President’s Message

October 2004 Newsletter

Now that our season is drawing to a close I would like to comment on the many successes that we have had this year.

First off, our member volunteers have worked very hard both during the week and during the weekends throughout our operating season. This added effort has helped us become more financially stable, showing a profit for the first time in several years. I must commend you all for your added efforts to help our Museum grow.

We have begun to change our strategies in advertising for the Museum. We have come to realize that our market must also extend to the many families that come to the DRM. We all must realize that this must be a good experience for our public. We also must look at our operation almost as a play or show that is being put on daily and weekly for the public. We must remember that we are always on stage and under the spotlight. We have also started focusing more effort on bus tours coming to the DRM. These tours are somewhat easier for us to do, as we need fewer staff for tour guides, front desk and gift shop. They are also financially lucrative for the DRM. I am hoping to see more of these tours on a regular basis in the future.

All in all we are looking much better than we did last year at this time and it is all because of the efforts of our volunteers. This season has also brought us new membership and new members to our train crew. I am very proud of their efforts and professionalism in the operating of our equipment on the Railyard Local. In the yard we have finally put up the Wilton semaphore at the entrance to the yard. This was a fantastic group effort by our yard volunteers to see this project through to this point of completion. We have plans now to erect a small operators booth to make the semaphore fully functional for public use. We have also set up a series of displays that allow our guests to access selected pieces of equipment. There are also more descriptive signs to help identify and educate our guests about those pieces. Our volunteers in the yard have spent a lot of time painting our exhibits on the 34 platform which has greatly enhanced our exhibit area. We have more plans of moving a passenger truck into that area for display. These wheelsets have been an interesting asset for our tour guides and for our viewing public.

By the time you have read this we will have opened another photo exhibit. This time the subject is the Penn Central Railroad featuring photos of Pete McLachlan. The exhibit shows off Peter’s eye for railroad photography and of course his understanding of the historical importance of his subject.

It has long been a goal of mine to make our Museum an interesting experience and a pleasant visit for any guest of ours and now, a little at a time, this is coming to pass. Of course, it is you – the volunteers – who have made it really happen so let’s keep up the good work!

Thank you for your help this season.