Telegraphed Dispatch January 2000

You, the loyal members, have made all of this possible. All those involved, either directly or indirectly, have worked hard and accomplished an amazing task in creating a very special museum exhibit. Please take a moment to applaud and take a bow.

Our new greatly expanded Guide to Tourist Railroads and Museums for the coming year is something to cheer about, as well as our newly published videos and historic books and publications.

What do we need now? Your continued support and valued input. How? Via telegraph, telephone, railway express, U.S. Mail, or email. Please correspond and send us your suggestions, ideas, and any information you wish to share with your fellow members.

On a final note, the restoration project of Engine #23 will have a special column in each issue of the Telegraphed Dispatch. It will attempt to keep the membership updated on the progress and informed of our needs regarding this historic endeavor. The volunteers, the group known as "The Steam Team," needs to be commended on their tremendous efforts and work already completed.

Thank you!

Ralph Goneau
President, ESRM

With the wide array of visual images, visitors could take a nostalgic journey on the main line of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad from Kingston Point Park or ride up through the 'Nothch' on the Stony Clove branch train to Hunter or Tannersville from Phoenicia. One could imagine what it was like harvesting ice from South Lake in Kaaterskill, cutting bluestone out of a quarry for shipments to the big cities, or gliding down a local slope at one of the first ski centeres within the Town of Shandaken. It was a top-notch presentation that informed, entertained, and educated thousands of visitors to the museum this season.

Although the entire season was marked with enthusiasm by both members and visitors alike, and the museum's exhibition was well attended each weekend, the two special events planned help capture the excitement and spirit of this year's theme. The first was Chichester Heritage Day, Sunday, June 20th, and on the weekend of July 10th and 11th was a fun-filled Centennial Celebration that helped capture an old-fashioned birthday bash for our Phoenicia depot.

As joyous conversation, laughter, and music continued to fill the warm mountain air, a large box of 100 individually decorated cupcakes lettered and colored to symbolize the new historical sign was presented and offered to all with a sweet-tooth, in place of the traditional birthday cake.

Although this year saw a number of new publisehd works, none was more timely or better received that Ruth and Lonnie Gale's Shandaken, New York: A Pictorial History, published by Purple Mountain Press. Throghout the weekend, and the remainder of the season, the Gales were glad to personally sign copies of their new book containing 230 images that captured daily life in the deep valleys from 1800 to 1950. As photographs fade, families move away, and a disinterested younger generation throws away memorabilia so goes local history. What better way to save and record history than in a pictorial book? In essence, anyone who purchases a copy of this book is adding a wonderful keepsake to their personal library and taking home a mini-version of the museum's spectacular photographic exhibition bound between two covers.

With an interest in the Catskill Moujntains and a fascination of old trains, he chose model railroading as the common ground to preserve a piece of history. During the metting he learned that the following year's exhibition would be a Centennial Celebration of Phoenicia Station. Bob was already in the pre-planning stages of modeling a large HO-scale diorama representing Phoenicia Junction at the turn of the century. To his surprise, he learned that no other members or local hobbyist had approached the museum to offer a different type of artistic rendering of railroading in the Catskills.

With the approval of board members present, he began to gather all the neccesary historical data and photographic documentation he could find from various sources. After months of compiling a complete resource of information, including track maps and old postcards graciously shared by Lonnie Gale and John Ham, Bob jumped into the project with a little more than a year before the opening of the museum exhibiton.

Within an area of less than 4' x 8', eight sets of tracks with various turnouts and sidings representing both the narrow gauge branch line and the standard gauge main line were selectively compressed within fourteen major structures. Recapturing an era gone by with the utmost for detail, Bob modeled and included both the old and new Phoenicia Stations (both still standing in 1899), McGrath's General Store, bluestone yard, and the Martin Hotel (later The Globe) opposite the old station. The layout also contains the unique "Ramsey Car Transfer Apparatus" alongside the car shop building, two narrow gauge maintenance buildings near the long-lasting freight house and loading platform, a fifty-five-foot timber truss turntable, and a double-spout water tank closet to the entrance to the village at Brdige Street. In order to traverse the Esopus Creek (which is modeled) the large iron pedestrian bridge and the railroad trestle were also included to complete the general layout of "Phoenicia Gateway."

