URHS 2010-2009 News Reports
URHS minutes originally reported in the Volunteer Railroaders Association DIGEST newsletter and copied here.
May 2010
(Joe Mele) – Now that the spring season is upon us, we will be resuming the weekend work sessions at the Boonton yard. Star Trak, the URHS' mechanical vendor, has been working on our equipment during this past winter. Below is a summary of the current and possibly future URHS projects/activities:
New Jersey Transit approved the fence for Boonton Yard. The installation should begin sometime in May. We have also discussed the possibility of running a fall foliage train this coming October to Port Jervis. The URHS has approached NJT about running the trip, still waiting to hear from NJT.
I reported in the last URHS summary that we had approached NJT about donating one of their retired Comet 1 cab cars to the URHS. I am happy to report that NJ Transit responded with positive news, they will be donating Comet I cab car #5120 to the URHS. We are excited to add this piece of equipment to our collection.
The NYGL advised the URHS that the U34CH & Erie 436 will be returned to Boonton Yard this spring.
NJT is going to be moving the URHS equipment currently located in Lebanon, NJ to Boonton sometime in May.
Tony Macrie, Cape May Seashore Lines, is interested in leasing the CNJ #1524. Details are still being worked out with the CMSL.
URHS members discussed the possibility of running a fall train ride on the Cape May Seashore Lines, possibly in November again. Stay tuned for further details.
January 2010
(Joe Mele) – The URHS has been busy this past winter with a couple of different projects. Even though there haven't been any work sessions due to the winter season, I would like to update the URHS members on the URHS activity.
Below are the newsworthy items:
New Jersey Transit approved the fence for Boonton Yard.
URHS members discussed the possibility of running a spring train ride on the Cape May Seashore Lines, possibly on National Train day in May.
We have also discussed the possibility of running a fall foliage train this coming October on either the NYS&W Delaware Division or to Port Jervis. More details still have be worked out.
New Jersey Transit is retiring their Comet I coaches. The URHS has put a request into NJ Transit for one of the Comet I cab cars. As of the January URHS meeting, NJT had not responded to the URHS' request.
The NYGL advised the URHS that the U34CH & Erie 436 will be returned to Boonton Yard this spring.
The Friends Symposium will be held on March 27, 2010 @ Drew University.
The Jersey Central Historical Society will be sponsoring their annual train show at Mother Seton High School in Clark, NJ on March 7, 2010.
The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society will be sponsoring their spring meet train show on March 21, 2010 at the Parsippany, NJ Holiday Inn.
November 2009
(KC Smith) – By the time you read this the URHS will have run their first passenger train in many years. This was made possible by the West Jersey Chapter of the NRHS stepping up to do the leg work to run the train. But it would not have been possible without the VRA. We not only gave input on operations but we also handled the ticketing and most of the advertising materials. I would like to thank Charles Smith for once again going above and beyond to make this train a success.
A few dates have announced for events you might find interesting. The first is March 7th which is the 2010 date for the Jersey Central Chapters Train Show at Mother Seton High School in Clark. Then on March 20th the URHS will host their annual EastRail program at Warren Hills High School.
Work has been continuing on the many pieces of equipment stored at Boonton Yard. VRA's Steve Geritsen has been appointed as a yard manager at Boonton and he and his co-manager Larry Gross have been doing a good job getting work done.
The URHS is currently working with NJT to secure the yard by putting up a fence all around the yard. This has taken a lot of work and we are not done yet but with any luck the fence will be started before the end of the year.
The URHS has been asked to move the equipment that is currently be worked on in Lebanon due to local NIMBY's. For that move to take place the URHS has stated that the fence at Boonton needs to built to protect all those pieces that have been or will be shortly restored. As stated above, NJT is working very closely with the URHS to see that the fence gets built.
The New Jersey Seashore Lines, the same folks who run the Cape May Seashore Lines, have asked the URHS if they can lease the CNJ 1524, the GP-7 at Boonton. They made this request because they have just taken over the operations of the ex- CNJ Southern Secondary between Woodmansie and Lakehurst, NJ. This line once hosted the 1524 and her sisters and Tony Macrie, the President of the NJSL, is interested in seeing her run the line again. The vote to lease the engine was a unanimous yes so some day in the not to distant future you can see the 1524 running on home rails. Passenger train are also possible on the line, so someday maybe we can help run a train over the line.
The URHS sent a few of its representatives, Curt Springstead and myself (KC Smith), to the last Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center board meeting to try and find out what was going on with the Site Committee. After seeing that nothing much was going on it was decided that with the help of the URHS the committee will meet soon and come up with a game plan that will hopefully lead to finally finding a site for the Heritage Center.
Liberty State Park has once again entered the picture as a possible site for at least some of the equipment in the URHS collection. There is still a lot of work to do, but the current plans call for a trolley loop to move people from parking lots and around the park. Also equipment representing railroads that once called Jersey City Terminal home may someday be under the train sheds. Wouldn't that be a great site to see? Like the lottery says... Hey, you never know.
