I suppose I will be spending my time in Ohio this weekend at the Northern Ohio Railway Museum since Trolleyville seems to be in a state of limbo. I had received an email from one of the RYPN contributors who was involved in NORM, but since my email server is based in Houston, I seem to be unable to access my email. I am curious what the work schedule is for this weekend. I can be reached by email at tnold@northtexastransport.org or 817-235-2687 (cell number)Thanks.

If you want to see something more interesting than a trolley graveyard, drive 2 hours east on I-76 and south on I-79 to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Open from 11-5 Saturday & Sunday. Just show up & identify yourself as a museum person, and someone will show you around.

Sorry, it is a short weekend and I am planning to be in Pensylvania next month for the ARM convention. Regardless of its basis in fact, crude comments about a fellow preservation efforts reflects poorly on you.

I want to make it clear that opinions expressed by one of our members toward Northern Ohio Railway Museum (NORM) do NOT in any way, shape, or form reflect any feeling of Pennsylvania Trolley Museum toward our sister museum. These were the private opinions of one individual who in this forum has no right whatever to use the good name of PTM while disparaging another organization. I offer an apology on behalf of PTM and the vast majority of its members to our friends at NORM and I trust that they will understand that mutterings by one individual do NOT in any manner represent the feelings of the rest of us at PTM.David H. HamleyPresident, PTM

Dear Andy,I, for one, would be very interested to hear what you see and learn about the Ohio preservation efforts. Ohio has a rich railroad history, and while the Ohio groups have saved many pieces of equipment - at the moment - future seems uncertain at best. I would be very interested to know what they think their collection and organization will look like in 5, 10, 20 years.The article below gives some hints as to changes that may occur in the short term.Tom Cornillie- - - http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 382Article published Thursday, August 25, 2005Sylvania: Locomotive heading for Historical VillageBy MIKE JONESBLADE STAFF WRITERAn electric railroad locomotive that began service from a roundhousein downtown Sylvania about 90 years ago is set to return to a newdisplay area a couple of blocks away, according to plans being puttogether by the Sylvania Historical Village.Boyd Montgomery, chairman of the Sylvania Historical Commission whichoversees the village, said the train operated from an area whereSautter's 5 Star Market is in the 5500 block of South Main Street."It will be coming back, along with a caboose,'' he said.At its most recent meeting, the city planning commission recommendedapproval of a change in zoning that will allow for a building to beconstructed closer to the property's northern lot line than has beenpermitted.Mr. Montgomery said that by putting the proposed buildingcloser to the property line, the village can keep more green space inthe center of the attraction.The engine and the caboose are being donated by the WaterfrontElectric Railway Museum, of Grand Rapids, Ohio, and part of thebargain is that the Sylvania site have a building to house themHe said plans for the building are still in the discussion stage, butit has been proposed that the structure take a form that isreminiscent of an old roundhouse.Charles Sheets, of the Grand Rapids organization, said the group iscutting back and moving its remaining items to Elmore."We're anxiousfor them to have the locomotive and caboose,'' he said, "becausethat's where the locomotive started.''He said both items were received as donations, so his organization hasdecided not to sell the two pieces of railroad history and that theystay together. Mr. Sheets said the caboose is in very good condition,but the locomotive will need work.It's sheltered in a barn now, but had been stored outside at theToledo Edison Acme plant for years and exposure did some damage, he said.Joy Armstrong, manager of the city's village and museum complex, said"It's amazing what this locomotive meant to the community.''She said she began research on the locomotive about a month ago whenit was first offered to the historical village, "and it was likesomebody said you have a dinosaur in your back yard,'' it was sounexpected.The locomotive, which was built in 1915, was part of the Toledo andWestern Railroad, a railroad that brought new business and electricityto the small village of Sylvania.Part of the agreement which led to the railroad being headquartered inSylvania included a deal that directed excess electricity generated bythe railroad company to be used by homes and businesses along MainStreet, Ms. Armstrong said.She said about 40 trains a day passed the site, carrying passengersand freight, and that it was a boon to the economy.Mayor Craig Stough told Sylvania City Council that it is likely theywill be asked to pay something toward the construction of a buildingto shelter the locomotive and caboose, but added that the locomotiveis the "real article.''Mr. Montgomery said that excavation should start soon on the villagesite and once it's level, two sets of railroad tracks will be put inplace.He said the historical society has some funds which should help covermuch of the cost of preparing the site. He said additional money willbe needed to build a structure to house the two pieces of railroadequipment and to refurbish the locomotive.Mr. Montgomery said he has been in contact with someone who will lookfor organizations that may provide grants for the work.After the locomotive and caboose are in place and under cover, Mr.Montgomery said a winch will be installed which will be used to pullthe locomotive and caboose out for display and then return them totheir shelter.

Northern Ohio has made a lot of progress in the last five or ten years. They've built two barns now and late last year they got their first piece of electric equipment running: a Cleveland crane that operates using a generator on the deck. I'm told that they've also been steadily acquiring parts of the Grand Rapids Electric Railway collection. Does anyone have solid information on cars moved from Grand Rapids to NORM in the past year?

