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| Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum news https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31838 |
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| Author: | Richard Glueck [ Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum news |
An excerpt from the Museum's Newsletter: On May 4, the OBRM had the 10,000th patron walk through our doors at the Visitor Center. The Boerum family from Wading River was delighted to achieve this milestone with us. The smiling family graciously accepted our gifts of free hats, t-shirts and gift bags. Since then, another 1,741 people have come through our doors, making the total for the year to date - 2,505 patrons and 11,740 total visitors since the Center opened in 2008. During that time, over a quarter of a million dollars has been brought into the Hamlet of Oyster Bay and the region, courtesy of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. May 9th was a banner day for the Museum as U.S. Senator Charles Schumer held a press conference inside the historic train station (see caption and photos below), announcing his intention to petition the National Park Service (NPS) for a site reconnaissance survey, which may lead to NPS involvement in technical and financial assistance in rebuilding the station. The NPS has agreed that a team will visit the station in late summer/early fall, with Sagamore Hill Superintendent Tom Ross acting as a liaison between between the groups. Final recommendations could be ready later this year or early 2012. And there is more good news on the station front, OBRM is receiving a Nassau County Community Resource Project (CRP) grant from our longtime supporter Legislator Judy Jacobs. This will help renew, rehabilitate, and install windows and doors on the exterior of the station. To date, the Museum has raised $105,000 solely for station rehabilitation. That's just under 10% of the total needed for total complete rebuilding, but it's certainly a good start since early spring of this year. With several grants to be submitted, pending word on others, and on-going pursuit of private foundations and donors, we hope that funding will be increased for this iconic vestige of the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt in the Hamlet. Another longtime supporter and good friend of OBRM, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto (see caption and photo below) stopped by Rail Yard in May, where he thoroughly enjoyed the visit, especially our new M1 Simulator. The Supervisor was impressed with the amount of work completed and ongoing. New York State Assemblyman Mike Montesano also paid an impromptu Saturday visit in June, and was also impressed with our efforts and progress. We haven't forgotten about Locomotive #35! Final arrangements with our contract to release Nassau County Bond Act, and Town of Oyster Bay funds to rebuild the running gear and tender are nearly complete. This should begin the process of readying the various parts of the engine for their shipment to Alabama for rebuilding in late fall. OBRM also received word from Nassau BOCES/Barry Tech, that students will be involved the rebuilding of the cab this fall at their campus. This new project continues to solidify the educational components of the Museum's program, and gives students life experience while working on the equipment. OBRM continues to seek funding the locomotive's fire box and boiler, and will continue to petition public public and private resources to achieve this objective. Many thanks for those who have become new members, or have renewed their membership in OBRM. There are those who have not renewed their membership and this could be your last newsletter. If you haven't renewed, please do so now. I urge you to read Director of Development, Bill Bell's report. It spells out how you can join the team of generous individuals that have learned what a valuable resource the Museum will be. |
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