August 2009
(KC Smith) – The URHS has had a number of changes come its way in the last few months. First the President, Rich Copeland, sold his house and moved to Florida. This left a big hole but Rich offered to stay on as President and so what he can via phone and e-mail to see that we stay on track. In the President's absence the URHS by-laws call for the Secretary, who happens to be me, to stand in for the President at the monthly meetings. I have also assumed more responsibility in other areas to try and fill the gap. Because I need to run the meeting it was decided to appoint a recording Secretary and our alternate to the URHS, Joe Mele, volunteered and was appointed to fill the position until next years election. Thanks Joe.
Because the URHS board felt it needed to have someone to be able to meet with agencies like New Jersey Transit it was decided to elect an Executive Vice President and someone many of us all know, Ken Brown, was chosen to fill the office. Ken is a long time VRA member and has worked on many projects. He represents the Black River Railroad Historic Trust at URHS meetings and serves as a volunteer at the railroad. Ken is a welcome addition to the board and I am confident he will do a great job representing the URHS.
The main project the URHS is currently working on is the equipment in and security of Boonton yard. A request has been made to extend the lease from NJ Transit currently held by the URHS for the yard. This request was made because of the tens of thousands of dollars that will need to be spent to fence in the yard and to build a restoration shop.
Even if that extension cannot be negotiated it has become very clear that if we want to protect the equipment in the yard a fence must be built. VRA members are part of the very active volunteer base that has been working on the equipment in the yard. Work parties are held at least every other weekend with announcements made on our Yahoo group, so be sure to watch your e-mail. If you are not a member of our Yahoo Group, you can visit http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Volunteerrailroaders/ and then click to join.
Once the fencing is in place the URHS plans to bring a number of pieces of equipment currently undergoing restoration in Lebanon NJ. This will allow this equipment to be completed and put on display and in some cases into operation.
Spring 2009
(KC Smith) – The URHS has a number of events coming up, but the largest is a 10 trip to northern California that they are sponsoring. The trip, which could bring in $2100, will start in San Francisco on June 21st and will spend 10 days visiting railroad and non-railroad sites throughout the region. The tour will visit Sierra Railroad, Railtown, Napa Valley Wine Train, Skunk Railroad and the Sacramento River Train. In addition a number of non-railroad places will be visited, like Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and more. Prices start at $2,099 not including getting to and from California. If you know of anyone who would like more information on this great trip have them contact me.
March 7th is the date set for the 2009 version of Eastrail. It will again be held at Warren Hills Regional High School and this year will feature Jim Shaughnessy, author of "The Call of Trains". Jim will be available at the show to sign the book. Other topics include Chessie System, Jersey Central Railroad, The Future of Railroad Photography, Restoring Main Line Steam, Rio Grand Zephyr and Vintage Georgia Railroading. Tickets can be purchased online at www.urhs.org for $12 or at the door for $15. We (the VRA) will be bringing items from the Joe Weber collection to be sold and will need a few people to help out. If you are interested in helping you will get free admission to the show. We only need a few volunteers so let me (KC Smith) know right away if you want to help.
The Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center are hosting their 19th Annual Symposium on March 28th, held each year at Drew University. This day long public event will feature 16 fast moving, informative, illustrated presentations. It will focus on the statewide effort to create a Transportation Heritage Center and save/preserve/restore Jersey's historic transportation equipment, structures, sites, artifacts, memorabilia and memories. The VRA has been invited to put on a show about our motorcar operations in NJ, so if you have never gone to the symposium this would be a great year to start. For more information about the event please look for a copy of the flier for the event in this newsletter or go online to http://www.njthc.org/events/symp2009.html to get all the details.
The joint Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center / URHS site committee has recommended Boonton as the primary site for the NJ Transportation Heritage Center and the committee is now working on the next step to put all the pieces in place. They are working on putting together a package to hopefully get funding for the Boonton site. There is still a lot of work to do and sure to be roadblocks to overcome, but the committee is hopeful that we will finally have a home for the Heritage Center.
Finally, we (the VRA) turned over our final check totalling 1529.17 to the URHS for our 2007 Santa Train ride proceeds, bringing the total for that year's trip to $9029.17. In addition the URHS ask that we authorized the proceeds from the 2007 train to be used for the fence at Boonton instead of the 5012 project. They feel that without a fence around the yard, bringing the car there would only subject it to vandalism. The VRA board approved that request. In addition we reported to the URHS that the proceeds from the 2008 Santa Trains should be $8400. This money will also be used for the fence at Boonton. The total needed for the fencing is expected to approach $100,000.
If you have any questions about URHS projects or would like to volunteer to help please contact me at rft2786@yahoo.com or at 973-208-9854.
