The 4th Annual Fall Niagara Falls Model Railway Show was held on Sunday, October 31st, 2010.? Attendance was up sharply over our 2009 show, and there?were a great may deals to be had.? 34 vendors from across Ontario took part in the show, and many have already booked in for the 11th Annual show, which will be held on March 6th, 2011.? The NRM wishes to thank all the visitors that came from around Ontario and the US to take advantage of the great bargains.? We also thank the 34 vendors who travelled to the show with thier wares, and look forward to welcoming them back in March.
October 29, 2010
October 17, 2010
Weekend Work Report
It was a very productive weekend at the Museum site.? Scott and I (Ken Jr.) spent some of Saturday working on the brake rigging on the Plymouth, and also spiked up some more of track 2.? We also looked around inside and out of the shop and made up a list of jobs to be done before winter.? Sunday saw 7 members out to work.? Bill worked on the Plymouth motor, replacing some of the missing parts as the test fire draws near.
NRM Member Bill McCraw has his head stuck in the hood of the Plymouth as he works on a gasket.
Steve, William, Scott, and myself worked on HEPC 46. ?For the past 30+ years, it has been stuck in forward. With the help of a hydraulic jack, we were able to move the linkage back to its neutral position. It is still very tight, but a careful eye was kept on all moving parts to ensure that everything moved as it was intended. The reversing gear on HEPC 46 is now in neutral, instead of forward.
The reversing gear on HEPC 46 is now in neutral, instead of forward.
Ken Sr. and Ryan worked in the inspection pit on track 2, clearing out garbage and debris.? Next time there are more hands, all the debris from the pit, and the old washrooms will be removed from the shop as we continue to clean the facility to make it better for our members, and visitors.? As I was leaving, Norfolk Southern train 369 from Buffalo came into the yard.? The lead unit was a former SOO Line, followed by 2 NS, and a brand new CN GE ES44DC #2325.
NS train 369 enters the Fort Erie yard with brand new CN 2325, a GE ES44DC.
My thanks to everyone who came out today.? Still lots to do?before the winter sets in.? And a reminder to everyone else, the?Fall Niagara Falls?Model Railway Show is just 2 weeks away, on October 31st, 2010.? The show is?once again held at Optimist Park Hall, and is open from 10am-3:30pm.? Model railway vendors, layouts, and displays.? There will be something for everyone, so come on out and support the Niagara Railway Museum.
October 2, 2010
ex-CNR Flanger donated
The Niagara Railway Museum has recently acquired an ex-CNR Flanger, which was donated by Trillium Railway Company.? The Flanger was built in 1923 as a boxcar for the Grand Trunk.? In 1936 it was rebuilt by the CNR to a wood body flanger #56452.? The car was retired in 1980 and was aquired by the City of Welland, Ont. where it was turned into a Tourist Information booth at the corner of East Main & Prince Charles Dr.? After a fire in 1999, the car was offered for scrap.? Trillium acquired the car, and?removed the burned body, creating essentially a flatcar with snow plow blades.? The car was moved to Dain City, where it has been stored ever since.? With clean up proceeding at the site of MJ Jones (also where our Plymouth diesel was stored until June of this year) the flanger had to go.? It has been offered to the NRM, and we are currently looking for donations to help move the car, and to restore the body.? We hope to be able to move the car before the end of 2010.? Any donations towards the project would be greatly appreciated, and are eligible for a charitable tax reciept.
September 28, 2010
NRM update
While most work has stopped on the shop itself, other than routine cleaning, work continues on equipment restoration.? E-7 has had 2 footboards re-installed, and the restoration to operation of the Plymouth MDT40t is also progressing.? The diesel engine is said to be in very good condition, and we are currently tracking down a few minor parts needed to make it complete.? One of which is an air filter, which apparently is no longer available (what a suprise!!).? While it doesn’t look like there will be windows in the shop by the winter, we do have plans to use very heavy plastic sheeting to cover the windows, as much as we can anyways, to make the building a bit more weather proof.? We are also working on a new look to our website, and will soon be adding a link where visitors can make online donations to the Museum.? At this time, the NRM shop is closed, however, visitors are welcome by prior arrangement, or if any of our volunteers are at the shop the day you show up.? Admission is as always, by donation.? The Fall Niagara Falls Model Railway Show will be held on October 31st, 2010, 10am-3:30pm at Optimist Park Hall on Dorchester Rd in Niagara Falls.? Contact us for more information.
September 8, 2010
Open house update
Wow, this has come on really fast.? Just 2 more days until the Niagara Railway Museum open house.? Things are coming together great.? Lots to see and do, a few special surprises as well.? An addition to the weekend will be drinks and hot dogs for a small fee.? We will also have portable restrooms on site, as our plumbing is not currently in operating condition (actually, the indoor plumbing doesn’t even exist!!).? Food and drinks, in addition to all the other displays, and who knows what might show up on the weekend.? Come on out and support the NRM, it’ll be a great time.? Remember, the event runs rain or shine, so please dress for the weather (if the outside temp is cool, the shop will be as well, please be prepared).
September 6, 2010
Weekend work report
Not a whole lot was done at the shop this weekend, because of the long weekend, however, some things were accomplished.? The pile of debris inside?near the north door was removed which has really cleaned up the shop.? A bit more track work was done, along with more grass cutting.? Less than 1 week to go before our big open house, and things are shaping up quite well.? Come out and support the NRM, and celebrate the 90th birthday of HEPC steam engine #46 this month.
