The 5emaphare• "., "oj:

Newsletter of the Rochester NY Chapter, NRHSP.O. Box 664, Rochester, NY 14603; Published Monthly

June 1999Volume 41, No. 10

1

Sam Grover is 9711Happy Birthday to the Chapter's most seniormember, and past President, Samuel Grover,

who turned 97 years old on May 21st.The picture shows Sam officiating at the

handolf of former Rochester City & BrightonRR horse car from its former resting place atEdgerton Park, and now on its way to thefIrst rail museum in New York State - RailCity at Sandy Pond, north of Syracuse, onNYS Route 3.

The picture was taken April 25, 1956;when Sam ViasPresident of Rochester Chap-ter. 1956 was a very busy year for Sam. ••••tatwith shipping Rochester Subway Car #60 to

awl City, after its donation to the Chapter by~ochester Transit Corp.

Our very best ••••'shes to Sam and hislovely \\-ife. Anna. who have been acti,,"emembers and Chapter supporters for so manyyears.

Sam's Adventures on theRochester Lockport andBuffalo

Sam Grover became paymaster on theRL&B interurban line at age 21 -<juite anaccomplishment and quite a responsibility.

There is a very high prohability that Samrode RL&B Car #206, that we are nowpreparing for retwn to Rochester to ourRGVRM, while assistant to the cashier andlater as paymaster.

So not only do ••••e have a former RL&Bstation, and a former RL&B interurban, butwe also have a fonner RL&B employee ",110is still an active member in the Chapter!

The following RL&B story is from Sam'srecollections as \\ritten do\\n back in the1970's. .

Meeting al Depol.June 17'

It's Summertime at thecDepot!

Starting June 17 and for the months ofJuly and August, Our membership meet-ings will be held a the RGVRM Depoton Roule 251 at Industry. The meetingitself, is promised to be very short; theprogram is reviewing, exploring andabove all - RIDING - various transpor-tation pieces in the Chapter's collection.It may be track cars, diesel locomotives,cabooses, coaches - and maybe even atrolley. Who knows?

Our motive power gang and associatesMil be working hard so thst the rest ofus can savor some "railroading".

The time? Just about an)1ime after 6PM and until the last person leavinglocks the doors!

Program CommitteeJack Matsik (Chairman) 442-6269Bill Limburg 586-9470Dan Cosgrove 352-6931Dave Luea (Board liaison) 288-0318

The Committee welcomes suggestionsand ideas for future programs. Contact anyof the Corrunittee members.

Reminiscences ofRL&B RR: 1922

by Samuel Grover"Romance of the Rails" begins with

'\,heels" behind the wheels, without whichthere could be no motion of wheels on therails.

Beginnjno of day' Conductors trip reportsincluding cash, tickets, and transfers werechecked against the Ohmer register tape.Each conductor had his key "mch identifiedhim on the tape. First a line was dra,"n ateach key change and cash and ticketscompared ....;thfigures sho••••n.

Commutation tickets checked in a longvertical hinged record - a card in each Oaprepresented one book. If more than oneticket was checked off on the same trip, theconductor was charged for the extra fare.

(Continued Oil Page 6)

Page 2 June 1999 The Semaphore

Near left: Dick Bean receives theLunkenheimer Trophy from JeremyTuke, presenter.

J:gonard c. rJ(oeLeonard passed on from our pres-

ence on May 29. He was 82 years ofage. Leonard was a Veteran of.y.'WII,and was a Chapter member for aboutthe years.Leonard was one half of the "Roe

Brothers" team at the Museum; theother half was Ra}1Dond. Together,they refurbished and updated TrackCar #3 to the extent it was referred toas the "RoeMobile".

We extend our condolences to hiswife, Olga, brother, Ra}1Dond,and hisother relatives and friends.

Membership InformationDues lor the calendar year are:

Regular $30; Student/Retiree: $25;Family; $40 Other membership levels areavailable. Indudes membership in the Na-tional Railway Historical Society.

II a member 01 NRHS and wish to jointhe Rochester Chapter, deduct $15 fromtheabove categories.

Make check payable to RochesterChapter NRHS and send to: RochesterChapter NRHS, P.O. Box 1161, Webster,NY 14500.

Membership ReportChris Hauf, our Membership Chairman.

is looking for his replacement Chris hasupdated the membership records on MSExcel. so the person assuming this positionshould haye a PC and Windows.During his tenure, Chris has enrolled

many new members and spread "the word"about our Chapter at various area ftmctions.Howeyer, his duties as President, withcommittee meetings and to \\'Orkon variousprojects, leaves little time to adequately

support this function. Call Chris at:381.8583.

