Local Groups Get Emery Trust Grants

Two Northeast Ohio organizations were among the 22 recipients of grants announced this week by the John Emery Rail Heritage Trust for 2022.

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad will receive $15,000 to help pay for interior renovation of former Burlington baggage-coach Silver Salon for ADA accessibility.

The Midwest Railway Preservation Society of Cleveland will receive $ 10,000 for further work on 1924 Pullman car Mount Baxter.

Other groups that were awarded grants included the East Broad Top Railroad, $15,500 for truck and traction-motor maintenance for gas-electric car M-1; the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society,: $10,000 for continued work on baggage car No. 3671, built for Santa Fe by American Car & Foundry in 1955; and the Pennsylvania-based West Chester Railroad Heritage Association, $10,000 for continued renovations of Reading Blueliner coaches.

The Emery Trust will award $350,000, for rail preservation projects this year. It received

34 applications requesting more than $1 million.

In a news release, the Emery Trust described itself as the largest in the United States whose grants are solely for rail restoration projects.

The trust was founded by John Emery of Chicago who rode trains around the world between 1920 and 1960.

Emery Trust Makes Awards, NYC Box Car Saved

The John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust has announced its 2020 grant awards.

Although no grants were awarded to any organizations based in Ohio, the Kentucky Railway Museum received $43,000 for firebox and boiler work on Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716.

The Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society received a $25,000 award for restoring diner 469/470.

In an unrelated development, The Wabash Valley Railroad Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, said it will work with CSX to preserve a 98-year-old New York Central boxcar.

CSX will move the car, weather permitting, from Greencastle, Indiana, to the museum site next to CSX tracks in Terre Haute on March 31.

NYC No. 155524 was built by American Car & Foundry in 1922, rebuilt with steel sides in 1939, and placed near the NYC depot in Greencastle for storage use in 1965.

It had been ticketed to be scrapped until the Hailey Tower Historical & Technical Society, which owns the museum, was able to save it.

The Society is seeking donations to offset the $15,000 cost of moving the car and building a display track.

Donations can be made at the museum website or by mail to the Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society, P.O. Box 10291, Terre Haute, IN 47801.

CVSR Wins Grant to Restore Coach

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is among the winners of a grant from the Emery Rail Heritage Trust.

The CVSR will receive $10,000 for renovation of coach No. 162.

Other grant recipients included $30,000 to the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society for installation of positive train control on Nickel Plate Road No. 765 and $10,000 to the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation for coach window repairs.

Two Pennsylvania-based organizations also received grants including $10,000 to Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad for work on Reading Coach No. 1158 and $10,000 to the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust for an
ADA-compatible palace car restoration project.

The Trust awarded grants totaling $212,500 to 19 organizations, including three to help defray the cost of PTC systems.

John H. Emery, a long-time Chicago resident and avid railroad enthusiast who loved to ride trains, established the trust to preserve rolling stock and infrastructure from what he considered to be the Golden Age of Railroads from the 1920 to 1960.

Applications for the next round of grants are due in February 2019.

Organizations may receive grants in only three years of every five More information is available at http://www.emeryrailheritagetrust.com

Group Gets Grant to Rebuild CNJ No. 113

The Railway Restoration Project 113 has received a $5,000 grant from the John H. Emery Railway Trust that will be used to pay for running gear work on Central Railroad of New Jersey  No. 113

The 0-6-0 operates on Pennsylvania short line Reading & Northern, but will be ferried to Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this winter for wheel, axle and side rod work.

Built in 1923 by Alco, the 113 has been restored to operating condition by volunteers.

It is slated to operate on Sept. 24 for Schuylkill Haven Borough Day and lead a series of holiday excursions on Dec. 4 and 18 out of Minersville, Pennsylvania.