Headend in PDF

New York Museum of Transportation

HEADEND

Volume 28, Number 3 Summer 2014


CAR 7 in NEW JERSEY
Third of a Six Part Series Devoted to NYMT’s New PCC Car
By Charles R. Lowe, NYMT Trustee

On September 4, 1965, the late Shelden King (NYMT member) captured car 7 on his usual 126-size Ektachrome slide film as it proceeded inbound at Orange Street. A large expressway bridge now crosses overhead where car 7 is located, a fact Shelden lamented in later years.

In many ways, the Newark and Rochester Subways were alike. Both were built in the bed of an abandoned canal. Both were underground for only a small fraction of their entire length. Planning and construction of both began in the 1920s. The cities owned each but relied on the local transit company to operate their subway. Some surface streetcar lines were brought into both subways to speed travel time in congested downtown areas. Finally, both subways struggled into the 1950s with street railway passenger cars dating from the 1920s or earlier.

Some major differences existed. The Rochester Subway was built to take interurban cars off Main Street and to connect the five steam railroads for easy interchange of freight cars. Neither of these issues prompted subway construction in Newark. The 8-mile-long Rochester Subway was about twice the length of its counterpart in Newark. At its nearest approach, the Rochester Subway was a five-minute walk from Main Street and a good ten-minute walk from the city’s main railroad station, whereas the Newark Subway terminated at that city’s Penn Station, which itself had a rapid transit line leading directly to New York City.

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Stretching across northern New Jersey, the Newark–Phillipsburg section of the Morris Canal (90 miles) was built between 1825 and 1831. A ten-mile extension was completed between Newark and Jersey City in 1836, providing an excellent route for freight between New York City and the Delaware River. Over the next century, railroad construction reduced the use of the canal to the point that it was finally abandoned on March 24, 1924.

Rochester had faced the prospect of an abandoned canal snaking its way through downtown in the late 1910, and Newark had to deal with the same issue in the 1920s. Both cities chose to build a subway. After several years of planning and design, Newark Subway construction began on November 18, 1929. On May 26, 1935, the initial Broad Street–Heller Parkway section was opened. Two extensions were made. Broad Street–Penn Station opened on June 20, 1937 while Heller Parkway–Franklin Avenue opened on November 22, 1940. This extended the Subway to its full 4.3-mile length. Refurbished city streetcars, rebuilt for higher speeds, were used exclusively. The all-Subway local route was the 7–City Subway line. The four surface–Subway streetcar routes which entered the Subway for the downtown portions of their runs were 13–Broad, 21–Orange, 27–Mount Prospect, 23–Central, 29–Bloomfield and 43–Jersey City. These six lines added considerable traffic to the Newark Subway, but surface streetcar conversions to bus operation eliminated routes 13 and 27 in 1937, and route 43 in 1938, from the subway.

After the end of World War II and the associated high use of rail public transit, route 23 was bused in 1946. This left only routes 21 and 29, which were bused in 1952. The Subway, however, was not only retained but had its service increased to 180 trips per day. Bus routes were arranged to end at Subway stations, at which points riders would transfer to Subway cars for the remainder of their trips to downtown.

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Public Service Coordinated Transport, operator of the Newark Subway, sought to upgrade the line’s cars in the early 1950s. Although domestic production of new PCC cars ceased in early 1952, used PCCs in good condition were soon to become available.

Twin City Rapid Transit, which had served the Minneapolis—St. Paul area with excellent streetcar service for decades, had finally entered the PCC era in 1946. By early 1949 it owned a fleet of 141 PCCs which were crowding much older conventional cars off the street. During 1949, though, a new bus-oriented ownership came to TCRT and promptly began disassembling the company’s surface streetcar system. As part of this effort, TCRT’s PCCs, which had been originally equipped for two-man operation, were one-manned for economy in 1951. This also increased seating capacity from 52 to 54. By early 1953, enough of the system was gone that TCRT offered all its PCCs for sale. PSCT officials inspected the TCRT PCCs on February 20, 1953 and decided to purchase 30 for its Newark Subway operation.

The cars purchased from TCRT were renumbered for use in Newark as follows:

TCRT 320–340 became, in order, PSCT 1–21.
TCRT 361–364 became, in order, PSCT 22–25.
TCRT 415–419 became, in order PSCT 26–30.

