Surdyk to Present at AOS Event on Feb. 9

Marty Surdyk will be among the headliners at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum winter speaker’s series.

Surdyk, a former Akron Railroad Club president and newsletter editor, will be showing images of excursion trains on the Ohio Central System,

The program opens with excursion trains rains that ran on the line through Sugarcreek when it was still operated by Norfolk Southern and continues into excursions out of Dennison in the Genesee & Wyoming era.

Featured will be the steam locomotives acquired and restored by the late Jerry Joe Jacobson and the excursion trains that they pulled over various segments of the Ohio Central system.

Not to be forgotten are the vintage F units Ohio Central operated including F9A Nos. 6307 and 6313 in their sharp livery that recalled the Pennsylvania Railroad pinstripes scheme.

Jacobson founded the Ohio Central and later created the Age of Steam Roundhouse to preserve his collection of steam locomotives, and vintage railroad rolling stock and diesel locomotives.

The program will begin at 6 p.m. on Feb. 9 at the Roundhouse.

Also slated to be presented at the Roundhouse is the documentary Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Disaster.

It will be shown at 6 p.m. on March 9. Attendees will be able to meet the producers, directors and some of the actors of the documentary, which aired on PBS.

The Roundhouse was used in the making of the documentary with former McCloud River Railroad No. 9 used as the stand-in for both of the steam locomotives in different scenes.

The Ashtabula train disaster and bridge collapse was the worst train disaster of the 19th century, and left 97 dead.

It involved the Dec. 29, 1876, collapse of a bridge on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern over the Ashtabula River as The Pacific Express was rolling over it during a winter storm.

The two-hour long narrated documentary explores the events surrounding the disaster, including the engineering, construction, and collapse of the bridge, and the treacherous conditions that hampered the rescue attempts of trapped passengers.

In the wake of the incident, public pressure resulted in the adoption of standards for  bridge construction and inspection that continue to apply today.

Photography Event Set for May 20 at AOS

A photography event has been set for May 20 at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek.

The event is being co-sponsored by Trains magazine and will feature Moorhead & North Fork 0-6-0 No. 12 in operation.

Re-enactors in period dress will be inside the roundhouse to recall a mood of the past.

The event is limited to 25 participants and includes lunch. Event hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is timed so that participants will be able to travel to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to observe or ride behind Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765, which will be pulling excursions that weekend.

Tickets are $499 per person plus a fee of $23.51. They can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/age-of-steam-roundhouse-tickets-295948238147

Steam Saturday: No. 33 at Work on the Ohio Central

The former Lake Superior & Ishpeming 2-8-0 is a Consolidation type built to haul heavy iron ore trains in Michigan. It was retired in 1962 and wound up in Ohio on the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway where it operated for a few years.

The late Jerry Jacobson acquired No. 33 in 2003 and it made its first trip on his Ohio Central System two years later where it continued to operate occasionally.

After Jacobson sold the Ohio Central in 2008, No. 33 became part of the collection of the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum where shop forces returned it to steam on Nov. 11, 2018.

The 33 was built by Baldwin in Philadelphia in February 1916.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

AOS Crews Working on Restoration Projects

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum recently issued its summer 2021 report, which showed that the workforce has been busy with numerous restoration projects.

One of those is working on the boiler of former McCloud/Yreka Western 2-8-2 No. 19.

Workers removed scaling from the boiler and measured and inspected it.

The preliminary data shows the boiler to be in good condition.

Work also continued on restoration of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy coach 705, which was built in 1920. A fellow commuter Burlington commuter coach, No. 704 also underwent repairs, including all new sub flooring that will be covered with new tile so that it retains its original look.

Seats have been removed and will be inspected. Exterior work to be preformed includes repairs of rusted areas in the vestibules, and exterior body work.

Former Morehead & North Fork/Southern Railway 0-6-0 No. 12 received new canvas side and back cab curtains, which are used to protect the crew from inclement weather.

The locomotives has been fired up a few times this year for special events and will be used with more of the 2021 special events that are being planned.

More information about these restoration projects is available at the AOS website.

