issue 105 sept. 1974 san diego, californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfissue...

9
Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th, PSRMA President H. Chalmers Kerr, Jr. received the keys to the historic private railway car, "Victoria," and thereby formally accepted the plush car on behalf of the Museum. Numerous members of the local news media, friends, Museum members, and others, watched and photographed the special ceremony M.C.'d by Jack Stodelle which climaxed a successful effort by the Museum, spearheaded by director Stodelle and former member Terry Durkin, who supplied the appraisal, to secure the donation of the car. The former owners, beer distributors S. Steve Sourapas and John Cuchna, present- ed the car to the Museum, "in order to preserve it for the enjoyment of future generations, many of who may never have experienced rail travel." ( Individual copy: 25<t Donation Membership and Address Changes: H. J. Ruiz 3029 Longdale Drive Lemon Grove, Calif. 92045 Editors: Perry and Gretchen Timmermans I I 147 Saunders Court San Diego, California 92131 Victoria, one of the nation's last "mansions on wheels", was built by Pullman in 192? as the "Robert E. Peary", one of their Explorer series. It never saw revenue service, rather spending its earlier years in private party use prior to the inroads of the private plane and the airlines. After many years of touring Canada, the 48 states, and Mexico, carrying dignitar- ies, opera stars, and Presidents (F.D.R. used the car in 1935 campaigning for his second term), it was sold to the Burling- ton railroad in 1944. The Burlington renamed it "Blackhawk" and promptly assigned it to then-chairman of the board Ralph Budd. . It was completely overhauled and the latest refinements added, includ- ing a larger lounge and refrigerated air- conditioning. In 1962, roller bearings were added, but by that time, even rail- road executives began to use the airlines, and the Blackhawk nee Peary brooded in the Chicago yards. In 1966, it was purchased by Mssrs. Sourapas and Cuchana and brought to San Diego. It was decided to restore the car to its former and original elegance and was entirely redecorated inside and out. The name was changed to Victoria to be more in keeping with the rich velours and oppulent decor. The complete galley has electric freezer and refrigeration; the crew even has their own showerbath facilities. The dining room will seat 10 guests and the solarium lounge can seat 12. The Victoria has four bedrooms with upper berths and full beds and can accomo- date 8 passengers with crew of two for long distance travel. Two separate propane gas systems provide electric power and air- conditioning. Each bedroom has its own toilet and lavatory and there is a shower- bath and tub separating the two rear state- rooms. The.favorite place to ride is the open platform observation lounge. On the rear wall, a speed indicator and other gauges tell inside/outside temperatures, brake pressure, and other data necessary for the nabob rail baron to ailroad properly in the grand manner. Channels 8, 10, and 39 aired the ceremony on their late afternoon telecasts, and several of the local newspapers ran a story, among them the Daily Transcript f the final edition of the Union, and the El Cajon Californian (any others?). AP and UPI picked up the story and we have learned of a San Mateo paper that ran it. President '«n -r.d superintendent Pennick were inter- viewed by various radio stations and

Upload: others

Post on 11-Apr-2020

10 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

Issue 105

Sept. 1974

San Diego, California

V I C T O R I A !At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th, PSRMAPresident H. Chalmers Kerr, Jr. receivedthe keys to the historic private railwaycar, "Victoria," and thereby formallyaccepted the plush car on behalf of theMuseum.

Numerous members of the local news media,friends, Museum members, and others,watched and photographed the specialceremony M.C.'d by Jack Stodelle whichclimaxed a successful effort by the Museum,spearheaded by director Stodelle and formermember Terry Durkin, who supplied theappraisal, to secure the donation of thecar. The former owners, beer distributorsS. Steve Sourapas and John Cuchna, present-ed the car to the Museum, "in order topreserve it for the enjoyment of futuregenerations, many of who may never haveexperienced rail travel."

