Month: March 2011
Comments by Anyone Interested
I had the great opportunity to attend a Rotary Club President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) in Nashville, TN, last weekend. Rotary, like many other service/civic and non-profit special interest groups are designed to tap into local individuals through a club or chapter while all the while supporting a more broad-thinking and influential national or international body of work. In the case of Rotary, our world-wide humanitarian goal is the eradication of polio from the planet. You might be interested to know we are almost there. There are only a few hundred cases of Polio known to exist at this time. We press on.
At PETS I was astonished to find a discussion group titled “My Club Doesn’t Care About Rotary International (RI)”. What?!!! Unbelievable! But then I began to recall comments, rolling of eyes, etc. when RI was mentioned on the local level. “They just want money! What have they done for us?” You know the drill.
I want to encourage you to make yourself aware of the goals and work of the NRHS and its ability to do things that individual chapters like ours cannot possibly accomplish. As one of my seminar leaders put so well, “Like a tree, grow your roots locally, but branch out and think globally.
One way to stay connected to our national work is to read The Bulletin, published four or five times a year by our National Office. I hope your have taken time to read through the last couple of issues. I especially would point you in the direction of the Fall 2010 issue with a great article “Temples to a Forgotten Religion: The American Railway Depot” By Alexander B. Craghead. It is deep reading, but excellent in its ability to draw the big picture in regard to the birth, life, and near death of the subject and the depot’s relationship to our society and culture. Read on and know what’s up!
Your editor, Bill Thomas
(Your short articles are needed. Email them to me 2 weeks before each monthly meeting.)
by President, Ricky Bivins
Hello Western Kentucky Chapter members.
Well, it is time once again for our monthly Chapter meeting of the National Railway Historical Society. I was about to allow the meeting to “sneak up on me” when Chuck Hinrichs dropped me an email asking about the March program and refreshments so he could send the information to the Hopkinsville News Paper. Thank You Chuck for taking time to do so and for having the desire as well. I have contacted the Madisonville Messenger so as to post an announcement in the Town Crier section of our paper. These are free community services offered by these publications. If anyone else knows of such an opportunity to “spread the word” feel free to take up the effort and contact same.
I hope those present for the February meeting enjoyed them selves. I know I did. Of course I am just slightly biased toward anything New York Central. Not to mention just about any Herron Rail presentation. As an aside, sign up for a program and/or refreshment this month. These meetings are “for the chapter, by the chapter”. Everyone has something to share. If not a program, bring a “show and tell” item instead. Get Involved.
It is funny odd how things come about sometimes. I have been “searching” for an employee to work opposite me at the airport since December of last year. Several have interviewed most of which I said “no” too. Then, Ted walks in. Retired Army, dressed for an interview as opposed to a rock concert as some of the others were. We stroll around the grounds of the Airport when he spots one of my Lionel Trains on a shelf. I comment about same and he says, “We are going to get along just fine”. As it turns out, Ted has model trains, trains he bought in Germany while stationed there. LGB Trains that is. Not to mention a few Lionel’s as well. The man served our Nation, seven tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and he likes Trains. God I love this Country.
As everyone is well aware, many people are hurting in Japan. Ted has a brother there; the Tsunami snatched his brother’s five year old son right out of his hands. That is the last they saw of him. My point here, the events in Japan can be a lot closer to someone here than we might expect. Carry any conversation about the events there with respect. We just never know how “close” world events can be.
I hope to see “you” at the March meeting. We will gather in the former L&N RR Station on West Arch Street, right behind City Hall. Join in and bring a guest. – Rick Bivins
A pair of SBD SDs are framed by a steel bridge on Chapter member Keith Kittinger’s new model railroad he is developing in his garage/building.
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (WAVE) – Paducah and Louisville Railway announced Feb. 21 that it will undertake a $9 million effort to replace a bridge built in the 1880’s that uses its tracks.
Next to Fort Knox, one of the two Muldraugh railroad bridges known as “Bridges to the Past,” will be replaced by a bridge 83 feet tall, spanning 570 feet. The railway says it will ensure freight service on the bridge is safe and reliable.
“This bridge provides an important link from western Kentucky, the Hardin County – Meade County area, Fort Knox and Louisville,” said Paducah and Louisville Railway representative Tom Garrett.
The bridge construction will support about 290 jobs in Hardin County.
Copyright 2011 WAVE News. All rights reserved.
Submitted by Bill Grady
While in a meeting with some friends this week at a local dive, we got into a discussion of comparing apps (application software) for smart phones such as the i-Phone, Blackberry, Droid, etc. I was introduced to 5-O Radio. It’s a web-based scanner app that pulls audio feed from scanners directed to internet sites. Although it does not allow you to simply input scanner frequencies, the $1.99 version (Pro) does allow you to do a search for particular sources. I came across several railroad subdivisions, but only one CSX sub – in Michigan. But, I can now listen in to local police, fire, EMS, and public safety calls on my i-Phone. If you have an App suggestion, drop me a line via phone, or email, bill@fbcmadisonville.com. My mailing address is Bill Thomas, 1025 Lakewood Drive, Madisonville, KY 42431. I look forward to hearing from you.
Amtrak is calling “all kids—young and old” to join the coast-to-coast celebration of train love. On Saturday, May 7th, hundreds of National Train Day festivities are taking place across the country including four major events in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago. At each you can enjoy: Free live entertainment, Interactive and educational exhibits, Kids activities, Model train displays, Tours of Amtrak equipment, freight and commuter trains, and of notable private railroad cars, and much more. You can attend an event near you, host one of your own, or participate online. Start the celebration today at nationaltrainday.com.
Join us on a truly rare mileage adventure May 6-9, 2011
Submitted by Don Clayton
Schedule: Thursday, May 5. Passengers may board equipment at St. Louis station any time after 8PM.
Friday, May 6. We leave for Paducah on CN/IC via Du Quion and Akin/Rust Jct. From Akin Jct. We take the Edgewood cutoff to Metropolis, cross the Ohio River and enter Paducah on the Paducah & Illinois RR. This afternoon we take a tour of the former IC locomotive shops. (now VMV division of NRE). Lunch courtesy of NRE. Dinner on your own in Paducah.
Saturday, May 7. Optional trip on the Paducah & Louisville RR (ex-IC) to Princeton, KY and return. Dinner on your own in Paducah.
Sunday, May 8. Paducah to Galesburg on the BNSF via Centralia and Beardstown. Overnight in Galesburg.
Monday, May 9. Galesburg to Chicago on BNSF via Denrock and Savanna.
Equipment will include ex-Santa Fe “Big Dome,” Cimarron River, Caritas and Swift Stream (6 dbr. Lounge; ex NYC).
Fares: St. Louis-Paducah to Chicago: $2995; roomette supplement: $200. Paducah and Louisville trip on Saturday, May 7: $250.
Contact:
HIGH IRON TRAVEL CORP.
P.O. BOX 337
Waunakee, WI 53597
608-467-7835
www.highirontravel.com
For the Government of Railfans Only
- West Kentucky NRHS Chapter Meeting – March 28, Madisonville, L&N Depot, 7pm.
- 401 (Southern) In Steam, April 16, 17, Monticello (IL) Railway Museum
- Nickel Plate 765 Excursions, several dates this summer, http://www.hoosiervalley.org/visit/schedules/steam-excursions/
- Rock Island IL Train Festival, July 21-24, 2011, http://www.trainfestival2011.com
