February-March 2010 President’s Report

By Ira Pollack

In this month’s report I would first like to wish you all well.

Obviously not much has been going on in the yard as a result of all the snow, cold and inclement weather that we have been having this month. Justin has been keeping the yard plowed out though, and when the sun does shine, BobWohlken has been coming in and prepping the relay ties for this season’s trackwork. He has been prying out the spikes and tie plates, then filling the remaining holes, getting them ready for our use. We have a total of about 80 of these ties for our non-ending maintenance issues. I will be ordering about 100 more of these relays from our vendor in New Haven to help bolster our supply. I am hoping that once the weather breaks and the ground settles out we can begin once again replacing ties on Tracks 42, 18, 34, and possibly on 26 this year. As I have stated before, it is an ongoing project. Our track maintenance is a dire necessity. A lot will depend on how much frost was in the ground and how much our gauge has shifted, but that is also part of it. It is just a matter of time though, and I cannot wait for spring.

There are lots of things happening, even though some are behind the scenes. I will just quickly report to you that progress is slowly being made on the electric engines up in Albany. Although this has been very slow moving, I am still trying to remain optimistic that this will happen in the near future. Basically, there are regulations that must be met by R.J. Corman and the power company that have taken a lot of time. I am hoping that we can make this move while the ground is still frozen at the job site. It is very frustrating waiting for this to come to fruition. I still feel these electrics will be a big asset to our collection once they arrive.

In other news, we are collaborating with Bill Probert of Lego Collectors fame to erect an operating Lego train layout in the Great Hall of the Museum. This will be a new event for the DRM, I am hoping to draw many new faces with this exhibit. Wade Roese, who is in charge of the building displays and exhibits, will be removing the photo walls in the Great Hall to accommodate this unique display. We have had this area up now for several years, and it has served its purpose very nicely, but it is time now for a facelift and change in the building. This new exhibit will run for about three weeks starting in April.

There are other things happening at the DRM, but I will not comment on them now. I do not like to talk about them until they actually happen, and I certainly do not want to disappoint anyone, especially you, the member and volunteer.

We have an election coming up in March. Use your judgment as to who might best fit the open positions of five directors. I will say though that the main purpose and goal of a non-profit 501C-3 director is solely to raise funds and to sustain the organization financially. Use your discretion accordingly. I also thank the directors who did serve on this last Board over these past two years. Our Board has made some progress in these two short years with many new policies, new events, and most of all, better financial stability.

In closing this report, I look forward to the coming spring and also look forward to meeting and working with all of our new members. See you next month.