( I n d i v i d u a l copy: 25<t DonationMembership and Address Changes:

H. J. Ruiz3029 Longdale DriveLemon Grove, Calif. 92045

Editors: Perry and Gretchen TimmermansI I 147 Saunders CourtSan Diego, California 92131

Victoria, one of the nation's last "mansionson wheels", was built by Pullman in 192?as the "Robert E. Peary", one of theirExplorer series. It never saw revenueservice, rather spending its earlier yearsin private party use prior to the inroadsof the private plane and the airlines.After many years of touring Canada, the48 states, and Mexico, carrying dignitar-ies, opera stars, and Presidents (F.D.R.used the car in 1935 campaigning for hissecond term), it was sold to the Burling-ton railroad in 1944. The Burlingtonrenamed it "Blackhawk" and promptlyassigned it to then-chairman of the boardRalph Budd. . It was completely overhauledand the latest refinements added, includ-ing a larger lounge and refrigerated air-conditioning. In 1962, roller bearingswere added, but by that time, even rail-road executives began to use the airlines,and the Blackhawk nee Peary brooded inthe Chicago yards.

In 1966, it was purchased by Mssrs.Sourapas and Cuchana and brought to SanDiego. It was decided to restore the carto its former and original elegance andwas entirely redecorated inside and out.

The name was changed to Victoria to be morein keeping with the rich velours andoppulent decor. The complete galley haselectric freezer and refrigeration; thecrew even has their own showerbathfacilities. The dining room will seat10 guests and the solarium lounge can seat12. The Victoria has four bedrooms withupper berths and full beds and can accomo-date 8 passengers with crew of two for longdistance travel. Two separate propane gassystems provide electric power and air-conditioning. Each bedroom has its owntoilet and lavatory and there is a shower-bath and tub separating the two rear state-rooms. The.favorite place to ride is theopen platform observation lounge. On therear wall, a speed indicator and othergauges tell inside/outside temperatures,brake pressure, and other data necessaryfor the nabob rail baron to ailroadproperly in the grand manner.

Channels 8, 10, and 39 aired the ceremonyon their late afternoon telecasts, andseveral of the local newspapers ran a story,among them the Daily Transcriptf the finaledition of the Union, and the El CajonCalifornian (any others?). AP and UPIpicked up the story and we have learned ofa San Mateo paper that ran it. President'«n -r.d superintendent Pennick were inter-viewed by various radio stations and

Page 2: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

VICTORIA!—continued

syndications. KNX (Los Angeles CBS affili-ate) carried an interview every hourSaturday, August 2̂ th.

James Marinos, of the law firm of Marines& Styn, and counsel for the former owners,was an interested observer. Others whowere closely involved with the transfer ofthe car to the Museum were attorney BobPurvin of the Marinos firm, and ourTreasurer Dave Hobson, both of whom wadedsuccessfully through the legal and fiscalred tape involved with the donation. TheMuseum was represented at the ceremony byPresident Kerr, Chairman Pennick, DirectorStodelle, Eric Sanders, and Ron Milet.

For the time being, the car will remain atits present site across from the Santa Festation at the foot of Broadway, and willbe shown by appointment to any interestedgroup of 10 or more people. For informa-tion and reservations, contact the Museumat 280-1781. If you are an individual andwish to see the car, your name will be 'placed on a list with a group of other in-dividuals, and you will be motified when atour is planned. (Kerr, Stodelle, and

Pennick)

CHAMPAGNE OPEN HOUSE PLANNED FOR VICTORIA

On Sunday, September 15th, museum members,families and friends are cordially invitedto a spcial, informal, preview champagneopen-house at our newest and finestmuseum acquisition to date. The car willbe open from 3 pm to 5 pm for your inspec-tion and pleasure. Light snacks willalso be served and punch will be providedfor the children. Please join us on thismost auspicious occasion and revel in theopulence of a vanished era of rail travel.