Tioga Central Trip: July 31- Have you read the review ontheTioga Central RR in the Mayissue? Like to take the trip? Youcan as the Trip Corrumttee is arrang-ing such a trip for Saturday, July 31

See and act on the eilclosed flyer!

For left: Chris Hauf presents •Fairmont Award to Bernie Cubitt.

Banquet SynopsisMike Del Vee<:hio, former Associate

Editor of Rnilfan and Rnilrood Magazine,was our Banquet speaker. His topic was aslide presentation of the Lackawanna Rail-road.

Scventy.nine members and guests at-tended the festivities at Zamiara' PartyHouse. Again, the food was excellent andplentiful.The collectible coffee mug this year

depicted Rochester Subway Car #60. Ourthanks to Jim Dierks for another of hisexcellent drawings w1tich are used in thisseries. lhis mug. plus others in the series,can be purchased at the NYMTs Gill Shop.Bernie Cubitt received the Fainnont

Award in recognition of past and currentrehabilitation projects. such as windoYlo'S andother work on the Stillwell coach, fmding,procuring and painting the RL&B waitingstation; fmding and preparing the RL&B#206 car, among his efforts. lbe FairmontAward is a mounted carburetor from aFainnont speeder, and is awarded annually.Dick Bean ""as the recipient of the

Lunkenheimer Trophy, a mounted steamwhistle. Originally, this award was to beawarded each quarter by CUITCTltholder. It~illnow be awarded by a conunittee.Chris Hauf outlined the accomplishments

of the Chapter oyer the past year by way ofslides. Very impressive for whh;h our mem.bers can be preud of.

Election ResultsThe new Trustees are D.le Hartnell and

John Stewart, wno will serve a three-yeartenDs. They replace John Redden and RandWarner, both of wnom wished to enjoy awell earned vacation from the Board for afew years, at least

Depot Guides for JuneSunday. June 6:Dale Hartnelt, 243-0139Rick Israelson, 392-2667

Sunday. June 13:George Bauerschrnidt, 872-5053Don Shilling, 381-3171

Sunday, June 20:Lynn Heintz, 768.Q984AI O'Brien, 872-1049

Sunday, June 27:Jack Trip, 381-7757Carlos Mercado, 241-3493

Depot Guides for JulySunday. July 4:Don Shilling, 381-3171

lfanAcl ofGodforc •• you 10 changeyour guide appointment, please tradewith one of the guys listed above.

Mike Del Vecchio speaks with diners atooe table before the start of his plogram onthe Lackawanna Railroad.

The Semaphore

Rand Warner, Manager, 425-8587

GeneralThanks to all our many leaders and

volunteers who got us open again for the1999 season, on time and in good shape.

As always it takes extra time and extradedication but you always come Uuough tomake it happen right!

OutreachRand Warner presented a program to the

Fairport Congregational Church Men's Clubon April 21.

Dale Hartnett's Young Explorer Group isAhelping on restoration of BR&P caboose and"will assist in rehab ofRG&E loco #1941.

Bob Vanvalkenburg, Dave Baer, andHyram Collet are working with us onWednesday afternoons. They come fromPittsford Connnunity Church. To date theyare assisting restoration of Subway Car #60,Burro Crane, and Railway Express Truck.

Cliff Rogers, from Asbury MethodistChurch, will be working with us in thefuture.

VisionFacUita!or - Rantl Wamer

Progress: We are continuing our home-work on land arrangements, boundaries,funding, and other aspects of the Northwest,Southeast, and Southwest quadrants programfor our VISION. The Northeast quadrant isin place.

Plans: Effective immediately, the fol-lowing Quadrant Managers are appointed.

Northeast QuadrtuJJ:Dave LutaNorthwest Quadrant: Joe StanlonSoutheast Quadrant: John ReddenThese Quadrant Managers will be reoesponsible for all activities and development

in their respective quadrant areas. They willmake use of our currently existing organiza-tional structure of 12 functional areas.

Further announcements will follow asappropriate.

June 1999

SafetyJohn Redden, Coordinator

Progress: Don Shilling is training histour guides to be sensitive to unsafe condi-tions.

Jeremy Tuke bas provided safety hitchpins for track cars and maintenance-<>f-wayequipment and provided safety traiuing foroperators.

John Redden bas provided a safety coursein train operations and air brakes.

