THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition
| VOLUME 19 NO. 3 | MARCH 1997 |
Back To Wilmington Chapter Web Site
MEETING NOTES
The February meeting of the Wilmington Chapter was called to order at
7:05 PM by President Phil Snyder and Treasurer Ralph Stevens, Jr.'s report approved as
read, as were Secretary Walt Robbins minutes. National Director Ed Thornton reported on
our planned trip to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. Plans are to car pool to
Timonium, MD and take the commuter train to downtown Baltimore. From thence to walk, bus,
or taxi to the B&O Museum in time for a special 11AM tour arranged just for us! See
the back page for other Chapter Events !!! Like the new picnic location and a return to
30th St. Station CTC...Tom Posatko reported on the Railroad Radio. book which he recently
purchased based upon a review in The Bulletin. Also reported were repeat trips by the
C&O #614 in June & October from Hoboken, NJ to Port Jarvis, NY (see Railpace
magazine for details).
It was with surprise and sorrow that we received word that Chapter member Howard P. West, Jr. had passed away quite some time ago.
Also noted was the last address which the Chapter had for H. C. Massara was 706 Sunlit Court, Brandon, FL, 33511-6270. However, mail to that address is no longer forwarded. Anyone know his new address?
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This could be the last Transfer Table which you receive! If there is a RED mark on your address label then we have not (as of the Feb. meeting) received a check for your membership dues for 1997.
The evening's program was provided by Doug Weaver, starting from south Norwalk, CT, and ending in a taxi from Maine. We were treated to slides of things like the U18B (only ex-Maine Central), high hood GP-35's, Bangor & Aroostock's Derby Shops, New Brunswick Southern operations, Cape Bretton & Central Nova Scotia's M630 and RS-18's, and Windsor & Hantzport RS-23's. We also saw CN's HR-616, GMD #1, a rolled van, and the taxi driver who returned the crew (and all their gear) to Bangor.
Doug Weaver is now at home recovering from a successful back operation. His movement is restricted to "home tracks (only!) for a month and then many months of Special orders.. We wish him well!
No one has yet supplied a photo (print or slide, black 8 white or color) of the namesake of our newsletter! Please contact me A.S.A.P. if you have any images of the transfer table in the Wilmington shops.
** NOTICE: IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER **
In the event that our normal "THIRD THURSDAY NRHS meeting is canceled due to inclement weather, it will be postponed and held on the FOURTH THURSDAY. And, in the event that must again be canceled, it will NOT be rescheduled. We will simply have to 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.
ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST
The Wilmington Chapter's Annual Photo Contest will be held at the regular Chapter meeting on Thursday, May 15th.
Here are the guidelines for entering pictures in this year's contest:
CATEGORIES
A LOOK BACK by Historian Ron Cleaves
February 1980: The February 1980 meeting was attended by 15 members and guests and the program that evening was presented by Calvin Nichols of the Octoraro Railway who spoke on the operations and future of that line. A proposed fan trip for April was discussed that evening on the idea of a Maryland and Delaware Railroad trip covering Federalsburg, MD, to Cambridge, MD. It was announced, too, that Chapter membership is close to 60 people with a Treasury balance at $1,250.
In local rail news, on February 26, 1980, GG-1 #4800 'Old Rivets', having been honorably retired, was turned over to the Lancaster Chapter at the Edgemoor yards. It was purchased by them for $30,000 and will be permanently displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
A LOOK BACK by Historian Ron Cleaves
March 1981: That March meeting was attended by 19 members and guests and program presentation was an interesting talk and discussion on the operations of Conrail by Mr. Ron Bowes, a Conrail representative. Due to the cancellation of the proposed March Red Arrow trolley trip due to unsettled labor negotiations between Septa and its union, the Chapter received a refund on their deposit and hoped to reschedule this trip when things get back to normal with Septa. In place of the Red Arrow trip, it was decided to hold an informal do-it-yourself run to Baltimore to take in Greenburg's Towson, MD Train Show and the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. In local rail news, Amtrak is offering GUI-1 locomotives for sale to qualified museums for $5,000 F.O.B. (Several of these GG-1's were in storage in a dead line at Edgemoor).