While Bob was busy nights, weekends, and days off modeling Phoenicia Junction, he also found the time to compile a book called Preserving the Railroad Heritage of the Catskill Mountains: Ulster & Delaware Railroad, a 48-page companion booklet with 24 photographs and route map that honors his favorite railroad.

Beth Waterman, representing the Board, transmitted a special note of gratitude to Bob for his contributions and generous donation of the dioramas to the museum. The skill and detail of Bob's work is so exact and interprets the history of railroading in the area with an artistic expression in three-dimensions that goes beyond what a single image, no matter how powerful, can achieve. All of us at the museum are sincerely indebted to him for his energy and enthusiasm and his volunteer efforts that helped make this year's exhibition such a success.

No. 23 was built by the American Locomotive Works (ALCO) at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1910 for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad, Delivered, No. 23 was a saturated steam engine with slide valves and configured as a "consolidation," having a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement. That is, 2 wheels on the leading truck, 8 drive wheels and no trailing truck. This type of engine came into use circa 1890 and was utilized for slower freight service. When it was delivered to the LS&I it was placed into service hauling trains of iron ore down from the mines of Ishpeming, Negaunee, Republic and other iron ore mining towns in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the ore docks at Marquette. In the winter of 1927, she was converted from a saturated engine to a superheated steam engine.

The business of handling coal cars ended when self-unloading vessels became prevalent on the Great Lakes and a coal unloading facility was built adjacent to the LS&I ore dock. No. 23 worked the interchange track of the Soon Line, the ore docks, and continued to made runs meandering through the backwoods of the Upper Peninsula serving the mine and pulpwood landings. The last real job for No. 23 was drawing a wreck train. The wreck train consisted of a wrecking crane with boom tender car and tool and crew cars. The LS&I ran No. 23 up until 1960 when they withdrew their steem fleet from service and completely dieselized. On occasion No. 23 was sent out when washouts made it impossible for the diesels to service the branch lines.

The LS&I disposed of its remaining steam locomotives in the earl 1960s, with No. 23 and a number of her sisters selling to a man named John Zerbel, a former employee with the railroad. With Zerbel taking possession of a 30-mile branch running from Marquette to a semi-abandoned sawmill village at Big Bay, he put two ex-LS&I steam engines with acquired heavy steel coaches into service for a tourist and shortline operation.

The tourist line was renamed the Marquette and Huron Mountain Rairload. The initials "M&HM" were on the tender when it was acquired by the museum. When the 30-mile run was not successful and as financial troubles mounted, Zerbel sold the upper half to a scrapper. The tourist train continued operation between Marquette and Harlow Lake.

The line wound through rock cuts and high fills in deep woods--a run not unlike the tracks of the Catskill Mountain Railroad. Eventually, due to minimal maintenance, No. 23 became the last steam engine on the M&HM. Hanging on by a thread, the M&HM existed with No. 23 literally patched together just enough to run. The tender tank, having rusted through in places, was patched with automotive fiberglass and concrete. Piping was repaired with anything left lying around and only the barest of reparis were done, often relying on retired boilermakers from the area to service her. Engine 23 pulled the tourist trains and occasionally pushed a special excursion up onto the old ore dock she had one worked so hard. Every winter, under her own power, she would meet a Soo Line Diesel to be laid up in a stall in the roundhouse at South Marquette.

In the winter of 1985, an auction of all assets of the M&HM was held to settle the estate of John Zerbel. A number of members of the ESRM went out to Marquette and purchased locomotive No. 23. Set on a depressed-center flatcar, she was rail-shipped to Kingston near the former NYC roundhouse and subsequently moved into a storage yard off Cornell Street.