With the purchase of the PCCs, work to provide a loop at the Franklin Avenue terminal began. The old cars were double-end cars while the PCCs were single-end cars; the inner terminal at Penn Station already had a loop. Former TCRT PCCs started arriving in Newark in August 1953 for refurbishment. The Franklin Avenue loop was completed on December 21, 1953. This permitted refurbished PCCs to begin entering service on December 28; by February 4, 1954, all the 30 PCCs were in service. In March 1954, as the last of the old cars was removed from the Subway, rush hour headway between cars was reduced to just one minute. At an average speed of 20 miles per hour, 26 cars were required. This is why so many cars were purchased in 1953 for a 4.3-mile-long line. With so many suburban buses feeding riders to the Subway, such short headways were needed at first.

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The Subway’s PCC cars underwent several alterations while in Newark. Three paint schemes were used, the original gray PSCT colors until the early 1970s, the Bicentennial white with red and blue stripes from the early 1970s until 1985, and the black-and-white with multi-colored stripe of 1985 and later.

In 1963, trolley wheels were changed to carbon-insert sliders. Many one-man backup moves were required on the TCRT system at the many wyes at ends of car lines. Trolley wheels are much less prone to dewirements than carbon-insert sliders. Operations on the Newark Subway did not require any backing so the expensive wheels were changed to shoes. An automatic sensor to indicate excessive wear on the carbon insert was installed so the shoe frame would never contact the overhead.

Wire screens were installed over the front windshield in the early 1970s as a reaction to rocks and debris being tossed on cars when passing under bridges.

During the 1985 refurbishment of the cars, corresponding to a reconstruction of the Subway itself, roof-mounted headlights were installed to enhance lighting for operators when traveling in the underground sections of the Subway.

In anticipation of the new light rail cars to be installed in 2001, the surviving 24 Newark Subway PCCs (1, 2, 4–7, 9–17 and 19–26 and 28) were fitted with pantographs in 1999. Pantographs were borrowed from the light rail cars, and permitted the system to remain in service with PCCs while the overhead was being changed from trolley wire to catenary-style wire for pantographs.

The 30-car PCC fleet suffered some losses over the years. Cars 3 and 27 were sold for use on the Shaker Heights line in Cleveland, Ohio in 1977. Cars 8 and 29 were crushed in 1978 when workers accidentally collapsed part of the Penn Station roof on top of these cars. Car 29 was cut up for scrap immediately but car 8 became a parts supply until it was scrapped in 1985. Car 30 was used for a parts supply until 1985 when it was scrapped. Car 18 was off the active fleet by 1977. The remaining 24 cars, however, were operable until the last day of PCC operation, August 24, 2001. The Newark Subway was temporarily bused for the next two days until light rail cars took over on August 27, 2001, after which the Newark PCCs were placed in storage pending dispersal.

In the next issue of Headend, read more as we learn the fates of all thirty of the Newark Subway PCC cars.


ROCHESTER SUBWAY CAR 60

When we hear the word "subway", images usually come up of a big-city transit train roaring out of a dark tunnel, screeching to a stop to disgorge and board teeming throngs of commuters. As readers of these pages (especially the pages in this issue) know, there have been subways that don't totally conform to that picture. Our own fair city once had a "subway", and the last surviving passenger car from that enterprise is now the center of an effort to restore it to operation.

Our friends at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, who trace their lineage to the Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, are the owners of car 60 and are leading the campaign to raise funds for the restoration project. The drive was kicked off with a press event at our joint museum complex on Friday, June 27, 2014, created and hosted by RGVRRM's Otto Vondrak. There was good coverage of the event on local TV, and the Democrat & Chronicle produced a nice article as well. Here's the car 60 story as presented in one of Otto's handouts at the event:

Car 60 is a single-end, double-truck, arch roof steel interurban car, and is the sole survivor of the Rochester Subway fleet. Built in 1916, car 60's first assignment was in the Utica-Rome area until those trolley lines were shut down in 1936. In late 1937, the fleet was moved to Rochester and reconditioned for use on the Subway. They entered regular service on August 2, 1938, the same day the new Rochester Transit Corp. took over from former operator New York State Railways.

Car 60 faithfully served the Rochester community until the end of Subway passenger service on June 30, 1956. Through the hard work of Sam Grover, our organization's president, car 60 was donated to us by Rochester Transit Corp. Having no place to display or store the historic trolley, it was loaned to the Rail City museum in Sandy Creek, NY. In 1968 the car was again loaned for possible inclusion in the new State museum in Albany. Those plans never materialized, and the car languished in an outdoor shed at a Thruway facility outside Albany.

In the years since, we established the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum as a permanent home for our region's rich railroading heritage. After five years of negotiation, the car was returned to Rochester and delivered to the museum in 1998, with Sam Grover once again present to sign for the delivery.

