Railroad Forums 

  • Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum Discussion

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New York State.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #1353406  by Scott K
 
Dick H wrote:Otto: Any chance you could post a "before" restoration photo of the caboose,
or a link to same? Great job. Thanks.
Here's one old pic I found in my files from 8 years ago. Just a little bit of rot to deal with then, it only got "better" after that. The last time I actually saw it myself, the platforms had been completely removed. Glad to see it done and back in service.

Scott K.
 #1353730  by Otto Vondrak
 
Scott K wrote:Here's one old pic I found in my files from 8 years ago. Just a little bit of rot to deal with then, it only got "better" after that. The last time I actually saw it myself, the platforms had been completely removed. Glad to see it done and back in service.
Yes, quite a bit of work by our volunteers to rebuild the ends and sills. Charlie Marks and his helpers led the charge over the last few years and then really worked hard to finish up the last bit of work so we could place the car into service before the end of the season. And a good thing, too, as we had record attendance for both weekends in October. Normally, a project like this shouldn't take so long, but other projects took priority. It was great that Charlie and his team could see this through to the end and now this car is back out in the public eye where people can see it and RIDE it :-)

I look forward to having some exciting news about our Lehigh Valley caboose No. 95100 very soon.

-otto-
RGVRRM Trustee
 #1353888  by Otto Vondrak
 
Benjamin Maggi wrote:That is awesome! Keep up the good work.

I wish there was an organization or museum in the Albany area that people could volunteer at to actually restore trains. Everything is over an hour away.
If you're willing to sacrifice your time to volunteer, you should be willing to sacrifice an hour to drive. Many others travel much farther than you would. We have volunteers at R&GV that travel from Elmira, Geneva, and Buffalo on a regular basis. Consider it.

-otto-
 #1372112  by Otto Vondrak
 
R&GV Museum Annual Banquet - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Saturday, March 12, 2016, 6:30 p.m.
River's Edge Party House, 31 Paul Road, Rochester, N.Y.


Please mark your calendars for Saturday, March 12, 2016, for our Annual Banquet at the recently refurbished River's Edge Party House. Doors will open at 6:30, and guests will enjoy a cash bar and social hour prior to seating for our buffet dinner. Following dinner will be some brief awards presentations before we introduce our keynote speaker, Mike Smith, president of the Finger Lakes Railway.

Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate our organization's achievements over the last year. Tickets are $30.00 per person, and can be purchased instantly through PayPal below. You can also purchase tickets by mail payable by check or money order to R&GV BANQUET, P.O. Box 23326, Rochester, NY 14692-3326.

Purchase tickets online at: http://rgvrrm.org/banquet/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1388884  by Otto Vondrak
 
We are kicking off our operating season this weekend, June 18 and 19. Trains depart every half hour from Industry Depot. Purchase tickets online or at the depot. Regional Transit Service will have their restored vintage GM transit bus on display throughout the weekend as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the donation of Rochester Subway Car 60 to our museum. See progress on the restoration of Rochester Subway Car 60.

http://rochestertrainrides.com/event/ju ... g-weekend/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope to see you all there!

-otto-
 #1389633  by Otto Vondrak
 
SteelRail wrote:Does the train ride go as far as the trolley museum?
No, since the trolley museum chose to end joint operations two years ago, the train ride has been expanded to take visitors to see even more of our collection, including the restoration shop.

For more details, please visit:

http://rochestertrainrides.com/faq/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-otto-
 #1390225  by Otto Vondrak
 
Scott K wrote:
Otto Vondrak wrote:
SteelRail wrote:Does the train ride go as far as the trolley museum?
No, since the trolley museum chose to end joint operations two years ago,
Why?

Scott K.
That's an excellent question that only the board members of NYMT can answer.

