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iDISPATCHER ojtj che———— Watoitgnr a oro Chiefs 7" °^sr THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA RAIL CLUB LTD VOLUME XXVIX January 1999 NUMBER 1 President: Tom Elmore Vice-President: ilappL) lew Year, 1999 David Carter Secretary: Drake Rice Next Club Meeting Treasurer: The next club meeting will be held on Debbie Neely Saturday, January 23rd, at Hometown Buffet, NRHS Director: NW 63rd and NW Highway. As you may know, Bob Hussey CORC has one family meeting where we eat, Membership Chairman: visit, and take care of business. Eating begins at 6:30 pm. Program begins at 7:00 Members At Large: Eddie Birch, Jr. pm. The food at Hometown is great. You can Ed Kitchell always find something you want to eat. Past President: Lloyd Stagner will be guest speaker at the Bob Cook meeting. Stagner has authored many books and Train Show Chairman: articles about railroads of the midwest. He Ed Birch, Jr. will be happy to sign any book that is Roadmaster: brought to the meeting. Weather will affect Jim Murray Stagner's appearance if roads are slick from Program Chairman David Carter his home in Newton, Kansas. Editor: Come and enjoy a great time with others Roy Thornton who have the same interest... eating! (and Directors Emeritus: trains). • Ed Birch, Sr. Howard Thornton TABLE OF CONTENTS The President's Column 2 Deadline for Right-Of-Way Clean-up Begins 5 articles submitted Norman Depot Won't Be Ready 6 to this publica Preservationists Hope to Save Guthrie Depot 7 Letter to Willis Bottger from Sen. Don Nickles 9 tion is the 5th of Executive Service Corps 10 each month. Membership Form 11 Mail to "Editor " Timetable 12 THE PRESIDENT'S COLUMN The 1998 Train Show and So Forth... After looking forward to the 1998 Oklahoma City Train Show all year, it's hard to believe it's already "been and gone". Seems like I was just writing about how great the '97 show was. As good as it was, I think the '98 show was even better. Saturday was a "perfect day" weatherwise, and, instead of hurting attendance, the great weather seemed to bring folks flocking to the show. I haven't seen official numbers, but someone remarked that Saturday set an all-time one day attendance record. The weather turned downright nasty on Sunday, which seemed to keep more people home, but, even so, every one seemed pleased. We introduced the world to our rendering of the Oklahoma Railway Museum at the Train Show. It created a lot of positive talk and excitement. While it's true the rendering is "just a painting', it's also true that giving people "a look at the dream" seemed to stir deep feelings. The question most often asked was, "where ya gonna build it?". As many times as I answered that question, I don't recall being met with skepticism from anyone. "Looks like a lot of work" was often heard which, of course, is absolutely true. Very important in all of this is the "yes" vote we received from the board of the Central Oklahoma Transit and Parking Authority (COTPA) leasing the old MKT line to the club. Beginning in the spring, we plan to begin rehabilitation of that line, working in segments. Big job? You bet - and a great opportunity to show Oklahoma City what we're made of. Before I leave the subject of the '98 Train Show, thanks are in order. Thanks to all the club members who came out to work. Thanks to the NARVRE members who also helped. Special thanks to Drake Rice, Neal Baucom and John Ansell, who, as usual, set things up and organized the work, and spoke effectively to visitors not only about general club projects, but also about Operation Lifesaver. Thanks, also, to Debbie Neely and David Carter for the important work they did in setting up and overseeing the club's auction. Thanks to Mike McCarville and Jeff Gullett at KTOK Radio for helping us promote the show. Most of all, thanks to Eddie Birch and his "train show crew" who ramrodded the whole affair and have made vendor space at the OKC Train Show some of the most coveted in the nation. As we move into 1999, even a superficial look at the challenges before us will reveal that this is a "make or break" year. Unfortunately, over the last few years "the work" has become more and more concentrated on the backs of a few. Some say, "well, that's just inevitable in a volunteer group"; maybe so, folks, but unless we can depend on the general willingness of the membership of this club to put its shoulder to the wheel, we will fail. Supporting the Work One way you can help is by opening up your pocketbook. CORC is a 501 (C)3 non profit corporation. In maintaining this status, we've done all we can legally do to make January 1999 Page 2 the Dispatcher donations "attractive". You get a "tax deduction" for the money you give - but, of course, if you don't feel the work you would be supporting