> I know about CNJ #1000 at B&O Museum and
> B&O #8000 at St. Louis, but how many
> boxcab electrics are preserved, and where
> are they?

This is gonna be another "sorry I asked" sort of response.

Ansonia Derby & Birmingham "Derby" (Pullman, 1888) - Branford Elec. Ry. Assoc.
Baltimore & Ohio #10 (GE, 1909) - B&O Railroad Museum
Butte Anaconda & Pacific #47 (GE, 1914) - Montana Museum of Mining
Canadian National #6710 (GE, 1917) - City of Deux-Montagnes, PQ
Canadian National #6711 (GE, 1917) - Canadian Railway Museum
Canadian National #6712 (GE, 1917) - Mount Royal Park, Montreal, PQ
Canadian National #6714 (GE, 1917) - Connecticut Trolley Museum
Canadian National #6715 (GE, 1917) - Canadian Science & Technology Museum
Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul #10200AB (GE, 1915) - Lake Superior RR Museum
Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific #E57B (GE, 1915) - City of Harlowton, MT
Ferrocarril Mexicano #1001 (GE, 1923) - Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos
Ferrocarril Mexicano #1002 (GE, 1923) - Vera Cruz City Park
Ferrocarril Mexicano #1003 (GE, 1923) - Comision Federal de Electricidad Museum
Illinois Terminal #1565 (Illinois Traction, 1910) - Illinois Ry. Mus.
Illinois Terminal #1575 (Illinois Traction, 1910) - Museum of Transport
Illinois Terminal #1595 (Illinois Traction, 1910) - Museum of Transport
Lincoln Bleachery Co. unnumbered (Wason, 1904) - Branford Elec. Ry. Assoc.
London & Port Stanley #L1 (Canadian GE, 1915) - Elgin Cty. RR Mus.
London & Port Stanley #L2 (Canadian GE, 1915) - Halton County Radial Ry.
New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board #50 (BW, 1907) - Mel Ott Park, Gretna, LA
New York Central #278 (GE, 1926) - Mohawk & Hudson Ch. NRHS
Pennsylvania Railroad #4700 (PRR, 1931) - Museum of Transport
Pennsylvania Railroad #5690 (PRR, 1934) - RR Mus. of PA
Piedmont & Northern #5103 (GE,1913) - North Carolina Trans'n. Mus.
Singer #1 (GE, 1898) - Indiana Transportation Mus.
South Brooklyn Railway #4 (Brooklyn Heights, 1907) - Branford Elec. Ry. Assoc.
West Penn #1 (West Penn, 1915) - Pennsylvania Trolley Museum

Frank Hicks


fullparallel@wideopenwest.com

> Funny you guys should mention the Reading
> group. On a whole, I think the folks in
> Leesport (IIRC, that's where they're based)
> probably do one of THE best jobs in knowing
> what equipment to go after, and when. If
> there's one group that you can assume is
> going to go out and get original Reading
> equipment, it's definitely them.

> Personally, I feel they should be held up as
> a model for other groups. All the equipment
> may not be in musuem-floor condition, but
> they do an excellent job of saving it from
> harm's way.

> If all groups had the foresight and
> acquisition skills of the RCTHS, there would
> be a lot of treasured equipment stashed away
> out there...
WOW! Thanks for those kind words! As a member of the RCT&HS Acquisitions Committee for a number of years, I wonder if our efforts are noticed, and apparently they are. We've had our share of frustrations (the ones that got away), but we've pulled off a couple of good ones, too. We're voracious readers (and analysts) of the railfan press, and have been blessed with committee members who constantly develop contacts. Another big help is the membership that kicks up the bucks when asked (usually in $50 and $100+ increments voluntarily, and not everybody). Our future challenges are greater, since historic equipment now requires trucking and/or rigging to move these days, which means more money has to be spent to get the "good stuff". Thanks again for the moral support, and your money wouldn't hurt, either!

http://www.readingrailroad.org
schwartzsj@juno.com

> WOW! Thanks for those kind words!

They are well deserved. Reading Tech and the Railroad Museum of New England have both done great work to fulfill plans of what their collections should have.

I think that's what sets their collection policies apart. The collections are not just ad hoc.

In the case of Reading Tech, I am continually blown away by thier effort to collect an entire wreck train, from crane to flat and everything in between -- and all Reading.