Since its return, car 60 has been the subject of an extensive multi-year evaluation program in the restoration shops of our museum. As the sole remaining example of a Rochester Subway car, it is our goal to restore the trolley car for the public to enjoy once again. We can't do it alone, and we need your help to return car 60 to the rails once more!

On the following Sunday, June 29, the museums held their "Subway Sunday" event, giving visitors a chance to see car 60 and learn more about the Subway era in Rochester. Older visitors renewed their acquaintance with the Subway and told tales about riding it to school or work. For the younger folks it was an eye-opening lesson in public transportation history.

With roof and windows removed, car 60 doesn't look too pretty, but she's all there. Photo by Shawn Dowd, Democrat and Chronicle.

Having car 60 restored and operational would be a major plus for our museums. A true piece of local transit history would be an attraction for area residents to visit and ride, and we surely would see aggressive effort to electrify the remaining mainline track between our two facilities to provide a seamless trolley experience. Here's hoping the community will rally in support of the cause, both in monetary donations and in volunteer labor.

At the East Avenue loop, car 60's motorman pauses to visit with a young trolley enthusiast. photo by Fred Ruh.

Until the day when car 60 once again polishes the rails, visitors will continue to enjoy the Casey Jones speeder from the Subway arsenal, totally restored by Gary Morse and on display at NYMT. Accompanied by Subway station signs, some small artifacts and models, and a large number of photographs, Casey enjoys the attention, but looks forward to being joined by car 60 in remembrance of the Rochester Subway.


YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES

OK, that's a pretty old song, but it does apply to your museum too. From time to time we are asked to participate in movies or still-photography ventures. The first one that comes to mind was way back in the early 1980s when Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co., our wonderful local department store, took photos for a children's clothing mailing. We set them up with Harry White dressed in a full engineer's outfit from his days on the B&O, with track cars, handcars, etc. as props. We were just grateful for the free publicity back then, and didn't charge a thing.

In more recent years, we've taken to charging for the services we provide, informally setting the price much like a group tour, with extra charges for the trolley or other special needs specified by the filmmakers. Readers of these pages may recall our reporting on works by professional and independent filmmakers, wedding photographers, and college students.

Lately, we've entered into a joint agreement with our friends at Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, setting prices for various types of services, and sharing the income equally, independent of which museum does more or less work to accommodate the filmmakers.

A local film crew, Silent Giant Productions, spent two days at the museums, June 6 and 7, 2014 doing selected scenes for their upcoming movie, "Fair Haven". Trolley 161 filled in as a passenger car for traveling shots, and additional footage was recorded at Industry Depot.

As impressed as we are by the array of sophisticated lighting and recording equipment that these "film" crews travel with, a more recent experience was over the top. The 1948 Greyhound "Silversides" bus, owned by Jim Dierks and one of the features of our outdoor vehicle display, was sought for a major motion picture ("movies" become "motion pictures" when they are "major"). After some great work by museum volunteers Ted Strang and John Ross, Jim had the bus ready to transport to Montreal on Saturday, July 26.

Note the rusty wheels and awful ocher paint. The "dogs" on the sides were removed, for now, by request of the film studio.

A week later, at Les Voitures de Cinema Real, the wizards at that premier supplier of vehicles for the movie industry had created a transformation worthy of a movie itself. Responding to every request from the film's director, a fresh coat of paint, done entirely to original Greyhound specifications, was applied, complete with lettering and gold striping. Not stopping there, they installed all new glass, repainted the driver's console, repaired a spring retainer and the parking brake, and using NC machinery created a Greyhound emblem for the front and the classic stop light on the rear. That Sunday, the director had the Real team scouring and repainting all the luggage compartments below the bus!

Jim was retained as an advisor (and also had to transport the two 8-foot "dogs" to Montreal that the director decided he had to have after all). He was pleased to see the bus perform its required movements perfectly (again and again...something like 15 takes).

They really do holler "quiet on the set" and "action". Here, some Ohio State "students" are claiming their bags.

We'll be watching for Race in 2015, starring Stephan James as Jesse Owens, Jason Sudeikis as his coach, and Jeremy Irons as Avery Brundage, head of the American Olympic team who fought to hold the 1936 games in Berlin. The screen time will probably be minimal, but apparently the Silversides was just what the director wanted. We were glad to see the bus get the attention it did, and now that it's all dolled up, we're sure it will get plenty of attention from museum visitors too.


MORE ABOUT BUSES

While electric trolleys foster more feelings of nostalgia among some folks, the rubber-tired inheritors to the public transit empires built on steel rails are interesting too. And, it's fast becoming the case that the only trolley that our museum visitors can personally relate to is North Texas Traction 409. That's not because they rode it in service; they ate in it before the Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant in Rochester closed and the car joined our collection.

