. Todd Schannuth is in-terested in slides, film and souvenirs.

To date, he has interviewed more thanthiny people who staffed the Train andrestoted the three steam engines thatpulled it Also he has acquired morethan eight hours of footage on the Trainon the road and on display, but mostlyin the West.

He needs material in the eastern states,like the train on display in New York,T3I1)10wn. elC.; opening day in Wilm-'ington, Delaware; restoration of Engine#210 I; an}1hing on the Pr-..amble Ex-press; and also an}1hing on the 1947-48Freedom Train.

He is Todd Schannuth of 229 S. Bar-rington Ave. #2, Los Angeles, CA90049. You can contact him by phone310-172-7417 (collect) or by e-mail atHinoj@aol.com.

•

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The Semaphore March 1997 Page 10

100%40% 60% 80%Engine at Percent of Goal» 20%

$30,182

This new graphic,whichreplacesthe 'Partnersin Panels'one for the StillwellCoach,representsthe statusof our RestorationBuildingFund. It may change,as the presentone is 100 difficultto update. The objectis to havethe eogineenter the new building.Eachcar, v.1lenfilled,representsS10,OOOin the fund.

interNet (World Wide Web) address:http://www.rochester.ny.usIrailmuse-um.htrul

Trustees: Neil Bellenger, Charlie Harsh.harger, Steve Oagley, John Redden,Joe Scanlon, Rand Warner,

The Semapbore Staff:Edilor: Gale SmithPrinling: Dave Luca

The Semaphore is published monthly by the Rochester, NY Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. It is mailed free to all 'Chapter members. Non-member's subscriptions are $5.00 and run from January 1 to December 31. Chapter meetings are heldthe third Thursday and the Board of Directors meets the first ThursdaY of each month. •

Roch 51 Ch t NRHS om. Contributions to The Semaphore are welcomed and encowaged from all readers.e er ap er ,ten, They should be mailed to: GaleE. Smith, 299 Seneca Park Avenue, Rochester, NY

preslden~'dDav.eJL=w ber 14617-2~33. Phon~: (716) 544-6221. Contributo~ using a computer are asked toVice Pre lent. 0 e send therr subIIIISSIOnson any MS.DOS diskette In ASCII format, as well as aTreasurer: Ira Cohen printed copy. Deadline: The fint of each month.Recording Secretary: Jeremy TukeCorrespondence Sec.: Don ShillingNational DireClor:Bob Miner

::0;"""""--'- ,-• •The Semaphore

Rochester Chapter

National Rallway Historical Society

P.O. Box 664

Rochester, NY 14603

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDRochester, NY

Permit #826

I

Chapter Meeting & Program:

-"'odern Steam Tec:hnology"

by Ron Amberger

8:00 PM. Mar. 20. 1997

40 & 80ub

933 University A\'C.

'",1',1"',','",1,',""',',,',,,',,',',',,',1',,,',,,' ,'"DONOVAN SHIl..1..ING1765 FIVE MILE LINE ADPENFIELD NY 14526-9724 •