The Crusader “Preserving the Past for the Future”

August 2013

The Crusader RCT&HS 1

Trains, trees, and gingerbread

The Christmas exhibits are underway! The

large model railroad will be chugging on again with some

new features. A tree decorating contest and a

gingerbread train station contest will bring interesting,

original creations to the changing exhibit area. Donations

to sponsor the exhibit would be greatly appreciated. The

exhibits are sure to bring in lots of holiday visitors.

Guidelines for the contests are available at

www.readingrailroad.org Invite your friends to

participate! Or – sign up now to enter!

Nicholas DeRenzi Earns the

Rank of Eagle Scout

During a Boy Scout ceremony on August

10th, member Nicholas DeRenzi earned his Eagle

ranking. Nick’s project was the building of the beautiful

N gauge layout that resides in the gift shop at the Reading

Railroad Museum. Below is Nick along with former

Curator Paul Troutman (left), President Duane Engle, and

Director Jonathan Barket (right). Photo by Lynn Engle

Reading Business Car #15

Arrives Home

On Friday, August 2nd, former Reading

business car #15, the “Henry E. Huntington” arrived in

Reading. The car has been placed on a secure siding at

Coyne Chemical on the R&N’s Pennsy Branch. Plans

are to move the car to Hamburg once the Maiden Creek

bridge has been repaired. Photo by Dale Woodland.

Reading Railroad Heritage

Museum Featured on PCN

On Thursday, July 18, a film crew from

PCN Network spent a day filming various locations

around Hamburg, including our museum. This is for a

show called "Discover Main Street PA" and will air on

Sunday August 18 at 7:00 - 8:00 PM. The show will be

split with half an hour for Oil City and half an hour for

Hamburg. Our museum is one of many locations in

Hamburg that the film crew visited. After editing it is

anyone's guess how much air time we will get, although

the crew liked our museum and spent an hour filming in

the Exhibit Hall and the rail yard instead of the half hour

allotted on their work schedule.

Our Town Foundation was the local

coordinator. I have thanked Deena Kershner of OTF for

including us on the list of Hamburg sites.

To view this program, look for a link on our

web site.

The Crusader RCT&HS 2

AUGUST 27th GENERAL MEETING President Duane Engle called the meeting to order at

7:33 p.m. there were 7 individuals from the Executive Board

and 49 members in attendance. A motion to accept the July

2013 minutes as printed was made by Larry Mundell and

seconded by Greg Goodridge. The motion passed.

EXECUTIVE BOARD Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com The August meeting of the BOD was held at 7PM on

August 6th at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in

Hamburg, PA. Topics of discussion and motions carried are as

follows:

Financial – The treasurer shared the 2011 and 2012

financial reports from our accountants. The treasurer also

reported that the general fund is in the negative for

available funds. The board approved an expenditure of

$816 for archival material.

Museum – The board listed to a report from the Long

Range Planning Task Force.

Fundraiser – The 2012 Annual Campaign will be

reviewed. Look for a 2013 Annual Campaign letter soon.

MP&RE - Car 15 was reported to be safely stored at

Coyne Chemical in Reading. The asbestos abatement is

complete on car 1189 and we plan to move the car via

truck.

FP7’s - The RCT&HS received an invitation from Jim

Wrinn, editor of Trains magazine, and the North Carolina

Transportation Museum to participate in their Streamliner

Event next year. The board asked the MP&RE committee

to report next month on the status of the 902 and 903 so

that a decision can be made as to whether the locomotives

can attend or not. NS will move the locomotives to and

from the event for free. Larry Eastwood of the Philly

Chapter NRHS was also contacted.

Security - The board approved the proposal made by the

security task force to install a perimeter fence at the

RRHM.

Fire Alarm - The board approved the installation of a fire

alarm system at the RRHM for $8796.00 of which $8000

had been encumbered. Our members will be working with

Security First to install the system.

Miscellaneous – Maiden Creek bridge, crane donation,

munchkin railway, R&N property swap proposal, Bee Line

production schedule, and other old business.

The next general meeting of the Executive Board will

be held at 7PM at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in

Hamburg, PA on September 3rd. For a complete copy of the

board meeting minutes please contact Jeff Smith at

rcths.jsmith@dejazzd.com . BUDGET & FINANCE

John Brown 717-426-2238 JWBROWN929@AOL.COM

The financial records for the second quarter 2013 have

been audited. All records are complete and accurate.

Discussions about the 2014 Budget have begun. If you expect a

significant change in 2014 from the 2013 results in any areas

where you have responsibility, please contact John Brown.