Poremba Named AOS Executive Director

Akron Railroad Club member Peter J. Poremba has been named as the next executive director of the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum.

The announcement was made today by Bill Strawn, AOS board chairman.

Poremba currently serves on the AOS board and has worked in the railroad industry for 35 years.

His first railroad experience was as a volunteer at Ohi-Rail, which was the first railroad to be owned by the late Jerry J. Jacobson, the AOS founder.

Poremba in 1986 became a locomotive engineer on The Youngstown & Austintown Railroad.

He also has served as an engineer, trainmaster, and road foreman of engines for The Ohio Central Railroad System of 10 railroads.

In a news release, AOS said Poremba had a lifetime friendship with Jacobson.

AOS said Poremba’s management experience will give him invaluable insight into the mission of AOS.

“We look forward to Pete’s leadership and focus on the future, as the museum enters its second phase of growth and development,” Strawn said in a statement.

Poremba will succeed Noel Poirier. During Poirer’s tenure at AOS the museum made the transition to becoming a full-fledged museum.

AOS Forces Busy Over Winter, New Tours Planned for Summer

The shop forces at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum have spent the winter working to restore former McCloud River Railroad /Yreka Western 2-8-2 No. 19.

In a report, AOS said the locomotive has been undergoing heavy repairs for quite some time that have involved taking the locomotive apart and repairing  or replacing worn out parts.

AOS said the overhaul of No. 19 will include a boiler inspection and rebuild that is expected to extend the locomotive’s life for another 15 years.

The boiler has been stripped of such external appliances as piping, jacketing and insulation, and its large flues and smaller tubes have been removed.

In addition to working on the boiler, workers have been inspecting and repairing running gear parts and components, including valve, main and side rods and their bearings.

Repairs have been made to the locomotive’s piping, spring rigging and brake rigging, and the electrical system has been rewired.

Other locomotives that received attention from the shop included former Southern Railway/Morehead & North Fork 0-6-0 No. 12,

Last month No. 12 passed its Federal Railroad Administration annual inspection, including a required hydrostatic test of its boiler.

Former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy commuter coach No. 705 received minor mechanical repairs and a cosmetic make-over.

Built in 1920, the car will have its original CB&Q road number of 7158 restored when the final exterior painting occurs.

AOS said its tour season will begin on May 1 and extend through Nov. 20.

New this year is a three-hour Founder’s Tour, which provides a three-hour, behind-the-scenes exploration that will highlight the life, locomotives and legacy of AOS founder Jerry Joe Jacobson.

Also new this year is a special exhibit titled “Tools of the Trade” that will feature original artifacts and tools used by railroad shop workers.

Family-oriented events that have been added to this year’s schedule include a series of special 45-minute events most of which will begin every Saturday at 1 p.m.

The first of these family events, titled  “Story Book and Explore,” is scheduled for June 10 at 1 p.m., and will feature a museum volunteer reading aloud from Watty Piper’s classic children’s book, The Little Engine That Could.

The shorter Saturday afternoon family tours will include a presentation about how steam locomotives operate.

Participants will also get to see how a locomotive is turned on the roundhouse turntable and touring the back shop.

 “Railroad Heritage Career Day” on July 8 at 1 p.m. will involve visiting stations located throughout the museum to learn about old-time railroad workers, their tools and their skilled trades as engineers, machinists, blacksmiths and Carmen.

AOS Offering Hands on Tour on April 30

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek will offer an expanded tour on April 30 that will enable participants to help with the preparation and firing of a steam locomotive.

The Blue Flag tour will be led by Chief Mechanical Officer Tim Sposato and feature a tour of the roundhouse and collection as well as firing Morehead & North Fork 0-6-0 No. 12.

Tickets are $175 and can be ordered at https://www.showclix.com/event/blue-flag-pass-tour45d8yqzdzzzp4bFE43uLx/listing

The tour will be limited to 25 participants. The ticket price includes a box lunch at the Roundhouse Depot and a special gift. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

Numerous COVID-19 pandemic procedures will be observed and are detailed at the museum’s website.