After reading in HEADEND all about Tom Kirn's city bus travels in early 1940s Rochester, recording bus numbers, driver names, etc., Bernie Weis donated some typed lists that record salient details about Rochester Transit Corporation from the mid-1930s to early 1953. The weekly passes in Bernie's collection are listed in chronological order, starting with the May 4, 1935 "Baseball Opening" design. He notes that this pass and others through 1938 show "New York State Railways, Debtor, B. E. Tilton, Trustee". By mid-1939 in Bernie's list, Mr. Tilton is listed as President of Rochester Transit Corporation. J. Uffert takes over as President with the September 18, 1943 pass.

Periodically in the list, Bernie notes the new price of the passes, originally $1.00/week. Prices rose to $1.50 by late 1948, and on to $1.75 on September 10, 1949. Suburban weekly passes were sold starting in 1942, and their $1.00 price eventually rose to $2.50 by August 1952.

In the early 1950s, there were "weekly permit cards" titled "Nickel Pass" that sold for $1.00 but required an additional 5 cents per ride. The company also offered the daily "Shopper's Pass" in a morning version (on yellow paper, good between 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.) and an afternoon version (pink paper, good between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.). These passes were a bargain at 15 cents and were good for unlimited rides in the time periods specified.

A feature of the weekly passes that makes them so much fun to collect is an announcement or public service advisory, with a colorful graphic to accompany the text. These announcements were new each week and helped drivers and riders distinguish a current pass from one that had expired. "Keep 'Em Flying" was urged on the ridership on the January 10, 1942 pass, while the Summerville Carnival got some visibility on the pass for July 12, 1947. The Police Ball shows up each April, and other public services like the Red Cross and Christmas Seals appear regularly too. A reminder for the November, 1946 Poultry Show is there, as is a warning just in time for Christmas Day, 1948 that Rats Are Dangerous. We are left to wonder if regular riders sat around the breakfast table wondering aloud what the transit service had in mind for next week's pass.

Bernie's donation also included his "information observed and personally compiled between 1946 and 1949". He cites the bus numbers, make, and year of the buses serving RTC passengers during this period, but also notes the number of doors and the seating capacity. Of most interest, however, are his "identifying remarks" where his list records details such as "Tall, odd-shaped body (scrapped in summer of 1946)" for some White buses in the 750 series, and "Windows (single pane) crank down. No air scoop.") for some 1937 Twin Coach buses. The "gold standard" in fandom may be a clear, sharp photograph, but Bernie managed to go one better, recording aspects of the vehicles he was attracted to that otherwise might never have been saved for the future.

We're glad that Bernie and many others were interested enough in "collecting" transit information through passes, tickets, timetables, photos, and especially personal observations. It all helps us record details of history that will bring that history to life for later generations.


ROCHESTER STREETCARS......................... No. 71 in a series

York State Railways 0105
Photographer Unknown

© Charles R. Lowe

If just one Rochester city streetcar system car could be whisked from the 1930s to today and plunked down at NYMT, ROCHESTER STREETCARS might just pick line car 0105. Forget all the wonderful passenger cars, or the relics which had once been passenger cars in the 1890s but were still toiling away as sand cars such as NYMT's 0243. Forget, too, the sleek Subway cars such as RGVRRM's car 60. Without an overhead, all the trolley cars of Rochester's past would just be stuck in the barn. And, a line car is the essential workhorse, needed to build and maintain overhead.

Car 0105, built for the Rochester and Sodus Bay and originally numbered 910, spent the first half of its career maintaining interurban overhead to Sodus Point on the Sodus line and, after about 1906, to Geneva on the Rochester and Eastern. A wooden tower in the car's middle was used by linemen to reach the overhead. The body of the car was surely filled with all imaginable overhead repair parts.

By 1930, the R&SB and R&E lines were abandoned, but 0105 found new work on the many miles of the two-, three-, and even 4-tracked, 8-mile-long Rochester Subway. In our present photo, we see 0105 at East Main Station sometime in the 1930s, judging by the white safety stripe on the passenger car in the background. After 1941, 0105 and a small collection of work cars would find permanent homes on the Subway, and be located in various years either in the underground section in downtown or at the Subway car house at the line's west end.

The end came in the summer of 1958 when the work equipment was finally scrapped at the Subway car house, nearly a year after the end of trolley freight service on the Subway. It was almost as if Rochester Transit Corporation knew NYMT would be formed a scant 15 years in the future and might like a line car, or a rotary snow plow or even an electric locomotive or two.

