the official publication of the railroad museum …jameswerner.net/rmli/postboy/winter_2011.pdf ·...

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RAILROAD MUSEUM OF LONG ISLAND

PostboyPreserving Long Island’s Rich Railroading Heritage

Winter 2011 www.rmli.us

The

In This Issue:

Page 2: A Message from the President • Page 4: Equipment Restoration Progress • Page 7: Former LIRR Cab Simulator Arrives in Riverhead

Happy New Year 2011!

T H E P O S T B O Y

2 Railroad Museum of Long Island

2011! Another new year for exciting surprises at your Railroad Museum of Long Island! What will it be that interests you in the coming year? I’m sure something new on-board will make you happy!

I’m looking forward to the grand opening of our Freeman Building permanent exhibit: “The Historic Lionel Visitor’s Center Train Layout.” This “O” gauge 14’ x 40’ seven-train layout was generously donated to the RMLI by the Lionel Electric Train Corporation. An army of RMLI volunteers, led by Vice President George Faeth, have labored for close to two years to bring this beautiful train set from Chesterfield, Michigan to our home in Riverhead, New York. Please plan to join us in celebration on Saturday, April 9, 2011 as we open our newly renovated exhibit hall and the layout to the public.

!!!!!

Another new exhibit planned for Riverhead in 2011 is the Long Island Railroad GP-38 diesel simulator cab. This will be an interactive exhibit where you will be able to sit down and “virtually” run a train from

Riverhead to Greenport on the LIRR main line. See Anthony DeBellis’ Postboy article about the December move of this cab from the LIRR Hillside Training Facility to RMLI. This exhibit is scheduled to be ready and running by Riverhead Railroad Festival in August.

At Greenport this year, we will feature a new exhibit of historic “builder’s photos” from some of the greatest steam locomotive builders in America. ALCO, Baldwin and Lima are a few of the manufacturers represented in this private collection that was donated to the RMLI a few years ago. The show, “An Appreciation of the Steam Locomotive!” will open on Memorial Day weekend, May 28 and run through the season until Columbus Day weekend, October 9.

Plans for the Annual RMLI Educational Forum are beginning to take shape for March 2011. Do plan on a Saturday afternoon visit to the Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead for another interesting program on the history of Long Island railroading. Particulars about the program will be announced via e-mail, on our webpage, www.rmli.us and on our new Facebook site, www.facebook.com/pages/Railroad-Museum-of-Long-Island/113004822071922

Yes!! The Railroad Museum of Long Island is very interactive on the Internet! Thanks go to our RMLI Secretary/Webmaster James Werner for keeping our webpages up to date and special thanks go to our young Presidents’ Aide de Camp, Anthony DeBellis for originating the Facebook page and keeping it chock full of up-to-the-minute Museum details. So far we have 220 Friends, won’t you join us?

As you can see your RMLI is quite the vibrant, pulsing Museum in 2011. With all this expansion and renovation come added responsibilities of property ownership and maintenance. As with everything, the cost of operating two Museum sites is growing. Your Board of Trustees have not raised admission prices at the Museum in many years. Therefore, in the coming months your Board of Trustees will consider a modest

A Message from the Presidentby Don Fisher

T H E P O S T B O Y

Railroad Museum of Long Island 3

price increase for admission to the RMLI. As always, one of the benefits Museum Members enjoy is FREE admission to the RMLI whenever you visit, and this benefit will not change! Encourage your friends and family to join.

On December 4, 2010 the RMLI held its Annual Volunteer’s Appreciation Dinner. Over one-hundred Volunteer Certificates were presented that evening. I am so proud of our volunteers. You are the life blood of the Museum and allow the organization to move forward in so many ways. Thank you for 2010 and thank you for your continuing support in 2011. And gentle reader, are you a volunteer at your Museum? No? Won’t you join us in 2011? It’s easy, drop a note or an e-mail to me, Don Fisher, at RMLI - P.O. Box 726 - Greenport NY 11944-0726 or at [email protected] and let me know you are interested. I’ll contact you and discuss how you may be able to help. We need docents and gift shop associates for all days at Greenport and Riverhead. The toy trains committee, LITTLE, need train operators throughout the season and there is always on-going restoration work that needs attention. Please come out and support your Museum even if for just a few days each season, you’ll be glad you did!