FIRST PUBLIC TOUR OF VICTORIA PLANNED

A group of 50 or more wives of visitingdoctors attending the upcoming seminar onacupuncture will tour our private car"Victoria" on Friday, September 20th. RonZeiss and Dick Pennick will host. TheMuseum intends to make every reasonableeffort to allow the public to view thiscar and definite procedures will beadopted soon. Watch for developments inREPORT.

page 2

AROUND THE TURNTABLE, by Dick Pennick

SD & AE; The new roadmaster, effectiveMay l6th, is 29-year old Ken Wammel, acollege graduate and formerly foreman ofa bridge and building gang on the Texasand Louisiana Lines of the S.P. in Texas.He replaced Jesse Greene, now a Federalrailroad inspector with Amtrak, head-quartered in El Paso. 5̂00 track milesare in his territory. I suspect the SD &AE is only a flag stop for Mr. Wammel ona route to bigger and better things. Abelated welcome to San Diego, Ken!More info in the derailment in Mexico,reported in last issue: the accidentoccured near Kilometer 8, about halfwaybetween Agua Caliente and Rodriquez Dam,near the former siding of Arguello. Fivecars derailed, including a boxcarful ofbeer. The engine ended up leaning overprecariously but did not roll completelyover, Mexican cranes from Mexicali wereused in the cleanup, as is customary nowon the track south of the border (SD & AEleases the Mexican track from the Mexicangovernment). The engine was deadheaded toL.A. for repairs. Railroad plans tobegin replacing the rail on Commercial St.between the yeards and 32nd St., hope-fully within a month. 112 Ib. rail will beused, the same as presently being laidbetween La Mesa and Lemon Grove on theLa Mesa branch. Railroad will do the workthemselves. Even the speeders on theMexican portion of the mainline sport theorange-and-white Sonora-Baja CaliforniaR.R. colors. Due to condition oftrack in some places on the La Mesa bi-anch,a 10 mph speed limit is in effect for theentire branch. This limit should increaseas rail renewal and roadbed repairsprogress. A new spur serves San DiegoPipe & Supply in El Cajon. LloydScheuerman, brakeman and No. 2 conductoron the La Mesa branch, is approaching 30years with the SD & AE. Before coming tothe local line, he was drawing his payfrom Santa Fe and MoPac. EngineerG. B. Dyreng, also an ex-Santa Fe man, isa diesel hogger who longs to operate steam.Steam was gone from the local lines by thetime he qualified for engine service. Heplans to become a member of the Museum inthe hope of fulfilling his dream. Dyrengworked with local rail historian PhilMiddlebrook on the Santa Fe prior to thelatter *s retirement fror. many years as an

Page 3: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

AROUND THE TURNTABLE — continued

engineraan. Normal crew for the branchtrain is Engineer Dyreng, Conductor Rogers,brakemen Scheuerman and a gentleman who hasasked to remain anonymous. Scheuerman,incidentally, is checked out as a steamfireman! "Blackie" Blackburn, formerlya familiar sight as boss of the branchtrain until his retirement last year, boughta bicycle with his gift money and hasdecided to join the ranks of those, includ-ing this writer, who have discovered thejoys of two-wheeled, smopless travel.Operating time-table now in effect is No.91, effective May 14, 1972. It replacesNo. 90, the last one to show the Coronadobranch prior to abandonment. A minorderailment occured in Mexico the week ofAugust 4th. SANTA FE: New 4th Districtsuper is Mr. R. L. Banion, a former dis-patcher from back East who worked his wayup through the ranks like so many of theolder generation railroad management person-nel. He replaces H. J. Briscoe, who is nowexercising his talents as General Managerin Topeka. In recent years, Museum staff hhad the privelege of corresponding andmeeting with Mr. Briscoe on several occas-ions regarding various Museum matters. Wecan only hope that his replacement willbe equally cooperative and receptive to ouroccasional inquiries. AMTRAK; Twoold F-7 or F-9 "B" units were purchased 6-8months ago from the Burlington Northern foruse as extra power on the San Diegans whentrain is more than 5 or 6 cars long. Theyare based in L.A. and word is they will beused indefinitely. They offer interestingcontrast to new SDP40F's now pulling trainsfrom foot of Broadway. Amtrak wasrecorded nationwide in March, the fifthincrease in is many months, and 45$ betterthan March, 1973t Biggest gains on long-haul routes were Chicago-New Oreleans, NewYork-Florida, and Chicago-Oakland. AVan Nuys newspaper recently quoted S.P.locomotive engineer Fred Peltzer as sayingthe Amtrak operation was "the most expen-sive bureaucratic boondoggle ever saddledon the backs of the American taxpayers".

