June – July 2010 President’s Report

By Ira Pollack, President

Hope all is well with you this month.

We have been busy in the yard with many different projects. I would like to update you with some of the things going on.

Progress is being made on all of the following:

Tonawanda Valley - New steps have been fabricated and are being installed by Project Leader Bill Britt. Rust converter has been applied to certain areas of the rear steps, which are awaiting paint. What a difference this makes in the appearance of the car!

NYC Caboose - Gerry Herrmann and crew have fabricated new windows for the cupola and will be installing them briefly. The caboose crewmembers have once again outdone themselves with their craftsmanship.

Shed for G-gauge - Wade Roese and crew have built a small shed next to the G-gauge for storage of the model equipment. A portion of the structure was built using material that was either donated or that Museum members already had on hand. I am trying to convince Wade to build another one for additional yard storage.

Loading Dock at Pumphouse - Our yard crew has begun building a platform to help with the loading/ unloading of our guests at the turntable, the destination point of our Railyard Local. At this point we are using materials that we have on hand. This dock will extend from the pumphouse building out across to trackside, and extend lengthwise about 100 feet.

Turntable - Work is progressing rapidly with a good crew of people turning out both during the week and also on weekends. I have included my plan for restoration in this report to show you, the membership, what we have done and what is planned for the future. (The plan is printed in detail on Page 7.) At this point we are trying to stabilize what is there and trying to slow down the deterioration of the structure.

There is much going on at the Museum. Become part of its growth and future! Volunteer if you can and feel free to call me anytime. I want to know who you are and how I can help you become involved with the Museum.