L to R: George Wybenga, Santa, Steve Sucic

! Our Annual Holiday Open House with Santa on December 4 and 5, 2010 was just smashing! We broke all records for patron attendance and we broke all the records for gift shop sales, donations and raffle ticket

sales! What an event! Thank you to Co-Chairs Lil and Bob White and all the RMLI volunteers. Santa couldn’t arrive by LIRR Train this year so the resourceful Elves at the RMLI arranged for a railroad track speeder and trailer to get the Jolly Old Elf to Greenport on time! OUTSTANDING! What a hoot! We’re also pleased to announce that Phil Martin of Merrick, NY won the Lionel Polar Express train set and Dottie Chituk of Cutchogue, NY won the beautiful handmade Christmas Tree Skirt donated by Catherine Sucic of Southold. Thank you to all who bought tickets and supported the Museum over the holidays!

In closing, I’d like to direct your attention to two Postboy articles written by members and friends of the Museum. I welcome RMLI docent Dave Fisher to these Postboy pages with his account of a wonderful Road Scholar Trip he took through Pennsylvania in August. Rowena Marvin, an accomplished writer and world explorer from New Suffolk sent me a copy of her railroad artifact experiences in Mexico in 2009. I thank Rowena for letting me publish her story here in the Postboy. Gentle member, if you have a railroad story to share or an experience to write about, please send it to us and we’d be happy to publish it right here!

And to each of you, I wish you a Happy, Healthy, Warm and Prosperous New Year!

T H E P O S T B O Y


Equipment Restoration Progressby Anthony DeBellis

Presidents’ Aide de Camp

BEDT 0-6-0T 16

The restoration of #16 continues in Riverhead. After the wheels were moved under the engine, the running gear was moved over to the locomotive. We are missing two of the main driving rods, but brought what we have over to the engine for reassembly during #16’s cosmetic restoration. We were lucky enough to have Steve Wolbert come with a bucket loader and flatbed truck to move the running gear back next to the locomotive. The parts had previously been in storage next to Engine 39 in a storage container.

#16’s Journal boxes were returned back under the locomotive and are currently being held onto the locomotive with heavy wire until the drivers are reinstalled under the engine.

The locomotive has received its first coat of black paint. The handrails also got a primer coat of white in preparation for the yellow paint that will be next. It was extremely important that we got some paint on the locomotive to protect it from the hard elements of the winter and to prevent rust. #16’s number plate has also been repainted and is looking sharp with its gold leaf lettering by George Wybenga. The number plate will be reinstalled in the spring when painting of the engine is finished. The engine looks great and is no longer an eyesore at the Riverhead Museum.

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Thanks goes out to Anthony DeBellis, Dick Horn, George Wybenga, Don Fisher, Joe Costa Sr. Joe Costa Jr. Mike Arnold, Dave Stagliano, Matt Stagliano, Rich Clark, Joe Saullo, Steve Sucic, Don Rollock, Don Lavelle, and the Shipwrights for their continued hard work on the restoration of #16.

The cosmetic restoration of BEDT #16 is made possible in part by grants from the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development & Workforce Housing, the Long Island Sunrise Trail Chapter - NRHS and the generosity of RMLI members. Thank you to all for your help in preserving the history of New York State!

LIRR ALCo RS-3 1556

Recently a new project has started up at the museum: work on #1556 with a goal of getting the locomotive’s prime mover running (NOTE: this is not to get #1556 running and road worthy, the goal is to preserve the locomotive putting it in serviceable condition.) #1556 received many cans of lubricants with much needed TLC on many parts of the locomotive. The main focus of the work done so far has been the cleaning of the fuel injectors and lubricating them so they were able to once again open and close properly. All the doors on the locomotive have received much needed lubrication, helping to give the locomotive a better general inspection, getting in every little corner.