WWW SITE COMING SOON
Wilmington Chapter will soon join over 25 other NRHS Chapters that have a "home page" on the world wide web. Russ Fox, through his company Fox Information Services, will donate his time to set up the site and place it as a section of his site: www.marketstation.com. When complete, the site will contain a history of the NRHS and our Chapter, convention information, Chapter meeting and events info, membership info including an application form, news and stories (to include an electronic edition of the "Transfer Table"). Also, there will be links to other NRHS Chapters, major railroads and railroad related sites of all gauges.
Russ is planning a section displaying member's prints on a rotating basis. When ready, Russ will ask members to submit good quality black and white or color prints for this section. Submissions should depict railroading in Newcastle County or a Chapter event. The Wilmington Chapter web site should be ready in March. Look for the address in next month's Transfer Table".
B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM OUTING
All members, their families and friends are welcome to join a "behinds the scenes" tour at the B&O Museum, 901 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland. The tour is scheduled for l:30 p.m.on April l9, 1997. We plan to travel by car pool to the Timonium Park and Ride arriving at approximately l0:00 a.m. We will ride the trolley, aah, I mean LRV, to the end of line at Glen Burnie, Maryland. Then we win return to the Camden Station stop. There will be time to eat and walk or ride to the Museum. If you want to skip the LRV ride, you can meet us at the Museum in time for the tour. Details will be finalized at the March Chapter meeting.
Costs will be by individual settlement. Museum admission is $5.00, seniors - $4.00. LRV fare is $1.35 one way, seniors can pay a lesser fare with proper ID. Bring money for food, souvenirs and donation to the car pool driver. Hope you can join us!
NEWS BITS
The Moffet Tunnel is for sale, well sort of. The Denver Post, Wall Street Journal, and
New York Times have ads soliciting bids including fiberoptic, telephone, and other rights
in the tunnel. The 6.2 mile tunnel was completed in 1928 and since the Moffet Tunnel Board
of Commissioners is being disbanded, the Colorado legislature has ordered the sale of its
assets. Union Pacific has a lease on rail operations through 2025 and the Denver Board of
Water Commissioners has a similar lease. Each party has the right of first refusal.
[from Railfan and Railroad via Potomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]
The new National Operations Center for Amtrak will be located in the former Wilco
Plumbing & Heating building between the Wilmington train station and the One Riverwalk
building on the Christina River. An $11 million renovation project will lead to 230 new
administrative jobs in Delaware and bring the Delaware Amtrak employee total to 1,200.
Amtrak's National Training & Conference Center recently moved to the historic
Pennsylvania Building, which was designed by Frank Furness like the train station next to
it.
[from various sources]
With all that happened to the Buckingham Valley Trolley Association in 1996, your editor decided to reprint their President's Report and the brief history part their January newsletter. Our Chapter has been exchanging newsletters with them for years, and being able to pass along informative articles of general and local interest is one of the major benefits of that arrangement. I'm sure you join me in wishing them luck for 1997!
NEWS BULLETIN
BUCKINGHAM VALLEY TROLLEY ASSOCIATION
January 1997
Buckingham Valley Trolley Association President's Report For The Year 1996
Submitted by David J. Gairo
You probably think I am going to tell you how bad 1996 was for The Buckingham Valley Trolley Association. You are correct! We suffered some heavy blows to the organization last year, but we have had hard times before and we have survived. I truly believe we will continue to survive. Also, there were some good things that happened and there are possibilities for good things in the future. Let me review the year chronologically and touch on the highlights and low lights. This will give you some idea of what your officers are doing that you do not see.
January We received a letter from the City informing us that we should cease operation of the Penn's Landing Trolley and plan to relocate the equipment stores at Front ant Laurel Sts. (Letter actually dated December 27, 1995.)
February BVTA President, John Derr retires after 13 years of service to the organization. John was president during the entire life of the Penn's Landing Trolley and provided the interface between BVTA the various agencies which had to be dealt with in order to operate the trolley line. I was appointed his successor by the Board at the February Board of Directors meeting. If only I had known what that would bring.
During the month the trolley wire was removed from Delaware Ave. We started negotiation with SEPTA for secure storage of the collection on SEPTA property.