Another thing that has impressed about these guys is that they have a list of what is out there in service that they would like to acquire one day. Rather than waiting for the day to come, they are ready for it.

Great work!

And, it should be noted, they collect, restore and maintain equipment at a shoestring facility with no indoor areas.

They go to show what can be done with planning, dedication and guts.

Rob Davis

trains@robertjohndavis.com

Thanks! I am very grateful that you guys save all these great locomotives! Especially the Alco's! I was wondering . . . is there any news about the possible aqquisition of the # 621? Also, I was reading December's Railpace, and I spotted an add on the sale of an Ex - Reading RS3. It is for sale at scrapp price. It doesn't fit CSX standards so it will probably have to be trucked. Since you guys already have an RS3 perhaps you could get some parts? What is the next canadate for preservation?

The Blue Mountain Lines
norfolk_western_611@hotmail.com

I would agree that the RCT&HS does a good job collecting equipment. However, playing the role of Devil's advocate and not thinking like a railfan, let's ask the hard museum questions:

1. What provisions have been made to get the stuff under cover? Let's face it, unless you have covered or climate-controlled storage and it's made out of steel and iron, it's going to fall victim to the elements. The more equipment you collect, the higher the restoration price tag will go. When you collect everything you end up taking care of nothing. I predict that the elements will decimate the majority of outdoor railroad and trolley museum collections in the next 15-20 years, a looming crisis ahead that will befall many outfits in an already over-saturated railway museum market.
2. How many vehicles are enough? The idea that less is more interpretively and financially might be prudent. Or do you wish to collect every model that ever existed on the road's roster? If that is the case, it sounds like a railfan-centered curatorial approach. Are you thinking of how this stuff will be presented interpretively to the public when the museum opens? The days of putting the stuff out to be gawked at by railfan visitors and that the visitors shall come are over. An interest in nuts and bolts will not pull people in through the door. You have to be able to put the stuff into context and tell a people story, with vehicles, artifacts, words and graphics, in an engaging and educational way. Unfortunately I don't see that expertise in place with the RCT&HS. It still seems more like a railfan club than a true museum effort.
3. Did you ever think that the current generation of railroad interest is waning? What do you have to offer the general public beyond just sexy Reading trains and model railroad layouts? I predict that in the next 10 years the railway museum field (including tourist railroads) will level off considerably due to rising costs, lack of volunteer help (I see lots of graying heads and alarmingly few young people coming up the ranks--a looming crisis ahead) and a whole host of other extenuating circumstances. The ones that will be left will remain because they are innovative and able to cater public interests (railfans are only less than 2% of the audience folks), are fundraising-savvy, or are government-operated from year to year with an established budget and staff (permanence is key to survival). If you just tell the story of locomotives and cars from the Reading Railroad, I guarantee that the museum will not survive.
4. Does your group have a paid, professionally-trained staff in place to raise monies, build up the membership base, present outreach and educational programming and provide curatorial support of collections? If not, is it in your long-range plan? Or should I ask, do you have a long range plan, a mission statement and a collecting policy in place?? If not, these are all basics that need to be put into place before going any farther. If your BOD resists addressing these issues, I would call into question their integrity and find ways of voting them out, and replace them with good candidates. Clubs that call themseleves museums are not museums. You need to do these things or else the museum will eventually perish. It's that simple. In the railway museum field, as much as I hate to say it, some folks need to be "knocked over the head" to make positive things happen--effecting change is not easy.

Just some important, hard questions that need to asked--at the risk of being disciplined by the message board administrator:)

> WOW! Thanks for those kind words! As a
> member of the RCT&HS Acquisitions
> Committee for a number of years, I wonder if
> our efforts are noticed, and apparently they
> are. We've had our share of frustrations
> (the ones that got away), but we've pulled
> off a couple of good ones, too. We're
> voracious readers (and analysts) of the
> railfan press, and have been blessed with
> committee members who constantly develop
> contacts. Another big help is the membership
> that kicks up the bucks when asked (usually
> in $50 and $100+ increments voluntarily, and
> not everybody). Our future challenges are
> greater, since historic equipment now
> requires trucking and/or rigging to move
> these days, which means more money has to be
> spent to get the "good stuff".
> Thanks again for the moral support, and your
> money wouldn't hurt, either!