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The goal is to get #1556 to turn over in Spring 2011. Thanks goers to Steve Wolbert for leading this project and Anthony DeBellis, Mike Arnold and, Greg Kruszeski for helping.

LIRR Jordan Spreader W-93

Snowplow W-93 of our sister organization the Twin Forks Chapter – NRHS has gotten some more paint. The nice new and shinny gloss black on the plow gives the Riverhead railroad yard a whole new look looking east down the tracks to the Riverhead station, making the Plow a nice treat for museum visitors. The Chapter plans to restore the plow to her original LIRR paint scheme. W-93 is looking good, keep up the good work Twin Forks!

Hidden Gems Abound in City’s Nooks and Cranniesby Rowena Marvin

The treasures beholden to the wanderer are many, if the wanderer dares to meander into farther regions of the forest. For example, one day on a seven-hour bicycle ride in Guadalajara, near the Abastos wholesale market, along the dirt-road section of Avenida Ingaterra by the train tracks, I came upon an abandoned 50-year –old Pullman railroad car inhabited by a group of rather sodden male retirees and former trainmen, who sit and celebrate every Saturday of life around their mascot, happily regaling stories of the day it ran.

Their leader, Alberto, regaled me with the story of an abandoned 1940 Ohio steam train, used for iron-gathering. The locomotive and the Pullman car were once one.

That poor relic sits quietly and rather soggily and pungently in Parque Liberacion, (Lazaro Cardenas and Gobernador Curiel), which is sided by a verdant lake filled with soda bottles, herons and swans. Ironically, the train, abandoned since its metallic death in 1950’s, is as much noticed and appreciated as the swans. The park’s small police station however, filled with proud purveyors of history, as well as the original telegraph machine on the wall used to communicate with the engineer, has some leftover leaflets and information to relay to interested visitors. The train was a museum until a fire desecrated the center car, which can be visited freely, though carefully, and with good shoes. The police chief told me that the intention was to maintain the museum, yet interest and funds waned. Evidently, there were not enough sodden retirees to oversee the care and protection of this huge vehicle, which allows people to run all over its solid roof like some Crocodile Dundee figure. As much as the ruins of Ixtepete are being left to ruin themselves in Zapopan, so is this train, but the workmanship belies all abuse. The police and visitors are eager to relive the tale of this hunk of iron, yet, how? It would behoove readers of this article to seek out Parque Liberacion and go visit, even climb all over the beast. There is a feeling of history running by, yet standing still, literally, at the same time.

RMLI is on Facebook!The Museum in recent months has started to use Facebook , in addition to

the creation of a Blog as well. Both pages are updated on a regular basis and include updates and recent museum activities with news, photos, and discussions about the museum. Make sure you “like” us on Facebook to get updates faster! A link to the Facebook page can be found on the RMLI Homepage. A link to the Blog can be found in the “News & Updates” page on the RMLI website.

T H E P O S T B O Y


Former LIRR Cab Simulator Arrives in RiverheadBy Anthony DeBellis

Christmas came early to the Museum this year when on Saturday, December 18, 2010 we transported one of the former Long Island Rail Road Cab Simulators from the Hillside Support Facility to the Riverhead Restoration Site. The Simulator was originally used by the LIRR for the training of new locomotive engineers to recreate life like situations on the railroad before they were able to take trains on the mainline. The cab was originally questioned by some of the trainees for it’s accuracy to real life situations, but with the ability to actually simulate real life situations, the cab soon impressed many. The GP-38 was replaced in light of new technology and equipment on the LIRR that is more modern and efficient for the purpose of training crews on the current LIRR fleet of locomotives. The GP-38 is no longer on the LIRR Roster and was no longer needed. Currently in Hillside the new state of the art simulators include a DE30, M-7 and MP-15, all of which are currently used on the LIRR.