Steve Huse bas equipped our cabooses,locos, and buildings with fresh fue extin.guishers.

Dave Hulings is offering a safety first aidcourse and about a dozen of our people aresigned up.

Milee Byrne, Bob Miner, Charles Harsh-barger and Rand Warner have provided fIrstaid kits for our various locations.

Defective steps have been removed fromthe northwest comer of the MU car.

Plans: Update our excursion train setwith fire extinguishers and fIrst aid kits.

Present first aid traiuing class by DaveHulings.

Inspect all couplinga on cars and .11stepson cars.

Support "Operation Lifesaver" activitieson OMID RR for school children's safetyprogram.

Buildings and Groundssup!: Dave l.uca

Progress: Grounds around the Depotare all cleaned up from winter's aftermath.

Grass is mowed and sidewalk and road-way areas are trimmed.

Flowers are beautiful and shrubbery iscoming.

We are looking into the acquisition of anRochester & Eastern interurban waitingroom station.

Rochester, Lockport & Buffalo waitingroom slation is fully functional.

Thanks to Dave Luca, Bernie Cubitt, JanDituner, Dee Mowers, Rand Warner, BillChapin, Jeff Carpenter, and others.

Plans: Grade and stone parlcing lot onwest side of LA&L RR opposite Depot.

Put in bard path, for walkers and wheel .chairs, aroWld outside stairs on east side ofDepot.

Continue improvement of loading andboarding facilities - for display cars, trackcar rides, and train rides.

Resume restoration of NYC RR crossingflagman's shanty.

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Track CarsSupts: Jeremy Tuke £', Dan Waterstraa!All track motor cars and all trailer cars

are in service for hauling passengers and forM.O.W. support.

Our prime set of cars for passengers arerepainted for the season opeuing.

Wheels and brakes have been checlcedand adjusted

Hitches have been inspected, along withdrawbars.

Thanks to Norm Shaddick, Bob Miner,Jeremy Tuke, Dan Waterstraat and others.

Train OperationsSupt. John Redden

Progress: All motive power and rollingstock bas been moved into planned 1999season display locations. Thanks to traincrew of Redden, Miner, Shaddick, Luca. andothers.

Plans: Plan program of special ridefeatures for June, July and August member.ship meetings at the Museum.

Motive PowerSup!: John Redden

Spring is here and it's time to slart upour locos hibematiug from winter.

Jim Johnson, Charles Harshharger, andDick Holbert are changing out batteries onLV 211, with help from Mob Mader andDan Waterstraat.

Coolant is to be reinslalled in NKP #79by John Redden, using coolant stored overthe winter in \auks.

EKC #9, LV #211, and NKP #79 willrequire prelube before startup.

EKC #6 and Anny #1843 are in serviceas needed.

Tubes are being removed from Vulcan#12, using new tooling, by John Redden,Ron Amberger and Kevin Klees. A!J.hpanandgrates have been 'dropped by Ron Ambergerand Rand Warner.

Quotes have been received for movingthe Heisler fireless 04{)T from Gunlock Co.at Wayland. It bas been prepped for themove by last month's work party and may beon our property by the time you read this.

Information on several other types ofmotive power are being investigated as theyare reported in or discovered.

Fonnal rehab of the RG&E loco isstarted. Tasks have been identified andfanned out to responsible individnals. Thisproject will probably take the RG&E locoout of service for the rest of this year.

(Continued on Page 4)

Page 4 June 1999 The Semaphore

•Heisler Fireless Arrives!The Heisler fireless 0-4-0 locomotive

arrived on June 3 at the Depot yard. "We'regetting good at bauling heavy items" was thegeneral consensus.

Track & Right-of-waykUng Sup!: Rand Warner.

Progress: Lowering of the loading trackat NYMf bas been completed.

Ties and timbers at NYMf and alongright-<>ff-waybave been picked up usingtrack cars and high rail crane.

Rehab work at Switch #6 bas beenstarted to poll out timbers.

Switch throw clearances at Switch #4 atDepot bave been relieved.

Ties are being replaced and repaired inpassenger loading track at NYMf.

Thanks to Don Shilling, Jeremy Tuke,Bob Miner, Norm Sbaddick, John Redden,Mark Pappalardo, Dave Luca. Rand Warner,Chuck Whalen, Rick Israelson, Dale Hart-nett, Bob Mader and others.

Plans: Complete tie rehab and ballast-ing at NYMf loading track.