March We received a letter from the Penn's Landing Corp. requesting a schedule of when we would remove the trolleys and other equipment from Pier 9 as they would like to market the Pier for development. I responded that BVTA was negotiating with SEPTA for a storage agreement and expected to vacate the Pier by September, 1996. (We missed that date!)
April Gary Pfeiffer and I met with Kim Heinle of SEPTA. At this meeting we signed the first version of the storage agreement. It provided for the storage of 26 items, whether they are trolleys, trailers full of parts or highway equipment. There is no provision for maintenance or restoration to be done at the storage site. We also proposed the lease of Red Arrow 76 to SEPTA for use in charter service on the suburban division. Mr. Heinle thought that would be a good idea. There is some talk of possible BVTA historic trolley operation
We met with the Penn's Landing Corp. to discuss the removal of the cars from Pier 9 and to survey the changes made to the pier apron and how it might affect the removal.
Not long after the I-95 tire fire, we received a letter from Penn DOT requesting the movement of some of the equipment at Front and Laurel Sts. A trailer load of line poles bad to be removed from the property and other trailers which were against the highway supports had to be moved.
By this time, most traces of the Penn's Landing Trolley are gone from Delaware Ave.
May A fire is started in Red Arrow 26 destroying the car from the window sills up. Two cars stored next to 26 were also damaged. PTC 5205 suffered considerable damage while Red Arrow 75 had lesser damage confined to one side. This fire would prove to be the catalyst for PennDOT to terminate our lease for Front and Laurel Sts.
June At a meeting with SEPTA on June 17, we signed a revised storage agreement. This still did not give us permission to start moving anything. SEPTA told us that the storage facility would be Germantown Depot but they had much to do to provide the space for our cars.
8534 suffered a motor failure while on a fan trip. The car was towed to Elmwood and placed out of service pending repair.
After 10 years of letter writing and some overseas telephone calls and faxes by John Derr we received a pair of 22E maximum traction trucks a spare motor and controllers from Portugal. The trucks are for the Wildwood open car.
July A letter was received from Penn DOT which terminated the lease for the Front and Laurel Sts. property and ordered us to vacate by October 8. I responded with our expected schedule which would have us completely out of the site by September 1997. As expected that was not approved by Penn DOT and we were given until November 30, 1996 with threats of court action if we did not comply. I responded with an explanation of our limited assets and volunteer labor. I stated that legal actions would quickly deplete our treasury and force us into bankruptcy.
Because of the limitation of 26 items to store a committee was appointed by the Board of Directors to appraise the collection of cars and determine which items to keep and which to dispose of. With this report, the plans for moving equipment to Germantown were begun. SEPTA gave us the OK to start moving equipment to Germantown Depot by mid-July. On July 27 Red Arrow 80 was the first to move.
August Cars continue to move from Pier 9 and from Laurel St. to Germantown Depot.
September and October Equipment moves continue. By the end of October 10 cars have been moved.
Kim Heinle discusses a plan to provide historic trolley operation in Media on weekends. A center-door car could operate a shuttle from the end of the line to the beginning of private right-of-way where a connection could be made to regular cars. This would require much cooperation from Media and much planning. It also requires financing.
I spent a week planning a Santa operation for Chestnut Hill. Many phone calls were made and faxes sent The Chestnut Hill Business Association was to supply advertising. The plans had to be canceled because of an other charter which was scheduled [or one of the proposed Santa days. SEPTA was concerned that people would be confused with the two separate operations and they were also concerned about congestion at Chestnut Hill loop. This was a last minute plan and I believe we can do something this year with an earlier start.
8534 lease to SEPTA is extended for four more years and its motor was repaired.
November As of November 16, the three cars that had burned in May had been removed from Laurel St. Also removed by now are other wooden cars such as sweepers and Hershey 3. It is my feeling that this is one reason why Penn DOT has not proceeded with legal actions against BVTA as the fire hazards had been reduced. (They may have also believed what I said about bankruptcy.)
On Thanksgiving day a fire is started in PCC 2701, destroying the car. This was also an arson fire as local teenagers had been chased from the property earlier.