RIP-TRACK; if" scale live steamlocomotives operate in Rohr Park, ChulaVista on Sundays. Rohr was success-ful in its recent bid for a license to con-struct the French-developed, 125-mile-per-hour, gas-turbine-powered passenger trains.The agreement gives Rohr, of BART fame, ex-clusive rights to build and market the

page 3

trains in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.The units are designed to operate onexisting track with high comfort and lownoise. Interestingly, the French NationalRailways, donor of our Baldwin-built"Liberation Mikado", have been operatingthe turbine units since 1970. Two ofthe 5-c&i* trains were scheduled to entertrial service in the Midwest this summer.Amtrak will oversee the test runs.Member Jack Stodelle's old Pullman"Centburne" down at the depot, is beingtotally refurbished under the capableguidance of his wife Elaine. Friends Boband Mary Berray are providing much of thelabor. New red shag carpeting, newupholstery, drapes, and paint, and a silverroof are planned. Plan is to eventuallypaint the exterior orange and white tomatch his "Mexicali Rose", now stored atMexicali and planned to be used on thisyear's Puerto Penasco train excursion.The Centburne is in its original state asbuilt by Pullman in the 1920's, except forthe Waukesha air conditioning system,added later, and the current restorationwill preserve the original car, with theaid of old drawings and photos. Caroriginally was leased to the Chicago &Eastern Illinois R.R., later went to theNew York Central for use on the 20thCentury Limited. Pullman then sold it tothe Soo Line (ever wonder where this rail-road got its name? Try saying "Minneapolis,St. Paul & Sault St. Marie Railroad Co.",its former name, a few hundred times andyou will be ready to call it "Soo", too!)as their No. 1257. It was removed fromSoo Line service in March, 1967 after hav-ing been used on "The Winnepeger". Whendelivered to San Diego, Winnepeg hockeytickets still littered the floor. Jacksays the car will be "fantastic" whenfinished. Another Stodelle car (Jack'sa "car freak", by his own admission), theold observation-lounge "Cyrus K. Holliday",has had its Waukesha system overhauled andsports some new shades on the windows.

Page 4: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

page

DIRECTORS ORD5R NOMINATIONS REOPENED

To avoid a possible injustice to ourContributing Members, the Board of Direct-ors at their August meeting reopened thenominations for the 1975 officers. Theproblem lies in some ambiguous wording inour By-Laws i only regular members may voteor hold office, but nothing specific is saidabout who may make nominations. Someone,assuming that only regular members couldnominate, mailed the nomination forms onlyto the regular membership, thereby pre-venting the contributing membership frommaking nominations.

To clarify our election policy, the follow-ing summarizes the By-laws, and our generalpolicy where the By-Laws are not specific t

1. Any member may nominate any member,including himself.

2. Only Regular members may vote or holdoffice, but any Contributing member whowill be 18 years old by January 1 may runfor office provided he is willing to changehis membership to Regular if elected andbefore taking office.

3. Anyone making a nominations should firstcontact the person and make sure he is will-ing to be nominated, and if elected, iswilling to assume the responsibilities thatgo with the office. The present office-holder, or the president, could be contactedabout the responsiblities involved in anyoffice.

The new nominations will be conducted asfollows:

1. A special General Meeting, for thepurpose of closing the nominations only,has been set for Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 pmin the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Bldg.,530 Broadway, San Diego. This willimmediately precede the regular Board ofDirectors Meeting, to which all members arealways invited.

2. New Nomination Forms are being mailedout with this issue of REPORT. You maymake your nominations by mail by sending itin time to be received before the abovemeeting, Oct. 1, or you may nominate inperson at the meeting. If mailed, theforms should be sent to Robert R. DiGiorgio,PSRMA Secretary, 4486 36th St., San Diego,

NOMINATIONS REOPENED « continued

California 92116.

3. The final list of candidates will bepublished in the October REPORT, alongwith all necessary election instructions.The election will be at the Fall GoneralMeeting, tentatively set for Oct. 25th.

4. Absentee ballots will be availableby writing the Secretary at the addresspreviously given. Ballots must be request-ed in time for you to receive them and getthem back to us before the General Meeting.