is worthy, that's probably not much of a motivation. So now comes the question - do you - or don't you - support the museum project? Look at it like this you probably spend $10 a month on things you would never miss. $10 a month over twelve months adds up to $120. This amount from 300 club members works out to $36,000 at the end of a year -$180,000 at the end of five years. Do you care enough about the club's work to faithfully give a measly $10 a month? If you don't, why do you bother? Understand that the $25 a year we ask for "membership" doesn't even cover the cost of sending you the DISPATCHER each month. $25 a year isn't much of a committment. My challenge to you - an "imperative" if the club is to achieve any of its goals - is: plan - right now - to send at least $10 a month as your tax-deductible support for these projects. Send more if it's comfortable. If the club's work isn't worthy of this relatively small amount of support, you need to tell us "why". We must be wasting a lot of time and effort, and we obviously need your advice on what we should be doing differently. I'd also say, "pick a project". "Earmark" your contribution by specifying where it should be spent. You might even want to become "project manager" for that specific job, whether it's restoration of a given car, a section of track, or any other element which is particularly interesting to you. The Challenge ofBricktown Development and the 1-40 Crosstown Relocation While we're talking about "responsibility", I hope you've been paying attention to the developments in Bricktown and with the 1-40 Crosstown relocation project. A group of responsible folks have taken up the challenge of saving the Walnut Street bridge in Bricktown from the wreckers ball. They're also concerned with saving the old Rock Island freight yard from "transformation" into a parking lot. They attended a meeting of the OKC Planning Commission earlier this month and got a reprieve for the old bridge - although Bricktown "developers" and city engineering staff testified to the contrary. The preservation group has a better plan - a plan to save what's left of the historical integrity of the Bricktown area, to renovate the Walnut Street bridge, making it a focal point and gateway to the area. It's a plan which will be less expensive than the alternative, and which, unlike the alternative, will maintain the bridge as a "grade separated railway crossing". There's a fundamental difference in the approach of the "preservers" and that of the "developers". While the latter evidently want to increase automobile traffic and parking accommodations in Bricktown (the "McDonalds drive up" philosophy) - the former believe the only thing Bricktown has to offer that isn't generally available elsewhere is its "turn of the century feel". The critical element in saving this resource (the "feel" of the place) is to limit automobile access and make Bricktown more "pedestrian friendly". Instead of tearing up more historic buildings and areas to make way for more "parking", why not re-establish trolley access to Bricktown from existing downtown parking garages? With trolleys coming by every five minutes, everyone would have quick access back to the parking garages and to other Bricktown attractions - or they could January 1999 Page 3 the Dispatcher choose to walk - without dodging increased numbers of speeding automobiles. The "feel" of Bricktown would be much more appealing. The difference in these philosophies could not be more starkly illustrated than by the "punch in the face" you get turning east onto Sheridan from "Mickey Mantle Drive" (formerly known as Walnut Street). There, an incredibly out-of-place, monolitic, prefab concrete "parking garage" rises six stories above the appealing, turn-of-the-century feel "Bricktown Ballpark". The parking garage had to be "OK'd" by the city planning office. Does it "enhance" the "Bricktown experience"? Was it even necessary considering the huge city-owned Santa Fe parking garage just blocks away stands mostly empty, even on weekdays? Shouldn't rational assessments of the "cost" of the rejected MAPS trolley system have included the "parking garages" that wouldn't have been needed and the authentic brick buildings that could have been saved for taxpaying retail space? (Ironic, isn't it, that MAPS was funded with sales tax- and yet buildings which could add to the sales tax base as retail space are being sacrificed for PARKING!) By the way - if "Congressman Istook's rubber tired trolleys" are so great, if they're really an acceptable substitute for REAL trolleys, why isn't anyone depending on them to access existing parking for Bricktown use? Then, of course, there's the wretched 1-40 Crosstown "D" option, which those of us who have followed this project always knew would be "ODOT's choice".