TREASURER’S REPORT Jim Adams 610-777-3764 adamsjimca@comcast.net

A motion to refer the Treasurer’s Report to the

Finance Committee for audit and vote was made by Don Davis

and seconded by Lee Schultz. The motion Passed.

The Crusader RCT&HS 3

SALES Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com (for mail order questions contact Dave Heffner at 717-290-1493 daverj1@verizon.net) We had a small sales table with the A5a in Lansdale

on Aug 24th. We will have another small table in downtown

Hamburg for Hamburg-er Day on Labor Day weekend. The

next regular show is our Fall train meet on October 6th.

FUND RAISING COMMITTEE Mike Stehman mke90362@comcast.net AMTRAK is having an excursion on Nov. 2nd and

we have a bus load going. We are still in need of sponsors for

the golf tournament.

MEMBERSHIP

Melanie Zimmerman 717-445-6301 membership@readingrailroad.org As of August 27 we have 63 new members and 869

renewals for a total of 932 members for 2013. Currently the

membership breakdown is as follows: 611 Individual,

Lifetime or Honorary, 106 Family, 135 Contributing, 57

Sustaining, 20 Corporate, and 3 Student memberships. We

had a total of 929 members at this time last year.

MUSEUM OPERATIONS

Dale Woodland 215-723-5848 RDG803@yahoo.com

Attendance continues to be strong. John Brown’s

interview appeared on the Pennsylvania Cable Network

(PCN) program about Hamburg, Pa. on August 18, 2013 at

7PM. WFMZ Channel 69 did a "One Tank Program" about

our Members Treasures Exhibit. The program was recorded

and aired Wednesday August 14, 2013. Carol Adams and

Dale Woodland are beginning to, work on the next museum

exhibit called "Trains, Trees and Gingerbread Houses". Plans

include contests for decorating artificial Christmas trees with

a railroad theme and railroad buildings made of gingerbread.

These would be on display at the museum and hopefully pull

in family, friends, etc of contestants as well as creating a

Christmas atmosphere at the museum during the holidays. We

will have a table at the Hamburger Festival in Hamburg this

Saturday.

LONG RANGE PLANNING TASK FORCE Carol Adams 610-777-3764 adamsjimca@comcast.net Carol Adams met with Fred McKillop to discuss

grant possibilities. Fred is a long-time lobbyist to

Pennsylvania government and has worked on behalf of many

professional groups and non-profit organizations for more

than 40 years. We discussed several possible projects, each of

which would raise funds in excess of $10,000. Fred will

review our information and work to identify funding sources

that match our purposes and capacity. He will provide us with

those suggestions for review by the Long Range Planning

Committee, Fundraising Committee, and the Executive Board. MUSEUM BUILDING COMMITTEE

John Corbit has stepped down as chairman. If you

are interested in this position, please contact Duane Engle.

TRACK & GROUNDS Duane Engle 610-929-5661 rcths.dengle@juno.com

We again spent most of our time this month on

grounds work and mowing. We can always use help in this

area. There was a small amount of trackwork done this month.

We also worked with the crew on the Munchkin RR grading

the site. Paul Payne is still looking for more track that we can

remove. The Hoffman Steel siding in Sinking Spring (300 ft)

has been shelved due to unacceptable owner demands. We

have identified the owners of a siding at the True Value in

Fogelsville and will be contacting them soon. We are still

looking into different fencing options for the property. Plans

are in the works for repairing portions of the existing fence.

Anyone that can help with any of this work, please contact me

or Paul.

MOTIVE POWER AND ROLLING EQUIPMENT

Paul Payne (717) 917-7403 Car 15 is in storage behind the fence at Coyne

Chemical. The asbestos abatement has been completed for

car 1189. A rail transfer for car 1189 has been eliminated due

to wheel rim stampings which have been banned. Preparation

for and pursuit of truck or flat car transfer continues. Thus far

we have received one (of two) trucking estimates in the

amount of $15,000. The 1189 fund balance after paying for

the abatement and rent is at $6,065. Volunteers are needed to

help with prep work (contact Paul Payne at papayne@ptd.net,

or 717-917-7403). The FP7 assessment is underway for suit-

ability to participate in the NC Transportation Museum’s 2014

Streamliners at Spencer event. A report will be given to the

Executive Board in September.

PASSENGER OPERATIONS Dale Woodland 215-723-5848 RDG803@yahoo.com No report.