For ROCHESTER STREETCARS, today's choice of that one car to have saved is 0105, but maybe this is only because of the countless hours spent in a bucket truck by this writer twenty feet above the ground doing overhead work. On other days, city car 437 or any Rochester and Eastern car come to mind. So, readers, the question is posed: Which Rochester streetcar would you have saved, intact and ready to run, for use at NYMT if you could have done so?


SOME SPECIAL VISITORS

While on a recent trip back to Rochester from her home out west, Wendy Kulp (Bill Chapin's daughter) and her daughter, Eden, stopped by for a visit. Bill's will stipulated that his vast collection of antique toy trains be donated to the Toy Train Museum in York, PA, but Wendy graciously directed a large quantity of HO items toward our museum. She also allowed us to select one of Bill's antique trains to create a memorial to him.

Wendy Kulp and her daughter Eden pause in a whirlwind visit in our area to see our tribute to Wendy's dad, Bill Chapin.

Bob Nesbitt, Vern Squire, Kevin Griffith and Gerry Doerr all contributed to setting up a shelf and securing the train for display. A photo and brief notes about Bill's career and interests accompanies the exhibit, and the whole display stands as a lasting memorial to one of our most dedicated volunteers.


VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED

Your museum is proud of the fact that we are entirely volunteer operated. From the first friendly greeting our visitors get at the ticket desk, through the demonstrations in the model railroad room, to the smooth operation of the trolley and the attentive service in the gift shop, every part of the experience is in the hands of museum volunteers. We’d like you to join us in the fun!

The range of opportunities covers all skill and interest levels, and for any role you’d like to play, there’s a training program and experienced guides to assure that you’ll be able to handle your responsibilities with aplomb.

Isn’t this the year to get involved and discover the great feeling of fulfillment that comes from helping a good cause? You’ll join a great bunch of people who have already discovered that feeling, and you’ll enjoy helping our visitors--families, kids, seniors--all looking for some enlightening entertainment.

Email us at info@nymtmuseum.org or call (585) 533-1113 and we’ll take it from there.


SUBWAY STORIES

Presenting slide talks off-site opens opportunities to make the discovery process a two-way street (to make a transportation metaphor). While Jim Dierks' talks on the Rochester Subway and the Rochester & Eastern interurban trolley line provide enlightenment for his audiences, he's often at the receiving end of information and stories that add a little color to our our own understanding of what went on in years past. A recent talk at the Highlands, a senior home in Pittsford, NY, is a good example.

After his talk on the R&E and some Q&A afterwords, Jim was approached by one of the residents, Jim Moore. Mr. Moore's grandfather was James C. Moore, Superintendent of Transportation for the Rochester Subway, under Bill Lang. We learned that Grandpa Moore's panama hat and cigarette identify him in any photos of the last run on the Subway. We also learned that Mr. Moore's father, James T. Moore, also worked for the Subway, first as freight agent, and then in the payroll department. With all that family involvement, you can guess that Mr. Moore developed a strong interest in the Subway, and had pretty good access to it too.

At age 11, Mr. Moore started bugging his grandfather to let him ride on the Subway's electric freight locomotive, L-1, and a few years later, around 1953, he succeeded not only in getting a ride, but routinely enjoying the privilege. When George Cassidy took over in charge of Subway freight service, free rides for young teenagers on L-1 were frowned upon. However, Dad came to the rescue, letting Moore ride whenever Cassidy had a day off.

Rides in L-1 were better than going to Seabreeze amusement park. The ride wasn't as smooth as on the passenger trolley cars, and there was constant coupler slack action to brace oneself against. It was noisy in the cab, there were lots of vibrations, and sparks flew from the screened switches inside the cab. But it was all fun.

Mr. Moore wanted to grab a ride on the "aught-two", the nickname among crew members for the 0205, but never had the chance. 0205 was a former R&E express car, converted to do freight and maintenance of way work. This old, wooden car had discarded rails placed in it for traction, according to Mr. Moore, and judging by some pictures in museum archives, 0205 was a handy addition to the freight business.

James C. Moore routinely passed along issues of Electric Railway Journal to his grandson, and whether he wanted them or not Grandpa was often the recipient of suggestions from the boy. Noting the loud, screeching noise from the Subway cars rounding the curve under the library, Mr. Moore pointed out an ad in the Journal for self-lubricators. He also worked the old man over to get a diesel for the Subway, noting a story in one of the magazines about the Sacramento Northern buying EMD diesel electric locomotives.