The original trucks for 76 (wide gauge) were moved to Germantown. We are planning to take the motors from the standard gauge trucks now under 70 and put them in the wide gauge trucks The wide gauge trucks will then be placed under the car. When this is done the car can be taken to SEPTA.
December Center City District presented a transit forum on enhancing tourism in Philadelphia with a trolley loop. SEPTA presented a plan for up to four routes connecting the Convention Center with the historic district and the waterfront. (A line along Penn's s Landing from Spring Garden St. to Dock St. A novel idea!) The first phase could be implemented for approximately $15 million. Kim Heinle talked about the fleet of PCC's he has available for this operation. No mention was made of BVTA or our collection. No mention was made of the former Penn's Landing Trolley operation
That was the year in review.
I want to thank the dedicated members who have been there this past year. A lot of very hard and unrewarding work was done by this group. This was not the fun of restoring and operating the cars that we enjoyed for the last 13 years. This was the down and dirty work of moving the equipment, of slogging around in the swamp at Laurel St., and of banged knuckles and aching muscles at the end of the day. Without this small group the BVTA would have folded this year. Some of the equipment would have been parceled out to other museums. A lot of it would have been scrapped. We are not finished. Much still has to be done at Laurel St. and Pier 9. We cannot stop until these locations are cleared because we are being pressured by Penn's Landing Corp. and PennDOT.
What about the future for BVTA? I mentioned Media. There were other possibilities talked about throughout the year that cannot be brought out at this time. Center City would like to have a trolley loop for tourism. Will any of these things happen? When will they happen? We do not have the answers yet. We are probably looking at a year before anything positive happens. The officers of BVTA will continue to hold the organization together, but we need you, the members and trustees to stay with us and to help both physically and financially.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
BUCKINGHAM VALLEY TROLLEY ASSOCIATION AND PENN'S LANDING TROLLEY AS OF DECEMBER 1996
by George Metz
6-07-75 Service begins on NH&I RR, at Buckingham,
10-01-75 BVTA incorporation bylaws are adopted,
1-17-76 1st Annual Meeting, McHugh Bros. Office, Penndel
3-**-76 Car 76 moved from 69th St Yard to Wycombe.
6-20-76 Car 46 moves from 72nd St Shop to Buckingham.
1-15-77 2nd Annual Meeting. McHugh Bros. Office, Penndel
8-08-82 SEPTA installs overhead wire on Delaware Avenue.
8-28-82 "Dial-A-Volt" diesel generator arrives at Pier 5.
9-01-82 Test runs with car 26.
9-04-82 Cars 9 & 15 moves from 69th St Yard to Pier 5.
9-05-82 Car 80 moves from 69th St Yard to Pier 5.
9-05-82 Unofficial revenue service begins with car 26.
9-06-82 Loco #10 moves from Buckingham to Pier 5.
9-09 82 Inaugural Tea Party, using can 26 & 120.
10-24-82 Car 46 moved from Buckingham to Delaware Avenue.
11-06-82 Car 46 makes non-revenue test runs.
12-05-82 Initial Start-Up Season ends with a total of 3752 riders.
4-03-83 First PLT Full Operating Season begins.
4-17-83 PCC's 2647 & 2601 moved from Luzerne to Pier 5.
4-24-83 Car 76 moved from Wycombe to Pier 5.
8-26-83 Sweeper C128 moves from Buckingham to Pier 5.
8-29-83 Car 8534 moved from Buckingham to Pier 5.
8-31-83 Hershey #3 moves from Jobstown to Pier 5.
9-10-83 First use of Car 46 in revenue service.
9-10-83 First use of 3 cars (26,46,120) for revenue service.
9-11-83 627 riders carried during Fireman's Muster, 3 cars.
9-17-83 First Anniversary of P.L.T. Celebration.
9-18-83 10,000th P.L.T. rider carried, at 3:30 PM.
11-24-83 Car 120 used in Thanksgiving Day Parade.
12-11-83 1st Full PLT Season ends with total of 12,300 riders.
1-21-84 9th Annual Meeting, Port of History Museum, Penn's Landing.
3-**-84 BSS cars 178 & 197 stripped of parts at Fern Rock Yard.