(Bob DiGiorgio)

TENTATIVE NOMINATIONS RESULTS

Nominations for the 1975 Executive Officerswere received by mail and at the July 26General Meeting. Although the nominationshave been reopened by order of the Directorsthe following names were received and,except as noted, will b remain in nomina-tion:

PRESIDENT: H. C. Kerr, Jr. (incumbent) andHerbert G. Kehr. (Kerr is disqualifiedby the By-Laws, which limit the ExecutiveOfficers to two consecutive terms, unlessthere is no other member willing to run,)

VICE-PRESIDENT: H. G. Kehr (inc.) andGeorge Geyer (Kehr will be disqualifiedif elected president. )

SECRETARY: Robert R. DiGiorgio (inc.) andFrieda Butler (DiGiorgio has declined.)

TREASURER: David C. Hobson

DIRECTOR-AT -LARGE (2-year term): GeorgeGeyer (inc.)| Walter Barber, Jr. » RaoulMorales; Robert R, DiGiorgio. (Geyerwill be disqualified if elected vice-pres-ident. )

REVIEW COMMITTEE (Elect 2, one for a 3-yearfull term and one to fill an unexpiredterm.): Raoul Morales (inc.); Ron Milot.(Review Committee members may also beExecutive Officers, so there is no con-flict in Morales also running forDirector-at-Large. )

Page 5: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

FROM THE CAB by Dick Penniek,Superintendent

In the last issue, the first installment ofMember Allen Copeland's interesting run-down on odd and unusual wheel arrange-ments around the world was presented. Here-with the second but hopefully not the lastcontribution by Al:

2-6-(2)-0 This was a mogul type usedin Turkey which proved to betoo heavy on the track onsome branch lines, so anidler axle was added betweenthe last two pair of drivers.There were a number of themso converted, but all havenow been restored (it isbelieved) to the 2-6-0 con-figuration. There was alittle article on them someyears ago in TRAINS.

2-6-0+0-6-4 This Kitson-Meyer tankengine actually was a tenderengine with the rear unitmounted under the rear ofthe cab and the tender.

2-2-0+0-2-2 Four of these were built,double ended tank enginesfor the South Carolina Ry.in 1932.

2-6-4-0 Several of these were builtfor Tasmania in Germany in1902, also Portugal andGermany.

0-6-4-0 The Austrian State had someof these. They were articu-lated, but did not haveseparate cylinders.

2-6-8-0 Great Northern, Alabama GreatSouthern and Southern hadthese.

2-4-6-0 Portugal has some of these,all tankers.

There were a number of "twin locomatoves",that is they were couplftd together, cab tocab, and ran as a single locomotive. Somein India even had a tender between them.The McCloud double engine is a good exampleof this.

page 5

0-4f2-2-2 Both of these were built for-> o o.o o o the Great Western of England.

The dot indicates the driver(sXThese were tender engines and

needless to say they were not successful.The rear unit carried the boiler.

Just about anything you can think of seemsto have been built at one time or another!

HILOT JOINS STAFF

Ronald Milot, Museum member and student atSDSU, has been appointed to the post ofAssistant Superintendent by Supt. DickPennick. Dick has urgently needed anadministrative assistant for some time andRon has demonstrated through his service tothe Museum that he has both the skill andthe desire to help out. Ron will be makingsome phone calls from time to time to vari-ous PSRMA members for help on the manyMuseum projects that await our attention.

WESTY'S LENDS A HAND

Through the courtesy of Mr. Harold Morgan,manager of Westy's El Cajon store, and theefforts of your Superintendent, 150' ofnew garden hose were donated to the Museumfor initial use to water the plants at theMiramar storage site, and later for otherMuseum use whenever required. PSRMAextends a warm "Thank you" to Mr. Morganand Westy's for their generosity.

SD & AE DATA SHEETS AVAILABLE

The Museum recently obtained a couple ofinformation sheets on SD & AE and S.P.diesel engine weights and tonnage ratings.Should you desire a Xerox copy of eitherthe tonnage ratings of SD & AE engines orthe S.P. engine numbers and weights, orboth, send a self-addressed, stamped envel-ope to your Superintendet at 9584 UplandStreet, Spring Valley, CA 920??, specify-ing which you would like. Please, membersonly, and limit one per person.

