November Order Board

Train and Station Crews URGENTLY Needed
We’re winding up our 2009 operating season and train and station crews are needed! Please call Barb Walcott at 203.525.5290 or 860.283.5790 so that she doesn’t have to spend all her time tracking down the necessary staff.

ANNUAL FALL ALL MEMBER WORK WEEKEND
The 2009 Fall Work Weekend is scheduled for November 7-8 and most effort will be dedicated to track maintenance work. This year work will be done primarily on the main line, from just north of the Whyco Crossing toward Reynolds Bridge. Anyone who has been aboard a locomotive through this area can feel the need for attention. Food will be provided at either the work site or shop, so far lunch will be hot dogs, burgers, sausages, and Butterworth Beans.

Preliminary Work Also Needed
To properly prepare for the main event and the Spike-a-Thon, much preparation work must be done to ready ties for replacement. Besides loading ties for distribution, we will also need to re-gauge the trackage this work began the weekend of October 24-25 and will continue the following weekend. We will need a good turnout to support this effort so that we can insure a successful main event. Hal Reiser is in charge of this project and will appreciate any help you can provide. We hope to ready 100 ties for replacement – that’s 100 ties with 4 spikes each for our Spike-A-Thon goal of 400 hundred spikes driven. Please dress appropriately and bring safety equipment such as hardhats and work gloves. Other details may appear in a special mailing.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING AND VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DINNER DATE CHANGED
Our 2009 Annual Membership Meeting has been rescheduled to November 21 to avoid interference with Holiday operations. It will be preceded by the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner starting at 5pm, with the meeting at 7pm. Dinner reservations are required – please contact Barbara Walcott by phone (see above) or at wwalcott at snet.net by 14Nov.

ANNOUNCING “THE NORTHERN LIGHTS EXPRESS”
With the gradual erosion of the revenue generated by the Day Out With Thomas event, your Board of Directors -working with the Special Events Committee - has decided to upgrade the Naugatuck Railroad’s holiday season offerings in 2009. This upgrade includes after-dark services with an upgrade of the festive lighting both inside and outside of the train. The tentative evening schedule will begin on Thanksgiving Saturday, 28Nov which will be in part a press run, replacing our former Light-Up-the-Town service - then Sunday 29Nov, and into December on 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, and conclude with 26 and 27 of December. We’ll need and good turnout of train, engine, onboard and station volunteers. This operation has the potential of being a greater income producer than DOWT, as we will be running the event in its entirety and won’t have to share revenues with any management company. Income can go right back into the railroad and its preservation activities.

Thomaston Station Halloween Party Details
The RMNE will be hosting a Thomaston Station Fund-Raiser Halloween Party at the Thomaston Station on the 31st of October. RMNE members and friends are invited. This will be a costume party for adults only and will begin at 7:00pm and run until “the witching hour.” Dance music and party snacks will be provided, BYOB and BYO Food if your appetite dictates. A $10.00 per person donation is suggested – remember, the surplus is going to replenish the Thomaston Station Fund, which has been depleted by recent station improvements. Please help support this project and don’t forget to tell your friends! Please RSVP to Celeste Echlin, email cechlin at earthlink.net or tel. 860.283.7245.

Sidewalk Sale of Day Out With Thomas Merchandise
The RMNE will be hosting a Day Out With Thomas Merchandise clearance “Sidewalk Sale” 24-25 October. As sales were a bit off this summer, we’d like to take another opportunity to turn leftover items into income for the RMNE. This will be held at Thomaston.

Weekday Work Opportunities
Gene Pfeiffer continues to spend a lot of time on weekdays on the railroad, usually at the Thomaston Shop. There are a number of projects, primarily Motor Vehicle Department work, which Gene is working on and he could use some help. Another project that Gene has started is digging away the embankment at the end of the shop track leads so that they may be extended a few car lengths southward. He is also continuing work on the parking area at the main gate and the access road. Contact Gene on his cell phone 860.605.0454

Car Department
Reminder - On the east side of coach 5805 Sam Walker has posted job sheets describing car department tasks for the next few months for a number of different coaches. Contact Sam Walker at sbwalker6 at earthlink.net to help or for other Car Department info. Best to talk with him at the shop – he’s there on most Saturdays – easier to describe tasks in person and on site!

4980, 4992, 5046 – the in-service coaches, need attention to ready them for the Christmas operation. Please remember that revenue generated by a successful December will support other projects through the winter. Work continues of coach 5805 inside and out.