The cab was moved in the wee hours of the morning before the sun rose. Don Fisher, Bob Pfluger and I were driving into Hillside just as the sun was starting to come over the horizon, with us getting to the simulator around 7:40am. The LIRR helped us load the simulator onto our truck with one of their forklifts. Before we left, we all got the pleasure of seeing the new cab simulator. Arriving back at Riverhead a little after 9 am, Bob unloaded the cab with his forklift and the cab is now displayed next to Caboose C-68 where she will proudly stay.

The simulator is uniformity stripped of all its computers and technology with future plans for the Museum to reinstall a train simulation system. The cab will receive a flat screen monitor in the engineer’s window with seats and controls to allow guests to operate the simulator. We'll install a 12 volt compressor/air horn, manual locomotive bell and a scanner programmed with LIRR frequencies. The cab will be using Microsoft Train Simulator and will be used on a route designed to travel between Riverhead and Greenport, our two Museum sites. The cab will also be a great photo opportunity for families to have photos in the cab of a locomotive.

T H E P O S T B O Y


The Museum is extremely grateful and appreciative to the MTA Long Island Rail Road for recognizing the historical significance of the no longer used simulator and for preserving it for future generations to come and enjoy and learn what it takes to run a locomotive. Special Thanks also go to Bob Pfluger of BP Wreckers, Southold, NY, Don Fisher, Anthony DeBellis, Greg Kruszeski, Steve Sucic, Rich Gorddard, Elliot Courtney, and Mark Lacari for making the move from Hillside to Riverhead possible and setup in Riverhead possible. The cab simulator should be up and running for the 2011 Riverhead Railroad Festival.

Pennsylvania Railroad Immersionby Dave Fisher

I drove to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to attend an Elderhostel (now Road Scholar), Program on Pennsylvania Railroads starting on August 22, 2010. After dinner and an introduction, we spent the first full morning at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. This very extensive Museum emphasized Pennsylvania Railroad equipment from the 1840’s to the present - - engines, passenger and freight cars, etc. A good talk about railroads during the Civil War followed. After lunch we rode behind a real steam engine on the Strasburg Railroad to Paradise (and return), through lovely Amish farm countryside. After dinner at an Amish home, we had an extensive tour of the countryside.

The next day we went through the Pioneer Tunnel at Ashland, Pennsylvania, northeast of Harrisburg. Then a good trip on a steam train with lovely views of the mountains. We went down in a coal mine to see the structure and coal seams. Lunch was provided in an old restaurant in Tanaqua and then on to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Our day ended with a swim and supper at Mohican Sun Casino, with many slot machines - - I saved $6.00 after getting a start with $30.00 from the house!!

I spent Wednesday at Steamtown National Museum in Scranton, including a brief ride on a diesel train. We enjoyed a big lunch at the Radisson Hotel, taking over the former large Lackawanna Railroad station. That afternoon we toured the Electric City Trolley Museum nearby and an after dinner talk by a rail buff getting small trains going on his property.

Next day our bus took us to Tioga Central Railroad for an eleven mile ride through rolling countryside, almost to New York State. We had a nice lunch in the dining car on the return trip. The bus took us next to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania where we saw two self-propelled train cars being rehabilitated (they need allot of work!). It was then off to Altoona for a huge supper at Hoss’ Restaurant; then to bed in our third motel!

We toured the very large Railroader’s Memorial Museum at Altoona, Pennsylvania, (three floors), had lunch and then went to Portage (an early mountain bypass with chain elevators hauling up barges over the mountain). We saw trains coming out of the Gallitzin Tunnel, then it was on to the famed Horseshoe Curve, which carried trains up over the mountain at less than a two-degree slope! Three trains passed by us, one with seventy-six cars of ethanol, the others with over one hundred freight cars each!

The last day (Saturday), we returned to Lancaster via a three hour bus trip having enjoyed a great history of railroading in Pennsylvania.

