THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition

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VOLUME 20 NO. 9 OCTOBER   1998

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MEETING NOTES
The Sept. 17th meeting opened with the shocking news announced by our National Director Ed Thornton that he was "on time!" This was even more ironic in that the evening's presenter, Pete Cramer, arrived late. Ed reported that he had his speeder at the Wilmington Shops Open House. Apologies were made to the members present about not getting info out about the open house. It was originally reported to be "only for AMTRAK employees and their families" but latter it was listed as an open house for the public. Ed reported that November 8 would be "Motorcar Day on the Wilmington & Western" and that visitors will be able to ride some of the visitor's cars. After a refreshment break, we not only saw Pete Cramer's slides, but we had an opportunity to purchase them at a mere 10¢ each. Unfortunately, there were only three bidders for any of the slides and all but two slide split between two of the buyers. Everyone got to see views and scenes from Pete's multiple trips to Colorado and Cass, WV, with a few Minnesota and other surprise locations.


 A LOOK BACK: OCTOBER 1978
by Historian Ron Cleaves

Wilmington Chapter Officers in October of '78 were: President - Walt Robbins, Vice President - Russ Fox, Treasurer - William 'Reds' Stees, Secretary - Al Seibel, and National Director - Tom Smith. Chapter meeting, held at the D.P.&L. Sportsman's Club was attended by 16 members and guests who enjoyed an array of local railroading scenes as presented by 'Reds' Stees. Discussion this evening centered on Chapter's looking to receive permission from Conrail to tour the former Reading Railroad shops at Reading, PA. In local rail news, on October 22, (a Sunday) the Octararo Railway operated a special "passenger train" consisting of Alco S-2 #3 and a former Reading RR Blueliner commuter car loaned to the Octararo by the W&W. This "passenger train" carried various SEPTA officials and invited guests from Kennett Square to Oxford, PA, to celebrate the full re-opening of the former PRR Octararo Branch from Chadds Ford to Oxford. Note: Your Vice President and Historian was employed at that time on the Octararo as a part-time employee and participated on that "passenger train" as flagman/brakeman. (The summer 1988 issue of the Transfer Table contained a personal reminisce of mine of that day along with a series of photographs I took that day).


LOOKING FOR INFORMATION
Chapter Member Dick Hall is seeking research information (drawings & text) on the following:

Porter 0-4-0 "Fire-less Cooker" steam engines

AB&A / AB&C 0-6-0 #58

Mississippi Central 4-4-0 #98

Conrail #46195 (ex DL&W?) caboose

Sugar Pine Lumber(Pacific Lumber)2-8-2T#37


NEWS BITS

• Spotted behind Betty Inc., a groceries firm, were two cars with the same reporting numbers! The two freight cars from the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad were labeled AM 2047 on 9/15/98 were on Columbus Blvd. (formerly Delaware Ave.) in Philadelphia, PA The stenciled details as follows:

AM 2047 AM 2047 Car Number
Youngstown Doors Pullman Standard Doors boxcar door type
BLT 7-75 BLT 4-72 build date
Load LMT 184900 Load LMT 171500 load limit
LT WT 78100 LT WT 91500 "light" weight (empty)
Ex W 10-7 H 14-2 Ex W 10-8 H 13-4 exterior width & height
E W 9-7 H 14-9 E W 9-9 H 14-3
IL 50-7 IL 60-4 interior length (50 vs. 60!)
IW 9-2 IW 9-3 interior width
IH 10-11 I H ____ interior height
empty with cardboard and 2x4 blocking loaded with groceries
(2040 or 2041 written on knuckle) (no other marks) [from Dave Watterson]

• A new Zephyr exhibit opened at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago in association with the 150th anniversary of the first railroad in the Windy City. "All Aboard the Silver Streak" is the exhibit featuring the Burlington's Pioneer Zephyr, the world's first stainless steel, diesel, streamlined passenger train. [from Amtrak Ink]

• The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's #734 was out of service for one month after it broke a piston rod. Thanks to the generosity of the Illinois Railway Museum, the parts needed were removed from a sister engine also built by the Philadelphia Baldwin Locomotive Works. The parts will be returned at the end of the 1998 operating season. Permanent replacement parts will be tooled at WMSR's shops in Ridgeley during the winter and mounted in time for the 1999 operating season. [from Potomac Chapter's Potomac Rail News]


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.

