C&O Phone Box Restored by Society

A former Chesapeake & Ohio railroad phone box has been restored by the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society.

The artifact is on display at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Virginia.

The historical society said at one time the railroad had hundreds of these phone boxes, which continued to be used into the 1980s. But they were replaced other forms of communication.

The restored phone box came from the former C&O mainline in Charlottesville, Virginia.

It was donated to the C&OHS by society member and former director David Powell, who had acquired it during a construction project involving Interstate 64.

Powell kept the phone box for more than four decades before donating it to the C&OHS.

NORM to Reopen for Season on May 28

The Northern Ohio Railway Museum will reopen on May 28. Events planned for this year include public walking tours every Saturday until Sept. 24, 2022. Trolley rides will be offered every second and fourth Saturday through Sept. 24.

Upcoming presentations by NORM members have been set in March and May. On March 12 Blaine Hays will present a program on the history of the museum. Hays will present a program on May 7 on the history of Cleveland Union Terminal.

Both presentations begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Hinckley Township Administration Building.

In advance of the opening of the 2022 season, an orientation session will be held on May 14 for walking tour guides, trolley operating personnel and store personnel. It will be held at the Museum in car 1225 at 10 a.m.

EL Dining Cars to be Moved from Scranton

Two former Erie Lackawanna dining cars are being moved from their current home in Pennsylvania to a new museum in New York.

The cars, which are owned by the Dining Car Society, formerly known as the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society, have been based in Scranton for the past 15 years.

They will move to the Port Jervis Transportation History Center in Port Jervis, New York, sometime before the museum celebrates its grand opening over Memorial Day Weekend. 

The collection of dining cars includes, former Lackawanna No. 469 and EL No. 741.

The announcement of the move indicated that Lackawanna No. 470, will remain in Scranton and be transferred to the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad because of its historic ties to that part of Pennsylvania.

The Dining Car Society also has sold 1970s era commuter cars, one to the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society and the other to the Port Jervis museum.

Three-Way Meet in North East

It’s a three-way meet with history at the Lake Shore Railway Museum in North East, Pennsylvania, on Sept., 29, 2012. The CSX westbound is on Track 1 of the Erie West Subdivision. Looking on are Norfolk Southern B32-8 No. 3562 and South Shore 2-D+D-2 No. 802. The 3562 is the first Dash 8 to be preserved at the museum, which specializes in locomotives built by GE at its Erie locomotive assembly plant in Lawrence Park. The South Shore “Little Joe” is one of just two such locomotives of that carrier that have been preserved with the other located at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Photograph by Craig Sanders

Museum Won’t Repaint BL2s Into Monon Colors

The Monon Railroad was among a handful of operators of EMD’s BL2 locomotive.

Although an Indiana railroad museum has acquired a pair of the units it has no plans to repaint them into Monon colors.

Instead the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum plans to keep them in their Bangor & Aroostook livery because the locomotives were originally delivered to that road.

The units, Nos. 52 and 56, arrived in North Judson, Indiana, in June. They had most recently operated on the Saratoga & North Creek, a New York State tourist railroad.

No. 52 was fired up on July 14 and reportedly ran pretty well despite having sat dead for three years. The unit has a few water leads that need to be fixed.

No. 56 has electrical problems that need to be resolved but that work is not expected to begin until No. 52 is operating and gains a Federal Railroad Administration blue card.

Museum officials have received many requests that No. 52 and 56 be repainted in Monon black and gold, but they say they want to maintain the historical accuracy of the locomotives.

One Monon BL2 has survived and is in the collection of the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky. The Monon once had nine BL2 in service.

The Hoosier Valley Museum does have three pieces of former Monon equipment.

They include an SW1 switcher, steel transfer caboose 81551 and a 40-foot steel boxcar built in 1941.

Kentucky Museum Gets Pandemic Grant

A Kentucky group restoring a steam locomotive has received a $20,000 grant from COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

The grant was given to the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation through Kentucky Humanities, a local non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Kentucky Steam is developing a museum in Ravenna, Kentucky, on the site of a former CSX yard.

The organization qualified for the grant because of the educational programs it’s developing at its museum, which will be show visitors about the operation of historical railroad equipment including steam locomotives.

Kentucky Steam is also restoring to operating condition Chesapeake and Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716,

NKP 765 to Appear at Mad River Museum

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 will be in residence at the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in late September.

It will be reunited with another former NKP Berkshire steamer, No. 757, which is part of the museum’s collection.

No. 765 will be at the museum from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3 and will participate in a number of events, including caboose rides, hostler experiences and night photo sessions.

The event is being billed as “Berkshires in Bellevue.” The 765 will be appearing in Bellevue following a two-week stay on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The 765 and 757 are among six surviving Berkshire type locomotives of a one-time fleet of 80.

Museum president Chris Beamer said it will be the first time since 2013 that the 765 has operated at the museum.

NORM to Reopen on Saturday

The Northern Ohio Railway Museum will re-open on Saturday and offer trolley rides throughout the day.

Rides will be offered every hour on the hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. aboard Shaker Heights Rapid Transit Car No. 12.

Passengers will be required to wear a facial mask while inside the car but not on the museum grounds.

It will be the first time the museum near Chippewa Lake and Seville has been open in more than a year.

Operating hours for the museum are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 9.

The museum is located at 5515 Buffham Road. For more information, visit www.northernohiorailwaymuseum.org.

Kentucky Museum to Hold Open House June 12

Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation will held an open house in Irvine, Kentucky, on June 12.

Visitors will be able to view former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716, which is currently undergoing restoration.

They will also be able to tour the site of the planned multipurpose tourist attraction to be known as “The Yard,” which is being built on the site of a former CSX yard.

The Yard is expected to include a concert venue, restaurant, and brewery, as well as the shop building for the 2716 operation.

Visitors to the open house are asked to register for the event on the group’s website.

Conneaut Museum to Reopen

The Conneaut Historical Railroad Museum will reopen on Saturday and is seeking volunteers.

The museum, which is housed in a former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern passenger station next to the CSX Erie West Subdivision, was closed throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating hours for the museum will be Thursday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It will also be open on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.

The museum currently has a staff of six volunteers but is seeking more help because the average age of the staff is in the mid 70s.

More information about volunteering opportunities is available on the museum’s Facebook page.