The Dispatcher

Volume 52 Issue 7 July 2017 Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd.

NARCOA Affiliate Member Oklahoma Railway Museum Receives Donation for Purchase of Postal By Eric Dilbeck The Oklahoma Railway Museum was recently able to save another historic railcar. Rock Island Railway car, #760 was recently put up for sale. With the help of a generous donation towards the purchase and movement of the rail car, the board approved to acquire 760. The Oklahoma Railway Museum board of director’s thank Susan Wolfe of Louisville, KY for her gracious donation of $9,500.00. The Railway Post Office car is in good condition and will be moved to the museum soon. The interior is intact and original, the exterior will need to be repainted. More information on the car will be in future newsletters. Below is a picture of it in service.

Amtrak Inspection Report Part 1 By Evan Stair Oklahoma City-Kansas City On June 9th Amtrak operated a one-way In This Issue Oklahoma City-Kansas City, Missouri inspection train to evaluate Heartland RI RPO 760 1 Flyer expansion possibilities. The full consist included locomotive Amtrak 822 Amtrak Inspection Train 2 (P40DC), Heritage Sleeper “Pacific Bend” No. 10020, Viewliner Sleeper “New Museum Update 3 River” No. 62034, Dome Lounge “Ocean View” No. 10031, and Theater Car Softball Parking 4 “American View” No. 10004. It is interesting to note Amtrak train number 822 Amtrak Inspection Train 5 is the northbound Heartland Flyer and locomotive 822 was also the lead unit Education Update 6 in the inaugural Heartland Flyer consist June 14, 1999. 7 The consist departed New Orleans behind the Sunset Limited. At San Antonio Board Update 8 the cars were switched to Texas Eagle. The Texas Eagle then dropped the Members Picnic 9 cars in Fort Worth where they were attached to the Heartland Flyer for final Around The Grounds 10 positioning in Oklahoma City the evening of June 8th. Current Projects 11 Timetable 12 Continued on page 5 Page 2 The Dispatcher The Oklahoma Railway Museum’s mission is to provide an educational experience of railroads and how they shaped Oklahoma and the Nation. The President’s Column Oklahoma Railway June came and went with a hurry We had two well attended run Museum, Ltd. days, our members picnic, softball parking fundraiser, attended (405) 424-8222 Geekapoloza, made progress on the La Flore depot move, and most Board of Directors exciting to me, committed to preserving another piece of railroad Eric Dilbeck, President history, Rock Island Railway Post Office car #760. Our board has Bob Nantois, Vice President and also made decision to help with our museum’s continued growth-- approval to hire Program Chair a volunteer Coordinator. Drake Rice, Secretary When I first started volunteering, we had 20-30 volunteers out every Saturday. We Charles Price, Treasurer accomplished many projects because of consistent volunteering. Since then, some Craig Larson, NRHS Director of these volunteers are unable to dedicate as much time. We have a faithful group Bob Cossairt, Director of of volunteers and board members that do extraordinary tasks. While this group Museum Grounds & Facilities maintains the day-to-day operations and upkeep of the museum, more people Bob Hussey, Director of are needed to keep moving the museum forward. The Oklahoma Groups’s report Track Maintenance (see month dispatcher-, recommended we hire a part time volunteer coordinator. Terry Birchett, Director of The Volunteer Coordinator’s key responsibilities will be volunteer coordination, Mechanical Operations recruitment and retention They will also start formalizing the volunteer appreciation Harry Currie, Director at Large program. Greg Hall, Director of Museum Activities Anne has performed the function of volunteer coordination for several years. But Bob Cook, Director of with the extra resources needed for our expansion, the board felt that it was time Museum Displays to have an additional person for this specific responsibility. With the museum Ed Birch Jr., expansion moving forward, this will allow Anne to focus on other tasks. We will Train Show Chair post this job position soon; if you know of anyone that might be interested feel free Anne Murray-Chilton, to have them contact Anne or myself. Membership Chair Our new entrance building, the Le Flore Depot, is coming soon and we will need Eric Dilbeck, your help. The depot will require refurbishment before it will be usable. This is a Interim Dispatcher Editor great opportunity for you to be a part of the beginning of our museums expansion. See you on the rails!