National touring exhibit of O. Winston Link prints (70-75 B&W and 10 color)

October 20 - December 20, 1998 Huntington West Virginia Museum of Art - CALL TO CONFIRM DATES !!

April 13 - June 13, 1999 Cincinnati Ohio Art Museum - CALL TO CONFIRM DATES !!

Saturday, October 3, 1998 Lehigh River Ramble (Jim Thorpe to Mehoopany, PA) 9 AM from Jim Thorpe, rare mileage on Reading & Northern, $35,  SSAE Jersey Central Chapter NRHS, P.O.Box 700, Clark, NJ, 07066-0700

Saturday & Sunday, October 3-4, 1998 Great Scale Model Train Show, Timonium, MD. 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds << NOTE DATE HAS CHANGED TO 3-4 !!!

Fri, Sat, Sun, Holidays, Oct. 2-Nov. 1, 1998 Steamtown Excursions, Scranton, PA at noon & 3 PM

Saturday, October 10, 1998 Lancaster County "Trains Are Us" Fall Train Meet 9 AM- 3 PM, Paradise Fire Co., Rt 30 & Leacock Road, Paradise, PA, info 717-295-4584

Saturday & Sunday, October 10-11, 1998 Lehigh Valley Limited Train Show & Sale 11 AM - 4 PM, Days Inn, Rts. 22 & 309, Allentown, PA, info 610-461-8644 (Phila. Div. MER, NMRA)

Saturday & Sunday, October 10-11 + 17-18 + 31-Nov. 1, 1998 #614 Steam Excursions 9:30 AM - 6:14 PM Hoboken, NJ-Port Jarvis, NY, $75-125, info 888-324-0614, orders 908-236-2200

Saturday & Sunday, October 24-25 + November 7-8, 1998 Steam on The Susquehanna North Bergen, NJ to Warwick, NY using NYS&W 2-8-2 #142, $40-150, for info 1-877-872-4674

Sunday, October 25, 1998 Model Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Lackawanna Station Hotel, Scranton, PA, $3 admission

Sunday, October 25, 1998 Lancaster/Strasburg Train & Toy Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Historic Strasburg Inn, Strasburg, PA, $3 admission, info 717-392-5515

Sunday, October 25, 1998 Special Trip by Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum a trip over Western Maryland "Dutch Line" to Gettysburg and New Oxford. for info 301-739-4665

Sunday, November 8, 1998 Motorcar Day on the Wilmington & Western

Saturday, November 14, 1998 Baltimore Chapter Annual Banquet 7 PM, Snyders Willow Grove Inn, Linthicum, MD, $20, speaker = NRHS President Greg Molloy send check to Balt. Chapt. NRHS, c/o H. Hess, 8600 Midi Ave., Baltimore, MD 21234-4011

Saturday, November 21, 1998 Model Train & Toy Show & Sale 9 AM - 3 PM, Hartly DE Fire Hall, Rt 13 south to Rt 300 west to Rt 11 west, info 302-492-3755

Sunday, November 22, 1998 Prime-Mover Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Aetna Hall, Newark, DE for info call Tom @ 610-255-4785

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1998 - Turkey Trot Trolley Trip II covering portions of Routes15 & 23 in Philadelphia using the Red Arrow PCC. Trip departs Elmwood car barn 10:00am, returns approximately 3:00 pm. Like all of Steve Barry's trips, this one features numerous quality photo stops. Ticket prices are $25 per trip) for Wilmington Chapter members and guests, $30 for general public. Seating is limited. Tickets can be ordered from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Information call 973/383-3355 between 9am and 6pm.

Saturday, December 12, 1998 Lancaster County "Trains Are Us" Christmas Train Meet 9 AM- 3 PM, Paradise Fire Co., Rt 30 & Leacock Road, Paradise, PA, info 717-295-4584

Sunday, December 13, 1998 Nordel's X-mas Train Show 10 AM - 3 PM, Cranston Heights Fire Co., Kirkwood Highway, Prices Corner, DE, info 302-234-6901

1999

Sunday, January 10, 1999 Prime-Mover Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Hockessin Memorial Hall, Hockessin, DE for info call Tom @ 610-255-4785

Saturday & Sunday, January 30-31, 1999 Great Scale Model Train Show, Timonium, MD. 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1999 - Super Saturday Streetcar Special VI over Philadelphia streetcar routes. Trip departs Germantown car barn at 10:00 am, returns approximately 3:00 pm. A PCC will be used, exactly which one and the route to be determined. Like all of Steve Barry's trips, this one features numerous quality photo stops. Ticket prices are $25 (per trip) for Wilmington Chapter members and guests, $30 for general public. Seating is limited, although if demand warrants we may add a second streetcar. Tickets can be ordered from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Information call 973/383-3355 between 9am and 6pm.