Complete steel piling job on embank.ment at Switch #5.

Rebablreplace switch timbers and bal-lasting at NYMf switch for looding track.

Complete rehab of Switch #6 at top ofhilL

Develop plans for additional trackage a.Restoration Facility.

Relocate former Switch #7 and Siding #7which is now out of service.

Dismantle and pick-up donated lIackfrom several local area sidings.

Maintenance-of-waySupts: Dick Bean & Bob Mader

Dick Bean and Hy Collett have all thesheet metal and body parts painted for theBurro crane. Art Mummery needs a flywheelfor the Detroit diesel 4-53 to be retrofItted.Then we"ll have a very good crane on rail.

Bob Miner bas picked up our tie extrac-tor with the high rail boom truck. The tieextractor will go to the Restoration Facilityfor mechanical and hydraulic rebab by JohnRedden, Norm Sbaddick and others.

Bob Miner bas done ignition work on thehi-rail boom truck to make it run moresmoothly.

We plan to rebab the parking brakesystem on the Fairmont track crane.

Norm Sbaddick bas made up a scheduleof reconunended maintenance and service forour track car fleetThe north end vestibule of the MU power

car bas been partially closed in by JohnRedden and Rand Warner. Steps at north-west comer have been removed for replica~lion.

Dave Luca bas been on an inspection tripto New England to look at possible passen-ger car acquisitions.

Passenger EquipmentSup!: Bob Miner

Gale Smith bas the Pine Fait.. all"ship-shape" for the visitor season. The newArt Deco table lamps look great Chris Haufbas repsinted the ronning gear black.

Chuck Whalen is working on the oeilingrehab for the Erie Stillwell coach. BernieCobitt is installing the last batch of galva-nized window sills fabricated by DaveBelmke.

Chris llauf is fInishing up a new time-tables display for the DL&W baggage car forour visitor season.

Visitor OperationsSupt. Don ShUling

RGVRM looding area bas been extendedand gravelled.

Boarding steps for display cars arere-painted and in place.

New RR cartoon display is in place at theDepot south waiting room.

Timetable display is being finished forDL&W baggage car.

A schedule of Depot hosts and tourguides bas been prepaned by Don Shilling.

Jim Dierks, NYMf handles all tourbookings.

Thanks to Chris Hauf, Don Shilling, JimDierks, Rand Warner, Stott Gleason, DanWaterstraat, Gale Smith, and others.

ElectrificationFacUiliJJ.or:Rand Warner

Progress: Guy wire anchors are beingassembled by Stott Gleason and Neil Bel-leager.

Span wire assemblies are in work by BobMiner and Charlie Lowe.

Rail bonds and bonding equipment areready for Neil Belleager.

Former P&W Trolley #161 is getting roofattention at NYMf from Jim Dierks andRick Holahan.

Charles Robinson and Bill Heron bavebad recent motorman training at Seashoreand Pennsylvania Trolley Museums, and areworldng on a home town course for RGVRMand NYMf volunteers.

Bob Miner and Rand Warner will beattending Spring Startup lIaining at WesternRailway Museum. Rio VISta,California withDave Johnston,' in June.

RL&B interurban #206 is being readiedfor relocation by Monday work parties underdirection of Bernie Cobitt, assisted by RandWarner, Dee Mowers, Chuck Whalen, BillChapin, Dan Cosgrove, Jerry Leidertheil and

Electrical DepUCSP&L Lyell Caleb, former owner of the car.Supt. NeU BeUenger George Knab bas been out to look at the

~A;chor pia~~being fabricated fortlie ..- movrng arrangemelitl~ . ~. - - --down guys for the wOod poles on the trolley Plans: Install guy wires and anchors.line by Neil Bellenger and Stott Gleason. Install span wires and ears.

Metal arc lights are being hung in the .' . .R

. FaciI' by N il B 11 . Install bond WIreSat rail Jomts.estoratlon tty e e eager, usmgour new bucket truck. Start stringing contact wire and pull offs

Wiring for the utility trailer is being for curves.installed by Jim Johnson and Charlie Harsh- Relocate RL&B #206 to RGVRMbarger. Acquire shop trucks for Trolley #206.

Electrical review Dotes have been printedup by Rand Warner for distribution - as anaid to our NYMf and RGVRM buildingdiscussions and plans.

Sup!: Jim JohnsonJohn Weber bas completed a large roll

drawing for the interior of the RestorationFacility. Prints from this drawing will bemarked up to reflect everyone's input to theBuilding Committee for considerations andrequirements on the building interior.

