Transfer Table November 2000

THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition

VOLUME 23 NO. 6

OCTOBER 2001

JULY MEETING NOTES

    The normal monthly meeting was called to order at 7 PM with 21 members and 4 guests. The minutes were read by Secretary Dan Frederick and approved as corrected. Treasurer Ralph Steven's report was approved as read. There was no National Director present, and thus no report. President Phil Snyder reported on the realignment of the CSX mainline in Chester, PA and the upcoming Sept. 29 Wilmington Transportation Day. There was much discussion of the CSX train wreck in the Baltimore tunnel.
   Chapter Member Robert O'Connor, Jr. introduced his daughter Kerry Hannah who introduced our other distinguished guest speakers for the evening:
Jim Walls - Senior Dir.,Northeast Corridor Service
Cindy Cole - Director, Northeast Corridor Service
Bernadette Ladigosk - Operations Support
Kerry Hannah - Operations Support
all are from:
Amtrak's Consolidated National Operations Center,
15 South Poplar St., Wilmington, DE 19801
    Jim was hired by Penn Central in Nov. 1973 as a Block Operator in Media Tower. From 1974 to 1982 he was a Train Dispatcher at 30th Street Station eventually becoming Train Master. He moved into the role of Rules Examiner for the 1982-86 period. In 1986, he took a job as New York City Transportation Manager (manager of Train Masters and Road Masters). He was also Division Operator (manager for Block Operators for 23 stations and 212 Operators). In 1988 he moved to the National Operations Center which moved from Washington, DC to 30th St. in July 1988.
    Cindy explained that she was the first woman Train Controller in Washington, DC and is the highest ranking woman in Train Operations. She also mentioned that her Great Grandfather, Grandfather, and Father worked for railroads; including the Washington Terminal and the Southern Railroad. In Sept. 1976 she worked in the baggage department. Then she became the first woman in K Tower in DC. 1987 found her in National Operations in DC as Amfleet Car Distributor sizing trains.
    Bernadette and Kerry reported on their work as Operations Support for the Northeast Corridor. They are two of the ten people who make announcements and make arrangements for guests, food, buses, etc. when things don't go quite according to the schedule.
    We heard some great stories and amazing details of humor and history and happenings. But, for some strange reason, there just don't seem to be any notes of those stories - go figure, eh? I do recall getting a handful of some great "official goodies" and a copy of the detailed Amtrak Equipment Fleet list (see attached for some of the list). So, there are another few more reasons to try to get to Chapter Meetings!
    Our sincere thanks to all of our guests for an excellent meeting, lots of great information, and some fantastic real-life stories.

AUGUST 16, 2001 CHAPTER TRIP

In lieu of the normal monthly meeting, there was a Do-it-yourself pay-as-you-go circle trip to Norristown, PA.

5:58 PM LV Marcus Hook on Septa R2 #4664
6:35 PM ARR 30th Street Station
6:49 PM LV 30th Street Station on Market-Frankford Line
7:02 PM ARR 69th Street Terminal
7:07 PM LV 69th Street Terminal on Route 100 Trolley
7:35 PM ARR Norristown Transportation Center
7:54 PM LV Norristown Transportation Center on R6 #4273
8:37 PM Pass 30th Street Station (train becomes R2 #4273)
9:10 PM ARR Marcus Hook, PA

