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

MAY 2001 NEWSLETTER VOL. XI #5

I CAN'T GET OVER HOW quickly time passes, especially as I sit here tonight writing to you again. The cat is in the window looking out into the dark and who knows what is crawling outside in the woods. But it's nice to feel the warm Spring air spiced up by the fragrant blossoms of a new growing season. Your PRRH volunteers are again at work to make the museum grow too. The May PRRH membership meeting will be held on Wednesday night, May 23, at 7:30pm at the Alpha United Presbyterian Church. Refreshments are provided and John Willever will present a "Night Out At The Movies" as our entertainment.

MARCH 2001 VOLUNTEER REPORT
ED BEERS

In March, five members contributed a total of 38.5 manpower hours. These were for the Mother Seton show, cleaning up the museum grounds and servicing equipment. Paul and Meg Carpenito and Alan Bellis are credited with 12 hours for the newsletter. Pete Terp and Paul also gave an additional 8 hours for PRRH banquet preparations. Total volunteer hours for March 58.5 hours. Beginning in April, we will credit Steve Winter for web site upkeep. Thanks to the following PRRH volunteers for work performed during March and April: Jim Anderson, Ed Beers, Alan Bellis, The Carpenito's, Rick Glosser, Jim Mack, Tom Marzuoli, Ed Meyers, Bill Pensyl, Jack Quinn, Rocky Rockafellow, Glenn Terminelli, Pete Terp, Matt and Steve Winter, John Boner, Earle Brotzman, Pete Blaess, and Louie Badolato.

Work sessions are in progress for both caboose restoration and general cleaning up at the site and in the museum building. Work parties are held on Tuesday afternoons starting around 3:00 and at 5:00.

We welcome a new member this month, Lester Horvath. Welcome aboard Les.

The May meeting's refreshments are provided to you by Tom Marzuoli and Bob and Evelyn Bennington.

We acknowledge the generous donation of a new VCR for the museum building by Ed Beers and a TV given by Pete Terp. Thank you gentlemen. They will go a long way to entertain and educate visitors to our site in search of knowledge of our beloved past railroads and the mega giants that have evolved from them. The museum is now stocked with a fresh and varied supply of clothing items and we will have some available at the meeting to purchase.

We have received some very nice press exposure during the past month. Initially, an article about the Becker Farm and the Centerville and Southwestern appeared in the PROGRESS newspaper at the end of April announcing our intentions for the May 6 Open House. Subsequent pieces have appeared in the Morning Call and the Express Times announcing our schedule and providing a sketch of our operations.

A ceremony was held on Friday April 27 to celebrate Arbor Day with a generous donation of fifteen evergreen trees by the Volunteer Railroaders Association. The trees were provided as a symbol of the growth and future of both our museum and the future State Transportation Museum. A small ceremony was held followed by the planting of the saplings along our southern border. This event was made possible by the diligence and dedication of Director Bill Pensyl as he has worked tirelessly to nurse these trees providing nutrient soil and water donated from the generosity of Glen Summit Nurseries where Bill is employed. You will also find a beautiful Maple shade tree at the entrance to the museum provided by Glen Summit and transported and planted by Bill too. This tree was dedicated in a ceremony on Sunday morning May 6 during the first hour of the Open House. The tree symbolizes the growth of PRRH as an organization and the steady, hard work expended by our volunteers.

It goes without saying that the PRRH first Open House on Sunday May 6 was a roaring success. Under pristine skies and perfect temperatures, approximately 250 people attended our event proving that curiosity about the romance of railroading and the move to preserve the steel giant are very much alive and well. The event was manned by twenty PRRH volunteers who provided an outstanding job of accommodating the public and educating the droves of families that showed up in cars, minivans, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, strollers, and on foot. The visitor was treated to a ride on the C&S, motorized handcar rides, courtesy of the Volunteer Railroaders Association, and a tour of the new enginehouse. Our equipment had signage to explain its heritage and purpose, and a visit to see Public Service trolley 2651 under restoration by the North Jersey Electric Railroaders, brought home the effect of careful restoration work. Tickets were sold from the Becker ticket office and the gift shop was stocked with fresh merchandise available for sale. Refreshments were also available and Bill Pensyl conducted a plant sale filled with beautiful flowers of spring. Bill McKelvey brought over the 1946 Ford bus and Bob Desanto provided a beautiful General Motors bus, restored into a luxury motor home. This beauty started life as a Trailways bus. Norfolk Southern provided an early morning fleet of trains and the museum site was truly transformed into a frenzy of activity, highlighted by the movement of trains on all available tracks.

I wish to commend the members of PRRH who gave a whole day of their time selflessly so that a good day was had by all. Without this group of men and women, an event of this size could not have been possible. Your President is very proud of the job you performed and your pride in your organization certainly showed. Perhaps the courtesy and smiles you dispensed paid a huge royalty to the value of this organization in the public's eye. The refreshment stand was manned by Ed Meyers and Jack Quinn, where coffee, donuts, cold drinks and chips were sold. The Gift Shop was manned by Steve Winter and Dale Anderson. The C&S ticket office was under the control of Tom Marzuoli, Becky Winter, and Evelyn Bennington. Bill and Cherie Pensyl manned the plant sale and helped to provide security at the event, along with Paul Carpenito. The train crew for the C&S was engineers Bob Bennington and Glenn Terminelli, along with conductors Matt Winter and John Boner. The crossing signal was operated by Paul Carpenito, John Boner, and Bill Pensyl. The welcome committee was staffed by Meg Carpenito, Evelyn Bennington, Paul Carpenito, Pete Terp and John Boner. Thanks go out also to Ed Beers for setup and to Rick Glosser for getting the property neat and clean as he always does so well. Thanks also to Jim Mack and Jim Danner for their assistance during the day. The enginehouse was staffed by Marie and John from the North Jersey Electric Railroaders and assisted by Ann Miller. The Volunteer Railroaders Association brought the motor car for rides and thanks go out to Frank Eichenlaub and Charles Smith for providing thrills, especially to the kids.

We will again host this celebration on July 15 and hope to have additional attractions. You know, this event was also significant in the sense that many fond admirers of Becker's operation came to relive old memories and brought pictures, many of which had not been seen by any of our members previously. One family was taking videos as they were friends of the Beckers and were very excited to bring something back to show them of our progress.

Perhaps I could close this newsletter by telling you a story of a young lad, the child of a family I deliver mail to. His dad had told me of his son's affection for trains, but he had not had the opportunity to see much action in our area. Well, they showed up just as I had hoped. And to make matters more intense, they came while simultaneous handcar and C&S action was passing by. At that moment, the thunder of a Norfolk Southern freight added a crescendo to the dizzy moment and the lad's mouth was open and he didn't exactly know where to look. I thought I would have to catch his eyeballs in my hands. Duty required my hasty exit and later, I regretted that I had not told them to stop in the building a get some free sidewalk chalk. Now my favorite customers maintain an impeccably clean home in an upbeat neighbor hood. Upon my arrival to deliver the mail, the two-car driveway was solidly chalked with images of cabooses and people and buildings. Could anyone else have given him a better education in history and transportation? My little friend goes to bed with dreams of the Iron Horse. No finer form of flattery exists than to duplicate what was real on Sunday May 6 at Phillipsburg!!

See you all soon.

~ Paul Carpenito ~

PC/ab/sdw

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