The Dispatcher

Volume 52 Issue 8 August 2017 Central Oklahoma Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Oklahoma Railway Museum, Ltd.

NARCOA Affiliate Member

Garden Railway Convention Visits Museum By Larry Dodd The Tulsa Garden Scale Railroad Club hosted the 33rd annual National Garden Railway Convention this year on July 10 through July 15 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Tulsa Oklahoma. Attendees were from all 50 states and a few foreign countries. The convention includes activities on site at the convention center as well as a number of tours of local garden railroad layouts, railroad attractions and museums. One particular tour on July 11 included tours of Oklahoma City/Edmond garden scale layouts and The Oklahoma Railway Museum. We had 4 different 40 passenger tour buses arrive at our gate bringing convention attendees. Fortunately they were spaced throughout the day. The tour was designed to rotate people between the various private garden railroad layouts and the museum on specifically assigned buses. Additionally, we had over 100 guests arrive via private cars. Needless to say it was a busy day. Steve Kamm, Anne Murray-Chilton and my humble self acted as tour guides as best we could. Karl Stevenson had our HO layout running full steam and it was enjoyed by all who attended. Chuck Shinn was inside the Display Car happily entertaining the crowds. The air conditioning inside the cars helped, but the garden scale group really did enjoy our “little set.” Despite the sweltering heat, the tour group enjoyed our facility and took countless photos of the buildings and dropped several nice donations into our well. We appreciate the Garden Railroad Convention making us one of their “whistle stops.”

In This Issue Garden Railway 1 President’s Column 2 Museum Update 3 RI RPO 760 4 Ramblin’ Rails 5 Education Update 6 Board Update 8 Track Display 9 Around The Grounds 10 First order of business on arrival at Oklahoma Railway Museum was to locate some Current Projects 11 shade for a group photo. The following three groups dispersed before we could Timetable 12 encourage them to pose, so I was only able to get one group. However; this is indicative of the group sizes that we had. Great attendance! 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 It has been four years this month (August) since I Museum, Ltd. joined the Oklahoma Railway Museum. FaceBook (405) 424-8222 reminds you of events by popping up pictures Board of Directors from your previous “posts.” The picture that came Eric Dilbeck, President up was of the RI 17834 Caboose. It was after the Bob Nantois, Vice President and museum had just started rebuilding the caboose Program Chair (vs the disassembly and cleaning). You could still Drake Rice, Secretary see someone standing on the other side of the Charles Price, Treasurer caboose. This was the first project I worked on at Craig Larson, NRHS Director the museum as a volunteer. At the time, I did not Bob Cossairt, Director of have any ambitions other than volunteering one Museum Grounds & Facilities or two Saturdays a month. Wow did that change! Bob Hussey, Director of As the RI Caboose restoration progressed, my role at the museum did as well. Track Maintenance Initially I helped with various restoration projects. Eventually I became more Terry Birchett, Director of involved with the operations of the museum. I think my test of commitment was Mechanical Operations shoveling coal for six days (not that I complained much,see picture above), as I Harry Currie, Director at Large was soon appointed Vice President, taking Larry Dodd’s place. I think this was Greg Hall, Director of Museum Activities another test as I was not even in the position a full term before elected President. Bob Cook, Director of Now as President, I find myself happily working on a variety of projects in my spare Museum Displays time: from working with Greg Hall painting rail cars to helping Anne with marketing, Ed Birch Jr., grant writing, and numerous other tasks. Our expansion plans are gaining a lot Train Show Chair of momentum and I am learning it takes a lot of work to keep it going. Especially Anne Murray-Chilton, balancing work, the museum, and my home life. Thankfully, I have a very supportive Membership Chair and helpful wife. (She edits the newsletter every month, and does a great job!) Eric Dilbeck, While I never had plans to become President or even a board member, it has been Interim Dispatcher Editor rewarding. I could not have found a more dedicated group of people to work with. Over the last four years, I have made friends and formed relationships across the country. I look forward to the next four plus years! See you on the rails!

Day Out With ThomasTM September 29th & 30th October 1st, and October 6th, 7th, & 8th The Dispatcher Page 3