Mr. Moore told us a story pertaining to a photograph at the museum that shows up in our Subway slide talk. It's an aerial view showing East Avenue and the broad curve that takes the Subway south toward Rowlands loop. This is about where the present "Can of Worms" interchange of I-490 and I-590 is located. One talking point in the Subway slide talk is a stub siding that can be seen in the photo where a refrigerator car full of oranges would be spotted, with sales made right out of the reefer.

The photo also clearly shows track that once allowed Rochester & Syracuse interurban cars to connect with their own private right of way from their Subway access to downtown. This track uses a tunnel under East Avenue and the western end of the tunnel can be clearly seen, with the track disappearing under the surrounding landscape (middle right side of photo).

The arrow points to the tunnel mouth with a tank car in the shadows, in this February 1, 1954 Park 'n' Ride promo shot.

Ah, but look more closely and one will see a tank car on that track at the mouth of the tunnel. The R&S was abandoned long before this photo was taken, so there's no problem parking a tank car there, but why? Looking more closely still, one sees what appear to be parallel "tracks" in the snow from a truck, with these tracks leading from East Avenue to the tunnel mouth, above the tank car. Mr. Moore dispelled the mystery, telling us that the Stappenbeck rendering company on Browncroft Boulevard trucked the tallows and greases from their process and unloaded them into the waiting tank car. The photo tells the story, and another bit of history is revealed.

When Mr. Moore's father was working in the office beneath the library, he found the Court Street yard just a little too close for comfort at times. When the wind was right on a hot day, those tank cars of rendering products could smell pretty bad. Worse were the carloads of bones and hides being delivered via Subway to Eastman Kodak Company for processing at the gelatin plant. The fact that the stuff in these carloads would eventually become photographic film didn't help on those hot summer days!


GROUPS KEEP COMING

A substantial part of our annual headcount comes from the visitors who come on weekdays by appointment. Group homes, senior facilities, day cares and summer camp programs are the usual suspects. We enjoy enlightening youngsters with the history of transportation, and just as rewarding is hearing reminiscences from the older folks who fill in the details of history. We recently were told about kids on Sunset Drive (the "Sunset Sharpies") who rode the Subway on slow days back and forth to Driving Park, singing for the motorman. Meanwhile, "Where's the steering wheel?" is a common question among our younger visitors.

We are gratified by the thank you notes and cards we receive after some of these visits, all the more so when the children send us artwork that captures a highlight of their visit. We wonder at the details that remained in their impressionable minds after their visit.

Here's Jade's rendition of the track car ride on the July 24 visit by the Rush-Henrietta School Age Program. Nice work!

So far this year, our group attendance including Sunday birthday parties totals 534 people; an additional 95 folks have been in the audience for one of the museum off-site slide talks given by Jim Dierks. With the visits and talks on the books for the rest of this year, we'll go well over 1,000 souls touched by our mission to bring transportation history to light.


VISIT OUR GALLERY

The museum gallery provides a welcome place to sit down and absorb local transportation history through a 12-minute video on the Rochester Subway. Around the room, we adorn the walls with photography and art that relates to the transportation subject, and the current exhibit features the work of talented local photographer Dan Dangler.

Dan Dangler completes installing his show in the museum gallery with this chilly shot of the Hojack swing bridge.

Our Hojack swing bridge exhibit was the connection, as Dan has several studies of the bridge in our show. We find his pictures offer a new way of looking at familiar scenes, and we hope our members will stop in and take a look. The works are for sale, and if you want to see more of Dan's achievements, check him out at DanDanglerPhotography.com.


BOOK SIGNING

The museum will be hosting Ken Springirth, an Arcadia Publishing author, on Sunday, October 5. Ken hails from Erie, PA and over the years has authored several books for publication by Arcadia, including Greater Erie Trolleys, East Broad Top Railroad, Arcade & Attica, and (PCC fans take note) Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys.

Now branching out into self-publishing his books, Ken has some new releases: Remembering the Erie Lackawanna Railroad and Honoring the New York Central Railroad.

Trolley and rail enthusiasts will want to stop by to meet Ken and pick up one or more of his books.

Trolley and rail enthusiasts will want to stop by to meet Ken and pick up one or more of his books.


IT NEVER RAINS...

We're all familiar with the way things seem to come in waves. In addition to literally getting rained on this summer, we also experienced a downpour of free publicity. It came all at once, and early enough in the season to help our summer attendance.

