NEXT MEETING: June 20 ALL ABOARD! Enjoy a ride on your museum railroad! VOL. 62 NO. 6 JUNE 2019 A little rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of our visitors during our annual Father’s Day Train Rides! Thanks to Regional Transit Service for loaning their restored 1956 GM Transit Bus for display throughout the weekend. PHOTO BY OTTO M. VONDRAK Peak Performance While we dodge the raindrops, we’ve interior walls of Lehigh Valley 95100 are enjoyed a very successful spring season, complete, allowing the crew to turn to with sold out events including Easter other restoration tasks. Bunny Train Rides, Rails & Ales, and our Our Tuesday Night Track (TNT) Gang new Vintage Rails Wine Tasting. Looking has been engaged in a program of tie forward to the summer, we have our replacement through the Hill Block, and Fathers Day Weekend Train Rides on June around Switch No. 5. Meanwhile, our INSIDE 15-16, our new Princesses & Superheroes Construction Dept. has been clearing the Train Rides on July 27-28, and the return right of way to prepare for better drainage of steam locomotive Viscose Co. no. 6 on ditches from Midway to Switch 6. 2019 Schedule ......2 August 17-18 and 24-25. Many volunteers put forth tremendous We currently have three caboose projects effort each season to keep us running. Beer/Wine Events ....3 inside the Restoration Shop that are making Not an easy feat for the largest operating tremendous headway towards completion. railroad museum in New York State. As Steam Trains ........4 Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh is getting always, we can use your help. It’s not all a new rubber membrane roof. New heavy lifting, and every contribution helps. Collections Mgt. ......5 windows and fresh interior paint will help I always welcome your feedback on how complete the multi-year restoration as we we can make our museum better. Please prepare this car for museum service once email me at [email protected] or call again. New York Central 19877 is also me at (585) 820-2341. getting a new rubber membrane roof as —Otto M. Vondrak, well as some mechanical check-up. The Museum President ROCHESTER & GENESEE VALLEY RAILROAD MUSEUM • RGVRRM.ORG www.rgvrrm.org MUSEUM OFFICERS 20I9 SCHEDULE President Subject to change. Visit RochesterTrainRides.com for details. Otto M. Vondrak (585) 820-2341 [email protected] June 15-16 - Fathers Day Train Rides Vice President Peter Gores July 27-28 - Princesses & Superheroes Treasurer August 17-18 - Real Steam Train Rides Dave Peet Recording Secretary August 24-25 - Real Steam Train Rides David Kehrer Sept. 21 - Oktoberfest Rails & Ales Corresponding Secretary Jeremy Tuke Sept. 22 - Ciderfest Rails Train Rides Trustees Rob Burz Sept. 28-29 - Military Salute Train Rides David Kaiser Joe Nugent Oct. 12-13 - Pumpkin Patch Train Rides David Scheiderich David Shields Oct. 19-20 - Pumpkin Patch Train Rides John Stewart Mark Wilczek Oct. 26-27 - Pumpkin Patch Train Rides Nov. 30 - Santa Trains to the North Pole The official publication of Dec. 7- Santa Trains to the North Pole the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum Volume 62, No. 6 Dec. 14 - Santa Trains to the North Pole EDITOR Otto M. Vondrak PRINTING AND MAILING Dave Peet ©2019 Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. The Semaphore is published monthly by the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. Electronic distribution by e-mail is free. First-Class mailing is available for $7.00 a year. Non-member mailed subscriptions are $12.00 and run from January 1 to December 31. Member meetings are held the third Thursday of each month, and the Board of Trustees meets the first Thursday of each month. Any items related to the activities of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, and regional railroad history and current events are gladly accepted for publication. 2 • JUNE 2019 • THE SEMAPHORE MUSEUM CONTACT INFO MUSEUM PRESIDENT Otto Vondrak (585) 820-2341 [email protected] BUILDINGS & GROUNDS SUPT. Charlie Marks (585) 637-4271 [email protected] MECHANICAL SUPT. Joe Nugent (585) 944-1047 [email protected] OPERATIONS SUPT. Frank Gough (585) 703-4476 [email protected] TRACK AND RIGHT-OF-WAY SUPT. David Kehrer (585) 576-3843 [email protected] CONSTRUCTION SUPT. Scott Gleason The Tuesday Night Track Gang has been busy replacing ties in the Hill Block through the month of (585) 406-6484 [email protected] June. Work will continue throughout the summer. New volunteers are welcome! INTERIM PUBLIC RELATIONS SUPT. tilling, Brindle Haus Brewing, Fifth Frame Fathers ride FREE (with additional paid Otto Vondrak (585) 820-2341 [email protected] Brewing, and K2 Bros. Brewing. Thanks to child or adult fare)! Visit www.Rochester- all of our vendors who made our event a TrainRides.com for details. MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN success! Sam Rosenberg On Sunday, May 19, you museum hosted PRINCESSES & SUPERHEROES [email protected] its first ever Vintage Rails