Museum Update By Drake Rice

With the rains we have received, the grass is growing. If you would like to donate some time, the museum can always use some help cutting grass and edging. The museum has the equipment and if you can supply the time, it would be appreciated. Contact the museum office if you are willing to help. The batteries have been installed in the MKT 48 and the unit is now out of the shop. Additional oil has been ordered for our engines to top them off. Currently in the shop is the ATSF 2571 for some attention. It has had a water leak and other minor issues that will be addressed in the coming weeks. It is hoped to have this engine running during Day Out With ThomasTM (DOWT). Later this fall, Frisco 814 will go in the shop for battery replacement along with some other adjustments. The 814 has been the workhorse this summer handling all passenger operations since January, and performing very well. Work continues on the MKT Inspection car in the shop. Volunteers have moved all the DOWT items into one box car and put the RS-3 spare parts in another along with parts for our Porter steam engine. That was a big project on the last weekend in July and we thank those who helped. If you have been to the museum, you may have noticed some stakes. These are part of a survey of the entire property. This is to help plan the museum’s expansion by maximizing the use of the land. The Le Flore Depot will be arriving in the near future. Once the depot is on site, the next project will be a fence to help secure and control access to the museum property. Meetings will resume this winter on the master plan and future of the museum. Anne has been working on a volunteer guide for use at the museum. As we continue to grow, it helps us focus on our mission but provides guidance for any issue that may come up. It is important that we have a plan in place and volunteers know how to respond to issues when they arise. If you would like to help with the DOWT, please contact Anne at the museum office. We are looking for volunteers to staff the many positions that need to be filled. Thomas is our big event for the year and ticket sales are already ahead of the last year, which is a good sign. July has been a record month for passengers at the museum. There were 8 train rides in July. Based on our records we’ve carried 1141 passengers. This brings our year-to-date totals above 2016’s, a positive sign for the museum that more and more people are coming to the museum. This means people are seeing nice displays that Steve Kamm and his helpers have been organizing and setting up. We are having guests from Southern Kansas, Southwest Missouri, Eastern Arkansas and Northern Texas. We are becoming the place in our region to ride a real train and learn about the railroading. The last regular run day before DOWT will be September 2 on Labor Day weekend. We have several pieces of equipment coming to the museum in the near future. These are truly exciting times at the Oklahoma Railway Muesum. We hope you will come out and join us as we continue make improvement to the museum and its equipment. As always, we hope to see you at your museum.

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. 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 Rock Island Railway 760 Crosstie By Eric Dilbeck Donations As announced in the July Dispatcher, The Oklahoma Railway Museum has Friends and families of ORM acquired Rock Island (RPO) car #760. This car has a little continue to make donations history behind it. It started life as the New York Central sleeper “#10416 Peekskill to the museum for crossties, Bay” in 1948. It served on the New York Central lines until 1959 when it and 9 other equipment and facilities. sleeper cars were sold to the Rock Island Railroad. The Rock Island converted it A donation of $50.00 will help and 3 other cars into baggage cars 864-867 for use on its passenger . The ORM purchase a new crosstie. other 6 cars were converted to baggage-60’ RPO’s 754-759. As a baggage car, it You may donate a crosstie was assigned #867. in recognition or in memory of someone. Donations can In 1965 baggage car 867 was be mailed to the museum converted into a baggage-60’ RPO at the address below or and assigned number 760. In 1968, made online on our website, oklahomarailwaymuseum.org. it is believed that 760 and the three other baggage cars were sold to Notate “Crosstie” with your Ringling Brothers Circus for use on donation, and send to : their Circus Train. (Whether 760 ORM Ltd. actually was sold to the circus cannot 3400 NE Grand Boulevard Oklahoma City, 73111 be verified.) Our RPO, 760 somehow ended up in the middle of Texas at the Whistle Stop Ranch. The owner Depot Store of the Whistle Stop Ranch retired from the Cotton Belt Lines and had The Oklahoma Railway several pieces of railroad passenger equipment. At one time the Cotton Belt railroad Museum has items available for both children and adults at passed by the ranch within a ½ mile. Now you can barely find the old right of way. the Depot Store. These include This car is mostly complete on the inside. The mail compartment is original and baseball caps, polo shirts, t– shirts, lapel pins, coasters, intact. Only a few holders are missing. As you can see from the photos, and now mugs. Profits from all of the letter and package sorting cases are original and intact. The car body is the sale of these items support in good condition with minor surface rust and only one small place that is rusting the museum and its projects. through. The RPO does have the bag hook for catching mail bags off of a mail crane. At some time in the future, we can look into fabricating a mail crane to put on The Depot Store is located inside the Oakwood Depot our mainline. The car is currently sitting on the ground without wheels, but we have on the museum grounds. It is located a compatible set. The interior needs little work: touchups such as cleaning open on run days (the first and and replacement of the light fixtures. The major damage is on the sliding doors. third Saturdays April through They will need to be repaired as the bottom of them have rusted away. August) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The store is also open Our long-term intent is to repaint the exterior and make it rail worthy for during special events. demonstrations. NRHS Event

October 19 - 21, 2017 2017 NRHS Fall Conference Advisory Council and Board of Directors’ Meetings Kansas City, MO www.nrhs.com The Dispatcher Page 5