Rand Warner bas marked up a print ofthe grounds outside the building to reflecteveryone's inputs on track, drainages, utili-ties, roadways, walkways, etc.

A series of Tuesday night discussionswill focus on the above two drawings, andothers as needed, to capture all informationand decisions.

Drawings, maps and books are being,catalogued in our Engineering file system byJim Johnson.

Engineering

Norm Sbaddick, John Redden and othersbave retwned one of our blue Army Track-Mobiles back to service, after attention tobrakes, rear seals. etc.

Motive Power (ConhnuedfromPoge 3)

The Semaphore

Freight Equipment• Supt: Chris Hauf

Progress: PRR N5c Caboose: Steel floorremoved by Chris Hauf and crew.

BR&P Caboose: Cupola roof removedand west side sheathing removed by DaveLuca and crew.

NYC Caboose: End sills and comerposts scraped and prepped for painting byDale Hartnett and crew.

MDT Steel Reefer: Arrangements formove made by Chris Hauf Site supportprovided by Dave Luca Car is scheduled toarrive at RGVRM in early May.

Plans: Refloor the Pennsy N5c caboose.Resheath BR&P caboose.Repaint the NYC caboose.Complete exterior paint on p.c tnmsfer

caboose. .Star! interior rehab on B&O bay window

caboose.Acquire roller bearing flat car.Relocate MDT steel reefer to RGVRM.

Construction and Equipment.by Joe Scanlon

• Winter weather in upstate New Yorktook on a different look this past winter,because with our new Restoration Facilityoccupied, equipment repairs just kept righton going ... and going!

Dick Bean and company have the Burrocrane right down to the house floor and it'sstarting to go back together again. A replace-ment Detroit Diesel engine sits at the readya\\aiting a flywheel conversion and in notime the crane will be repowered.

Bob Mader, Bob Miner and others havethe water pump replaced in the International-Harvester 190 tow truck, ",mch has been putback into service.

George Knab, Art Mummery, Seott Glea.son, Dan WatersITaat, Charles Harshbarger,Jim Johnson and others have spent manyhours building a portable 175 KW power-house in a former 24-foot truck body.

Our recently acquired CAT DW-15scaper awaits full inspection so that we canstar! moving dirt with it this summer.

Our ex-Army CAT D7 bulldozer waitspatiently while we search literally worldwide . for a replacement engine via the

•internet

Joe Scanlon's Huber-Warco road graderhas had major surgery in the form of a clutchreplacement thanks to Art Mummery and isready for action.

, .June 1999

Our recently acquired five-ton Armycargo truck is being tnmsformed into adearly needed ten-",neel dump truck thanksto some very creative work by George Knaband company.

Bob Mader has installed a new clutch inthe Balmar tractor backhoe and has alreadyhad it out pioneering a new road East ofTrack 5.

Our Manitou Construction Mack DM 600is getting a new brake valve and a flat bedbody and should be operational shortly.

Plans are being made to locate a Wt bedbody for our Ford Louisville cab and chassis.And as usnal, some interesting acquisitionsare being pursued ",mch will no doubt makefor headline news in the futures - stay tuned.

Caterpillar DW-15 Earth-mover

by Joe ScanlonWe have long been looking for an

antique pan scraper for our earthruovingfleet, because we still have a lot of dirt tomove up on the hill North of the RestorationFacility and a pan'scraper earthruover wouldhelp get the job done quickly.

We have looked at this CAT DW.15scraper in the pasl at Vitale BrothersConstruction Company in Piffilrd, NY. (Vi.tale Brothers were kind enough to donate theBurro crane to us a couple of years ago) -but they wanted to sell the scraper for aprice that put it out of our reach. Butpersistence once again paid off, and they hada cbange of heart and decided to sell it to theChapter at a price we could afford - eventhough they bad another offer pending attwice our bid!

The DW-15 is a fairly rare model, havingbeen built only from 1952 to 1959. Ours is a1958 model, being one of 845 built. Origi-nally the DW.15 had a ISO horsepower

Page 5

engine, v.tich was increased in 1956 to 200horsepower. It will carry up to 18 cubicyards of earth. This particular scraper modelhas a four wheel tractor, v.tich wasn't aspopular as the two wheel tractor models. Thetwo wheelers are more agile, being able totum around on a much shorter turningradius, but the four wheelers are better forlonger hauls, being able to get up to speedsof 26 mph fully loaded.