Day Out With Thomas September 29 & 30 October 30, 6,7, & 8 The Dispatcher Page 3

Museum Update By Drake Rice

The museum is really seeing a large upswing in the number of visitors this year. Ticket sales are up and our first train in July saw a record number of passengers, 582 compared to 503 a year ago. We appreciate our Administrator, Anne Chilton and all the work she does to make sure we have crossing guards, car hosts, ticket salesperson and gift store clerk. It takes a lot of effort to get all the bases covered and still keep the day-to-day operations moving. Thanks Anne for what you do. Have you seen the Oakwood baggage room? Steve Kamm has changed a dark cluttered room into a really nice display area. The display provides visitors with information so they may learn more about railroading, and a numbered index of items on display. Thank you, Steve, for the good effort and leadership with your fellow volunteers Shop work is a little behind due to a busy June-- the annual membership picnic in addition to the two-scheduled train run Saturdays. MKT 48 is awaiting new batteries for installation, ATSF 2571 is awaiting time in the shop to address a water leak and other minor items. Our passenger cars will move to the shop so any issues can be addressed prior to out Day Out With Thomas event. Other projects are the MKT inspection, which requires volunteers to get the project moving again. Work has been progressing on the interior of the car with the ceiling installed and the walls repaired and painted. The windows have been ordered and should be here in August for installation. They need to be installed prior to the Thomas event since the car will be moved outside. With the help of a donor, the museum has obtained a Rock Island Railway Post Office railcar (RPO) with interior intact. The car does not have wheels but we are currently looking for trucks to go under the car. We do not have a move date at this time, but it will be a good display and educational car since many people today do not realize that the used to move on the rails. Volunteers led by Harry Currie have made two trips to the Le Flore Depot to prepare it for movement to the museum, which is expect around mid-July, 2017. Once received and restored, it will become the new entrance to the museum and will be located between the street and trees, just to the east of the fire hydrant. Again, it will take a lot of volunteer effort to get it ready for use. Another project coming up is the wheel set change out on the UP Caboose. Bob Hussey is heading up this project and it will be another major project for our group of volunteers. This year seems to be the year of big projects, signal, caboose wheel sets, turntable, RPO car and completion of our new parking lot. Our museum is not sitting still, it is moving forward! We are looking for the young and old to join and be part of a team preserving railroad history in Oklahoma. The softball parking effort was a huge success this year with record donations raised in this major fundraising effort. We appreciate everyone that helped with the project. This includes the mowing, putting up the roping, not to mention being there to park the cars. We missed Stan Hall this year who was not able to assist. Stan has been ill the last few months and we wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him around the museum again.

Engraved Purchaser’s Name ______Platform Bricks Phone No. ______Cost is $50.00 per brick. A maximum of 4 lines with 16 letters and spaces per line. More than Line 1 one platform brick can be donated to the Museum and you can make copies of the form below. Mail completed forms with check or money order to: Line 2 Oklahoma Railway Museum 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Line 3 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 Call the museum with any questions. 405-424-8222 Line 4 Page 4 The Dispatcher 2017 WCWS Parking By Larry Dodd Crosstie The 2017 Women’s College Donations World Series of Softball (WCWS) was held at Friends and families of ORM continue to make donations National Softball Hall of to the museum for crossties, Fame and Museum’s Don E. equipment and facilities. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium A donation of $50.00 will help starting June 1, 2017 ORM purchase a new crosstie. through June 7, 2017. As You may donate a crosstie always, volunteer members in recognition or in memory of Oklahoma Railway Museum were on hand to park cars of those attending the of someone. Donations can series. Oklahoma Railway Museum parked cars in 3 lots, 2 adjacent to I-35 on the be mailed to the museum at the address below or north and south sides of N.E. 50th, and at our Adventure Station, closer to HOF made online on our website, Stadium. oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. Our volunteers logged over 400 hours total. On Thursday and Saturday of the Notate “Crosstie” with your series volunteers parked cars from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM due to four games being donation, and send to : held on those days. The remainder of the days the series had only two games, and ORM Ltd. parking was between 4PM and 9PM. Oklahoma Railway Museum’s policy within 3400 NE Grand Boulevard the parking areas is unique as we allow come and go parking as long as space is Oklahoma City, 73111 available. That is, you pay only once and if you leave, you can return to our lots provided space is available for you to park in. This ‘option’ really seems to draw a Depot Store lot of people into our lots. 2017 was a record year for Oklahoma Railway Museum’s parking event. The The Oklahoma Railway Museum has items available WCWS is the second largest fundraiser for our organization. We thank the for both children and adults at National Softball Hall of Fame for this opportunity and appreciate the support that the Depot Store. These include our volunteers give this important event. To show our appreciation, pizza was baseball caps, polo shirts, t– delivered to our parking crews on the last night of the WCWS. shirts, lapel pins, coasters, and now mugs. Profits from During some down time, I took photos of National Softball Hall of Fame’s facilities. the sale of these items support Enjoy the photos and be sure to read the captions beneath them. the museum and its projects. Click here To See More Photos The Depot Store is located inside the Oakwood Depot on the museum grounds. It is Below, The south I-35 lot full with cars. Below right, Terry Birchett, left, and Tom open on run days (the first and Harrison working the Adventure Station parking lot. third Saturdays April through August) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The store is also open during special events. The Dispatcher Page 5