I want to assure Mr. Hamley and the rest of the members of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum that the Board of Directors, Trustees and Members of the Northern Ohio Railway Museum do NOT hold our sister museum responsible the musings of one of their members.Mr. Schwartz’s comments about “Trolley Graveyard” indicate that that he has chosen to ignore the facts or is unaware of them. The last decade has been the most dynamic in the museums history.In 1997 we erected the Anson W. Bennett car house. This car house is 52 by 180 ft, with three tracks and normally holds nine cars. One track has additional space on both sides to allow restoration work to take place. In 2000 we erected our second building. The “Rowen W. Prunkard Maintenance Building” is 30 by 60 ft. with one track. The primary purpose is to store and maintain our extensive work fleet. Today we have 17 pieces of maintenance equipment.In 2003 we erected our third building. This carhouse is the same size as our first carhouse and also has three tracks. This building incorporates space for car parts storage. Today one wall has heavy-duty pallet shelves. During this same time (since 1997) an additional 2/3rds of a mile of track, including 5 switches were built to tie the buildings to the rest of the museum track. Also during this same decade, phone, power and outdoor lighting came to the property.Restoration projects include a 1912 PRR X-23 class boxcar. Today this car is the home to the museum store and part of our interim visitors center. The second car completed was a 1923 heavy-duty flatcar from Ohio Edison. A smaller, nearly completed project, is a 1944 Buda speeder, originally from the Cleveland Union Terminal. The Buda project has been mechanically completed and is getting paint and other detail work done. It is being restored back to its later Shaker Rapid appearance.The big project that took the most time was the restoration of Cleveland Railway 0711. This is a 1925 built Differential Car Company trolley crane. The project took three years to get her operational, including the time to engineer and build our own rectifier. There is still some minor work to complete on the car. To date, $5,500 and 4,500 man-hours have gone into the project. Twenty-six members participated, but a core of seven, including three teens, did most of the work.The museum functions off site also. Public outreach programs are active in the community. An education program has been started. The program went into the classroom in 2004 for the first time. An on site children’s education program has been tested. With these experiences the program is being fine-tuned. Expect more in the future. Our web site is now under the care of a web and IT program at the local vocational high school. These students are working on a redesign and updating of the site.Restoration efforts are not stopping after the completion of the 0711. Two more major projects are currently underway. A 1929 built C&O Railway caboose and a Toronto Peter Witt Car built in 1923. The significance of this car is that Cleveland Traction Commissioner Peter Witt developed the front entrance, center exit concept used in transit vehicles today. Car 2778 has been stripped down. A restoration assessment and plan has been completed. Now the big news, we have received a challenge grant to get this project moving. The fundraising drive to raise the $5,000 needed is currently underway.One final point to bring light to. A museum is far more than its artifacts, its lifeblood is its members, and we have some fantastic people. The museum membership is about 180. These folks have consistently funded this organization. In addition to their financial support, they have volunteered their time. In 2004, 66 individuals volunteered their time to the museum and racked up just under 10,000 volunteer man-hours. Impressive numbers in any scorebook.So Mr. Schwartz, I invite you and anyone else interested to visit the Northern Ohio Railway Museum and see the exciting things going on here.Steven HeisterMember, Board of DirectorsNorthern Ohio Railway Museumhttp://www.northernohio.railway.museum

I must admit that I have not been to NORM in about 5 years. It appears that you are making more progress than I realized and I apologize for an unfortunate choise of words. I hope that I am still welcome if I am able to visit. Art Schwartz

During my trip, I was more interested in the route and system that served my family's hometown of Berea, OH, but since Trolleyville is shut down, I took Steve up on his offer to visit the Northern Ohio Railway Museum on Saturday. As Steve describes, there are several large buildings on the property now and a lot of equipment has been moved inside.NORM appears to be taking the hard steps and doing the things that need to be done to set the foundation for a long lived and successful preservation organization. From the point of view of the attending public and the rail foamer, land ownership, maintenance equipment storage buildings and pallet racks are not the sexy items that one goes to a museum to see. But without these things, you might find yourself in the same position as Trolleyville - a lot of great equipment with no home. You can spend money to restore a streetcar, but without the carbarn you may as well throw your money in the workshop stove. The collection may have suffered in the past as resources were allocated to the construction of permanent facilities, but this museum has turned the corner and will see more fruitful work on car restoration and operations in the near future now that they have the tools to do the job.I got to see the 0711 crane car in action and Steve was a wonderful host. I have submitted my membership application and look forward to receiving my own copy of their newsletter in the mail.I admit to being ignorant of Cleveland's interurbans and street railways, so I was very happy to the following day to understand that NORM's facility is on the right-of-way that operated through Berea - the Cleveland Southwestern Railway. The Mahler Museum in Berea has a nice display about the system and the original Cleveland an Berea Street Railway.As for Art, I think we can give him a reprieve, since he has done more to publicize the efforts of the Northern Ohio Railway Museum than anyone else.

You are certainly welcome to visit anytime you wish. Our public hours are Saturdays, Spring through Fall, 10am to 5pm. Other times by appointment. One of our volunteers will be happy to show you around. Steve HeisterMember Board of DirectorsNorthern Ohio Railway Museumhttp://www.northernohio.railway.museum

My thanks and appreciation to all of the parties involved in this thread. We moved through the inquiry and responses without foam or flames. Nice work here! And good luck, best wishes, to our colleagues at NORM.Wesley