NH 603, ex Parlor “Forest Hills” currently remains in the shop, undergoing a general cleaning and roof refurbishing that has been spearheaded by Jon Chase. Some holes remain to get patched, and some final wire wheeling under the “J-patch” areas is needed.

Locomotive Department
NH 529 is scheduled for more testing, including some runs during over the October 24 weekend. Former CDOT 2019 has been the mainstay of our autumn operations, running in a push-pull operation. NAUG 2203 continues to receive attention inside the shop and it is hoped that it will return to service by December.

Maintenance of Way Department
Highland Rail Service has completed rail replacement on the Huntingdon Ave siding at Waterville. A number of ties remain to be replaced later this fall. The use of NH 2019 in a push-pull operation has kept the siding clear for uninterrupted work.

Gene Pfeiffer, new member Jason Hartmann, and others have completed the rebuild of a push car to assist with upcoming MoW projects. Quite a bit of grading has been done south of the shop to allow access and future track expansion.

Bridges and Buildings Department
Gas service has been connected, electrical connections have been made and our heaters will be ready for service shortly after vents are installed at the north and south ends of the building.

Loretta “Pie Car Mama” Seibert
Word has reached me from Henry Moncrief that his Mother, Loretta Seibert, passed away on September 27 from the effects of prolonged dementia at a nursing home in Westmoreland, NH, the area where she has resided for a number of years. Loretta and her husband the late Jim Seibert were fixtures during the early CVRA years at the Valley Railroad, running the Pie Car (ex NH W-153 “Springfield” diner) feeding the volunteers on most Saturday nights. (“Pie Car” was a term for the dining cars on circus trains.) Her last appearance at a RMNE function was the dedication of locomotive NH 529 to the memory of her husband Jim, held at the Saybrook Yard about 15 years ago.

—Bill Sample, Editor

RMNE Spike-A-Thon

This is an exciting time for the Railroad Museum of New England. We continue to move forward on many restoration projects to expand the collection and keep your railroad running. To do this, we need your help. Our Treasurer, Louis Edmonds is challenging everyone to sponsor him in a Spike-A-Thon on November 7, 2009. We know he can do 300 spikes... but can he do 400??

All proceeds go directly to the Railroad Museum of New England, a non-profit corporation, and contributions are tax-deductible. To make a pledge, either e-mail us or send your pledge form to:

We appreciate any and all contributions that you're able to make. Talk to your family and friends as well and ask them to support our museum as we work for the future!

Order Board for October 2009

Train and Station Crews URGENTLY Needed
We’re well into our 2009 operating season and volunteer train and station crews are needed! Please call Barb Walcott at (203) 525.5290 or (860) 283.5790 so that she doesn’t have to spend all her time tracking down the necessary staff.

ANNOUNCING “THE NORTHERN LIGHTS EXPRESS”
The tentative evening schedule will begin on Thanksgiving Sunday, November 29 and then will run on December 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, and conclude on the 26th and 27th. We’ll need and good turnout of train, engine, onboard and station volunteers. This operation has the potential of being a greater income producer than DOWT, as we will be running the event in its entirety and won’t have to share revenues with any licensing management company. Income can go right back into the railroad and its preservation activities.

Weekday Work Opportunities
Gene Pfeiffer is often around the shop on weekdays, working on various projects, and could use some assistance. Contact Gene on his cell phone (860) 605.0454 for details.

Car Department
Reminder - On the east side of coach 5805 Sam Walker has posted job sheets describing car department tasks for the next few months for a number of different coaches. Like other departments, the Car Department has been pressed into DOWT service over the past few weekends but now car work is resuming. Contact Sam Walker to help or for other car dept. info. Best to talk with him at the shop – he’s there on most Saturdays – easier to describe tasks in person and on site!

Coaches 4980, 4992, 5046 – the in-service coaches, will be needing attention to ready them for the Christmas operation. Please remember that revenue generated by a successful December will support other projects through the winter. 4980 and 4992 also need ongoing window repair – Sam, Stan Bogacz and Kurt Wiener recently have been on that.