First, we had good early response from area magazines and newspapers to our annual season publicity release. The list of email recipients for our releases has more than a hundred individuals and organizations on it from Buffalo to Syracuse. In addition there are many websites around the country devoted to rail enthusiasts and families where we list our event schedule and websites. So we aren't surprised when folks tell us they're from Geneva, Amherst or Penn Yan. We were taken aback a little though by the man from Montana who learned about us on the Denver Rails website, and decided to visit us while in town seeing his son.

Then, in late June response to the Subway car 60 press day netted us some YNN TV coverage that day, as well as a photo article in the Democrat & Chronicle the following Monday, June 30. Meanwhile, 13WHAM-TV/Fox Rochester had arranged to feature us on their morning show, July 3, with Hannah Welker as the roving reporter. That meant rising early to let the technicians in, get the lights on, and prepare for the first "tease" before 7 a..m.

Hannah was an enthusiastic host of the morning show as we toured her through the museum's collection and dazzled her with our large operating model railroad. For her next segment, she broadcast from the trolley on its way to Midway station, probably the first time they've done a live feed from a moving trolley car! Bob Achilles was interviewed en route, and at Midway we transferred Hannah and her cameraman to the waiting RGVRRM diesel train. Off they went to Industry Depot, where Otto Vondrak did the honors, showing off the museum there and talking up volunteering. With nice timing, an LA&L northbound freight rolled by the depot too. It was all over by 9:00, but the program segments were available on the station's website for those who missed seeing it all live.

Brighter and cheerier than we were at this early hour, Hannah tells her morning viewers about our museum.

Our special events always give us a shot at free publicity, and a favorite with fans of our national pastime is "Baseball Day", featuring a visit from the Rochester Redwings' popular mascot. As Otto's release notes, "What’s more American than trains and baseball? From pro teams traveling from city to city, to baseball fans taking the train to the game, these two American traditions have been intertwined for more than 100 years." And, in keeping with the theme, seats at Frontier Field offer a great view of the CSX mainline.

"Spikes" joined us around noon at our July 20 event and thrilled the kids as he rode the trolley and diesel train to RGVRRM's Industry Depot and back. We're sure plenty of visitors went home excited about their visit and eager to tell their friends all about us, adding to the growing awareness throughout the area about our unique joint museum experience.

Spikes collects tickets from a young fan and his dad on board trolley 168, heading south.


FACILITATIN'

The museum comprises many things. There's the collection of road and rail vehicles; there's the archive containing thousands of photos, paper items, and small artifacts; there's the rail line, substation and trolley overhead; there's the well-stocked gift shop; there's the massive volunteer effort devoted to the visitor experience, from the planning and documentation to the personal contact with our visitors; and there's the whole panoply of administrative activities that keep all the plates spinning.

Over all of this, literally, is our facility--our buildings and grounds. Keeping the museum looking good as well as safe and in a good state of repair is the assignment for the Facility Manager. Trustee Dave Coon counts this job among several that he has at the museum.

An attractive first impression for our visitors is important, but alot of the facility job is behind the scenes.

Dave has recently installed new hand towel and soap dispensers in our two restrooms, lending a more professional look and better service for our visitors. He's also working with two local groups of intellectually challenged people who are helping with small maintenance tasks and doing a great job cleaning the gift shop and restrooms on a weekly basis.

Mowing is a challenge throughout the growing season, and we have a dedicated group at Dave's direction taking care of the fields and the lawn areas. Bob Miner, Dave Peet, Tony Mittiga, Steve Huse and Dave himself are in this crew. A special nod goes to Bob Miner for laboring to keep our aging Ford tractor and John Deere riding mower alive and well. Rick Holahan has put himself in charge of spraying grass and weeds around all our outdoor exhibits and buildings to keep things looking neat. During the school year, spring and fall, a BOCES landscape maintenance class provides mowing and trimming service in a win-win relationship. Since the riding mower doesn't fit through the bus corral door, the Thursday crew works this area with one of our rotary mowers. All this, plus rail line weed control, just to keep Mother Nature at bay.

Much of the routine maintenance at the museum gets handled by the Thursday crew. A new panel on the front door and repairs to the locking bar on another sliding door are two recent examples. The crew is now looking at a roof leak in the water room and installing a gutter at the outer corner of that part of the building.


SHOP REPORT by Charles Lowe

New Jersey Transit 7: On May 17, car 7 was moved railroad-north of Forest Lane. An RGVRRM crew, using its locomotive 1941 (ex-RG&E 97), made the move. This places car 7 in a storage area which will not affect passenger train operations. In late June, Jim Dierks taped in place an aluminum seal over the hole where the motorman's vent is located.