Locomotive No. 23 sat in Kingston virtually untouched until the summer of 1996, when a decision was made to begin rehabilitation efforts. Heavy deterioration had occurred due to external corrosion of the boiler, nearing a point beyond any practical restoration. A group of volunteers assembled in July and began the first step of completely stripping No. 23. All the piping, auxiliaries, main rods, side rods and valves were removed with each piece carefully being marked, identified and stored. Since that time, ESRM volunteers known as the "steam team"--using their own resources and borrowing tools and equipment, have accomplished a great deal in this historical project, all of which has been documented and will be shared in its entirety.

Hopefully, as funds and additional resources become available, the schedule for completeion will accelerate, so that once again steam will run over the former tracks of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad.

While Grand Central Terminal stands today as one of New York City's most famous landmarks, it was by no means the first railroads station in New York City. In fact, the current structure is neither the first to claim the name "Grand Central," nor to occupy the present location at 42nd and Park. Yet, the story of Grand Central Terminal allows one to gave back and observe much of the history of the City of New York and to witness the growth of a vibrant metropolois reflected in an unrivaled monument of civic architecture.

The first rail line into New York City--the New York and Harlem Railroad--was formed in 1831 and began service to a terminal at Fourth Avenue and 23rd Street the following year. Over the next five years, the railroad constructed a station, offices and stables (horses pulled the trains where engies could not go) along Fourth (Park) Avenue at 26th and 27th Streets. Through subsequent expansions and reconstruction, the New York and Harlem Railroad Station would become to occupy the entire block bounded by Fourth and Madison Avenues and 26th and 27th Streets. In 1871, P.T. Barnum purchased the New York and Harlem Railroad Station and converted it into Madison Square Garden-the first of several structures to bear that historic name.

During the 1840s, additional railroad service into New York City--notably The Hudson River Railroad--precipitated the advent of a variety of terminals, depots, freight houses, and passenger stations throughout the city. Horse-drawn extensions merged with steam-powered lines in a haphazard network of railways that was plagued by complaints about noise, pollution, traffic and chronic accidents. By 1858, steam locomotives had been progressively banned from crowded areas and were no longer in service below 42nd Street, giving rise to the need for a new terminal.

Shipping magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt acqured the Hudson River Railroad in 1864. Soon after, Vanderbilt added the New York Central Railroad (at that time the only link between Albany and Buffalo) to his holdings and consolidated his position by creating a link between Spuyten Duyvil and Mott Haven, allowing Hudson River trains to arrive at a common East side terminal. In 1869, Vanderbilt purchased property between 42nd and 48th Streets, Lexington and Madison Avenue, for construction of a new train depot and rail yard. On this site would rise the first Grand Central.

Grand Central Depot, designed by Architect John B. Snook, was built at a cost of $6.4 million and opened in October 1871. Virtually obsolete at the time it opened, it served three distinct rail lines--the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, New York and Harlem Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad-each of which maintained its own waiting room, baggage facilities, and ticketing operation at the station. Subsequent renovations and enlargements culminated in the 1898 expansion of the depot under architect Bradford Lee Gilbert and further interior renovation in 1900 directed by Samuel Huckel, Jr.

Reborn as "Grand Central Station," the reconfigured depot's most prominent feature was undoubtedly its enormous train shed. Constructed of glass and steel, the 100-foot wide by 650-foot long structure rivaled the Eiffel Tower and Crystal Palace for primacy as the most dramatic engineering achievement of the 19th century. The updated station also featured a "classical" facade, a unified 16,000 square foot waiting room, and distinctive ornamentation, including monumental cast-iron eagles with wingspans of 13 feet.

All the while, steam locomotives in the city were problematic. Earlier efforts to increase safety and reduce congestion, including the Fourth Avenue Improvement Scheme, which lowered the tracks below grade from Grand Central Depot to 5th Street to 96th Street, had proved insufficient. Noise and air pollution were chronic, and public concern about safety was on the rise. A catastrophic train collision on January 8th, 1902 in the smoke-filled Park Avenue Tunnel killed 17 and injured 38, causing a public outcry and increasing the demand for electric trains. One week later the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad announced plans to improve the Park Avenue Tunnel and expand Grand Central. By the end of the year, plans were in development--spearheaded by the New York Central's chief engineer William J. Wilgus--to demolish the existing station and create a new double terminal for electric trains.