Aug 20 2011
Mike GoralskiAugust 2011, Hawthorne Station
Recently, we received a historical photograph of Hawthorne Station from a Mr. Dave Schuster. We encourage anyone who permits use of their photo to send them to us here at The DIGEST. We would love to publish them here for all our members to enjoy. You can email the editors directly at vraeditor@vratrips.org
Mr. Schuster writes:
“My great grandfather [Gabe Popper] (shown far right) was the truant officer in town for many years perhaps the photo relates to that somehow.”
“My grandfather Jean Popper was an “Erie Man” his entire life and grew up in Hawthorne (1902-1999) he had many stories about the history of Hawthorne and railroading.”
“Thank you and your group for saving and refurbishing the station it played an important part of Hawthorne’s past.”
Dave Schuster
Truly a lovely gesture on his part. I am very happy to include Mr. Schuster’s photograph of the station in this issue.
- Mike Goralski
Aug 20 2011
KC SmithAugust 2011, United Railroad Historical Society of NJ
Over the many years I have been representing the VRA to the URHS I have heard a lot of people inside and outside our group talk about the URHS as though it was some standalone group with no connection to any other group. I have also heard many people say things about the URHS not finding a place for the Transportation Heritage Center. I am here to set the record straight.
First and foremost, the URHS is nothing more than the fifteen member groups all put together with a common cause. Each group is represented by a delegate and an alternate. In our case that is Joe Mele and I. Once per month the group gathers to go over the business set before them and decide what to do and what not to do. Each representative has the responsibility to vote on whatever is presented as they think their group would like them to vote. In some cases, but not most, the representative is asked to go back to their group and get direction.
Each rep is supposed to give a report to their group about what is going on, which in some cases does not happen, but at least in ours we have had a URHS report be part of our newsletters and on our web site for years. If any member group has a problem with a decision they have always had the right to question what is going on and have their rep either answer the question or present it at a meeting, which has occurred a number of times over the years. In these cases the rest of the reps get to discuss the objection and decide what to do.
Why am I telling you all this? Recently I had yet another discussion with someone about something the URHS did that they did not like. This conversation centered on the color engines were being painted, the choice of engines being “restored” and why the URHS was doing any restoration without a place to display them.
The first two are good questions, but also questions that long ago were decided on and have been posted on the URHS web site for years [ Statement on Preservation ] . The answer as to why a certain railroad was chosen is because it was decided that we should try and represent as many railroads that ran through the state as possible. However, since much of the equipment donated to us was not from most of the roads, a recreation was necessary. To date almost every engine in the collection has either been completed or will be shortly.
The question of color is a little more complicated but the simple answer is a few key people in the group chose the colors to represent a certain time, and the reps voted to approve. When these and other decisions are made it is known that some people might object. But because the member groups’ reps approved the decisions, we need to accept the outcome and try and look at them in the best possible light. Does that mean we should not try and get what we think is best? No, on the contrary we should always look to do our best.
On the subject of location for the Heritage Center, the URHS was never intended to be the group that was in charge of finding a location. That job was in the hands of the Friends group and, early on, the Museum Commission set up by the State. Unfortunately those two entities never found a location that materialized into a home. They got close a few years back when Phillipsburg was chosen, but the town pulled the property out from under them and suddenly they were back to square one.
Only after that happened did a few of us in the URHS decide we needed to get involved. We made a proposal that was accepted by the Friends board to create a joint committee to search for a site. For a year or more the new committee looked at quite a number of sites, made a report to the board, which took no real action. When that happened, the members of the committee from the URHS made a decision to dissolve the committee and received approval to create a site committee from the URHS to at least find a home for the railroad equipment under its care.
Since that time, we have been looking at any site that came to our attention and chose the ones we felt had the most potential. We currently have a few possibilities that we are moving forward with, and with any luck we will have a site or two to announce in the coming months. We are not announcing where those sites are until a decision is made, because in the past sites have been undermined because someone outside the committee said or did something.
I hope this helps everyone who has any questions about the process. I also encourage anyone who has any questions or concerns to ask Joe or me. If we do not have the answer we will get it for you. Please continue to support the URHS and its efforts to finally find a home.
