Phillipsburg Railroad Historians, Inc.
PO Box 5104, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865

APRIL 2002 NEWSLETTER VOL. XII #4

Greetings go out to all members and friends as we cheerfully await the green of Springtime. Although we didn't fare too badly this past Winter, it is always refreshing and reassuming to see the signs of nature waking up. And those longer days of daylight certainly provide opportunity to spend some extra time outdoors.

I have lots of good things to share with you this time, but I need first to remind you that our April membership meeting will be held on Wednesday night April 24 at 7:30pm at the Alpha United Presbyterian Church. Refreshments will be served and have been brought to you through the courtesy of Jack Quinn and Matt Winter. Video entertainment will be provided by Rick Glosser and Pete Blaess and feature contemporary heavy train action that you will glue your eyes on.

Our Annual PRRH Banquet was held on Saturday night April 6 at Ryan's Parkside Restaurant. Some thirty-four guests attended and were treated to a warm evening of food, drink and conversation. The food was superb and the pie-a-la-mode really hit the spot with that cup of coffee. I gave our attendees a short synopsis on the state of the club and some well earned thanks to our members that have given so much of their time and talents to the betterment of the group. Our two honored guests were Louie Badolato who was honored for his tireless physical contributions and great attendance at work sessions. Also honored was Jaclyn Mock whose generosity in her husband Walter's memory will result in the club's acquisition of a new Bachtold Brothers Hi-Wheel Weed & Brush Cutter. This will be most appreciated by our volunteers in keeping the property's weeds under control. In summing up, Jeff and Holly provided a wonderful evening for us with their gracious hospitality and the fantastic layout tour on the second floor.

While I'm on the roll here, we have received a donation of a Clark small forklift due to the kindness of John Drake from Lebanon. Bernie Kelly threw in a tank of gas for the rollback truck provided free by Dennis Minchin of Warren Brake & Tire of Phillipsburg. Our hearty thanks go out to all these individuals who have so generously considered our needs by giving to the cause of the club. Mr. Harry Wyant Mayor of Phillipsburg, has offered his assistance in the installation of electricity for our enginehouse this year. Obviously, you can see that much has preceded our startup this year and our members can look forward to a promising year already filled with progress. Much work lies ahead as we prepare our physical plant for the startup at the May 5 Open House coming soon. Tuesday work parties have begun and both full-size track and the Centerville & Southwestern maintenance program have begun. We have also done some house keeping chores in our seabox storage containers. The museum is in the process of a major cleaning as we would like to expand the actual visitor viewing area. Ed Beers has begun construction of a little engineer's rail empire which will delight the young railroad baron who wants some hands-on experience with trains. The toilet and wash sink facilities will be delivered in time for the Open House. The Directors have approved a facelift for the C&S ticket office. Being careful to preserve its authenticity, we will give it a new station sign along with a clock in our efforts to bring back the look of the past. Structurally, we will be reroofing the little building to keep it tight to the weather.

Please plan to attend our first Open House of the season on Sunday May 5. We will be open from 10am to 4pm. Refreshments will be available and the gift shop will be prepared to sell you something of railroad interest. We have Videos, Books, magazines, pictures, hats and shirts, patches and railroad music. The enginehouse will be opened to show you Public Service trolley 2651 being restored by the North Jersey Electric Railroaders. We plan some visits by the Volunteer Railroaders Association with motorcar rides and antique rubber-tired vehicles for your inspection. There will be a plant sale supervised by our Bill Pensyl and the Centerville & Southwestern will be operating to take you on a train ride. There will be fun for all ages, so come out and spend part of your day along our grounds.

Our HUDSON FLYER excursion set for Father's Day June 16 is selling up much faster than anticipated. If you have intentions of going, please get your ticket order in NOW. We will be traveling by deluxe motor coach from Phillipsburg to Croton On Hudson, New York, where we will ride a modem train up the Hudson to Poughkeepsie. On return, we will detrain in historic Cold Spring for lunch at the Depot Restaurant. The afternoon will be capped by a two hour cruise on the Hudson River past Bannerman's Island Castle and West Point. Buffet dinner will end our day enroute home. Order forms were included in last month's mailing. Do not wait or you will be disappointed.

PRRH would like to welcome new members to our growing club roster.
Richard Frantz of Allentown, also a member of Lehigh Valley Chapter NRHS
Richard and Marylinn Lonie of Blairstown
Robert Rounsaville of Easton
Mark, Jane and little Jack ( age 3 ) Pike of Stewartsville. Jack has seen our museum collection and trackage and appears to be hooked on trains.

A hearty thanks to all of you who have made this group the most progressive in the state. Your support of our efforts are not going unnoticed.

See you all soon.

~ Paul Carpenito ~

PC/ab/sdw

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