Phillipsburg Railroad Historians, Inc.
292 Chambers Street, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865

APRIL 2001 NEWSLETTER VOL. XI #4

THE APRIL MEMBERSHIP MEETING of PRRH will be held on Wednesday April 25, 2001 at 7:30pm at the Alpha United Presbyterian Church. Refreshments are served and entertainment will follow with a slide show on Russian Steam.

PRRH Volunteer Report: January & February 2001 by Ed Beers. In January, 12 members contributed a total of 28 and one half man hours for cleaning the firehouse and clearing the areas of snow. Paul and Meg Carpenito, and Alan Bellis contributed 16 hours for newsletter and bookkeeping work. Pete Terp contributed 6 hours for fundraising and communication, Ed Beers one half hour for the report. Grand total for January was 51 hours. In February, 8 members contributed 33 and one half hours. This included snow plowing, representing PRRH at EastRail, and inspecting the Amtrak caboose at Metuchen. There were 16 hours for newsletter and bookkeeping and 6 hours for fundraising and communications. Ed Beers used one half hour for the report. Grand total of hours was 56 for February. Total hours this year are 107.

As this newsletter goes to print, your officers and volunteers are working to make our first Open House a success. We are contacting various related organizations for participation. Tuesday work sessions are concentrating on spring cleanup and the installation of safety barriers to insure an enjoyable and safe day for our potential visitors. Also beginning on Tuesday is the resumption of work on our CNJ caboose 91197, under the direction of John Boner. Sunday May 6 is the date of this important event, our first Open House, as we show our progress to the public. An article featuring the C&S and the Becker Dairy Farm was scheduled to be featured in the PROGRESS newspaper the third week of April and will provide informaton to the residents of West Essex County on the Open House. The Centerville & Soutliwestem will be the feature attraction and the gift shop will have a stock of new clothing. Books and merchandise will also arrive to enhance the visitor's experience. The enginehouse will be opened and the PS trolley available for viewing. We are working on some additional interesting attractions. Hours will be 10 to 4. Please support your organization by attending this most important event for our organization.

Also on the calendar is our second annual fantrip We will be visiting the Strasburg area with train rides, old and new on the Strasburg and on Amtrak. Several museums are a part of the package and an order form was included with last month's newsletter. The day will be capped with a buffet dinner. Please attend and support your club and enjoy a great day out with your fellow members. There are seats remaining and you are encouraged to drum up support and invite your friends to spend a pleasant May day with us. Certainly the harsh winter just passed can be forgotten by a day in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Amtrak will provide the crowning touch with a great mainline ride into Philadelphia after a morning visiting the Toy Train Museum and the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum. A noon time ride in our own coach on the Strasburg Railroad will afford us a whiff of steam power in stride on their well maintained mainline. Tickets can still be purchased at the April meeting.

Restoration of the PS trolley 2651 has begun by the North Jersey Electric Railroaders at the enginehouse. Some track has been laid from the east end of the building into the north door allowing the trolley to be placed inside. Our restoration work party will address the continuation of track laying upon completion of the caboose.

Our March 31 banquet was a big success with dinner superb at Ryan's, and our local councilmen had a good opportunity to rub shoulders with our attendees and all saw an excellent slide show put on by Pete Terp. This presentation was a trip down memory lane and really brought home the point that this organization has come a long way over the years.

There will be a tree planting ceremony on April 27 at 9:00am at the museum. At that time, we will accept 15 trees from the Volunteer Railroaders Association and they will be there to plant them. PRRH members are encouraged to attend.

As you can see, there are quite a few events headed our way this spring and they are all generated from within by the members and officers of PRRH. Your participation and attendance makes them a success and the work that gets put into them becomes a reward to the hard working volunteers that put so much of their precious free time for the enjoyment of the group as a whole. Please come out and show everyone that you're a proud member of PRRH.

~ Paul Carpenito ~

PC/ab/sdw

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