Aug 20 2011
KC SmithAugust 2011
When I last wrote to you all we were just days away from re-opening Hawthorne Station. Well, I am happy to say that May 22nd went off without a hitch, but not before some last minute scrambling to get things ready. Please read the Hawthorne Station report for more on what it took to make things happen. Since that time, we have cut back on the work sessions and tried to give all the people who made the station project a success a little bit of a break.
Hawthorne Mayor Richard Goldberg congratulates VRA President KC Smith
Now that summer is half over we need to set our sites on the future. In addition to the continued effort on the station we need to get ready for our Santa Trains, our October motorcar trips and other fund raising projects we have planned which will be addressed in the future.
We also have some purely fun things to look forward to, the first being an open house at Boonton Yard on August 20th. The URHS is going to have much of the equipment open and/or available for viewing and photographing.
Then the next day at Whippany Railway Museum, Tri-State, the CNJ Vets and the VRA will be having a picnic. We were invited to be part of the picnic last year and although it rained we had a good day running our motorcar and enjoying everyone’s company. We have not confirmed yet if we will be running our cars, but we do know that everyone is invited to attend, bring their families, and enjoy the day. Please watch your e-mail for more details.
Those who took part in the Easter Trains know that we did not have the dinners after each day’s trains in an effort to save some much needed money for the station. We did however say we would have a picnic for everyone who worked the trains and while it is a bit later then we had hoped we have planned Saturday September 10th as the date for that picnic. As a way to help show off what we did at the station, we will hold the picnic there starting at 1pm. All food and drink is included and everyone who worked the trains and their families are invited. All we will need from everyone is a count of how many will be coming.
A NYS&W train passes the newly repainted Hawthorne Station.
I would like to close by thanking everyone who helps out in any way to make our projects run. I have said this many times and it is as true today as ever, I am very proud to be a VRA member and you should be too.
See you on the rails.
Aug 20 2011
VRAAugust 2011, Motorcar Trips
Well group, we have just completed our second successful speeder trip of the year on the NYS&W. On the weekend of July 23rd and 24th, we had just over a dozen operators and speeders show up for our annual trip over the NYS&W Syracuse Branch between Binghamton and Syracuse, New York. Both Saturday and Sunday we operated trips from the set on point in Cortland, NY. I served as the Excursion Coordinator, Craig Hartman as my mentor, and Steve Weiss was our pilot.
The group stops for lunch at Armory Square station in Syracuse.
On Friday night, Joe White from the NYS&W oversaw the NORAC rules class for six of our attendees. Joe switched up the class a little this time and had each participant actually take a sit down exam after first reading through some of the tougher questions in the test. Everyone passed thanks to Joe’s technique. However as of 8pm Joe still wasn’t sure of the train line up for the weekend so we were unsure if we would be going to Syracuse on Saturday or Sunday. However he did tell us we would not be able to go to the mall because CSX hadn’t picked up nearly ninety cars from NYS&W yet, so the lead to the mall was blocked.
On Saturday morning we had thirteen total cars come for the trip, including Steve Weiss. We had everyone on the rails, held our safety meeting, had our Form D train order in place, and were pulling out of Cortland by 8:45am. Overall the trip west went very well with only a few minor breakdowns. We were able to turn our cars just past the Armory Square station in downtown Syracuse and return to that station for our lunch break. About half the group stayed at the station and the other half went to get a bite to eat in one of the many places in the area. We left Syracuse at 1:30 and were back at Cortland and buttoned up for the night by 4pm! Unfortunately we had one car blow a clutch drive on the return trip so that operator pulled off and left for the weekend.
At control point “QD” in downtown Binghamton, NY on CP Rail’s Buffalo Runner. The former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Binghamton Depot is at background left.
Sunday, due to a train working the mainline in Cortland, we were blocked from getting out of the branch until 10:15am. However we made it to a lunch stop a mile or two north of Binghamton by Noon. Although it was hot, there was enough shade around to make it bearable. After lunch, we turned the cars in Binghamton yard and headed back north. We got back to Cortland just before 5pm and were off the rails by 5:30. We had no breakdowns on Sunday and that very much sped the trip along. All in all, it was a very good run and with the small group it was very manageable. I’d also like to extend a special thanks to Steve Weiss for piloting our group and Craig Hartman for assisting me in the excursion coordinator duties.