Page 6: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

page

FROM THE CAB -- continued

WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

In an effort to keep track of all the littlemiscellaneous items the Museum owns, butwhich in some cases are being held for safe-keeping by various members, I ask that eachof you drop me a note listing what you haveso that it can be included in the inventory.Over the years, members come and go, andunless a concerted effort is made to keeptrack of these items, they may be inadvert-ently lost. Some members have writtenrecords, correspondence, photographs, hard-ware items, etc., etc. For example, I amholding an old telegraph key and a ticketpunch donated by members or retired rail-roaders. Let me know. A post card will dofine. If you have items that should bepased on to one of the Museum staff, arrange-ments will be made to pick them up if needbe. Staff thanks you.

MEMBERSHIP NEWS, by Herb Ruiz, Director ofPersonnel and Records (463-3269)

If you have adress or telephone changes,please let me know as soon as possible,We would like to keep the mailing listcurrent so that we can prevent duplicatemailings. We'd like to take this opportun-ity to welcome the new members joining ourranks.

New Regular MemberJohn R. Campbell (2,3,6,8,11)4965 71st St., 3D CA 92115 461-8364

6,6A, 14,15,and 17)

New Contributing MembersWilliam P. Schneider1855 Diamond St (50313)SD CA 92109 274-0223

Jerry Windle 465-8465 Dallas St, La Mesa CA 92041 6476

Deceased MembersMrs. Hattie Bell KerrMr. Edward M. Little

DEL MAR TICKETS WINMER CHOSEN

PSRMA'S Del Mar Fair booth featured a sign-up sheet for a drawing for two tickets onNovember's Puerto Penasco Excursion. The

DEL MAR TICKETS — continued

drawing was held at the July 26th GeneralMeeting. The winner is Mrs. Wallace G.Helms, 3786 Bakewell St., San Diego, CA92117. Congratulations! (DiGiorgio)

T-TRNING THEM AWAY AT MIRAMAR

"We could send you many more tour groups,but..." That's the word from the MiramarPublic Affairs office, who arranges thetours through our equipment there,"...but we're afraid you'll be overburd-ened." And they're right. So far, only4 or 5 members have made themselvesavailable regularly to staff the schoolgroups. 2 or 3 others have made themselvesavailable during pinches, but can't do itregularly. There are presently 8 tours inAugust, being staffed by Ron Zeiss, RonMilot, Raoul Morales, Cass Witowski, AlVartanian, Herb Kehr and Linda DiGiorgio,who coordinates the tour staffing. 2 or3 staffers are needed for each tour, soit's a strain on the few regulars. Thetwo most active staffers in August will bereturning to school, and no longer avail-able. Several "emergency" staffers wereon vacation when Linda called, so herstaff will be sharply reduced when schoolreopens and the greatest opportunitieswill be coming up.

What about you? Can you be available,regularly or occasionally, during schoolhours? No experience necessary, beginnersare provided with special instructionsand information literature, and are alwaysteamed up with more experienced staffers.We need you — won't you call Linda at280-1781? (DiGiorgio)

BEEN TO THE LIBRARY RECENTLY?by Ron Zeiss

The Main branch of the San Diego PublicLibrary located downtown at 820 "E" St.has hundreds of fine books and many recordson railroading.

Most of these books are located on the 3rdfloor in the Social Science Room. Lookunder 385.1 and 388. These books range fromthe early Beebe books riptlt up to the latestbooks that you see advertised in railroadmagazines.

Page 7: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

page 7

BEEN TO THE LIBRARY?— continued

Many fine railroad records are located onthe second floor in the Art and Music Room.These are mainly mono and stereo record-ings of steam locomotives at work. Lookin the Browing Bins under "Y Sound Effects."

The Science & Industry Section on the firstfloor also has a selection of railroadbooks pertaining to technical aspects ofrailroading such as locomotives. Lookunder 625.26 for these.