SEPTEMBER MEETING NOTES

    At the Chapter Meeting, the minutes were approved as read by Secretary Dan Frederick as was the Treasurer's report from Ralph Stevens. There was no National Director's report. President Phil Snyder reported on the August do-it-yourself Chapter Trip to Norristown, PA. This year's "volunteers" for the Election Committee were once again: Bruce Barry, Len Arcus, and Ernie Barry.
    Dan Frederick reported a special AMTRAK train that took emergency workers to New York City for the Red Cross. As a result of the events of Sept. 11, CSX closed all tunnels and their trans-flow operation in Elsmere for a time. He also noted that 5 Amtrak and 2 Wilmington Police persons were visible in the Wilmington Train Station on Wednesday. Frank Ferguson reported that Amtrak business was "up 10 fold" after the 11th. When things started moving again on the 12th, he saw 30 trains in daylight near Harrisburg. Dave Watterson reported that the new Amtrak policy was that no one was allowed on the train platform without a ticket. Joe Reed urged members to write to their political representatives expressing displeasure that the Federal government moved exceedingly quickly to grant $25 million to aid the airline industry; which is more than the total of ALL of the subsidies ever given to Amtrak over more than 20 years.
    John Iwasyk reported that WJ Tower was demolished on August 1. Despite efforts to save it, he noted that since "termites had gotten to it first" it could not be lifted, and they could not prove that it was more than 100 years old (which would save it by virtue of being 'historic'), and they would still need a $10,000 demolition permit even to move it. Dick Hall added that WJ Tower was closed (but not removed) during the Great Depression.
    Phil Snyder showed some slides of his Acela trip from New York City to Boston. Frank Ferguson showed some slides which included scenes in Grafton and a C415. Bruce Barry showed some slides from a very recent trip to New York City which included a few shots framed with a background skyline which included the World Trade Towers.
    The evening's program was by Chapter Editor Greg Ajamian. The opening Elsmere shots included Brandywine Valley, Upper Marion, HLCX, former SP, former BN, and current CN units and even an x-MoPac boxcar with CSXT reporting marks. Covering the time span from October 1999 through June 2000, there were views of the Juice Train, the Trash Train, and a rail train. The Chapter's June 10, 2000 picnic at Perryville, MD was covered including an ancient wood side PRR boxcar and brand new maintenance equipment. After some RBM&N coal hoppers, there were lots of slides around the Allentown, PA hump yard; including a "do not hump" U.S. Dept. of Agriculture special car. There were high and wide loads that eventually made it through the Rockville, PA wye and Amtrak racing through Marysville. The views of the Amtrak Wilmington Shops open house on Sept. 9, 2000 included the newly rebuilt#905 and a completely gutted AEM-7 shell in basic white. Greg had also dug out slides of the May 7, 1983 Chapter Trip to the Wilmington shops which, ironically, included that same #905 in a much grungier scene inside the engine maintenance facility! Of course there was an image of the transfer table (see top of page one) outside the car shops.
    And then it happened, much to the delight of the rolling stock fanatics (and the dismay of the motive power specialists) Greg ran through a hundred slides of different types of heavy duty flat cars! It all started with a slab flat on the Chapter Trip to Phoenix Steel in 1984 and went through three different 24-wheel flats as recent as 1998. There were lots of 4- and 6-wheel trucks in combinations of two, four, or six trucks per car. CSXT was nice enough to position a 742,000 pound capacity car at the end of a train in Attica Junction, OH one a sunny day in 1998. When it stopped to get into the yard, there were enough slides taken to view every aspect and detail of the car.
    Next came a staggering array of depressed center flats from a diminutive Erie model from 1976 through 12-, 16-, 24-, and even 32-wheel behemoths including old views of the PRR's "Queen Mary" and newer GECX monsters. And then there were the Schnable cars, including the loaded one in Avon, PA which was parked convenient to the photographer on March 26, 2000. I don't know about anyone else, but this reviewer really liked this program's variety of subjects and detailed views and commentary.

WEB SITE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM CHAPTER MEMBERS
If anyone has any photos that they would like to put on our Chapter's web site, there is a photo section where they can be posted. Russ can scan slides, negatives, and prints for those who do not have a digital camera or do not have access to a scanner. Contact Russ Fox directly.