> Just some important, hard questions that
> need to asked--at the risk of being
> disciplined by the message board
> administrator:)

Hard questions are always welcome, so long as they are polite and constructive, as yours are. In fact, this post is a model for forthright but constructive criticism/questioning. So ask away!

eledbetter@rypn.org

> Aaron, CNJ 113 a really chunky 0-6-0 is
> undergoing restoration in Minersville, PA

> CNJ 592 a camelback (not to be confused with
> DL&W
> 952) is in the B&O RR museum. Pretty
> sure that's it for steam.

I have a entry in "Surviving World Steam Locomotives" for a CNJ steam locomotive in a ROW marl pit south of Farmingdale, NJ. Does anybody know if this is true, and the details about the engine?

How about a rumored camelback locomotive sunk off the NY&LB trestle, Matawan Creek, NJ?

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam Project
james1@pernet.net

> I have a entry in "Surviving World
> Steam Locomotives" for a CNJ steam
> locomotive in a ROW marl pit south of
> Farmingdale, NJ.

The marl pit engine is there, right off the CNJ Southern Division ROW. There are varied opinions as to what she is. The marl companies ran thier own power. Some used ex CNJ power apparently, and some had narrow gauge lines.

I know a lot of guys who have been back to see what they can of her, and not one agrees on what she is.

Maybe one of the Allaire guys on the board has an opinion? It isn't too far from their museum.

As for the Matawan Creek engine... the legend persists.

Rob

trains@robertjohndavis.com

Excellent questions - but see the RCTHS site.

This is one museum that IS addressing at least some these questions. Hee the website for updated museum info: http://www.readingrailroad.org/

Electric City Trolley Museum Association

> I would agree that the RCT&HS does a
> good job collecting equipment. However,
> playing the role of Devil's advocate and not
> thinking like a railfan, let's ask the hard
> museum questions:

> 1. What provisions have been made to get the
> stuff under cover?
>
>. The
> more equipment you collect, the higher the
> restoration price tag will go. When you
> collect everything you end up taking care of
> nothing.
> 2. How many vehicles are enough? The idea
> that less is more interpretively and
> financially might be prudent. Or do you wish
> to collect every model that ever existed on
> the road's roster? If that is the case, it
> sounds like a railfan-centered curatorial
> approach. Are you thinking of how this stuff
> will be presented interpretively to the
> public when the museum opens?
> You have to be able to put the stuff into
> context and tell a people story, with
> vehicles, artifacts, words and graphics, in
> an engaging and educational way.
> Unfortunately I don't see that expertise in
> place with the RCT&HS. It still seems
> more like a railfan club than a true museum
> effort.
> 3. Did you ever think that the current
> generation of railroad interest is waning?
> What do you have to offer the general public
> beyond just sexy Reading trains and model
> railroad layouts? I predict that in the next
> 10 years the railway museum field (including
> tourist railroads) will level off
> considerably due to rising costs, lack of
> volunteer help (I see lots of graying heads
> and alarmingly few young people coming up
> the ranks--a looming crisis ahead) and a
> whole host of other extenuating
> circumstances. The ones that will be left
> will remain because they are innovative and
> able to cater public interests (railfans are
> only less than 2% of the audience folks),
> are fundraising-savvy, or are
> government-operated from year to year with
> an established budget and staff (permanence
> is key to survival). If you just tell the
> story of locomotives and cars from the
> Reading Railroad, I guarantee that the
> museum will not survive.
> 4. Does your group have a paid,
> professionally-trained staff in place to
> raise monies, build up the membership base,
> present outreach and educational programming
> and provide curatorial support of
> collections? If not, is it in your
> long-range plan? Or should I ask, do you
> have a long range plan, a mission statement
> and a collecting policy in place?? If not,
> these are all basics that need to be put
> into place before going any farther. If your
> BOD resists addressing these issues, I would
> call into question their integrity and find
> ways of voting them out, and replace them
> with good candidates. Clubs that call
> themseleves museums are not museums. You
> need to do these things or else the museum
> will eventually perish. It's that simple. In
> the railway museum field, as much as I hate
> to say it, some folks need to be
> "knocked over the head" to make
> positive things happen--effecting change is
> not easy.

> Just some important, hard questions that
> need to asked--at the risk of being
> disciplined by the message board
> administrator:)
Well, surprise! We've been grappling with these issues for a number of years. And, having attended a few strategic planning sessions, I think we are working through them. All of the answers to the questions won't happen tomorrow, but they've been addressed.

