by 161pw165
I bet this opens before the new Peace Bridge.....
Railroad Forums
WNYRHS - Heritage Discovery Center, Buffalo, NY
- Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Moderator: Otto Vondrak
by Steve W
I really do not call bunny trips and santa claws trips true railfan trips, If I wanted to ride Amtrak I would buy a ticket, that and the tank engine are one step above an amusement park ride. Pardon me for being negative but we will never have 765,611 or 1218 again running in WNY.
by lvrr325
Well, no, but the 611 and 1218 will probably never steam anywhere again.
It's funny how of all the NRHS chapters in New York there's only a couple that really have their acts together.
It's funny how of all the NRHS chapters in New York there's only a couple that really have their acts together.
by umtrr-author
Steve W wrote:I really do not call bunny trips and santa claws trips true railfan trips, If I wanted to ride Amtrak I would buy a ticket, that and the tank engine are one step above an amusement park ride. Pardon me for being negative but we will never have 765,611 or 1218 again running in WNY.No, they are not true railfan trips. But is any HS going to survive just on true railfan trips? Seems to me that holiday, fall foilage and Thomas the Tank Engine runs are meant to 1) increase awareness to the general public 2) raise much needed funds.
The perfect is the enemy of the good here. I really want an HS to repower a GG-1 and string catenary for ten to fifteen miles so that I can have my ideal "railfan trip" too. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. Or the WNYRHS can work with what's feasible in an environment that is hostile in both regulatory and economic terms, and simply try to get more people interested in trains so that what is left can be preserved for another generation or two.
George in Rochester NY
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)
by Otto Vondrak
Steve W wrote:I really do not call bunny trips and santa claws trips true railfan trips, If I wanted to ride Amtrak I would buy a ticket, that and the tank engine are one step above an amusement park ride. Pardon me for being negative but we will never have 765,611 or 1218 again running in WNY.I'm sorry, you think this museum and its trips are for *railfans?* It is the general public that is the target, as railfans only make up a small (very small) percentage of patronage. This is not to say that railfans and their patronage are not important, but I think it's pretty clear that if museums had to rely solely on railfan revenue, they would all be shuttered in a matter of days. Museums are about educating the masses, not preaching to the choir. Furthermore, to think that railroad enthusiasts are being snubbed when family-friendly events like Thomas and Easter Bunny and Santa Claus (who is Santa Claws? Sounds like something Tim Burton would come up with in Nightmare Before Christmas) are offered is a little silly.
Let's bring this discussion back to the WNYRHS' museum project, and not speculate about what types of excursions they may or may not run.
-otto-
----------------------------------------------
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
by smph50
by Otto Vondrak » Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:17 pm
Consider using us as an outlet for news, much like CMRR, NAUG, URHS and other groups do. Even if the news update is "Still hauling out trash from the site," you keep your project front of mind.
-otto-
Hi Guys, as promised, when I have some news, I'll post it.
Update March - 2011 - Announced at our Society Meeting 3/17/2011 - The museum project has taken a giant step forward this past month as the NYSDEC issued the Certificate of Completion certifying that the environmental cleanup on Area C has been completed. This was four months earlier than we had expected, and we have been advised that the Certificate of Completion on the 16-acre Area E will be issued in March. With the issuance of these COC’s, we have signed the final agreements to acquire control of these properties.
Several original structures were preserved on Area C including the former Power House, Ice House and Machine Shop Buildings. Over the next 3-4 months, the Society will be fully evaluating the buildings as all of the interior demolition has now been completed. Our evaluation will ascertain the current condition of the buildings, develop the scope of work, and place some hard cost estimates on the rehabilitation.
As for Area E, this 16-acre parcel along Elk Street has been cleared of all buildings with the exception of four large concrete slabs. Our plans are to construct our first building on one of the 18,000 square foot foundations later this summer. The building will be used for restoration of our railroad equipment. We are currently gathering cost estimates for this structure. A special Thank You goes out to Jon Williams, President of Ontario Specialty Contractors, for his support and vision for our development of this reclaimed brown field. Jon also surprised us with his generous donation of a 30’x80’ metal building to the project. This building will be erected on Area E and will be used as an equipment and machine shop.