NEWS BITS

CAPITOL WEST EXCURSION TO RAILFEST: The Harrisburg Chapter, National Railway Historical Society is selling tickets for a train excursion from Harrisburg to Altoona, PA and return on October 6, 2001. The excursion will feature coach seating, optional seating at extra fare on the private car "Dover Harbor," a ride around the world-famous Horseshoe Curve and the use of a pair of immaculately-restored, vintage passenger diesel locomotives to pull the train. The chartered train, called the Capitol West, will depart the Harrisburg Amtrak Station at 7:45 am. After a non-stop run to Altoona, where additional passengers may board, the train will climb the Allegheny front, traversing majestic Horseshoe Curve en route. After tunneling under the crest at Gallitzin, the train will make a loop and return to Altoona for detraining all passengers at 12:15 pm. Riders will then be able to participate in all the activities of Railfest, a celebration of Altoona railroad heritage. Riders who order tickets by September 10 will receive a return ticket to Harrisburg for regular Amtrak Train 44, the Pennsylvanian, which is scheduled to depart Altoona at 7:28 pm and arrive in Harrisburg at 10:12 pm. Boarding point for the Pennsylvanian is at the Altoona Amtrak station, accessed by a footbridge from the Railfest site. The Capitol West trainset will not return to Harrisburg until Sunday, October 7, at the end of Railfest. The locomotives for the excursion are privately owned by the Juniata Terminal Company and are restored to their original Pennsylvania Railroad colors and numbers. They were built in the 1950's and were last used by Conrail to power its executive train. The coach cars for the train are air-conditioned and restroom-equipped. There is no food service available on the train, but guests may bring food along with them. If you like first-class service, the private car "Dover Harbor" was built by the Pullman company in 1923 and has been completely rebuilt to provide luxurious service and meet current Amtrak equipment standards. With a capacity of 24 passengers, it contains six double bedrooms, buffet, lounge, shower, on-board generator, TV/VCR and telephones. Railfest 2001 is a two-day event centered around the Railroaders Memorial Museum and the Norfolk Southern locomotive shops in Altoona. Free shuttle bus service between the two facilities is included with the ticket. The Museum houses numerous exhibits and displays of the rich railroading tradition of Altoona and its people. At the Norfolk Southern shops, visitors will see full-sized equipment and vendor displays and be able to talk to employees about shop functions, where locomotives are built. Fares for the Capitol West are $100 for coach seats and $200 for the "Dover Harbor." Included in the cost is the train fare in both directions and around the Curve, admission to Railfest and the shuttle bus. Children under the age of two sitting on the lap of a caretaker are free. Tickets may be ordered from Harrisburg Chapter NRHS, Railfest Trip, 637 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101-1924. Checks must accompany an order and should be made payable to "Harrisburg Chapter NRHS." Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for mailing of your tickets. Only orders and checks received by September 10, 2001 are assured a return train ticket on the Pennsylvanian. Persons ordering tickets after that date should inquire about availability of return tickets or make their own arrangements for return to Harrisburg. There are no refunds given on purchased tickets. A trip flyer may be viewed at http://nrhs-hbg.pennsyrr.com or by calling 717-232-6221 for a mailed copy. The "Dover Harbor" website is www.dcnrhs.org and the Railfest website is railfest@railroadcity.com. The phone number for the Harrisburg Chapter answering machine is 717-232-6221. [From Harrisburg Chapter, NRHS via Railpace News (www.railpace.com/hotnews )]

    Retired Subway Cars Head to Delaware and are SUNK! After more than four decades of service, a tired fleet of "Redbird" New York City subway cars, dating back to the 1964 World's Fair, is being retired and shipped to Delaware - where they'll go right into the ocean. The first 20 cars have already been loaded onto a barge and sent south to build an artificial reef in the Atlantic Ocean. In all, 400 cars are expected to be sent. The subway cars will be sunk at a 1.3-square-nautical-mile reef site with a depth of 80 to 90 feet. The site is about 15 miles south of Cape May, N.J. Although other large items such as barges, military tanks, ships and parts of bridges have been used to build reefs, this is believed to be a first for such a large number of subway cars.
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Army Corps of Engineers approved the project. Before the cars are sunk, they will be cleaned according to protocols established by the U.S. Coast Guard and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. All floatable materials will be removed and they will be cleaned of all grease and oil. Also, there will be no doors, no windows, and no rubber so nothing should wash up on shore. Graffiti, once the bane of the city subway system, was removed from most trains about a decade ago.
    The Redbirds were painted a dark red during a renovation years ago. They are being replaced by a new generation of high-tech cars that are brightly lit, with electronic message boards and automated public address announcements. It will cost the transit system $1.6 million to send the retired cars to Delaware, a savings of $10 million to $13 million if the cars were disposed of in a landfill.
    The artificial reefs will help increase biodiversity, providing a protective habitat for reef fish and invertebrates, said Jeff Tinsman, reef project manager for Delaware's Division of Fish and Wildlife. They will also expand recreational fishing and diving opportunities, he said. Despite assurances from the EPA, some environmentalists have reservations about the plan. Ocean City, Md., officials initially agreed to take some New York subway cars, then backed out over environmental concerns. New Jersey has postponed a decision about using subway cars to bolster reefs. ``One of our concerns was and still is about the stability and longevity of the subway cars,'' said Kristen Milligan, a staff scientist with New Jersey-based Clean Ocean Action. ``We're also concerned about the effects of contaminants and pollutants.'' EPA officials said asbestos would not be present in high enough concentrations to harm aquatic life or people. For more information, check out NYC Transit: http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct [from Associated Press thanks to Steve von Bonin]