Amtrak Continued from page 1 District 2 Wichita City Councilor Pete Meitzner asked Amtrak to operate the special. The train made intermediate stops in Guthrie, Perry, Ponca City, Arkansas City, Wichita, Newton, and Topeka. Mayors, city councilors, and other dignitaries boarded and alighted at each stop. The train operated on the following schedule: • 7:45am CDT DP Oklahoma City Santa Fe Station • 8:30am DP Guthrie Union Station • 9:15am DP Perry Santa Fe Depot • 10:00am DP Ponca City Santa Fe Depot • 10:45am DP Arkansas City Santa Fe Depot • 12:05pm DP Wichita Union Station • 1:00pm DP Newton Santa Fe/ Amtrak Depot • 3:45pm DP Topeka Santa Fe/ Amtrak Depot • 5:30pm AR Kansas City Union Station Amtrak Inspection train leaving Edmond. Photo Large crowds listened to speeches provided at each of the by Drake Rice brief (ten minute) stops. A few children were invited to ride to the next stop where their guardians could make a retrieval. All in all Amtrak considered the trip successful. The inspection represents the next step in long delayed Kansas service expansion. While the Heartland Flyer currently connects with the Texas Eagle in Fort Worth, a more direct route to is desired. The Dallas/ Fort Worth and Kansas City metropolitan areas have not been directly connected by passenger rail service since October 1979, the month the Chicago-Houston Lone Star was discontinued. The discontinuance resulted from Carter Administration budget cuts, not poor patronage. The last studies of this route were released by Amtrak in 2010 and Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2011. Two operational scenarios were selected from the four studied for further analysis. The first would provide simple Heartland Flyer-Southwest Chief connections in Newton, Kansas during early morning hours. The second would have the existing Heartland Flyer continue on its present schedule; in parallel with a brand new, Kansas City-Fort Worth daylight service. The daylight service is more attractive to business owners; while connectivity would be improved with the Heartland Flyer connection. A combination was also studied. The Southwest Chief connection was estimated to cost $132.5 million, $75 million of which would be for 15 miles of new sidings and double track. The new daylight train was estimated to cost $368.2 million, with 44.3 miles of new sidings and double track at a cost of $245.5 million. A combination of the two was set at $403 million with 48.3 miles of new track set at $255.5 million. The Southwest Chief expansion scenario is expected to net 200,500 annual passengers with the new service attracting 270,000 passengers. Privately officials have claimed the 2010 and 2011 capital cost figures were inflated. Amtrak officials now claim service expansion must occur for the Heartland Flyer to survive long term. This may be the result of Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) pressure. Amtrak began increasing Heartland Flyer contractual costs in 2015. The Heartland Flyer almost did not make it through the FY-2018 state budget. ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson informed a joint legislative committee on the next to last day of the legislative session that a proposed removal of $1 million from the state’s annual $2.85 million appropriation would result in service reduction to less than daily. As a result the committee restored the $1 million and derived the funding from another state transportation program. With state and federal budgets tight, it will be some time before Kansas expansion occurs. Page 6 The Dispatcher Education Committee Update By Steve Kamm, Education Chair On June 25th Eric Dilbeck and I showed the Oklahoma Railway Museum’s colors at Geekapalooza, an event designed to encourage kids to learn about science and technology. Hosted by Girls Scouts of Western Oklahoma and MetroFamily Magazine, the all-day festival was held at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. Eric and I took turns interacting with the adults while helping kids learn to operate our G-scale switching layout. We had a steady stream of youngsters who learned how to control the switch engine to assemble a train of freight cars on the layout. On June 29th, Hank Asin and I served as docent teachers to a group of 17 youngsters and four adults from the St. Elizabeth’s Child Development Center. They were split into two groups by their leader. Hank and I each took a group on a two-hour teaching/playing tour of the Museum. We taught them about steam/diesel engines, various types of freight and passenger , couplers, the roll of cabooses, and track construction. The kids visited all areas in the Museum, climbed into caboose cupolas, collected small pieces of coal, lifted a heavy track tool, moved the hand car forward & backward, rang the bell in the Display Car, and sounded the horn in the Model Train Car. Some of the youngsters in my group even asked for a quiz at the end of the tour! (What are the 3 C’s you learned today? Caboose, Cupola and Coupler.) All in all, the kids were inquisitive and very well behaved.