Fundraising is now our main focus. The Society received a generous gift this past December with a $50,000 donation towards the museum project made by Donald and Barbara Owens. Don has served as a Trustee for several years and Barb has been active handling publicity and media contacts for the Society. Don & Barb also donated the Lehigh Valley caboose that the Society moved to Williamsville last year and we cannot thank them enough for this generous gift.
Don and Barb have also issued a challenge to the Society with an offer to donate an additional $50,000 towards the museum project if we can match it through additional fundraising efforts. So we are appealing to our entire membership and all of our friends to help us reach this goal to secure this additional funding. Remember, the WNYRHS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible.
We're getting there! Sincerely, Scott H.
~Scott H. - Erie (NS) MP-411.7
Western New York Railway Historical Society
Western New York Railway Historical Society
by jones3621
I really do wish the WNYRHS the best of luck on this ambitious but much needed project. I mean it may never rival steam town, but it will be great addition.
by Otto Vondrak
Scott, thanks for the update!
-otto-
-otto-
----------------------------------------------
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
by umtrr-author
Great news and some real progress, helped tremendously by some very generous donations. A steel building, how about that!
Question on the matching grant: is there any time limit that the donors have placed on it? In other words, how long do you have to raise the $50,000 before the offer to match expires? It's not shown on the website (or I can't find it!).
Those of us who need to budget for everything these days (I resemble that remark!) might be able to help out sometime later this year and would certainly like to get into the window for the match if that's possible.
Question on the matching grant: is there any time limit that the donors have placed on it? In other words, how long do you have to raise the $50,000 before the offer to match expires? It's not shown on the website (or I can't find it!).
Those of us who need to budget for everything these days (I resemble that remark!) might be able to help out sometime later this year and would certainly like to get into the window for the match if that's possible.
George in Rochester NY
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)
by MarkT
The whole area always sort of resembled Berlin in 1945 LOL
I rode by the other day on Elk and was surprised at the progress that has been made. Seems every derelict structure has been demolished. The property grounds appear to have been greatly cleaned up. From the street, sure looks "shovel ready". Nice job by all involved
I rode by the other day on Elk and was surprised at the progress that has been made. Seems every derelict structure has been demolished. The property grounds appear to have been greatly cleaned up. From the street, sure looks "shovel ready". Nice job by all involved
by smph50
Hi Guys! - MORE GOOD NEWS! I just updated our WebSite with the following information, We OWN our Administration building!
South Buffalo Developement is continuing their remediation of the site and we can now start to move some of our "stuff" over there. Photo's of the Admin building are on the WebSite but you can read the announcement here written by our President, Joe Kocsis. The matching donation offer is still good and you can find a PayPal link at the bottom of the page.
"Friday June 17th, 2011 was a milestone in the history of the Society as we closed on the purchase of the former Buffalo Color Administration building located at 100 Lee Street. Along with the purchase of the 22,000 SF office building, comes 5 acres of land and a smaller 4,500 SF brick building. The 100 Lee Street Building now becomes the core of the museum site which we have designated as the Heritage Discovery Center.
The office building will house the administrative functions of the Heritage Discovery Center and spaces on the first floor will be converted into meeting and temporary display rooms. There is a great deal of painting and cleaning required to freshen up the building interior, plus sprucing up the exterior landscaping as well. If you want to help out just give me a call @ 716-863-2957 to find out when the next work session is planned. We plan on being at the site to oversee the work on a daily basis, so all you retired guys out there, here’s a great weekday or week night project.
The acquisition of the building was made possible through the auspices of HSBC Bank and their offer of a great secured loan package that includes some very generous repayment terms to help us get established in the building. The loan was made possible through the generous intervention of Don and Barbara Owens, whose 34-year banking relationship with the bank convinced them that this was a great and worthwhile project and HSBC Bank needed to be a part of, and they agreed.
We currently have one tenant in the building and their rent will help defray the monthly operational costs of the building. We have also received a commitment from the Steel Plant Museum to relocate their museum displays from Lackawanna to the site. They are eager to begin work on their spaces in the building. Now that we control the building, we are approaching several other groups to relocate to the building as well.
Now the real work begins. Along with owning the 100 Lee Street Building, we have also taken control of the 16-acre Area E parcel and we are looking to begin planning for the construction of our long-awaited car shop building hopefully by the end of summer. However, everything will be contingent on our ability to raise the necessary funds to reach our goal.