4- 08-84 182 runs last time in subway, on BVTA Fantrip.
4-22-84 2nd PLT Operating Season opens on Easter Sunday.
6-15-4 BSS Car 182 moved from Fem Rock Yard to Nicetown Yard.
6-16-84 BSS Car 182 delivered by Conrail to Pier 5.
6-17-84 Car 80 prepared for exterior painting.
7-04-84 857 riders carried, using cars 26 & 46.
7-29-84 Car 80 first test operation.
8-05-84 Car 80 enters revenue service.
9-23-84 1031 riders carried, using cars 26,46,80.
12-15-84 1st "Santa-Spl" (Blanchard) using cars 26 & 46.
12-16-84 2nd PLT Season ends with 15,567 riders, 103 days.
1-19-85 10th Annual Meeting, Port of History Museum. Penn's Landing.
2-16-85 Car 8042 from Buckingham to Pier 5.
3-07-85 3rd PLT Operating Season commences on Easter Sunday.
3-??-85 Car 120 removed from service.
5-**-85 Overhead wire installed on lead to Pier 9.
5-27-85 Generator moved from Pier 5 to Pier 9.
6-02-85 Operation moves from Pier 5 into Pier 9.
6-14-85 Evening charter on P&W with car #163.
7-06-85 Car 8534, loco #10 moved from Pier 5 to Pier 38.
7-06-85 500+ riders. using cars 26,46,80.
7-07-85 800+ riders, using cars 20,46,80.
7-09-85 BSS car 182 runs under own power to Pier 38.
7-13-85 Sweeper C143 mount from Pier 5 to Pier 38.
7-14-85 Trolley hopper car, D7, moved to Pier 38.
7-27-85 C128 & PCC 2647 moved to Pier 38.
7-28-85 PCC 2601 & PSTC 15 from Pier 5 to Pier 38.
8-03-85 PSTC 9 & 17 from Pier 5 to Pier 38.
8-04-85 Cars 120 & 76, move under own power to Pier 38.
8-11-85 10,000th rider carried for 1985 season.
8-18-85 Crane car W55 towed on shop trucks to Pier 38.
10-??-85 Car 5205 moved from Buckingham to Pier 38.
10-25-85 BVTA 10th Anniversary Banquet, Williamsons-GSB
11-23-85 Car 8534 from Pier 38 to P.E. Del.Gen.Sta.
11-24-85 PCC 2255 moves from Luzerne Depot to Pier 38.
11-30-85 Car 120 moved from Pier38 to P.E. Del.Gen.Sta.
12-**-85 Santa Spl's (Blanchard) operated Dec. 14 & 15.
12-15-85 3rd PLT Season closes with 15,972 passengers, 102 days.
1-11-86 Farewell to Rt. 6 Charter, using 3 PCC cars.
1-18-86 11th Annual Meeting, Port of History Museum, Penn's Landing
4-12-86 4th PLT Operating Season opens on Easter Sunday.
5-18-86 621 passengers carried.
5-25-86 725 fares collected during "Jambalaya Jam".
7-05-86 986 riders to fireworks, using only cars 26 & 80.
7-05-86 Car 8042 moved to P.E. Del.Gen. Sta.
7-06-86 400+ riders carried in 2 hrs., using 3 cars.
8-29-86 Generator engine fails, stranding cars 26 & 80.
9-14-86 Service resumed using rented power unit.
9-17-86 "Blue-80" used in Hyundai commercial on Del. Ave.
9-27-86 Generator back in service, with new diesel engine.
10-01-86 8534 used in Chevrolet commercial on 11th St.
10-10-86 Truck brings down overhead, closing Del.Ave.
10-12-86 Overheat restored, after 10 hours of work.
11-23-86 Broad Street Subway Charter, using old cars.
12-**-86 Santa Clause Spl's (Roden) operated Dec. 13 & 14.
12-14-86 4th PLT Season closes with 14,592 passengers.
(George's Chronology will be continued in the next issue)
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 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 - Walt Robbins
National Director - Ed Thornton
Editor - Greg Ajamian
Public Relations - Ken Berg
Event Photographer - Doug Weaver
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