Ramblin’ Rails By Tony Wasson My part time job for Alaska Airlines sends me to Seattle, WA for training. Last year I decided to return part way home via train. I departed my hotel on a Friday morning in August and went to King Street Station via light rail. There, I boarded the Coast Starlight #11 instead of a jet. I had Roomette 3 on car #32084. The train follows Puget Sound from Tacoma until the southern end of the sound. We used the Pt. Defiance route, which is being bypassed this fall. At Portland Union Station, we had a long service stop. We then traveled down the Willamette Valley of Oregon to Eugene. Between Portland and Eugene, they had the wine tasting in the Pacific Parlour Car. It was worth the $7 extra fare! At Eugene, the train turns east and climbs the Sierra Nevada range. It was dark at the bottom of the mountains, so not much to see until Sacramento, CA.We arrived 16 minutes late into Sacramento. I stored my baggage in the station and went across the street for breakfast (the internet can be very useful). After breakfast, I walked a block and visited outside the California State Railroad Museum. The eastbound California Zephyr #6 arrived 16 minutes late. I departed in roomette 8 on car #32050. I ate lunch as we headed for the mountains, then rode in the for most of the day. They had National Park Service rangers in the lounge describing various points of interest. You look down on Donner Lake as you cross Donner Pass. As you descend from the mountains, the scenery gets arid very quickly. After Reno, there is lots of dirt and rock to look at! I had dinner and went to bed early. The next morning, I was in eastern Utah. After breakfast in the diner, we crossed the Utah-Colorado border and were soon on the banks of the Colorado River. The train follows the Colorado River more than half way across the state. There are park service rangers in the lounge describing points of interest. Then we changed to the Frazier River canyon for a while. Just east of Winter Park, we traveled through Moffet Tunnel. After the tunnel, the train travels through a series of narrow canyons and short tunnels. We arrived at Denver Union Station 31 minutes early. I rode the new A Line commuter train to DIA and took a shuttle to my hotel, and went home the next day on Southwest. This April, my job sent me to Seattle again for training. I decided to return home via the Empire Builder #8 and Southwest Airlines. After another trip on Sound Transit from SEATAC to the China Town exit, it was a short walk to King Street Station. I boarded sleeper #32020, roomette 6. We departed on time and followed Puget Sound north until Everett, then turned east. I ate dinner as we climbed up the west side of the Sierra Nevada range. It got dark quickly on the downhill run. I woke up in Spokane around midnight. They backed down and coupled to the Portland cars. The Portland engine became the lead unit out of Spokane. In the morning, I had breakfast as we approached Glacier National Park and spent the morning traveling through mountains along the southern edge of the park. By early afternoon, we were traveling through central Montana. Lots of flat prairie to look at! No different in North Dakota. I arrived in St. Paul 29 minutes early. The old union station was recently rebuilt, looks great now. I boarded a light rail train across the street from the depot and traveled to down town Minneapolis, changed trains and headed to the airport. Easy and cheap. Since I had plenty of time, I rented a car at the airport and visited for a while (We used to live in Shakopee, MN.) I turned in my rental car and flew Southwest back to OKC via Midway airport. I recommend taking these trains. The good scenery is on the west end of the trip. The best scenery by far was my trip last year from Seattle to Denver via Sacramento. I would like to travel out of to the east coast and ride on the Northeast Corridor. I may have to go by coach and stay in hotels to rest. Continued on Page 7 Page 6 The Dispatcher Education Committee Update By Steve Kamm, Education Chair Work has continued on our display and signage programs. The Track Components Display is now complete, including an explanatory sign with color coding. The sign for our Truck Parts Display has been printed. This display should be completed within a few weeks. In addition, a large Frisco Herald has been mounted over the door in the Oakwood Ticket Office. Also, plans are underway to mount a diesel piston and cylinder next to the engine block in front of the museum. Next on the list of projects is the reorganization of display cases in the Oakwood Baggage Room. Meanwhile, the museum has had a number of special visitors. This year, the National Garden Railroad Convention was held in Tulsa. During the Convention, the Oklahoma Railway Museum was included as part of the Oklahoma City area tour. On Tuesday, July 11th, we hosted many train enthusiasts who filled three buses, as well as a dozen private automobiles. During the visits, we received lots of nice compliments for our efforts and the quality of our museum.