Saturday, February 6, 1999 Model Train/ Toy Show & Sale 9 AM - 3 PM (snow date Feb. 13), Newark High School, Newark, DE

Saturday & Sunday, February 20-21, 1999 Brass Expo, Eisenhower Tower, Gettysburg, PA

Saturday, March 13, 1999 Hillendale Train Meet 9-2 Saturday, Hillendale Rd. (0.5 miles north of Mendenhall Inn) Elementary School, Chadds Ford, PA

MARCH 20, 1999 - West Chester Railroad Photographers' Train. Ride the entire West Chester Railroad with photo stops at all the stations, plus some non- station stops as well. Train will feature an Alco S2 on one end, and CPR 1803 (RS18) on the other. This may be 1803's final trip in CPR paint as it will be repainted in the spring. Trip departs West Chester 12:30 pm, returns approximately 4:00 pm for dinner break, then a night photo session will be held in the West Chester RR yard. Like all of Steve Barry's trips, this one features numerous quality photo stops. Ticket prices are $25 (per trip) for Wilmington Chapter members and guests, $30 for general public. Seating is limited, although if demand warrants we may add a second coach to the West Chester trip. Tickets can be ordered from Wilmington Chapter NRHS, c/o Steve Barry, 117 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860. Information call 973/383-3355 between 9am and 6pm.

Saturday & Sunday, April 17-18, 1999 Great Scale Model Train Show 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD.

Sunday, April 18, 1999 Nordel's X-mas Train Show 10 AM - 3 PM, Cranston Heights Fire Co., Kirkwood Highway, Prices Corner, DE, info 302-234-6901

Sunday, May 16, 1998 Model Train Show 9 AM - 2 PM, Historic Strasburg Inn, Strasburg, PA, $3 admission, info 717-392-5515

June 18-27, 1999 Central Coast Chapter's Railfair '99 w/ California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento

Saturday & Sunday, June 19-20, 1999 Great Scale Model Train Show, Timonium, MD.

June 19-27, 1999 NRHS National Convention hosted by the Central Coast Chapter and the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Sacramento, CA

Saturday & Sunday, August 7-8, 1999 Great Scale Model Train Show,Eisenhower Tower,Gettysburg,PA

Saturday & Sunday, October 3-4, 1999 Great Scale Model Train Show, Timonium, MD.

August 2-6, 2000 NRHS National Convention hosted by the Lancaster Chapter in and around Pittsburgh, PA

CHAPTER EVENTS

Thursday Oct. 15, 1998 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Greg Ajamian "Five Days this Spring in NYPAOH"

Thursday Nov. 19, 1998 7 PM Chapter Meeting Program by Guest Speaker Ronald Bowes from Conrail's Philadelphia Office

Sunday Nov. 22, 1998 10 AM Chapter Trip Turkey Trot Trolley Trip II

Sunday Dec. 13, 1998 5 PM Holiday Dinner in lieu of normal monthly meeting Program by Steve Barry

Saturday Jan. 30, 1999 10 AM Chapter Trip Super Saturday Streetcar Special VI

Saturday Jan. 30, 1999 10 AM Chapter Trip Super Saturday Streetcar Special VI

The Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) meets at 7:00 PM on the  third Thursday of each month [except 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 Website, thanks to Russ Fox at: http://www.foxcity.com/nrhs/wilm/wilm.htm


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 Bruce Barry


Back To Wilmington Chapter Web Site

This material may be reprinted without permission as long as it appears as shown above and is not changed in any way. Credit must be given to the Wilmington Chapter NRHS and it's Internet Web Site at: http://foxcity.com/nrhs/wilm/wilm.htm.
Mail: Wilmington Chapter - NRHS, P.O. Box 1261, Wilmington, DE 19899-1261, USA
E-mail: edthorn@bellatlantic.net
Webmaster: fis@foxcity.com
Copyright © 1997, 1998 Wilmington Chapter NRHS/Fox Information Services, Inc.