-otto-
 #1390245  by lvrr325
 
BR&P wrote:NYC had thousands of cabooses like that. Many survive as static displays, but to the best of my knowledge this is the ONLY one still rolling. And it used to work in Rochester, so there truly is a local connection. Good job, guys!
The CNY NRHS's car at the fairgrounds might be able to be used in light service. At least, when they moved it and the GG1 to the second track, it didn't hurt it to pull that GG1 behind and then shove back in - for whatever reason the CSX or Conrail crew had to pull out to the east side of CP293 and shove back in on the second track (at least at that time the pocket yard switch was controlled by the dispatcher). I was worried pulling that big G would damage the caboose, but it was tougher than I thought. I would imagine that makes it the last one to roll on the former NYC main line, if only for a few hundred yards. But outside of that, yes, I'm not aware of another that's even capable of being moved on it's own wheels.
 #1390388  by Otto Vondrak
 
RGVRRM conducted a successful and educational tour of various sites around the Rochester Subway on June 25, 2016, to mark the 60th anniversary of the shutdown of the Rochester Subway on June 30, 1956. All of the proceeds from ticket sales went toward the restoration of Rochester Subway Car 60. Thanks very much to Regional Transit Service, which allowed us to use their restored 1957 GM Transit bus to conduct this tour to mark the special occasion.

We started at Pittsford Plaza.
1957 GM Transit Bus
1957 GM Transit Bus
subwaytour-rtc1957bus.jpg (72.57 KiB) Viewed 4782 times
We visited the site of Rowlands Loop, the southern end of the Rochester Subway, in Brighton.
Rowlands Loop in Brighton
Rowlands Loop in Brighton
subwaytour-rowlands.jpg (128.4 KiB) Viewed 4782 times
We inspected the site of Lexington Avenue station, where the NYC and B&O branches to Charlotte crossed overhead. This portion of the subway was filled in 1976.
Lexington Avenue station site
Lexington Avenue station site
subwaytour-lexington.jpg (212.67 KiB) Viewed 4782 times
We found the last piece of Subway track, still in place, and still being used to serve a freight customer near the northern end of the line at the General Motors plant.
Last subway track at GM
Last subway track at GM
subwaytour-gm.jpg (90.48 KiB) Viewed 4782 times
Rochester Subway Car 60 turns 100 years old this year. Work has already started to replace critical metal components on the car that will allow us to complete the reconstruction and repair of the roof. Fundraising efforts are ongoing.
Rochester Subway Car 60, June 2016
Rochester Subway Car 60, June 2016
rtc60-rgvrrm.jpg (88.48 KiB) Viewed 4782 times
-otto-
rgrrvm
 #1397054  by Otto Vondrak
 
DIESEL DAYS is this weekend, August 20-21.

Lehigh Valley Alco RS3m No. 211 and U.S. Army Fairbanks Morse H12-44 No. 1843 will be in operation, as well as the possibility of Rochester Gas & Electric GE 45T No. 1941. Trains depart every half-hour from Industry Depot on Route 251.

http://rochestertrainrides.com/event/au ... esel-days/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I look forward to seeing you all there!

-otto-
 #1397110  by BR&P
 
lvrr325 wrote:
BR&P wrote:NYC had thousands of cabooses like that. Many survive as static displays, but to the best of my knowledge this is the ONLY one still rolling. And it used to work in Rochester, so there truly is a local connection. Good job, guys!
The CNY NRHS's car at the fairgrounds might be able to be used in light service. At least, when they moved it and the GG1 to the second track, it didn't hurt it to pull that GG1 behind and then shove back in - for whatever reason the CSX or Conrail crew had to pull out to the east side of CP293 and shove back in on the second track (at least at that time the pocket yard switch was controlled by the dispatcher). I was worried pulling that big G would damage the caboose, but it was tougher than I thought. I would imagine that makes it the last one to roll on the former NYC main line, if only for a few hundred yards. But outside of that, yes, I'm not aware of another that's even capable of being moved on it's own wheels.
I missed this post.

I'm sure there are others which would be capable of moving if the opportunity was presented, mechanically speaking. Toward the end, the bodies had seen way too many years, but the running gear somehow kept on going, in most cases anyway. One Rochester local, YT-1, used to leave the yard each day with the caboose on the head pin, and at times took 30 or more cars out of the yard. Unless something was seriously wrong, trailing a GG1 behind the caboose would be no big deal.

Quite a neat observation about the last wooden NYC caboose to roll on the main line! Image

Now if we could only get the R&GV museum to let it get realistically "broken in" with dust on the floor, dirty windows, stale cigar smoke lingering in the air, etc!
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