Please consider attending our trips coming up in October on the Stourbridge Railroad in PA, and the Middletown & New Jersey in Campbell Hall, NY.
Aug 20 2011
Joe MeleAugust 2011, United Railroad Historical Society of NJ
Star Trak is continuing to work on our equipment at Boonton yard.
There will be a picnic held at the Whippany Railway Museum on August 21, 2011 with the VRA, CNJ Historical Society and Tri State Historical Society.
Potential Santa train on the North Jersey Coast Line December 4th or December 11th. The URHS has put a request into NJ Transit and is waiting for their confirmation. This train will possibly shuttle passengers between Point Pleasant and Long Branch, making three round trips. Stay tuned for further details.
Listed below are the Fall /early Winter 2011 URHS member groups’ model train/railroad shows:
- Sep. 3 – 4: Steamtown Railfest, Scranton, PA
- Sep. 17: Friends of NJ Transportation Heritage Center Annual Meeting, Phillipsburg Station
- Sep. 25: Allentown train show in the High School
- Sept. 30 & Oct. 1: Erie Lackawanna Historical Society Annual Convention, Scranton Hilton
- Oct. 2: Pumpkin festival & craft fair at Whippany Railway Museum
- Oct. 2: Jersey Central Ch. NRHS picnic at Whippany Railway Museum
- Nov. 5: Whippany Railway Museum #4039 Fund Raiser at Phillipsburg
- Dec. 3: VRA Santa Train
- Dec. 10: Jersey Central Railway Historical Society & Tri-State Railway Historical Society Santa Trains
Aug 20 2011
KC SmithAugust 2011, Hawthorne Station
May 22nd, 2011: the day that we estimate 150 people witnessed the culmination of several years worth of planning, tens of thousands of dollars spent, and eleven months of almost nonstop work. That day was the grand re-opening of Hawthorne station.
VRA board members and other dignitaries pose with Hawthorne Mayor Richard Goldberg for the opening ceremonies.
Most of us arrived at the station aboard motorcars or as flaggers for the motorcar trip that had begun that morning in Sparta. While those people were out on the rails, another group of very dedicated people were at the station preparing for our arrival. That work not only included getting the barbecue ready for our motorcar participants – it also included some last minute painting of (and display setup in) the station.
Now you may ask, “Why in the world would we be painting and doing interior work just hours before the opening?” Well that answer is easy: it rained for almost a week straight before the opening, and the building was nowhere near ready for a true grand opening. So we did the next best thing: we worked any time it was not raining. Only through the efforts of a few very dedicated people did we get the wall facing Diamond Bridge Avenue painted so that it would make a nice backdrop for photos. The rest of the building would have to wait until a later date.
On top of the rain problems, we also had to have a last minute expenditure to put in a railing along the deck because the fence height it did not meet code. (Grrrrrrrr…) Oh well. The railing came out great, and it certainly adds to the safety of the deck. Despite all the delays the station looked great for the opening, and we received countless compliments on the job we did.
In the weeks since that day, the painting is all but done, the grounds have been kept up (and look great), the interior is set up nicely and – oh yes – the roof still needs to be replaced. In addition, the basement needs cleaning and straightening, the finishing touches need to be put on the painting, and most importantly the walkways and pavers need to be completed. Please watch your e-mail for work dates.
As you know we have been selling paver bricks as a fund-raiser to help pay for all of the work. While we have sold quite a few, we are well short of the amount we need to really help complete the walkways. So, if you have not already purchased a brick (or two) please consider doing so. The order form can be found at the end of this issue or you can go to our web site, www.vratrips.org and place your order there. Also ask your friends and relatives if they would like to purchase one. It is a great way to remember a loved one, to list a family name or just show your support for the project.
Fittingly one of the first pavers produced, the paver dedicated to the memory of VRA founding member Joe Weber was placed on the grounds of Hawthorne Station for the Grand Reopening ceremony on May 22nd. It is our firm hope that it will be joined with many others to form the walkways of the station grounds. We need your help and support to make this happen.
Also, please note that we will be opening the station every Sunday from 9am to 3pm to take part in the Chamber of Commerce’s Farmers Market. We need volunteers to cover the time so if you have a few hours or all day available please sign up to help.
