Building Tracks to the Future...

2009 Annual Fund Drive

For 2009, the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum has great plans set on solid results to continue to Build Tracks to the Future. Over the past several years, the R&GVRRM has been working very hard to increase the available track space to store and operate its railroad collection while continuing to work to complete its restoration building and use that building to continue to maintain and restore its railroad equipment collection.

2007-2008 Achievements

In 2007 and 2008, the museum was able to achieve the following thanks in part to generous contributions to its annual fund drive campaigns:

• Installed the three track yard north of the restoration building including the installation of two new switches and over 400 feet of new track connecting the restoration building to the museum’s demonstration railroad.
• Installed track #8 through the restoration shop allowing for 280 feet on two tracks for equipment to reside inside the shop for work.
• Extended track #8 south of the shop for 90 feet matching the current length of track #7 south of the shop. Once some earthwork is accomplished, the tracks will be extended to a length of just over 200 feet from the end of the shop to the end of track.
• Paid for the installation by the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad of a new 132 lb. switch in the LA&L main which will feed a new 1400 foot siding west of the LA&L main. The switch was installed in July 2008.
• Cleared, graded, and installed on the first 400 feet of the 1400 feet of the new siding west of the LA&L. This siding will eventually hold the museum’s matched seven car ex-New York Central ‘Empire State Express’ stainless steel passenger train set which was moved to the R&GVRM in January 2008 after many years of off site use and storage.
• Replaced all of the glazing in three of the museums six ex-New York Central ‘Empire State Express’ coaches. Each window requires over twelve man hours to re-glaze with an additional two to four hours to reinstall the window module back into the cars.

2009 Objectives

Even with all of that accomplished, we still have more to do. For our 2009 Building Tracks to the Future Annual Fund Drive, we are focusing on three objectives in three key areas including new track construction, continued improvements to the museum’s restoration shop, and continued maintenance and restoration of the museum’s railroad equipment and specifically the museum’s ‘Empire State Express’ passenger car set.

• Completion of the next 500 feet of the siding west of the LA&L main.
  This goal will see the permanent installation of an additional 500 feet of new track along with all the necessary grading, drainage, sub-ballast, ties, ballast and track materials. Once this second phase is completed, the siding at 900 feet will be long enough to hold the entire passenger car set and its support tool car. The museum still plans a third phase to extend it to 1400 feet to give room for the storage of additional equipment in the future. We estimate this cost for 2009 to be $25,000.
• Installation of the railroad equipment inspection pit and concrete floor in the east side of the restoration building.
  In order for the museum to continue to maintain and restore its equipment and do so in a safe and efficient manner, we must continue to invest in our restoration building. For this goal, the museum plans to install the concrete floor on the east side of the building and install a railroad equipment inspection pit as part of track #8, the eastern most track in the shop. As part of this project, the museum will have to acquire 280 feet of 115-pound or heavier relay grade rail and associated installation hardware. Museum volunteers will perform the pit excavation and the slab grading with equipment from the R&GVRRM’s construction equipment collection. Professional concrete contractors will be hired to perform the forming and concrete placement work necessary to complete the pit and floor according to our already completed engineering drawings and specifications. We estimate this cost for 2009 to be $100,000.
• Improvements/Restoration to the museum’s ex-New York Central ‘Empire State Express’ stainless steel train set.
  For over fifteen years, the museum ran excursions using its matched stainless steel passenger car set. The cars are all from the New York Central’s 1941 re-equipping of the ‘Empire State Express’. Over the past several years, the cars have been out of active excursion service and have been the subject of extensive work including the complete replacement of all of the glazing in the museum’s six coaches. The goal for 2009 includes the completion of the glazing replacement in four coaches including permanent reinstallation of the window modules in the cars, the cosmetic restoration of one coach to the as built New York Central appearance, the complete replacement of the interior paneling under the window line in one coach, and the installation of electric baseboard heat in one coach. We estimate the cost of this work for 2009 to be $25,000.00.

To adequately fund these objectives, the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum’s Building Tracks to the Future Annual Fund Drive goal is $150,000.00.

Would you help us Build Tracks to the Future?

Donations to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. If you wish to help, please make a Paypal donation today:

Donations can also be made via the mail. Please make your donation check payable to the Rochester Chapter NRHS (the owner of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum) and mail it to:

Building Tracks to the Future
Rochester Chapter NRHS
P.O. Box 23326
Rochester, NY 14692-3326

Thank you!

On behalf of the Building Tracks to the Future Annual Fund Drive Committee, the volunteers of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, and the Officers and Trustees of the Rochester Chapter National Railway Historical Society, we thank you for your generous support of our Chapter and its many projects. We look forward to substantial progress in 2009!