Our scraper hasn't been used in anumber of years, so we'll have to go throughit from front bumper to push block before weput it to work. But sooner or later you'll hearthe roar of its diesel engine and see a plumeof smoke up on the hill - and a lot of dirtbeing moved!

Thanks to ...Mendon Enterprises for loan of flatbed

trailer.George Knab Leasing for use of over

the road traclor.Vitale Brothen Construction for dona-

tion of track tools, large winch, 36" calipers,starters. generators, carburetors. water pump.rigging materials, logging tools, draglinebucket, magneto. crane claw.

Charles Harshbarger for more cabinetsand side.by-side refrigerator. He could usesome more danan"ons tawards the frig!

Rand Warner for hand tools.Bernie Cubilt and Jeremy Tuke for info

on track materials.George Knab for locating supply of

sheet piling.Da>'e Conrad for offer to talk us through

the Vulcan #12 stearn loco rehab.Bill Chapin for donation of 2500 walt

gas p:>wered generator and to Dick Bean forfixing and delivering it for use.

(Continued on Page 6)

•

Page 6

Thanks... (Cont'dfrom page 5)

Dave Behnke for many years of faitbfulsheet metal filbrication for our many restora-tion projects.

Norm Shaddlck for Babcock & Wilcoxsteam practice handbook.

John Redden for track engineering text.Lyell Caleb for more info, contacts, and

parts for RL&B interurban #206.Jim Dierks for excellent artwork, again, .

for mugs for our Annual Banquet, featuringRochester Subway Car #60.

George Knab, Rand Warner and oth-en for rigging materials.

WantedFor restoration ofWnnden cars"

Table saw, band saw, planer. joiner.

For restoration of steel cars"Plasma cutter, MIG welder, sheet metal

shear, sheet metal brake.

For HI.&8 interurban trolley #206'

Trucks, poles, retrievers; seats, baggageracks, marker>, couplers

For trackwprk

Ties, switch timbers, 80# Dudley rail andswitches.

For Burro ModeJ 30 Crane"FlyM>ee1 for 4-53 Detroit diesel, and

Manuals for crane

For lnndyane work etc'

Skid steer loader - Bobcat or equivalent

AW.Pallet truckPallet pullerBril121-E truck for single truck trolley.Brill MCB trucks set for double truck

interurban.Low profile track jacks

• Steam locomotive tools• Schematics for Rochester Subway Car#60

Editor'J note: The 'Thank.! to" andIf Wanted" colUJn1U were mistakenly left out ofthe May issue; they are combined with theJune items this month.

June 1999

TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONALRAILROAD PASSENGER

COACHES.No Experience Necessary.On Job Training.Working Toward a Team EnvironmentThe Chaptet'. E••New York Coaches

Need A Technical Support Penon OrPenon. To Learn What Makes TheCoaches Function.

We have books and drawings to cover thecoaches structural, mechanical and electricalcomponents.

11u: coaches were buih by !he Budd Co. in1941. They were buih entirely of stainless steel spotwelded together, except for the in1erior walls &ceiling. The air conditioning systems wen:: built byFrigidaire in 1941. The electrical systems were buittby Safety Car Heating & Lighting in 1941. 11u:electrical system uses DC gcncr&ton to generate 67volts to charge. the batteries and ron the AC &tigbt& They "'" cari>oo pile n:gulaton to n:gubu:the generator output and regulate the vohagc to keepthe DC lights from receiving too high a voltage.

.Here is your chance to study these veryhistoric pieces of equipment

If we do not find a penon 10 lake on thisresponsibility we may Dot be able to run

the Fall Foliage Train Rides.Contact Dave Luca (28W318) or Bob

Miner (671-3589) for information.

GIFT SHOP PERSONNEL ANDTICKET AGENTS

The Rochester & Genesee Valley Rail-road Museum and The New Yark MuseuroOf Transportation need persons for Market-ing.

Each Sunday requires at least TwoPeople.

One will sell tickets for admission to theMuseums and the Popular Track Car Ridesbetween the Museums.

The other will be in cbarge of The GiftShop and sell Memorabilia to our Visitors.

