Year End Party a Success

With temperatures never getting over five degrees Fahrenheit, it made us appreciate the 65 degrees the previous Saturday! Cold temperatures couldn't put a damper on the Year End Party at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. And yes, the debate again raged whether this was a Year End or Year Beginning Party. No matter... With warm cars and a warm depot, plus a lot good food and good cheer, a good time was had by the over forty people who attended the party. The annual event is a "Thank You" to our volunteers and members and a chance to enjoy our little museum railroad.

Museum volunteer, Dale Hartnett, chips ice off of the rail head. With the recent snow fall and very low temps, ice had formed on the rail head. Most of it was removed to improve adhesion for the first northbound trip of R&GVRR 1654 from the Industry yard.

Here we find 1654 retrieving the Erie C254 off of siding #6 for the day's runs. This track will eventually be the main lead to the museum's Restoration Building seen just to the right of the engine.

RGVRR 1654 North... With temps in the single digits and wind chills below zero, the perfect place to be was in the warm cupola of Erie caboose #C254 as RGVRR 1654 heads north along the museum's demonstration railroad.

60 degrees in January?!

Even in the grips of winter weather, we try to stay active and keep moving forward. With temperatures breaking the 60 degree mark for the first Saturday in Rochester in JANUARY, the volunteers of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum took advantage of the warm weather to get ahead on a few projects thought to be dormant until the Spring.

Museum volunteer, Randy Bogucki, works on a little ditching work in the wet, but unfrozen ground. The dirt was loaded on to the push cart and taken up along the museum's demonstration railroad where it was used for fill.

The Construction Department took the opportunity to try to push start the museum's Caterpillar DW-15 pan. With the museum's Trojan loader providing the motive power, the pan was pushed up the west yard. The crew was successful in getting the old Cat to start for a few minutes, but more work will be needed to getting the pan running right. It was great to have a shot at it in January, however.

The R&GV Railroad Museum owns several Whiting Trackmobiles. These unique vehicles with an apparent personality conflict can run over the road on rubber tires to get into position and then lower the themselves on to the rail to become a small locomotive. On the opposite side of the #2 is the coupler which has a hydraulic ram that lifts on the coupler of the car its is coupled to. This transfers weight on to the Trackmobile so that it gets improved traction. #2 is fully serviceable.