From Winter 2008 newsletter:
ELECTRIC EXTENSION UNDERWAY !

To make the best use of the museum railroad and the huge investment to date in electrification of the line, the next overhead extension is now underway. Already, the survey and stakeout are completed, as mentioned in the above Shop Report. Volunteers are meeting at the museum on Sundays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to sort and clean parts, and to make the sub-assemblies needed for the overhead. More volunteers are needed to press this preparation work so outdoor construction can begin promptly in the spring.

The extension will cover all the remaining railroad built on the museum’s leased property. This will carry the overhead to a point just south of Scanlon’s Curve and give us a mile-long trolley railroad. From the proposed south end of the wire it is just a short half-mile hop to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, a distance that track cars could be used to complete the inter-museum ride.

All of the fittings and trolley wire are on hand. About half the wood poles are also on hand. Several plans are being considered for the arduous job of installing poles and ground anchors. These include having either a contractor or a local utility company help us with this work. Another expensive area of the project, rail bonding, needs to be extended for the southern half of the project area.

The hope is that if the poles are set by May, all wire could be in place by early August. This would permit trolleys to meet diesel trains for Diesel Days this year. Once the track is bonded, the trolley ride can be extended to Scanlon’s Curve. Your support, both as a volunteer of time and as a donor of funds, will make this essential project become a reality.

Volunteers interested in helping with this important work can contact Project Leader Charlie Lowe at 223-5747 or crloweny@rochester.rr.com.

Sloan,

Thanks for the post. A portion of the NYMT's trolley wire extension was used for our 10th annual Diesel Days event last weekend where for the first time visitors started their ride in the NYMT's trolleys (actually ex-P&W 'Strafford' cars which were never considered trolleys, but trolley seems to work better for the public) and transferred at a mid-way point to the diesel powered trains from the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. Our joint demonstration railroad is only two miles long, but our visitors seem to enjoy the chance to ride both types of trains in one day. There is still some rail bonding to do to complete the entire electrification extension. That should be done in a month or so.

For those interested in seeing more from Diesels Days, I have posted two videos to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum's YouTube site of the event. One of the diesel powered operations and one of the trolley operations. Here are the direct links to the videos while there are other videos of R&GVRRM and NYMT operations on our YouTube site:

Diesel Days 2008 - Diesel operations
Diesel Days 2008 - Trolley operations

I would be happy to answer any additional questions.

Thanks!

Regards,
Chris Hauf
R&GVRRM