The Last Blacksmith:  A lecture by Thomas C. Cornillie

Railroads have played an instrumental role in shaping the development of the United States since the mid-19th century. However, there are many aspects of railroad history that remain unexplored. One such area is locomotive maintenance, which was a critical part of railroad operations and made railroads the largest employer in many communities. At the height of the railroad industry's power in the early 1920's the number of workers employed in railroad shops ranked second among all US manufacturers - with over 400,000 workers located in nearly 1,800 different locations across the country. This lecture will examine change in locomotive maintenance practices between 1900 and 1960 as the product of interactions between management policy, the development and application of technology, organized labor, and government regulation.

The talk will be illustrated with historic and recent photographs, and drawings of sites and will highlight some of the challenges confronting the preservation of these sites.  The lecture is scheduled for Monday, July 25, 3-5 PM at the William L. Clements Library on the Univ. of Mich. campus.  For complete information please visit this link.

(UM announcement)

News From the Railroad Museum of Long Island

There's an old saying that goes "A picture is worth a thousand words." Well, here is a picture that, thanks to Steve Levy, Suffolk County Executive, is worth One Hundred Sixty Thousand words.

Photo courtesy of RMLI, all rights reserved.

In a recent ceremony at Boilermatic Welding Industries located in Medford, NY, Steve Levy presented a check for $160,000.00 to Dennis DeAngelis, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Railroad Museum of Long Island (RMLI) for the start of the restoration of ex LIRR Steam Engine #39. Pictured here are (L to R) Michael Monahan, Project Manager, SCDPW; Mrs. Claire Harrison (holding her husband’s, Richard, book Long Island Rail Road Memories, The Making of a Steam Locomotive Engineer) and daughter Diane Loper, Steve Levy, Dennis DeAngeles, Bob Williams, Shasho Pole of Boilermatic.

The Board of Trustees of RMLI would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Levy and his staff for making our dream a reality.

In other news, the Board of Trustees of the RMLI is also pleased to announce the recent receipt of a $5,000 grant from Healthplex, Inc. of Uniondale, NY; a dental HMO. This grant will underwrite the creation of an Economic Impact Study for the expansion of the RMLI Riverhead site facility.

Dr. Steven J. Cuchel, Chairman/CEO of Healthplex, Inc. said "I think this study is worthy of support, it will give RMLI a clear idea of how RMLI’s expansion plans are going to help create jobs on the East End of Long Island." Currently Dr. Pearl Kamer, Chief Economist for the Long Island Association is working with the Museum on this study.

It is the goal of the Museum to expand its present Riverhead location by building a four bay historic renovation and display facility that will employ skilled workers in the downtown Griffing Avenue facility. This expansion plan will also include our Greenport site facility, which will add full time positions at that location as well.

(Compiled from RMLI press releases)