I've heard that "When you collect everything, you collect nothing" stuff before, and every time I hear it, I think of an organization that had the opportunity to preserve some of a significant interurban line 50+ years ago, and ended up preserving NOTHING. You see the pictures of this group-they seemed to have the enthusiasm-but nothing happened. Some of the "wise men" were so scared that stuff might sit rotting in a field somewhere, that they didn't bother (some of the members that I talked to say that these guys had questions disturbingly like yours). I say better to GET it first, especially if it's endangered, and if it has to be sold or scrapped later on due to rationalization, so be it.
As far as getting younger generations interested is concerned, can't or shouldn't a museum foster that sort of thing? I can assure you that it's in the plan. It may be the ONLY thing that can foster rail enthusiasm, since railfanning on active railroads is considered "suspicious" these days. Yes, there are young kids interested in trains, and they need to be cultivated.

Paid, professional staff? Who's got the money for that? Yeah, it helps, and again, we'll get there eventually, but I don't think that it's the "magic bullet", either. The troubles in San Diego keep coming to mind.

I can tell you that we have the same concerns, and we're not doing nothing about it!

schwartzsj@juno.com

I remember L&RP a good decade ago saying the same thing about the lack of young blood in the industry. Well here it is 10 years later and somehow there are still people working in railway preservation. I am 29, so back then I was the young blood, and I'm very busy in rail/industrial preservation.

I do not feel that having a paid staff and board made up of the movers and shakers of the community is essential for all museums. I have personally seen wonderfully run small museums operated by local NRHS chapters with all volunteer staff. They make enough to keep the doors open, to paint the equipment every few years, and even augment the collection as artifacts become available. Small museums like the Greenville Railroad Park are models for what can be done when a volunteer group doesn't bite off more than they can chew. No paid staff there, and I defy anyone to find any rust on their equipment.

For small museums such as this, what would be the function of a paid staff? Having a paid staff automatically raises the annual budget by about $100,000, so now their chief function is to fundraise for that additional $100,000 to pay their salaries.

jrowlands@neo.rr.com

> I would agree that the RCT&HS does a
> good job collecting equipment. However,
> playing the role of Devil's advocate and not
> thinking like a railfan, let's ask the hard
> museum questions:

> 1. What provisions have been made to get the
> stuff under cover? Let's face it, unless you
> have covered or climate-controlled storage
> and it's made out of steel and iron, it's
> going to fall victim to the elements. The
> more equipment you collect, the higher the
> restoration price tag will go. When you
> collect everything you end up taking care of
> nothing. I predict that the elements will
> decimate the majority of outdoor railroad
> and trolley museum collections in the next
> 15-20 years, a looming crisis ahead that
> will befall many outfits in an already
> over-saturated railway museum market.
> 2. How many vehicles are enough? The idea
> that less is more interpretively and
> financially might be prudent. Or do you wish
> to collect every model that ever existed on
> the road's roster? If that is the case, it
> sounds like a railfan-centered curatorial
> approach. Are you thinking of how this stuff
> will be presented interpretively to the
> public when the museum opens? The days of
> putting the stuff out to be gawked at by
> railfan visitors and that the visitors shall
> come are over. An interest in nuts and bolts
> will not pull people in through the door.
> You have to be able to put the stuff into
> context and tell a people story, with
> vehicles, artifacts, words and graphics, in
> an engaging and educational way.
> Unfortunately I don't see that expertise in
> place with the RCT&HS. It still seems
> more like a railfan club than a true museum
> effort.
> 3. Did you ever think that the current
> generation of railroad interest is waning?
> What do you have to offer the general public
> beyond just sexy Reading trains and model
> railroad layouts? I predict that in the next
> 10 years the railway museum field (including
> tourist railroads) will level off
> considerably due to rising costs, lack of
> volunteer help (I see lots of graying heads
> and alarmingly few young people coming up
> the ranks--a looming crisis ahead) and a
> whole host of other extenuating
> circumstances. The ones that will be left
> will remain because they are innovative and
> able to cater public interests (railfans are
> only less than 2% of the audience folks),
> are fundraising-savvy, or are
> government-operated from year to year with
> an established budget and staff (permanence
> is key to survival). If you just tell the
> story of locomotives and cars from the
> Reading Railroad, I guarantee that the
> museum will not survive.
> 4. Does your group have a paid,
> professionally-trained staff in place to
> raise monies, build up the membership base,
> present outreach and educational programming
> and provide curatorial support of
> collections? If not, is it in your
> long-range plan? Or should I ask, do you
> have a long range plan, a mission statement
> and a collecting policy in place?? If not,
> these are all basics that need to be put
> into place before going any farther. If your
> BOD resists addressing these issues, I would
> call into question their integrity and find
> ways of voting them out, and replace them
> with good candidates. Clubs that call
> themseleves museums are not museums. You
> need to do these things or else the museum
> will eventually perish. It's that simple. In
> the railway museum field, as much as I hate
> to say it, some folks need to be
> "knocked over the head" to make
> positive things happen--effecting change is
> not easy.