Whether your interest is steam, diesel,electric, or railroading in general, thelibrary will have books for you to fillout your leisure time. (Zeiss)

AN OPEN ASSOCIATION -- An Editorial byBob DiGiorgio

Nominations time again points out one ofthe more unusual sides of PSRMA - the factthat we're a completely open organization.The who operation is open to the inspec-tion and participation of any member. Andmembership is open to anyone, withoutexceptions.

It's not like that in many organizations.We could easily name, but won't, thosewhere the business decisions are madebehind closed doors. Our main businessdecisions are made at the Directors'monthly meetings, which are always opento the membership - more than that, towhich the membership is encouraged toattend. The time and place are frequentlypublished, including in this issue. Mostother meetings are equally open.

Participation is equally open. Holdingoffice is not restricted to a closed clique,or to those of special qualifications. Theonly restrictions are that you are over 18years old and willing to go to it. Even theyounger set is not excluded from partici-pation. There are plenty of non-office jobsfor anyone who wants to pitch in.

Membership in PSRMA is more than just ayear's admission to something and a housenewspaper - it's an opportunity. To reallyhelp build something good and somethingimportant for San Diego. To get involvedin railroading in a way that you're not

OPEN ASSOCIATION - Editorial — continued

likely to find elsewhere. To meet peopleand make friends with a like interest inrailroading.

This issue of REPORT outlines many of thebiggest opportunities to participate inPSRMA. There are many others, ask anyofficer. PSRMA is an opportunity. Whatare you going to do with it?

GROSSMONT CENTER BOOTH — Sept. 28th

The Museum's monthly opportunity to havea booth in Grossmont Center is coming upSeptember 28th. The Museum needs a personto be there on that day, to describe someof the activities and opportunities whichthe Musuem offers. There are PSRMA flyersand membership application forms to handto interested shoppers and friends. Wehope that one can work the booth for PSRMAon that day. Please call Herb Kehr at273-107̂ or George Geyer at 234-0555 tooffer your services. It will be enthusi-astically appreciated!

WELL???

What Museum member fell asleep while sun-bathing on Black's Beach, and for a whilewalked funny? (Bob DiGiorgio)

EditorsDesk

The October REPORT will be late as we aregoing to publish the nominations for officethat are accepted at the 1 October meeting.

Page 8: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

page 8

THE

Sept. 15 — Champagne open-house at privatecar "Victoria," 3 pm - 5 pro.

Sept. 20 — Doctor's wives tour at "Victoria."Pennick & Zeiss, hosts

Sept. 28 — PSRMA booth, Grossmont Center,10 am - b pm. We need avolunteer to man the booth.

Oct. 1 — Special General Meeting forclosing nominations, 7»30 cm,San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Bldg.,530 Broadway, San Diego; immediatelyproceeding the regular Board of DirectorsMeeting — all members invited.

Oct. 25 (tentative) — Fall General Meeting.

September REPORT; VICTORIA, and PSRMA ~ a breathless report

Nominations reopened for all

Volunteers needed — Grossmont andMiramar tours

Mew staffer welcomed!

Note the calendar items above

PSRMA REPORTP.O. Box 12096San Diego, CA 92112

Non-Profit OrgU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSan Diego,CAPermit No. 37̂

Return Postage GuaranteedAddress Correction Requested

Page 9: Issue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, Californiasdrm.info/history/reports/report105/report-105.pdfIssue 105 Sept. 1974 San Diego, California VICTORIA! At about 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 20th,

2nd Ballot

975 OFFICERS

Nominations are due on or before the General Meeting on 1 October 1974.All officers must be regular members before assuming office.

President (1 year term):(Incumbent: H. C. Kerr, Jr.)

Vice-President and General Manager (1 year term):(Incumbent: H. G. Kehr)

Secretary (1 year term):(Incumbent: R. R. DiGiorgio)

Treasurer (1 year term):(Incumbent: D. C. Hobson)

Board Members:

(3 year retroactive to January 1974)

(3 year starting January 1975)

i

After checking to be sure your nominee(s)are willing to serve in the office, pleasemail this nomination to:

Robert R. DiGiorgio

Secretary, PSRMA

4486 36th Street

San Diego, California 92116

PleaseCheck

My Membership is:

Regular |̂J

Contributing [_J

Other d