T H E P O S T B O Y


Grab Irons By Jonathan Bialstock To solve each set of Grab Irons place the 4-letter answer to clue #1 in the grid. Add a letter to answer #1, place the added letter in column 2, and rearrange to form the answer to clue #2. Do the same with answer #2, placing the added letter in column 4. After repeating the process with each rung in the set, columns 2 and 4 will spell out a railroad-related phrase. 1. Canine pest 3. Fictional story 5. Perplex 6. 43,560 square feet 7. Transparent 8. CPSC take-back 9. Geek counterpart 10. Golfer’s minus

11. E-mail status 12. Big things on a pachyderm

13. Remove chalk 14. Comes to terms

1. Brothers Grimm story 3. Rock-music style 5. Regret 6. Training punch 7. Removes, as fruit skins 8. Met offerings 9. _____ beach 10. Corrected piano errors 11. Went left or right 12. Casino-table cubes 13. Apple _____

14. Without making a detour 15. Zodiac sheep

16. Got out of bed 17. Raspy, as a voice

1. Draw anger from 3. Frequent-_____ miles 5. Steal 6. NBA guard Michael 7. Don’t like at all 8. Liked a lot 9. Bird’s home 10. Odor 11. Bee or fly 12. Be ahead 13. Utopian 14. Naysayer’s action 15. Diamond corner

16. Chili-pot floaters 17. Playing hooky 18. Buffet offerings

19. Ballpark entry points 20. Tour de France divisions

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RMLI Runs Trains at the Southold Recreation Center

Special Thanks to John Peck, Mike Babinski, Richard Miller, Richard Walker, Don Fisher, and Steve Sucic for their help in running this event.

As you can see from the pictures, we received Santa’s approval!

T H E P O S T B O Y


Long Island Railroad P74B Coach 7526HO scale Coach produced by Rapido Trains

Sponsored by the Twin Forks Chapter, NRHS

The Twin Forks Chapter, NRHS presents LIRR 7526. This number car will be produced exclusively for Twin Forks by

Rapido Trains. Originally built in 1935 by Pullman Standard for the Boston & Maine Railroad as there 4590. The LIRR

purchased these cars in 1958-59 and rebuilt some into 117 seat coaches and some into bar cars. 7526 was converted into

Alcohol Spray car W-85 by the railroad and was used for de-icing the 3rd rail. The chapter acquired this car in 2009.

Sister car 7525, Tim Darnell Photo

These cars will cost 80.00 per car. NYS Residents MUST include sales tax. All proceeds will benefit the chapter.

Act now, only a limited number of cars will be produced. These cars are bound to sell out! Order cut off date is

April 16th, 2011.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yes, Please put me down for ____ cars! Cars cost 80.00 each + 8.00 shipping. Please pre-order

now. Cars are expected to arrive in mid-summer 2011. Name-__________________________________________

Address-________________________________________

City-___________________________________________

State-_______________________Zip-________________

Email-__________________________________________

Phone-__________________________________________Please detach this form and mail with payment to:

Twin Forks Chapter, NRHS

P.O. Box 188

Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776

Any questions please email the chapter at [email protected]

7526 will be reproduced in HO Scale by

Rapido Trains of Canada. These cars feature

accurate scale reproduction, full interior

details, factory installed grab irons, full

underbody detailing including all air, steam

and electrical lines, working diaphragms, as

well as full interior lighting, powered by

Rapidos simple to use, battery powered system.

7526 will be produced in the MTA scheme of

Blue & Platinum Mist. This car will be

available ONLY through the Twin Forks

Chapter.

NYS residents must include a sales tax of $6.90 (8.625%) for a grand total of $94.90 shipped to your door. Please note as this is a custom car there will be no refunds. Contact the chapter for information on multiple car shipping. If you wish to pick your cars up at the next membership meeting when the cars arrive check here ____ and we will keep you informed as to the date. It is the buyers responsibility to pick the car up when it arrives.

T H E P O S T B O Y


William LondonScott KlippSam Rubin

JoAnn PrioreDennis Harrington

Donald FisherJohn Kiffer

Long Island Sunrise Trail - NRHS

Conductor

Golden Spike

Engineer

Louis CarusoAldo D'Adamo

Dennis DeAngelisStar Mechanical Heating and Air Conditioning

FiremanFranklin Brehmer, Jr.