Amtrak Report Part 2 By Evan Stair Tulsa-OKC Commuter Rail Project. Progress has stalled on a less costly commuter rail route between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. When the state sold the 97.5 mile Sooner Subdivision to the Stillwater Central Railroad closing documents included a requirement to operate a six month pilot commuter rail project. As of the summer of 2016 the Sooner Subdivision became Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Class-3 track standard. Freight can now operate at 40 mph in the few places where track is straight. Passenger trains can operate at a maximum of 60 mph. The holdup remains providing upgrades and access to Bricktown in Oklahoma City and access between Sapulpa and downtown Tulsa. When the state purchased the Del City to Sapulpa line in 1998 from the BNSF Railway, it also purchased a 99-year Buyers Passenger Service Rights contract. These rights allows up to four passenger trains to operate between Sapulpa and Downtown Tulsa at a cost of $9 per mile, per train operation. When the line was sold to the Stillwater Central Railroad on August 4, 2014 the passenger rights also transferred. On September 1, 2015 Mayor Cornett signed a city resolution and contract with the Union Pacific Railroad. The contract allows the city to spend $50,000 NRHS Events on a capital improvement study. Study scope includes a review of necessary capital upgrades to 4.2 miles of Union Pacific track from Del City to the Santa July 30 – August 6, 2017 Fe Depot Transit Hub. The results of the study have either not been released RailCamp West or the resolution has been shelved with no action taken. Tacoma, WA No timeframe has been provided. However, the project must begin by August October 19 - 21, 2017 4, 2019 or the Stillwater Central Railroad will forfeit $2.8 million to the state in 2017 NRHS Fall Conference liquidated damages. This funding is already in an escrow account. Advisory Council and Board Evan Stair of President Directors’ Meetings Passenger Rail Oklahoma Kansas City, MO www.nrhs.com The Dispatcher Page 7 The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society Visits the Oklahoma Railway Museum By Eric Dilbeck The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society held their annual convention in Tulsa, June 21 -25, 2017. This was their 37th convention and the first one to be hosted in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Marc Montray was the convention chair and is a member of the Oklahoma Railway Museum. While the Oklahoma Railway Museum was not an official activity of the convention, we did open our museum up on Sunday after the conference. Attendee were welcomed to come out and visit the museum grounds. Oklahoma Railway Museum members Greg Hall and Larry Dodd spent most of the day hosting society members, giving tours and answering questions. They even stayed late for a night photo shoot. The lights on the Santa Fe 643 and Santa Fe CF7 2571 were lit for photos. Photos By Greg Hall

Back copies of The Dispatcher needed! The Oklahoma Public Library assisted us in scanning in past issues of The Dispatcher that we did not have in electronic form for archive purposes. We are still missing some issues. If you have any of The Dispatchers listed below you that would allow us to scan, we will return it to your collection. Thank you for your assistance with this. 1992 - March, April, May, June, August, September, 1996 - June & December 2002 - July, November, & December 1993 - January & December 2008 - August Page 8 The Dispatcher

Board Update By Drake Rice Actions from the June Board Meeting • Working on DOWT, plans for various items are being summited • Approved sale of Shuttlewagon car mover • Reviewed Le Flore Depot move, work day scheduled for June 29th • Approved Purchase of Rock Island RPO car • Reviewed and approved schedule for Steam Train event in the fall • Approved hiring of a part time Volunteer Coordinator • Membership at 202 with 9 life members • 1901 passengers transported as on June 22nd Next board meeting will be held on July 27th

Treasurers Report June 2017 Memberships $ 70.00 Birthdays $ 125.00 Donations $ 822.00 Gift Shop $ 797.83 Ticket Sales $ 2024.00 Softball Parking $ 50,237.00 Total Income $ 54,075.83 Total Expenses $16,215.52

Upcoming Rail Related Events and Conventions

Day Out With ThomasTM at Oklahoma Railway Museum All aboard for a day of family fun with Thomas! September 29th and 30th, and October 1st October 6th, 7th, and 8th Tickets available at Ticketweb.com/dowt

Railroaders Meet-up at Oklahoma Railway Museum October 21st Lunch and train ride All active and retired railroad employees welcome

Fall Steam Train Event at Oklahoma Railway Museum Train Rides October 28 and 29 November 4 and 5 At The Throttle October 27, 28, and 29 and November 3,4 and 5 Visit oklahomarailwaymuseum.org for more details The Dispatcher Page 9 Oklahoma Railway Museum hosts Members Picnic and Train Ride By Eric Dilbeck On June 10th, 2017, the Oklahoma Railway Museum hosted it’s annual members picnic and train ride. Lunch was prepared by Bob Nantois, Vice President, and assisted by Anne Chilton, Museum Administrator, and Eric Dilbeck, President. Bob served hamburgers and hot dogs as well as all the fixin’s. We had a great turn out, including some members that I have not seen for a while. It was great to see and talk with members. Thanks for the birthday cake and card. I enjoyed spending my birthday in good company while taking a train ride!

