Now that the end of the year is upon us, I was wondering what each museum feels was their biggest accomplishmment this year. Also what was your biggest setback. At the Michigan Transit Museum We have had many accomplishments. Our Grand Trunk caboose 77058 was painted, along with one of our 4000 series El cars. We also had a complete year of operations despite worries due to operating on a military base in a post 9/11 world.

Michigan Transit Museum
sutterd@hotmail.com

May I nominate a few huge doings in the northeast in 2002? These are just a few...

1. The Adirondack's return of through passenger service to Utica with F's and a vintage consist, making cross-platform service connections that tie the Adirondack area tourist areas with Amtrak trains from NYC, Buffalo, Toronto and Chicago.

2. The Conway Scenic's re-footing of Frankenstien trestle.

3. Steamtown's effort to find new homes for unwanted equipment (and to the museums who have adopted them!)

4. Not a museum but kudos to the Delaware-Lackawanna for continued preservation of historic ALCo's in regular service -- now with the last C-636 in the US.

5. Tim Stuy and the EL diner group for making considerable progress on a 1960's "Lake Cities" consist, starting with the hardest part - the diner.

6. To the Vermont Rail System for continuing to be patient and not scrapping unwanted equipment so that museums and individuals can acquire them (mucho Rutland, B&M and CV stock).

7. Scranton's Electric City Trolley museum reopens the Laurel Line tunnel for electric passenger service.

8. Walter Rich purchases the O&W wooden obs "Warwick" for restoration and preservation.

9. Lansford, PA #9 mine tunnel reopens.

10. The Ohio Central redefines steam fan trips.


trains@robertjohndavis.com

the three year, +$150,000 battle to recall the entire board and elect of board members again.

Further accomplishments will happen again in future years!

The Wilmington and Western has been able to rebound from Hurricane Floyd and since then has also built a new shop building, installed a run around track at the station, kept work progressing on major boiler repairs to a old #98, repainted coches, installed lighting at the station, installed new roll-up doors on the old enginehouse, restored a coboose, and rebuilt much track. All of this while keeping one steamer, two diesels, and on motorcar in service and running a lot of trains.

For an example of a dynamic organization you will find none better than the W&W.

Tom

Greenbank Trestle

We began grading for construction of a new 8400 sq ft display barn and 2500 feet of new mainline track to access this building. The display building will have space for 8-10 cars and contains a fire supression system.

Wesley

National Capital Trolley Museum

Biggest accomplishment: Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western wooden coach #63 Restoration, "Passenger Car Restoration Award" winner for 2002 from Tourist Railway Association, Inc. (TRAIN).
Biggest Setback: No Steam until at least 2004.

ddg14@attbi.com

My opinon only:

For NHVRR getting their first and only steam locomotive up and running in time to pull the Christmas trains. Worst defeat not allowing it to do so for political reasons.

For Roundhouse Railroad Museum a tie:
1. Ralph Justen coming aboard as director - a real businessman at last.
2. Bringing in some very talented people in their early 20's like Angel Long, Jason Sobczynski and Dago Vago as staff to last another generation.

For Thronateeska Heritage Center - resolving management vacancies at long last after over two years and getting a real start on the railroad collection projects.

That's about all I was heavily involved in this year.

Dave


irondave@bellsouth.net

It's been a good year. We picked up a D&RGW refrigerator car, stockcar, bunkcar, and RPO, plus a 70 foot turntable. Construction and grading is nearly complete on our brand new depot in Sumpter. The new carshop is nearly complete, concrete floor, new wiring, and insulation have been installed. The backshop is being graded for the floor, and is wired with doors hung. The McEwen depot was reworked and has an improved ticket office. Restoration was completed on our WP&Y side-dump car, and work was started on the 1352 boxcar and RPO number 122. Work is almost done on our 1883 passenger coach number 20 (including a new paint job), she operated almost flawlessly the whole season. Repairs are also nearly complete on SVRy Mikado number 19, she should be back in full operating condition shortly. Our ROW was inspected, and the few faults discovered were repaired. Plus, plans were set in motion for the future, including a propsal for new coaches, and the surveys for the Union Creek extension. We got a great new website, many thanks to Andrew, and our archives have gotten some much needed attention. Landscaping and general clean-up of the yards got off to a great start as well. Volunteer hours were up, nearly 3000 last time I heard. All in all, a very good year for us.

Thanks, Taylor

Sumpter Valley Railway
thrush@smt-net.com

Much like the Heisman Trophy voting in prior years, there seems to be an Eastern bias here.

1. NRHS Canyon Rails Convention initiated and implimented by 16 members of the Grand Canyon Chapter. It weren't perfect, but boy the LA-Canyon trips and all in between were sumthin'.

2. Orange Empire Railway Museum: Completed purchases on 19 adjacent acres of land; refurbished to running condition SP 2144 commute coach and E.L. 2350 coach. Finished repair and refurbishing on PE 418 interurban; Completed major restoration on DGR&W 732 drop-bottom gondola. Installed nearly 1300 feet of brick herring-bone platform with appropriate signals, overhead, drainage and track tamping. Installed concrete, signed handicapped parking spaces with adjoining walkway, asphalt-paved several streets within the museum campus, poured concrete for the floor of our 3'6" gauge streetcar workshop, acquired a dining car to match our existing Harriman style UP passenger car fleet, completed ultrasonic testing on our 1927 Baldwin prairie steamerand finally, increased our membership by over 450 to break the 2000 member barrier for the first time in our 46-year history.


wyld@sbcglobal.net

Speaking as one individual member of the FEBT and not representing that organization or any other person or group--

as far as things EBT go:

Success: repatriating 18 and 29, with the genreous financial support of many friends on this Board

Failure: loss of any hope of TEA-21 funds to stabilize/restore the EBT



eledbetter@rypn.org

The Flying Yankee restoration. Although not yet finished, these folks have made incredible progress.

The Flying Yankee
tomcough@attbi.com

Heber Valley Railroad
utweyesguy@aol.com

Heber Valley Railroad
utweyesguy@aol.com

and it wouldn't have been the success that it was without the participation of the Nevada Northern and crew members that came from throughout North America to form an Olympic Steam Team that took the gold!

Heber Valley Railroad
utweyesguy@aol.com

> a dining car to match our existing Harriman
> style UP passenger car fleet,

Slight correction for the purist or passenger car freak:

"a dining car to match our existing moderized heavyweight UP passenger car fleet"

The car like our chair car and lounge car is a moderized railroad-roof heavyweight car. The cars have sealed thermo-plane windows and a roof shrouded and tapered at the ends to match streamlined cars.

Also in the collection are a number of "Harriman" roofed cars: SP baggage car from 1909, OSL coach from 1911, UP postal car from 1914, SD&AE combo from 1915, UP rules car (built as a coach in 1922). and a SP commutte car from 1923.

BN

bnorden49@earthlink.net