> Just some important, hard questions that
> need to asked--at the risk of being
> disciplined by the message board
> administrator:)

A very interesting post with good, honest questions. I would like to point out that just about all of these questions have been asked by us and, as Steve Schwartz mentioned, planning sessions have been held and consultalts hired to advise the RCTHS on taking that next big step to becoming a bona fide museum. A visit to our website at www.readingrailroad.org will show or long range planning statement.

About getting new volunteers, I would like to note the we've tried to make working at Leesport as comfortable as possible. We have an old Pennsy B-60, (doesn't everyone), baggage car in our collection. One half of the car has been converted to a work area, the other half has bunks, fridge, water, microwave, lunch table & chairs as well as electric heat and AC. The car, (which incidently was part of the Golden Spike train from America's Railroads), also has TV, cable, VCR and DVD player. Overflow sleeping space is available in some of the cabooses, as well as some privately owned equipment owned by some members.

The point I'm trying to make is that one way to get & keep members is to make volunteering as painless as possible. As one may gather, we're heavily into comfort at Leesport, but as one of our officers says, if people are good enough to give their weekend to the society, then the society owes it to them to make them as comfortable as possible.

VonSpocker@Comcast.net

> 1. What provisions have been made to get the
> stuff under cover? Let's face it, unless you
> have covered or climate-controlled storage
> and it's made out of steel and iron, it's
> going to fall victim to the elements. The
> more equipment you collect, the higher the
> restoration price tag will go. When you
> collect everything you end up taking care of
> nothing. I predict that the elements will
> decimate the majority of outdoor railroad
> and trolley museum collections in the next
> 15-20 years, a looming crisis ahead that
> will befall many outfits in an already
> over-saturated railway museum market.
> 2. How many vehicles are enough? The idea
> that less is more interpretively and
> financially might be prudent. Or do you wish
> to collect every model that ever existed on
> the road's roster? If that is the case, it
> sounds like a railfan-centered curatorial
> approach. Are you thinking of how this stuff
> will be presented interpretively to the
> public when the museum opens? The days of
> putting the stuff out to be gawked at by
> railfan visitors and that the visitors shall
> come are over. An interest in nuts and bolts
> will not pull people in through the door.
> You have to be able to put the stuff into
> context and tell a people story, with
> vehicles, artifacts, words and graphics, in
> an engaging and educational way.
> Unfortunately I don't see that expertise in
> place with the RCT&HS. It still seems
> more like a railfan club than a true museum
> effort.
>
I'm afraid many of us have been in the Railway Museum "business" to too long to realize right away the logical inconsistency in items one and two above. If we are going to "put the stuff in context" as Mr Givens suggests, railroad rolling stock should always be displayed outdoors, not inside. Yet he wants to see all the equipment put inside!

As an analogy, when a Zoo (honorary museums according to the AAM, even though their artifacts tend to die off eventually) wants to display large animals in context, they do so outdoors not in. Who wants to see a herd of wildebests indoors?

With the exception of steam locomotives and streetcars, which often were stored indoors, railroad equipment spent its entire useful life outdoors. I bet all the Reading equipment in question spent 99% of its time outdoors in all kinds of weather, was designed to do so, and was painted regularly and maintained accordingly.

Its too bad outdoor storage is so maintenance intensive. Maybe the ideal approach would be to put the equipment away inside every night and pull it back outside each morning before the place opens. Wouldn't want the public to be exposed to rolling stock indoors in such an unnatural position!


pjslks@ix.netcom.com

I was in the midst of answering this last week, when the *#@!%* computer locked up. Steve Schwartz makes some good points, above. He has been more than just "involved". He has chaired the acquisitions committee for many years. And it is a committee, with a small, but dedicated and talented group of members.