Coach 5805 Summary: Interior work underway includes north end floor repairs and the ongoing ceiling repair and painting work. Next up: 1. Building and fitting insulation panels, lower wall areas beneath windowsills. 2. Steel window frame fabrication – final prep of window openings, cutting and welding in the metal channel pieces in the openings (possible training opportunity here – contact Sam) 3. Hal Reiser will be taking a lead on the rehab of seat frames, which will involve moving them into the shop from the BAR potato car on the DA track in Waterville, then removing any of the electric heating units (dating from service in an electric MU car) from the frames, including a partial disassembly, then “media” blasting the frames to remove all paint. Exterior work remaining includes finishing rivet installation on northwest, southeast, and southwest end panels, and finish body patch grinding and welding on west side.

NH Coach 603, ex-Pullman Parlor “Forest Hills” – space this car is occupying is needed for other projects we’d like to get this car properly prepared to return to the great outdoors. Basically the roof is getting a comprehensive overhaul to keep it tight to successfully battle the elements. Project mgr. Jon Chase has prepared a detailed list of the remaining tasks and will be happy to share it; some of the tasks are listed on the side of the car in the shop. Please remember to tie off ladders so they won’t slide on the shop floor. As of October 11, it sounds like the roof stripping has been largely completed and most work that remains outside of painting concerns the sealing of screw holes and vent openings, and some minor patching. Details are available from Jon Chase.

Locomotive Department
NH Alco RS-3 529 - Hal Reiser completed battery box overhaul. Batteries were re-installed, a new high-pressure fuel pump was installed by Howard Pincus, and the locomotive was started up Oct 4th only to find continuing charging problems. Some progress has been made to rectify this but more work is needed.

NH (ex-CDOT) EMD FL9 2019 - This locomotive continues as the regular service locomotive until the 2203’s work is completed. It is the last remaining FL9 in NH colors still operating on anything close to a regular basis in Connecticut... or anywhere else!

NAUG GE U-23B 2203 - This locomotive is currently undergoing another oil cooler replacement, and is awaiting other work on the pit. Batteries have been removed and Hal Reiser has begun repair work on the boxes, which had been heavily infested by the tin worm (much rust and rot to remove and repair).

ex-CDOT EMD F7m's 6690 & 6691 - These units were built for Southern Pacific; then renuilt and sent to the Wellsville, Addison & Galeton; then Pittsburgh's PATrain, then CDOT's Shore Line East startup! These two units have been formally transferred to RMNE ownership by donation from CDOT. They remain for now at the head end of the Thomaston Display Track.

Motor Vehicle Department
Gene Pfeiffer reports that the overhaul of the IHC engine is progressing. Other equipment is getting the usual maintenance, plus some brake work on the TC 40. Excavation continues for the shop track extensions at Thomaston Shop and Yard (TSY).

Bridges and Buildings Department
Jack Tarter has continued to build the intricate web of electrical service for the shop, with his talents saving the RMNE untold thousands of dollars. He recently has been working on additional heavy-duty outlets for welding machine use, and is well along with a large circuit box that will control the heating system’s control circuits. Howard Pincus recently activated the north end vent fan, helping to control the dust kicked up by the roof project on the NH 603.

There has been progress in the Thomaston Station this fall as a preliminary waiting room ceiling and semi-permanent lighting has been installed. Ralph Harris is managing this project and reminds us that the station is our oldest major item on display. Not only will the appearance be improved, but heating expenses should be reduced.

Maintenance of Way Department
Our 2009 Fall Work Weekend, featuring a major track project, has been scheduled for 7-8 November. This will include another edition of the Louis Edmonds Spike-a-Thon. As treasurer, Louis has plenty of incentive to drive as many spikes as possible to help bolster our treasury!

Discussion has begun on the location of the outside yard tracks at the south end of the TSY site. Earlier this month Howard Pincus led a rail replacement crew near the Thomaston Station, and work continued on the Waterville passing siding.

—Bill Sample, Editor

Just another day on the Naugatuck Railroad...

Who says you can't turn back time? These photos are from a September 20, 2009 visit to the Naugatuck Railroad. These scenes await visitors every weekend. Come visit our railroad and create your own timeless images! You can support our restoration efforts by purchasing a souvenir ticket or picking up a few "must have" items in our gift shop. Photos by RMNE volunteer Otto M. Vondrak.

Time for ice cream at the WhyCo crossing south of Thomaston

Crossing Chase Bridge near Waterville, CT

Arriving at Thomaston, looking right at home

Our train is dwarfed by the massive fill of Thomaston Dam

Ducking under historic Reynolds Bridge