Railroad: Tony Mittiga oiled all four switches at NYMT in mid-May. In late May, work began on replacing the undersized bolts in the railroad between Reid's and Midway. Rich Fischpera, Rick Holahan and Tony Mittiga are working on this project. As of late June, ten bolts were replaced. Rich, Rick and Tony and others worked in July clearing brush along the railroad. Tower car 021 was used in multiple work sessions, and a lockout on the overhead was provided by Bob Achilles. Tree trimming work was completed on July 21.

Nature's bounty can be hazardous to our overhead trolley wire, and this is just a small part of the annual summer harvest. Rich Fischpera photo

On July 26, a test run was made from RGVRRM to NYMT using RGVRRM's locomotive 1941 and its ex-Lowville and Beaver River flat car 23. Although the test train did not make it through the extremely sharp curve at the Entrance Road, much important information was learned, and several more engineers obtained valuable training time on the railroad between BOCES and the Track 21 switch. Rich Fischpera led this effort as the locomotive engineer; Joe Nugent was the conductor and in overall charge of the moves. Numerous other RGVRRM members also participated.

Canadian National Box Car 508374: In June, our contractor slid the box car laterally over track 24 and to a resting place alongside the entrance road. Now, it is out of the way of track 23 construction. Pursuant to a Board decision, other museums are being contacted with the hope that one will be interested in taking ownership of this rare car.

Genesee & Wyoming Caboose 8: The Thursday crew has removed the tie plates which were used to stretch the canvas over the lower roofs of the caboose. In July, tacking of the canvas to the nailing boards was started.

North Texas Traction 409: In mid-May, the Thursday crew relocated the entrance steps for car 409 next to the hay barn wall, and built a landing adjacent to the car's entry door. This helps clear the way for car 7's indoor parking area.

Philadelphia and Western 161 and 168: In early July, Bob Achilles and Jack Tripp oiled the springs for the trolley bases on 161 and checked all rooftop connections to insure they were tight. On July 13, a troublesome master controller finger on 161 was sanded smooth and treated with a film of conductive grease, eliminating reluctance of the controller to be placed in full series.

Loading Area: Work began on a much-needed visitor improvement in July. An Eagle Scout project is in the works to pave the trolley loading area with historic street bricks in August. This will greatly improve footing and add a historic touch to our trolley ride. In preparation of the bricks, though, some work was needed on the underlying track structure. On July 18, Bob Achilles, Jack Tripp and Charlie Lowe hand dug down to several ties, brought the gauge back to standard and replaced one tie. On August 1 and 2, Bob and Charlie replaced two more ties in this area.

Track 23: Track 23 will be the new home for our PCC car, and eventually will be extended within the hay barn. In preparation for further work by the contractor, various switch bars and rods were located. Several new 7/8- and 1-inch-diameter bolts were obtained for these parts. During a 5-day session in June, the contractor finished inserting timbers for the track 23 switch, and spiked down the two rails for track 21 through the switch. A switch machine and the various connecting bars and rods were also installed. Bob Achilles oversaw the work of the contractor during these sessions. RGVRRM provided its loader and backhoe.

Track 24: Track 24 will be a storage track that will hold trucks intended for Northern Texas Traction 409 and Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo 206. Two rails were attached to the north ends of the existing rails under the trucks for car 409 in May. In June, our track contractor lengthened out track 24 temporarily and then rolled the two trucks for car 409 north of the CN box car. During July, ties were placed for track 24 extending south back toward the hay barn. Tie spacing of 7 feet was used so that two ties could be inserted in each opening to upgrade this track for regular service later. As rebuilt, track 24 lines up with the center of the opening where car 409 is located in case this track is ever extended into the building.


ALL ABOUT US

The New York Museum of Transportation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit museum chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York. We are managed and operated entirely by volunteers, and the welcome mat is always out for anyone wishing to join our work. Open for visitors all year on Sundays only, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., we also welcome group visits during the week by appointment.

We are located at 6393 East River Road in the Town of Rush, and our mailing address is P.O. Box 136, West Henrietta, NY 14586. www.nymtmuseum.org is the place to find us on the internet and learn much more about us. Also, you can visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NYMTmuseum.

Want to contact us? Call us at (585) 533-1113 or send us an email at info@nymtmuseum.org. And, remember to tell your friends!


HEADEND is published four times a year by the New York Museum of Transportation, © 2014. All rights reserved. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. www.nymtmuseum.org (585) 533-1113

Editor and photographer - Jim Dierks
Contributing Editor - Charles Lowe
Printing - Bob Miner, Chris Hauf
Publication - Doug Anderson, Bob Miner, Bob Sass