> 1. What provisions have been made to get the
> stuff under cover?

We started trying to get "the roof" way back in January, 1984. We spent many years on several attempts to acquire the Reading Locomotive Shop, which we were care-takers of, between 1984 and 1988 (remember those open-houses in 1985-86-87 ?) The local political climate could/would not support us, and the property was sold. We have been working on alternative sites since. Meanwhile, the collection keeps growing, and "the roof" keeps getting bigger. We want our next move to be our last move.

> 2. How many vehicles are enough?

Contrary to what some onlookers believe, we are not trying to save everything. We started to plan our collection back in the early 1980's, when we were still located in Elverson. Our general idea is to have examples of the "evolution" of equipment as used on The Reading. Obviously, the older the era, the harder it will be come up with actual examples.
We have also considered that, even though not of Reading origin, the earlier eras are well represented at other sites. The B&O Museum has the real early stuff. Our roster will be real impressive in 50 years.

> The idea that less is more interpretively and
> financially might be prudent. Or do you wish
> to collect every model that ever existed on
> the road's roster?

We cannot get every model, even diesel. There are too many already extinct. Not to mention steam. The Reading did not give away steam locomotives, even to town parks. A few (very few) cabooses. Only three steamers were given to museums, Saint Louis has The Black Diamond, Franklin Institute in Philly has The Rocket, and an early 4-4-0. The others (T-1's, A-4 camelback and 0-6-0 shop switcher at Strasburg) were sold for dollars, not donated, by the railroad.

The "less-is-more" actually is our strategy. There have been occasions when some items were offered, which we declined, because they did not fit our plans. The equipment, especially the locomotive collection, has been chosen for its condition. We tried to get items that were operational, or could easily be made such. We didn't want junk.

> Are you thinking of how this stuff will be
> presented interpretively to the public when
> the museum opens?

We have had ideas from the start. The Reading Loco Shop would have been awesome.
We are currently working on these ideas, which will depend on where we end up.

> You have to be able to put the stuff into
> context and tell a people story, with
> vehicles, artifacts, words and graphics, in
> an engaging and educational way.

Boy, this sounds familiar. This is exactly what we are laying the ground work to do, once we get "the roof". We have alot more stuff than just the rolling stock.

> Unfortunately I don't see that expertise in
> place with the RCT&HS. It still seems more
> like a railfan club than a true museum effort.

Yes, it has looked that way, because that is what we are! And we are damn proud of what we have accomplished in under 20 years, entirely on donations and volunteers!
Our "goal" has been a museum. Until recently, we did not call ourselves that.
But now we are working with consultants and getting grants to develop the professional business plan, mission statement, museum plan, etc.

> 3. Did you ever think that the current
> generation of railroad interest is waning?

We have been fortunate to keep new "yutes" interested and active, but, yes we're getting older and grayer. Plus, the fact is staring us square in the headlite that the number of people alive who actually remember the Reading Company is dwindling every day.

> What do you have to offer the general public
> beyond just sexy Reading trains and model
> railroad layouts?

Just you wait and see. We will tell the story of how The Reading influenced communities and people's lives. How it impacted the industrial revolution. But first, we need "the roof".

> 4. Does your group have a paid,
> professionally-trained staff in place.

Define "in place". Paid employee(s): no. Paid professional consultants: yes.

> If not, is it in your long-range plan? Or
> should I ask, do you have a long range plan,
> a mission statement and a collecting policy
> in place??

See the answer to #2, above. Yes, we are right now in the midst of establishing all these difficult necessary things, and having oodles and oodles of boring business meetings to get there.
It would astonish some people to see the ratio of "behind-the-scenes" hours compared to time spent actually doing the "fun stuff".

Thankfully, we have a dedicated core-group of recently retired members (or with free day-time on their hands) working hard to accomplish this.

We are giving this our best shot. The economic slump will hold us back, but not stop us.

"Stay tuned" to our web site. Contributions always accepted . . . unless it's junk!

ReadingRailroad.org

The comments above are not the official statement of the RCT&HS. They come from someone who has been an officer and 6-term president over the past 21 years.

Steve Gilbert
1st V.P.
RCT&HS