Frank & Carolyn Sepe

BrakemanSteve Sucic

M. Richard HornBradford Phillips

Walter & Betty StewartLawrence Turk

Albert Heiserer, Jr.Cyrus & Josephine Bacchi

Jonathan BialstockBonnie CornettRobert Dusel

George Stamatiades

Gandydancer

James TeerBenjamin Young Jr.

Eugene TimmesMichael Babinski

Jonathan DiazPeter McDonnell

Peter MillerArtie Schneider

Ross StamatiadesEdward BaborJoseph Koferl

Scott Firestone DDSFrederick Fischer

Dave FisherWalter Hilsenbeck

Stephen KoferlCharles LevienPhilip MartinJohn McCann

Dave MorrisonJohn Peck

George Schlichter

James J. EarlPeter Meyer Jr.

Peter NagleAl Schick

George WybengaEdward McKernan

Alan BaerJohn Billone

Richard BishopJohn Doucette

Gregory KuszeskiJoseph Misita

Lance EricksonGary Farkash

Patricia and Richard GriffoRobert HeathRonald HonigJoseph HuttleRobert Miller

Joseph Orsino, Jr.Joan Overton

Kevin StansberryRichard Davin

Fred Enrico

Robert Rupnick D.C.James Shimer

Patrick Vaccariello, Sr.George WoitasMary Ann FoxJohn Morrison

William DoughertyJoseph Esquirol, Jr.Joseph W. Gagne

Roy KarajianAlan Vitters

Kurt Wegelius

Riverhead Building Supply

ContributionsThe Railroad Museum of Long Island would like to thank the following individuals and companies for their continued support for the Museum.

T H E P O S T B O Y


The Historic Lionel Visitor’s Center Layout UpdateBy George Faeth

The Visitor’s Center in Riverhead which is housing the Historic Lionel Layout is progressing very nicely. This week the exterior of the building reached completion. The handicap ramp was completed and the siding that needed replacement was finished. We also replaced all the wood around the three windows on the street side and installed our sign (see attached photo). Just need some nice weather in March to get a coat of paint on the repairs.

As for work inside the building the fifteen pieces that we cut the layout up into (seven thousand pounds that we moved from Michigan) have all been reassembled. The track has been replaced and we presently have five trains running, the top level which is S Gauge, the Subway, the Goldmine, the lumber service line and the outer-loop which is a M7 LIRR train that meets the Subway.

We are now working on a trolley line and installing some of the many accessories. The two lift bridges are installed and operational. Jack Smith is doing a fine job with the scenery. Timm Steele has been a big help as he and yours truly have been working on this project daily. With just twelve weeks to the April 9th Grand Opening there is still much work to do. A big thank you to other volunteers that have help get us to where we are. To name a few: Don Hawkins, Dick Sloan, Fred Ciapetti, Mike Arnold, Fred Wilms, Ralph Panetta, Richard Feggeler, Lenny Joerg, Al Schick, Rudy Dechert, Bill Esposito, Dale Kuhn, Al Schwartz, and Don Fisher (for providing us with electricity) and Joe Misita for his fine sign work.

T H E P O S T B O Y

THE POSTBOY Winter 2011

Railroad Museum of Long IslandP.O. Box 726Greenport, NY 11944631.477.0439 • 631.727.7920www.rmli.us

Dates to RememberSaturday, April 9, 2011 - 10:00 AMRiverhead Site opens for the season with the GRAND OPENING of the Historic Lionel Visitor's Center Exhibit.Admission FREE!

Saturday, May 28, 2011 - 10:00 AM Riverhead, 11:00 AM GreenportRailroad Museum of Long Island Museums open Saturdays and Sundays through Columbus Day weekend.Admission: Children to 4 years of age FREE, kids 5 - 12 $4.00, ages 13 - Adult $7.00

Moving?

Don’t forget to send us your updated address!

Email your contact information to Dick Horn at [email protected] or mail us at:

Railroad Museum of Long Island

P.O. Box 726

Greenport, NY 11944

the official publication of the railroad museum …jameswerner.net/rmli/postboy/winter_2011.pdf ·...

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