Wine Tasting, JULY 27-28 PROGRAM CHAIRMAN featuring locally produced wine and spir- Children come dressed as their favorite John Stewart its. More than 300 visitors enjoyed samples characters and meet real princesses and (585) 704-8885 [email protected] from Arbor Hill Winery, 810 Mead Works, superheroes (thanks to Enchanted Princess A Gust of Sun Winery, Honeoye Falls Dis- Parties of Rochester) while they enjoy fun tilling, Deer Run Winery, Schwenk Wine train rides and other activities. Ice cream MONTHLY PROGRAM Cellars, Agness Wine Cellars, and Embark treats will be available for purchase from Meetings return to Industry Depot Craft Ciderworks. JoJo’s Cool Bus, and a bounce castle is starting June 20. Starting a half-hour We are looking forward to hosting our being provided by Air Affair of Roches- earlier at 7:00 p.m., following a brief second annual Oktoberfest Rails & Ales on ter. Trains depart every half-hour from business meeting we will enjoy rides on September 21, and our first ever Ciderfest Industry depot between 10:00am-4:00pm. our museum railroad and a tour of current hard cider event on September 22. Stay Adults (18+) $12.00, Youth (5-17)/Seniors projects in the Restoration Shop. Warm- tuned for developments! (65+) $10.00. Visit www.RochesterTrain- weather meetings continue at the depot on —Otto M. Vondrak, Visitor Ops. Supt. Rides.com for details. July 18, and August 16. All museum meetings are FREE and FATHERS DAY TRAIN RIDES ONLY 15 TICKETS LEFT FOR open to the public. Please bring a friend and JUNE 15-16 JULY 19-21 WEEKEND RAILROAD help spread the word about our museum. Celebrate Fathers Day Weekend with TOUR OF ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA —John Stewart, Program Chair FREE train rides for Dad (with additional There’s only 15 seats left for our spe- paid child or adult fare)! Enter our historic cial Weekend Railroad Tour of Altoona TASTING EVENTS SELL OUT 1909 Erie Railroad train station and pur- from July 19 through 21, including visits For the third year in a row, your muse- chase your ticket from the friendly agent to the Railroader’s Memorial Muse- um enjoyed sold-out success for its pop- inside. You will be welcomed by friendly um, Horseshoe Curve National Historic ular Rails & Ales craft beer tasting event volunteers as you enjoy your ride aboard Landmark, an Amtrak ride from Altoona held on Saturday, May 18. More than 400 our restored vintage trains. Enjoy our spe- to Johnstown around Horseshoe Curve, a visitors enjoyed samples from fourteen cial exhibit of a 1956 GM Transit Bus re- tour of Curry Rail Services located in the local vendors including 810 Mead Works, stored by volunteers at Regional Transit old PRR Hollidaysburg Car Shops, a visit OSB Ciderworks, RailHead Brewing, Service. See our progress on the restoration to Allegheny Portage Railroad Nation- West Shore Brewing, Roc Brewing, Rising of Rochester Subway Car 60! Trains de- al Historic Site, a ride behind ex-Bath & Storm Brewing, Sager Beer Works, Stone- part every half-hour from Industry depot Hammondsport steam locomotive no. 11 at yard Brewing, Lost Borough Brewing, between 10:00am-4:00pm. Adults (18+) the Everett Railroad, a visit to and rides at Blue Toad Hard Cider, Honeoye Falls Dis- $12.00, Youth (5-17)/Seniors (65+) $10.00, the Rockhill Trolley Museum, and a tour RGVRRM.ORG • JUNE 2019 • 3 LEFT: Volunteer Chuck Whalen has been sanding and priming the interior closet doors, preparing them for reinstallation. BELOW LEFT: With interior walls complete, at- tention now turns to the closet spaces inside the caboose. Volunteer Joe Steimer uses a needle scaler to remove paint from the lavatory walls. BELOW: Volunteer Bill Marcotte made a card- board template to use as a cutting guide to fab- ricate a new smokestack cap. of the shops at the East Broad Top Rail- chasing water and coal supplies soon, and has to be attached were rotten. We expect road PLEASE NOTE: You must make your making other preparations for the event. both roof projects to be completed by the own arrangements for lodging and food. Look for event details to be posted soon. end of July. —Charlie Marks, Project Mgr. Get on board! See the complete trip itin- —Otto Vondrak erary and reserve your tickets on-line at LEHIGH VALLEY RochesterTrainRides.com. CABOOSE ROOFING PROJECTS CABOOSE 95100 UPDATE —Dave Shields, Trip Chairman The roofing contractor is fabricating Volunteers Joe Steimer and Bill Bach- some metal for the edges to finish the in- mann have finished rebuilding the main REAL STEAM TRAIN RIDES stallation on the Buffalo, Rochester & interior walls and are moving onto the RETURN THIS AUGUST Pittsburgh caboose roof. Jeremy Tuke has closet and bathroom areas. Chuck Whalen We are excited to announce that Scott finished some more interior painting and continues with his efforts painstakingly Symans and the Viscose 6 will return to our started attaching the inside window mold- preparing the interior cabinet doors, bunks, museum this summer.