ACQUISITIONS Steve Schwartz 610-434-1289 schwartzsj@juno.com No report. ARCHIVES AND PUBLICATIONS Rick Bates 610-647-9359 rbates261@verizon.net

Archives

Many thanks to all of the following for Archives and

Museum donations during August: a conductor’s uniform, a

cast iron “No Trespassing” sign, and some RdgCo YMCA

china from Dave Johnston; a large collection of magazines

from Steve Cameron; a RdgCo Athletic Association yearbook

from Mrs. Helen Mountney; some very nice vintage photos of

the Cressona area from Bill Bubeck; and a pair of company

photos of the old wheel shop from Bill Cauff. We also thank

those members who made some very generous monetary

donations towards the costs of purchasing archival supplies.

We deeply appreciate this and your donations will be a big

help in getting more of our archives sorted and organized. Of

course, we still have a very long way to go, so we’ll be glad to

accept more donations from anyone else able to contribute

towards the costs of archival supplies. Finally, we also

handled about 10 requests for information in August and

hosted 6 researcher visits.

Publications

Bee Line issue #4 for 2009 is at the printer, and work

is well underway on a double-issue Bee Line to follow it. We

are doing a series of articles on the Iron Horse Rambles, so if

you have any especially interesting photos, stories or

information to contribute, please contact us soon.

CALENDAR Dale Woodland 215-723-5848 RDG803@yahoo.com John Greene 215-721-3006 jgreene@netcarrier.com The calendar is on sale. Planning has begun for the

2015 calendar - suggestions are welcome.

MODULAR Jonathan Barket 570-366-1533 jono1920@aol.com

No report. MODELING -John Greene 215-721-3006 greene@netcarrier.com

No report.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Steve Gilbert 610-781-2100 SGRDG179@aol.com The committee thanks to Don Crabtree and his work

with the A5a parade engine. We need some ideas for special

publicity for raising funds for the 1189 and 2060. Help is

needed to decorate the museum for Christmas. We are

looking to discuss the repainting of the large Penn Steel sign

on the roof of the finishing building. Also we would like to

see a sign installed or painted on the north wall of the museum

along 3rd street.

Rick Bates asked if the mailing lists could be rebuilt to use for

putting out information. MAILING

Ken Riegel 610-777-4555

No report.

SAFETY Rick Hoffmeister 484-769-7872 RICKJH53@msn.com

We did some cleaning up around the museum site. TRAIN MEET Tom Brown 717-279-6783 mjtsbrown@comcast.net The next RCT&HS train meet will be held on

Sunday, October 6th at the Leesport Farmers Market. Set up

at 6AM.

WEBSITE AND CORRESPONDENCE

Norman O. Mueller 610-446-6651 rcths.questions@verizon.net Mike Martin 215-681-7428 michael.s.martin26@gmail.com A link to the WFMZ “One Tank Trip” segment to the

Reading Railroad Heritage Museum has been place on our

web site.

The Crusader RCT&HS 4

ENTERTAINMENT

Dale Woodland (215) 723-5848 RDG803@yahoo.com September – Some Pennsylvania Shortlines, Paul

Kutta; October – Escapades of NS/ RDG 1067, Dale

Woodland; November – The Reading’s Echo Valley, Dave

Augsburger; December – Reading Alco RS3 Diesels, Dale

Woodland.

OLD BUSINESS

Back Lot Security – The fence project has been

approved by Executive Board and the permit application

will be in by end of August. We plan to work on the

south gate portion of the project in September, the south

and west boundaries scheduled for October and the

Quonset hut and north gate work is scheduled for

November. Volunteers are needed. Please contact Paul

Payne at papayne@ptd.net, or 717-917-7403.

Security - A Honeywell security rep has seen the site

and is exploring options for a security system

Munchkin RR – Grading has been done and we are

preparing to add top soil.

John Stoudt asked about the Silverliner acquisition. The

Executive Board informed the members that acquisition

of a SEPTA Silverliner is not possible due to a state law

that does not allow a government entity to donate to an

organization such as ours. Multiple avenues were

pursued to get around this law but none were successful.

A Reading car was saved and will be going to the

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Barb Goodridge is looking for families to attend a photo

shoot with the munchkin RR in order to create a

birthday party brochure.

Steve Gilbert is looking for help with the holiday train

display. He also needs some standard gauge Lionel

switches.

NEW BUSINESS

John Greene – Presented a Modelers Event DVD from

Barry Hansel to show tonight.

Kent Herzer announced that the Reading’s Lititz freight

station has been torn down. Also, an informational

plaque has been place at the caboose in Lititz Springs

Park.

Tonight’s coal bucket contained $150 plus 12 pay down

the loan envelopes.

Steve Gilbert announced that the R&N has adopted a

new paint scheme for their hopper cars based on the old

Reading paint scheme with the anthracite logo.