September 3, 2010
Work Session Report – September 2nd, 2010
Had a decent work session on Thursday Sept 2nd.? 4 members came out, and got a fair amount done.? Eric & William spent the time sweeping and clearing debris out of the heavy repair bay.? With the upcoming open house, we wanted to get it cleared out to make is safe for our visitors, which allows us to open up another part of the shop.? Plus, we are expecting another piece of equipment to arrive on site shortly, and it will be going on that track.
Looking west down the heavy repair bay track.
Ken Sr. worked on cleaning the floors under the inspection platforms, and managed to get 90% of the debris from down there cleared out.? I spent my time doing some touch up painting, starting with HEPC E-7. 3 weeks ago I chipped away at some of the years of black and orange paint on the ends of the locomotive. I managed to get it down to bare metal, and on Thursday, applied a coat of flat black to the bare metal.? Even a little bit of paint makes a big difference, and shows that something is being done to preserve the equipment.
I also did some painting on our steam locomotive.? For the past 4 years she has had Niagara Railway Museum painted on the side of the water tank.? Well, now that she is inside the actual Museum, I felt it was time for that to go.? She didn’t wear that in service, and no longer needs to wear it now.? Also touched up a bit of the black on the cab.? The cab will be rebuilt, but just for photos, having a bit of paint on it makes for better pictures.
While we had people out, we moved the drive rods for the steam engine to a spot where people won’t fall over them, and the same was done to the footboards for E-7.? We cleaned the floor where the display cases and tables will be for the open house next week, and marked out the spaces for said cases and such.? All in all, it was a decent day, and we are looking forward to having a great open house, rain or shine, on September 11/12.? As the NRM crew was leaving, members of the Southern Niagara Model Railway Club turned up to work on one of the other tracks near the shop.? It will likely serve as a storage area for our boxcars and some other equipment until such time as we can get them
A little paint...
in the shop.? They cleared the heavily overgrown siding all the way to the wheelstops, which, including what was already cleared, is just under 1000ft.? They had previously cleared the? mudrails on 2 of the crossings on that siding.? They have been doing this on thier own time, and have been a great help to us.
The final note is a photo taken the other day by Ken Jones Sr.? We are working to get the grass cut down for better photos, but this shot shows the NS transfer returning to Buffalo.? The CN mainline is just feet from our doorstep, and one can see trains from CN, CP & NS.
The view from our doorstep!
August 29, 2010
Getting Ready for the Open House
Cutting grass at the shop
With the Niagara Railway Museum open house just 2 weeks away, work has been continuing at the shop.? Much of the grass and brush has been cut from around the former roundhouse/turntable area, as well as around the shop.? Some of the area where the turntable was will be used for parking at the open house.
Inside the shop cleaning is ongoing.? We’re preparing areas for the layouts and displays.? See our “news” section for everything that is going on a the open house.? Remember, 2010 marks the 90th birthday of HEPC 46, so come out andcelebrate a grand birthday.
HEPC 46 turns 90 years old in September
August 15, 2010
Progress on Many Fronts
Cleaning out the mud rails.
It has been a fairly productive 2 weeks at the shop with help from various people.? Members of the Southern Niagara Model Railroad Club in Thorold came out on Tuesday night and cleared out the mud rails of the siding where our boxcars will likely be stored temporarily when they arrive.? This job alone took them almost 3hrs to clean out 40ft.? One of our new members, William Cormier has been cleaning up around the site, and has cleaned out mud, grass and debris from the concrete fueling pads in preparation for relaying the track
Fueling Pads
There has also been work going on inside the shop, mostly with the removal of windows that were smashed in by the vandals who hit us a month ago.? We do not yet have new glass, but we need to remove the old glass to make is safe for our members and for visitors.? There has also been work done on our newest arrival, HEPC E-7.? Paint is slowly being removed, and the engine cleaned up in preparation for painting, which could happen later this year.
E-7 with newly installed window covers.
The cab of E-7 has also been cleaned out as it was filled with sand and other debris from years of sitting around.? Unfortunately, for some reason, while it sat at NRE in Capreol, the step ladders on the sides were cut off (since last year).? These will be replaced in time.? While E-7 is not in it’s original configuration, it will be repainted to its original HEPC scheme.
In keeping with the mandate of the NRM, part of the process of restoration is to have thesite showing as it originally was.? Part of this interpretation is the uncovering of part of the original turntable pit.? This was done this past weekend, and about 12ft of the top of the pit wall is now visible to visitors to the site.? Part of the turntable pit, along with part of a roundhouse stall, will be uncovered so people can see what was originally on the site.
We also now have an Architect working on the plans for the reconstruction
A portion of the original turntable pit rail
of the office area, which will create the main artifact display room for the NRM.??? Jason Pizzicarola of Jason Pizzicarola Design – Architects Inc. (www.jpdesign.ca)?has offered to assist the NRM with these plans.
I extend my thanks to those who have been working so hard to make the NRM a reality, and we expect great things in the future.? Our next big event will be on September 11/12, 2010, at our second open house of the year.? This open house will be bigger than the one in July, and will feature our 3 locomotives on display, track motorcar rides, model train layouts, railway artifacts, and possibly some other local history displays.? The event runs rain or shine, 9am-4pm both days.? Admission is by donation.
August 3, 2010
Work Session Notice – Saturday, August 7th, 2010
There will be a work crew at the shop Saturday August 7th at 930am.? Work scheduled is continued cleaning of the shop, paint removal on E-7, and weather permitting, tamping of the remaining ties on track 1.? As always, the shop and equipment will be open for viewing, by donation.