Left, Deer Creek’s Antler Summer camp visited the mu- seum for the second year in a row. Photo by Anne Chil- ton

Below, A view from the top of Frisco 814 early one train ride morning. Photo By Eric Dilbeck The Dispatcher Page 7

Ramblin’ Rails Continued from Page 5 Some observations on my travels: Since train connections are poor from Oklahoma City, unless you are going to San Antonio or east Texas, you may need to use an airline for part of your trip. Changing from airports to Amtrak stations is easy in a few cities with good public transit to/from the airport. Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Washington National, Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago are easy. Kansas City, Atlanta, and Dallas (except Sunday) are possible, but require connections. The sleeping cars have very firm seats in the roomettes, but they convert into a comfortable lower berth. (I don’t know about the upper berth, never used it.) For those who have not traveled in a superliner sleeper, the roomette is really an enclosed section. It would be tight for two people and the upper berth has no window. A bedroom would be better for two, but they are expensive! Bedrooms can be used in suite if you book two of them. They have a coffee pot at the stairs in every sleeper along with orange juice in the morning. The cars are very quiet on the upper level. I had excellent attendants and crews in all of my trips. The food in the diners was good (and is complimentary for sleeping car passengers). You can get some good rates on sleeping cars if your travel is flexible and you book early!! Changing your travel by a day or two can make a big difference in price. Go by sleeper on long trips if you can afford it. Also, allow plenty of time for connections between trains or airplanes. I was lucky; my trains ran close to schedule at the end points. AMTRAK is infamous for late trains. (I am talking hours, not minutes) For those interested in the consists: (all passenger cars are superliners except the Pacific Parlour, which is a former Santa Fe hi-level lounge. Baggage cars were all new cars.) Coast Starlight southbound #11 P42, P42, baggage, transition sleeper (crew dorm), sleeper, sleeper, sleeper, Pacific Parlour, diner, coach (business class), lounge, coach, coach, coach. California Z Zephyr eastbound #6 P42, P42, baggage, transition sleeper (crew dorm), coach-baggage, coach, coach, lounge, diner, sleeper, sleeper, sleeper (George M. Pullman). Empire Builder eastbound #8 P42-- P42, baggage, transition sleeper (crew dorm), sleeper, sleeper, diner, coach, coach -- lounge, coach, coach-baggage, sleeper. Lead engine and last four cars leaving Spokane are from the Portland section.

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 July Board Meeting • Working on Day Out With ThomasTM. Plans for various items are being summited • Approved lease purchase agreement for Shuttlewagon car mover • Reviewed Le Flore depot move • Discussed obtaining an original ATSF caboose • Discussed purchase of a MKT engine • Discussed dedication of the Santa Fe Depot in OKC this fall • Discussed possible souvenirs for sale at the golf course • Membership at 204 with 9 life members • 1163 passengers transported as on for June • 4152 Volunteer hours year to date Next board meeting will be held on August 24th

Treasurers Report July 2017 Memberships $ 51.00 Birthdays $ 400.00 Donations $10,374.00 *includes gift for RI RPO 760 Gift Shop $ 2471.57 Ticket Sales $ 4487.00 Total Income $17,783.57 Total Expenses $15,261.63

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 28th and 29th November 4th and 5th At The Throttle October 27th, 28th, and 29th and November 3rd, 4th and 5th Visit oklahomarailwaymuseum.org for more details The Dispatcher Page 9

Track Components Display By Eric Dilbeck Steve Kamm has been working on enhancing our visitors experience this year. When I visited the Georgia State Railroad Museum, I took note of how they displayed artifacts and present information. I brought this information back and shared it during our planning meeting in November 2016. Steve Kamm took my ideas and suggestions and ran with them. Since the first of the year, Steve worked on revamping our baggage room and now has moved on to a brand new display for our museum. With the help of Bob Hussey, Steve has a section of track displayed that has all of the different components used in track building. As you will notice in the pictures below, he has color-coded the components for easy identification. This is a great teaching display that engages our visitors. I observed a mother talking with her children one Saturday in front of the sign. She was using the display to tell them about railroad track. This display is a great addition to our museum. Thank You Steve!

Above, Track Components sign with color-coding. Right, Section of track with the components painted to identify each item for easy identification to the display sign. Photos by Steve Kamm

Steve Kamm with the finished track components sign and display. Photo by Anne Chilton Page 10 The Dispatcher Around The Grounds

Steve Kamm created a sign for our turntable to let This is the second year Deer Creek Antler Summer our visitors know what this very large piece of metal camp came out to visit. Photo by Anne Chilton is. Bob Cossairt and Steve Kamm installed it on the turntable. Photo by Steve Kamm

New batteries for MKT 48 Photo by Eric Dilbeck The old batteries are removed from MKT 48 with the assistance of our overhead hoist. Photo by Eric Dilbeck 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 arrived. The exterior is ready for a second coat of primer and paint. The interior is painted and the floor is being installed. Yard Office The siding needs to be repaired and painted. Around the Grounds There are plenty of projects. Ask Anne or Eric about projects that need volunteers.

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].