CLOSING

Pete Urbaitis made a motion to adjourn the meeting

and Bill Hodson seconded the motion. The motion passed

and President Duane Engle adjourned the meeting at 8:51

PM.

The next Meeting of the RCT&HS, Inc.

will be held at:

Trinity Bible Fellowship Church

Rt. 73, Blandon, PA

from 7:30 until 10:00 p.m. on: September 24th

The Crusader RCT&HS 5

Hamburg Museum Track Fund

Receipts Current Month: August, 2013 = $55.00

Total: May 2007 thru August, 2013 = $31,807.70

Payments Current Month: August, 2013 = $0.00

Total: May 2007 thru August, 2013 = $29,044.53

Current Fund Balance = $2,763.17

Pay Down the Loan Program

Receipts Current Month: August, 2013 = $537.08

Total: Nov, 2010 thru August, 2013 = $29,524.80

Payments Current Month: August, 2013 = $500.00

Total: Nov, 2010 thru August, 2013 = $29,300.00

Outstanding Balance = $67,700.00

RCT&HS Corporate Members

Russell & Julia Angstadt

Bethlehem Car Works, John Greene, CEO, Telford,

PA (215) 721-3006

C&C Tax Service, Inc., Reading, PA

(610) 796-9330

Centralia Coal Sales Co. ,Wilkes-Barre, PA

(570) 822-4135

Doll and Train Museum, Harrisburg, PA

(717) 233-3099

G&K Hobbies, Bill Krug CEO, Reading, PA

(610) 374-8598

Health Insurance Solutions, Inc., Tom and

Nanette Poserina, Health Brokers (215) 721-2220

Lancaster Chapter, NRHS, Christiana, PA

(610) 593-4968

Municipal & Financial Services Group, Annapolis,

MD (410) 226-9101

PENNVIA Private Railcars, Inc., Passenger Dome

car charters in the US and Canada, West Lawn, PA

(610) 678-3604

R Y Models/Richard D Yoder, Wyomissing

PA, (610) 678-2834

Rabenold, Koestel, and Scheidt, Attorneys at

Law, Wyomissing, PA (610) 374-2103

RackAbility, Inc., Ephrata, PA 17522

(717) 917-7403

Reading and Northern Railroad, Co., Andrew

Muller Jr., CEO, Port Clinton, PA (610) 562-2100

Reading Berks Historic Transportation Assoc.,

Inc., Reading, PA

R. Harris Russo, MD, Neurological Surgery,

Kalamazoo, MI (269) 343-3939

Security First Inc., Shillington, PA (610) 777-8890

Jonathan L. Shalter III, Conservationist-Naturalist-

Historian, Temple, PA

Town & Country Newspaper, Pennsburg PA,

(215) 679-5060

Vreeland & Linda Wood/V J Wood Towing &

Recovery LLC, Hamburg PA, (610) 587-1335

www.readingrailroad.org

Mark Your Calendars

September 24: General Meeting of the RCT&HS at Trinity Bible Fellowship

Church, Rt. 73, Blandon, PA

October 4-6: Reading Railroad Modelers Meet I at the RRHM and Hamburg

High School in Hamburg, PA

October 6: RCT&HS Train Meet at the Leesport Farmers Market in Leesport, PA

October 12: RCT&HS Golf Fund Raiser at the Willow Hollow Golf Course in

Leesport, PA

Save your Redner’s Tapes

Reading Railroad Modelers Meet Update

Hello RCT&HS members! The Reading Railroad Modelers Meet is "on track" and registrations have been very steadily

coming in. While I don't have the actual number available at the time of writing this, I am confident we will have a successful event

and well attended for a first event.

The clinic schedule is only one short of full, but I am working on two people to fill that last spot and maybe even add a

clinic on Saturday if both agree to be presenters.

We still have one confirmed layout tour and it's a doosey! The Lehigh Valley Model RR Club that was featured in the re-

cent Model Railroader magazine, will be open! I am still working on final approval of at least one other and we may have a third

layout open on Sunday. I'm working hard on these!!

The deadline has passed for signing up for the lunch on Saturday and the event t-shirts. We may offer to order the event t-

shirts on a pre-paid, pre-shipping basis. Once they are seen in person, we think people will want one and we could do that if they pre-

pay for the shirt and shipping. Not positive, but it's another idea to make the RRRMM a bit different from other modeling meets.

When you read this we'll only be about 2 weeks away from this event. I am thankful to be able to be part of this event and

help the RCT&HS put on a great event! I hope to see you there!!

If you are interested in helping at this event, please contact me!

Thanks, Barry Hensel, RRRMM Chairman barry76Lt@wowway.com