Clockwise from upper left, Anne give Eric a birthday cake, Members line up for hamburgers and hot dog, Anne Murray (left) and Clarice Silovsky enjoy Train train ride, Marc and Vickie Montray. Center, Anne Chilton flexes her muscles to set the hand brake on our X21 Caboose. Page 10 The Dispatcher Preparing the Le Flore Depot for movement to ORM

Anne Chilton and Dan Gassen stack tin from the Tom Harrison removes a section of the Le Flore roof of the Le Flore Depot as it is being removed. If Depot’s bay windows so it can be moved. Photo by you look to the right of the baggage door, you can Jay Chilton see the timetable board. Photo by Jay Chilton

Larry Dodd works on removing the roof rafters off of Tom Harrison works on a second section of the Le the Le Flore Depot. Photo by Jay Chilton Flore Depot’s bay windows. Photo by Jay Chilton

Mark Karner works on removing roof decking so the Eric Dilbeck looks out from the stripped depot roof. rafters can be removed. Photo by Jay Chilton Photo by Jay Chilton The Dispatcher Page 11

Current Projects By Eric Dilbeck We currently have several projects in progress at the museum. Arrange time on a Saturday to come out and help. Santa Fe 643 Steam Engine (outside on the track) The sunshades and rear curtains need to be worked on. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Caboose (outside on the platform) The windows have been repaired. Work continues on replacing the outside siding. Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad Inspection Car (in the shop building) The new windows have been ordered. The interior work has started with painting the walls and installing the new ceiling tiles. Last the new flooring will be laid. The exterior prep work is nearing completion, then we will be able to paint it. Rock Island Box Car (outside on the track) The sliding doors need some attention. We will start transferring the DOWT equipment to this car soon. This car will become our DOWT storage car. Yard Office The siding needs to be repaired and painted.

Visit the Oklahoma Railway Museum on YouTube at:

youtube.com/c/OklahomarailwaymuseumOrg

Lands’ End and ORM logo

You can now order apparel with an embroidered ORM logo from Lands’ End at the website below. Once you select the item you want you will be able to select the logo and where you want it placed. We will send out emails when Lands’ End runs a special. Anything on sale in the regular catalog will be on sale on this site as well. ces.landsend.com/Oklahoma_Railway_Museum Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd. 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73111-4417

Return Service Requested

Page 12 The Dispatcher Timetable Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) - Open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM Closed on major holidays. ORM Train Rides - First and third Saturdays, April through August at 9:15 AM, 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM and 3:15 PM ORM Board Meetings - Last Thursday of every month at Oklahoma Railway Museum - 7:00 PM. Oklahoma “N” Rail - For information call Rick Inselman (405) 412-1552. Central Oklahoma Garden Railroad Society Contact information: Steve Lemcke (405) 703-0209 e-mail [email protected] Marshall Douglas (405) 290-8989 Steve Kamm (405) 685-3755 email [email protected] Passenger Rail Oklahoma - Passenger Rail Oklahoma volunteers provide Amtrak depot hosting for the Hartland Flyer in City of Norman, OK most evenings, holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The depot opens at 7:50 AM. Contact Evan Stair at [email protected], www.passengerrailok.org, or (405) 366-8957. Depot volunteer opportunities are available. Oklahoma S.W. Division NMRA - 2nd Saturday of each month, 1:00 PM, Goldman Room, Kirkpatrick Center, Jim Heidon, President Yukon’s Best Railroad Museum - Thursday/Saturday/Sunday and by appointment. Located 1 block north of Main and UP tracks in Yukon. Call John Knuppel, (405) 354-5079, for times and information. Waynoka Station/Waynoka Historical Society - 202 South Cleveland, Waynoka, (580) 824-1886. If you can help, call Sandie Olson. Corrections Any changes to the above information or articles in “the Dispatcher” should be directed to the editor, Eric Dilbeck at [email protected]. For information on upcoming programs contact Anne Chilton at [email protected].