The profits from this activity are split byboth Museums and is a big source ofrevenue.• On job training• Internet with visitorsPlease contact Marie Miner (671.3589)

10 Sign Up.

The Semaphore

A Taxing Problem? L• ..AThe Lancaster Chapter, NRHS •••••

alerted their members that Congress mayconsider that all not.for-profit organizationsshould pay income taxes on interest earnedon savings accounts, CD's, etc. This appar-ently is under committee consideration.[Lancaster Dispatcher, June 1999].U&MV Chapter may get NYC 0-6-0

The Utica & Mohawk Valley Chapter israising funds to aequire NYC 0-6-0 switcher#6721 from Carillon Historical Parle inDayton, OH. [Tower Topics, June 1999J

Central NY Chapter was also interestedin this loco, but abandoned effort from lackon interest in the locale. [The Green Block,May 1999]P&W 160 series converted to gas car

A companion to NYMTs #161 & #168bas been converted to a gas-mecbanical carto resemble an Edwards car. This car runson Ml Dora, Tavares & Eustis Rai1road inMl Dora, Fla. It carne from Keokuk, Iowaand was rebuilt by an Iowa rebuilder.[National l/Dilway Bulletin, Vol. 64, No.2.pg 42J

Development Committeeneeds helpThis Committee in our Chapter is looking

for one or more persons with computers tohelp in contaCting imd writing proposals forgrants. Contact Chris Hauf, 381-8583, orJeremy Tuke, 359-8944.

Reminiscences of RL&B(Continued from Page 1)

After station receipt bags were emptiedby cashier, my responsibility was to returnthem to the car in proper sequence, asmotorman tossed each bag off from the top.Another ,,,.s keeping stock records, per-petual inventory, placing orders with Pur-chasing Agent and checking invoices. At endof month, a detailed report was sent toInterstate Commerce Commission with abreakdown of every item used on each car-from cotter pins, brass sleet cutters andtrolley wheels to brake shoes, and replacedmotors.

When cashier went to the bank formonthly pay on the road, she bad me asbodyguard. One day, when we missed ourcar at Exchange leaving her, the bodyguard.bailed the conductor who agreed to wait atCentral Ave. Otherwise, would have had tocany money on foot from City line, whichalso would have been risky.

(Continu.ed on Page 7)

The Semaphore

Remln~cencesofRL&B• (Continued/rom Page 6)

One morning, not rea1izing a new respon-sibility was being offered, fully expectingthe red square was a "pink ticket" wassurprised to read: CAB PERMIT with writ-ing stating "Good only when acting asPaymaster" - at age 211As acting Paymaster it meant that after

returning from the bank, the cashier wouldband me envelopes for each section hand andchecks for slotion agents. The fonner pay-master carried arms and a suitcase; my.pockets carried the checks and envelopes.Leaving the long high slope-topped desk,and taking my high stool, I'd shared the cabwith the motonnan Emoute, we'd roll offmilk cans, and stop on meeting. a section"gang". At Lockport, we had a short "lay-over". The motonnen usually ate their lunch"enroute". By changing can at Lockport"meet", I'd have a hour for lunch at Medina.If pay day & ICC statement date coincided,it was obligatory that 1 return to my desk tocompile the statement while passing theoffice force boarding the car that 1 wasleaving.

•At age 21, it was a thrill and more or

less exciting to ride in the front end listeningto motorman tell of hits and near close callsat crossings. One Sunday morning, on mySunday to work, I boanled a car withadditional red splattered on front end, mixedwith white horsehair and more indescribableitems. I felt sony for the car house gang thathad to clean and repaint the mess.One trip when looking out the open door

to see a beautiful cock pheasant, my stoolslid towards the open door, as we rounded aslight curve. But by hooking my foot on theinotonnan's stool. I checked a near calastfo..phe.Another time, calling the motonnan's

attention nearing Brockport, he put her ondead center and we both got on the ground.Looking back the conductor, also on theground, pointed to a smalI pig running upthe track. The crew mentioned what aslippery rail we could have had, if the pighadn't stayed between the rails.The nnly seriow accident I recall was on

a foggy April day. Because the dispatcher'soffice was the other side of our thin wall, Icould hear him either cursing or praising the

•crews, depending OIl their making or fililingto meet at sidings OIl schedule.That day, I heard him giving orders to

extra freight to follow the passenger but tobe on alert. As fate would have it, a flag stopwas made at Eagle Harbor and the freight