On Saturday, September 8, 2001, the Philadelphia & Lancaster NRHS Chapters hosted a fan trip directly from 30 Street Station to Strasburg. The train used the Philadelphia and Lancaster Chapters owned Reading FP-7 Diesel locomotives and SEPTA push pull cars. The train operated directly to Strasburg on the Strasburg Railroad.

Amtrak announced the launch of an entirely new website created in response to feedback to make online trip planning and ticket purchasing faster and more convenient. The all-new and improved AMTRAK.COM has improved and consistent information for all stations, trains and amenities, the ability to search for Stations, Trains, Top Destinations, and Advertised Specials with easy access to schedules and fares without user IDs or passwords. You can receive an automatic E-mail confirmation.

CSX Provides Record-Setting UPS Service... For the first time ever, CSX provided flawless service for UPS for an entire month, moving more than 16,000 loads in May without a single late delivery. Previously, the record for a single month was August 1997 when only one load was delivered late. In addition, CSX has now gone 43 days without a late delivery for UPS. "This is a great achievement for both CSX Intermodal and CSX Transportation," said Bill Clement, CSXI director-UPS. "Our service has been exceptional and the coordination between CSXI and CSXT to monitor and assure service excellence makes our customer proud to be doing business with CSX." [from CSXT Employee Midweek Report, June 8, 2001 via August Bullsheet]

CSX Helps Cause in Restoration of Battleship... Recently CSXT had the opportunity to assist in the movement of a vintage 40mm anti-aircraft gun from New Orleans to the famous World War II battleship North Carolina. The North Carolina is kept in permanent dock in Wilmington, N.C., as an exhibit to the public. During WW-II, the ship was equipped with 15 quadruple-barrel gun mounts. After the War, two of the gun mounts were removed. The organization that cares for the North Carolina learned of a ship being disassembled in Brownsville, Texas, that had a gun mount similar to one of their missing mounts. The challenge they then faced was how to move the 14,000-pound gun mount more than 1500 miles from Texas to the North Carolina. CSXT Executive Vice President-Transportation Al Crown responded to the call for help. Crown offered to donate the use of a CSXT gondola car and transportation services from New Orleans to Wilmington. Once CSXT had signed to help, Union Pacific offered to transport the gun mount from Brownsville to New Orleans. "CSXT was pleased to donate transportation services for the move of such rare, historical equipment," said Crown. The battleship North Carolina is the most decorated ship from WW-II. Director of the Battleship Memorial, retired Captain David R. Scheu, said, "The 'can do' attitude of each of the railroads was most gratifying. The contribution of services from all of these organizations is most meaningful to the battleship since our annual operations are not funded by any local, state or federal appropriation or grants." [from CSXT Employee Midweek Report, June 8, 2001 via August Bullsheet]

At the National Model Railroad Association's Mid-Atlantic Region's Convention this year, one of the excursions was a trip to Lukens Steel in Caotsville, PA. Your Editor attended the convention and the trip and was able to obtain the System Map of the Brandywine Valley Railroad and the Locomotive Rosters for the BVRY and for Lukens Steel. (see attached)

The answer to the July Quiz "Can you identify the location of this crossing?" (courtesy of Dick Hall) is: ELSMERE, Delaware, 1900 era = New signals and interlocking installed by Union Switch & Signal Co. for B&O - Reading Company's Wilmington & Northern crossing.