First and foremost, the $50,000 Challenge Grant is still available for the taking. We are still nearly $37,000 short of the goal. I know money is tight, gas prices are up and the economy stinks, but see if you can dig into your wallet and help us reach our goal.
If you can make a donation, make your check or money order payable to:
WNYRHS, Inc. 407 Rowley Road Depew, NY 14043
Every contribution no matter how small will help us reach our goal."
Thanks for your support! Sincerely, Scott H.
South Buffalo Developement is continuing their remediation of the site and we can now start to move some of our "stuff" over there. Photo's of the Admin building are on the WebSite but you can read the announcement here written by our President, Joe Kocsis. The matching donation offer is still good and you can find a PayPal link at the bottom of the page.
"Friday June 17th, 2011 was a milestone in the history of the Society as we closed on the purchase of the former Buffalo Color Administration building located at 100 Lee Street. Along with the purchase of the 22,000 SF office building, comes 5 acres of land and a smaller 4,500 SF brick building. The 100 Lee Street Building now becomes the core of the museum site which we have designated as the Heritage Discovery Center.
The office building will house the administrative functions of the Heritage Discovery Center and spaces on the first floor will be converted into meeting and temporary display rooms. There is a great deal of painting and cleaning required to freshen up the building interior, plus sprucing up the exterior landscaping as well. If you want to help out just give me a call @ 716-863-2957 to find out when the next work session is planned. We plan on being at the site to oversee the work on a daily basis, so all you retired guys out there, here’s a great weekday or week night project.
The acquisition of the building was made possible through the auspices of HSBC Bank and their offer of a great secured loan package that includes some very generous repayment terms to help us get established in the building. The loan was made possible through the generous intervention of Don and Barbara Owens, whose 34-year banking relationship with the bank convinced them that this was a great and worthwhile project and HSBC Bank needed to be a part of, and they agreed.
We currently have one tenant in the building and their rent will help defray the monthly operational costs of the building. We have also received a commitment from the Steel Plant Museum to relocate their museum displays from Lackawanna to the site. They are eager to begin work on their spaces in the building. Now that we control the building, we are approaching several other groups to relocate to the building as well.
Now the real work begins. Along with owning the 100 Lee Street Building, we have also taken control of the 16-acre Area E parcel and we are looking to begin planning for the construction of our long-awaited car shop building hopefully by the end of summer. However, everything will be contingent on our ability to raise the necessary funds to reach our goal.
First and foremost, the $50,000 Challenge Grant is still available for the taking. We are still nearly $37,000 short of the goal. I know money is tight, gas prices are up and the economy stinks, but see if you can dig into your wallet and help us reach our goal.
If you can make a donation, make your check or money order payable to:
WNYRHS, Inc. 407 Rowley Road Depew, NY 14043
Every contribution no matter how small will help us reach our goal."
Thanks for your support! Sincerely, Scott H.
~Scott H. - Erie (NS) MP-411.7
Western New York Railway Historical Society
Western New York Railway Historical Society
by 161pw165
161pw165 wrote:I bet this opens before the new Peace Bridge.....With the recent article in the Buffalo News about the "new" Peace Bridge being a no-go, it looks like I was right. Great news, Scott, and rest assured I'll be contributing to your efforts. Thanks for showing that, contrary to what many believe, Buffalo CAN get things done!!!!
by Alcoman
While the museum is making great progress, we must not forget the groups "other" activities either. They have several Restoration projects going on including an ALCO HH660 originally built for the Buffalo Creek,a railroad station, work on passenger cars and plans being made to build track on the Museum site so equipment can be moved and stored there.
Alcoman
Alcoman
by umtrr-author
Thanks for the update... I just helped out with the funding for the challenge grant in my small way. Every little bit helps.
You've probably already thought of this, but the Buffalo Terminal Show is coming up in September, and I imagine a display there will help with the publicity and fundraising efforts.
You've probably already thought of this, but the Buffalo Terminal Show is coming up in September, and I imagine a display there will help with the publicity and fundraising efforts.
George in Rochester NY
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)
The Unofficial Micro-Trains Release Report (among other things)