. .June 1999

plowed into the rear as the conductor wasgiving the signal cord the two "go ahead"pulls. He received broken ribs and a wrist,the other crew "hit the dirt".One of the biggest revenue gellers for the

road was the Memorial Day Brockport Fairand motorcycle races. What a "Big Boy" wasI when I hosted another couple one year.Every car was on the line - some "doubleheading" and nearly every head car wasflying the green of another train following.What a headache for the dispatcher. My ttunwas the next day: counting tickets andbalancing the conductor's reports with theOhmer registerlBut one time we had an office boy who

played a prank which I didn't appreciate. Asthe office' force was outside waiting for thecar at quitting time, I was putting my booksin the vault, when he shut the door. I thoughtmy end had come, closeted in the smalIspace. Fortunately, someone inquired for me,and released me, perspiring and shaken.On alternate Sundays, we took ttuns

"opening. the mail", counting Saturday'sreceipts, and retaming the mail bags to thestation agents for that day's reports.It was a slightly snowy Sunday moming

that I had overslept and the Park Ave"subm:1rine" also was late. The motormanopened the door. I grabbed the vertical poleand my foot slipped off the slippery stepsNeedless to say, it was an exciting momentfor the crew and myself as 1 regained myfooting OIl the moving car.Sometimes a coworker and I would

deadhead to Lockport on our "free" Sundaysjust for the ride. One noon, we took a shortride in the yard with me at the controls.Gaining speed too fast, I put the air on "deadcenter": what a jolt we got!One Summer vacation, I requested a pass

for Sodw Point Another year I received apass to Canandaigua Lake. My only cashfare was on the steamer Ogan'ta to PointRochester where my family was vacationing.Many trips were taken on passes to visit

mends in Lyons. One year when everythingwas snowed in for a few days, I took thetrain. It was greeted at every station: beingthe only thing on rails for a rew days. Eventhen, the snow was window level.One pay day I had planned to meet a

mend at the Erie RR station where theRochtester Lockport & Buffalo and Roches-ter Syracuse & Eastern cars terminated.Losing time all day long, it seemed asthough we'd not arrive in time. It wasgetting dark when we saw the lights of thedouble-heading orange cars coming towardus on South Ave across Main SI. At the

Page 7

whistling of our red car, a meet was made atthe intersection and for added satisfaction,the conductor infonned me that my mendwas "on board"In mentioning the colors, I can recall

when green was predominant The city cars,fonnerly were yellow. Then the RS&E (laterR&S) were changed to orange. New YorkState Rwys interurhans became burnt orangeand cream. Buffalo Lockport & Rochesterwere a Railroad Brown, then as RL&B wereJapan Red and finally brown and cream. Theyears I was employed there were no Limit-eds and Loca1sin the RL&B.Standing on the rear platfonn in the

evening rush, I observed how much responsi-bility rested on the conductor. Collectingfares down the aisle, he had to rely on thestandees to say "all clear" before giving twopulls to the signal cord Then to makechange and tally separately the cash, ticketsand .transfers by OIidinging brass fmgersattached to rods above the corridors; alwaysaware of "spotters". How would he collectfrom those hanging on the steps, with apacked vestibule to pass through?On the morning rush hour trips, when it

was practically impossible to get through theaisle, commuters would pass their tickets tothe rear. Unable to memorize each ticketnumber, sometimes more than one ticket waspassed on from the same commutation book.As stated before the conductor was chargeable.Evening rush hours, with a two car train,

turning onto Andrews at State, was cause forconcern as sometimes the second car wouldsplit the switch, instead of following. Thetrainmaster used to ride in the lead car andpeer out behind to see that this didn'thappen.In all kinds of weather, the conductor had

to sel the "derail" at the Otis station railroadcrossing on Lyell Ave. A hinged rail set toderail can was clused by means of an armwhich had to be raised from a pole at theintersection.When winter storms covered the right of

way, it was diffieult to get emergency crewsout, sometimes they jwt sit in the bull-penawaiting developments.One winter day I remember that nothing

moved unless on two feel. From the carhouse in Gates to Main and East Ave., andon to Argyle Street, I could count on twohands, or nearly so, the number of penple Imet not wa1king in the road. First thing 1didon arriving home that evening, was to cleanour sidewalk at home.

These experiences were in part therealizaton of my earliest dreams.

The SemaphareRochester ChapterNational Railway Historical SocietyP.O. Box 664Rochester, NY 14603

Chapter Meeting & Program:

Fun Night: Part IJune 17, 1999

R&GV RR Museum

NVS Route 251 at Industry1,1,11,1"1,1,1,1.1,1,11.,1,1,11",1,,1,1,1.,1,11,,,111,I,I,,!

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The statu. of our Restoration Building Fund. Eacb 'car'represents $10,000 in the fimd.Surprise - the building moves rother than the troin - easier to do!

110K

$104,000 •