SCHEDULE NOTES
Notices, announcements, schedules, etc. are provided here as a service to the members.
The Chapter has no affiliation with any commercial operation, museum, or tourist line.

Garden Railway Display at The Morris Arboretum of the Univ. of PA, 100 Northwestern Ave., Philadelphia through October 8, 2001, for info 215-247-5777 or www.upen.edu/morris

The Griff Teller art work display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in/at Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pa. will continue through the end of December of this year.

The High Line - A City Divided, A City United; The Construction of Elmira's Railroad Elevations, 1932 - 1937 an exhibit at the Crossroads Gallery in the New York State Museum until Feb. 24, 2002.

Saturday & Sunday, October 6-7, 2001 350th Anniversary of New Castle Delaware
10-5 Saturday, noon-4 Sunday, New Castle, Delaware

Saturday, October 13, 2001 3rd Annual Model Train & Toy Show - Singerly Fire Co.
9 AM -2 PM, $3, Singerly Fire Co., 300 Newark, Ave (Rt 279) Elkton, MD info 410-398-7300

Saturday & Sunday, October 13-14, 2001 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium
9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. [NOTE DATE WAS CHANGED ## AGAIN ## !!] check their web-site www.GSMTS.com for info or call 410-730-1036

August 18 - 26, 2002 2002 NRHS Convention
Williams, Arizona (near Grand Canyon) with inbound and outbound steam powered trains planned from Los Angeles. Host Chapter(s) - Grand Canyon Chapter Web Site = www.canyonrails2002.com

Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001 - RED ARROW WORK TROLLEY TRIP
The Wilmington Chapter will sponsor a trip over SEPTA's Red Arrow Division covering both the Sharon Hill and Media lines. Passengers will ride in a Kawasaki streetcar, but following our car will be a Red Arrow work car (which originally ran on the Ben Franklin Bridge line). Passengers will have ample opportunity to photograph the work car in a rare daylight appearance at numerous quality photo stops. The trip will depart SEPTA's 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby at 10:00 a.m. and return at approximately 3:00 p.m. Fare for the trip is $35. Tickets are available from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. We can accept MasterCard and Visa for on-line ticketing at www.daylightimages.com/redarrow.html .
For more information contact Steve Barry at 973/383-3355 weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

CHAPTER EVENTS

Thursday Oct. 18, 2001 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Ken Berg
entitled "Great Lakes Tour"

Thursday Nov. 15, 2001 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Kermit Geary
program not known at this time

Sunday Dec. 2, 2001 10 AM Chapter Trip Red Arrow Work Trolley Trip

Sunday Dec. 9, 2001 5 PM Holiday Dinner in lieu of normal monthly meeting
Program by Steve Barry

If our normal "THIRD THURSDAY" NRHS meeting is canceled due to inclement weather, it will be postponed and held on the FOURTH THURSDAY. If it must again be canceled, it will NOT be rescheduled. We will simply wait for the next month's normal "third Thursday" meeting. If the weather looks bad or is predicted to be bad, you may telephone the Claymont Community Center to see if it will be open that evening for our meeting.

The Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) meets at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month [except August & December] in the Darley Room at the Claymont Community Center on Green Street in Claymont, Delaware. Visitors are always welcome. Admission to regular meetings is free. Check out our >>NEW Website <<<, thanks to Russ Fox at: http://www.WilmingtonNRHS.com

The Transfer Table
The Transfer Table is published six to ten times per year as the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Items in this publication do not represent the official position of either Officers or Members of the Wilmington Chapter or the Editor of this publication.
Permission to reprint articles and news items appearing herein is granted to NRHS Chapters and other newsletters provided appropriate credit is given. Contributions are always welcome and should be sent to the editor at SD40GMA@aol.com or send to: P.O. Box 1136, Hockessin, DE 19707-5136. Deadline for entries is the 25th of the month.

    Chapter Officers
    President   Phil Snyder
    Vice President & Historian Ron Cleaves
    Treasurer   Ralph Stevens, Jr.
    Secretary   Dan Frederick
    National Director   Tom Posatko
    Editor Greg Ajamian
    Public Relations    Frank Ferguson, Jr.
    Event Photographer Bruce Barry

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