STAYING ON
TRACK
The Newsletter of the Lubbock Model Railroad Association JANUARY 2004
THE LSR CONVENTION - WRAP UP
Page two of this newsletter contains some financial data from the June LSR convention. Baring any changes or bad math on my part, the club should receive about $1250 from our efforts. To my knowledge, this is the most money the club has ever received at once. Kudos to Ron Kutch and all the members who worked so hard to bring the convention off, as not only a great meeting, but a financial success as well.
HARVEY HOUSE UPDATE
The following was sent by Randel Bittick. He received it as e-mail on Dec. 12, 2003.
Dear Friends of the Slaton Harvey House project:
The Slaton Railroad Heritage Association thanks you again for your great support. I’m enclosing an update on our Harvey House restoration progress and activities. We are fortunate to have so many people across the country who believe in this important project, and especially lucky to have so many Slaton volunteers who work year after year to keep the project moving.
Our Board members are: Mary Allen, DenaBaker, Patsy Boyd, Almarine Childers, E.C. Davidson, Jim Davis, Sue Davis, Don Kendrick, Jim McMeekan, Merle Neill, Tony Privett, Clark Self, Judy Thomas, Sandra Thomas, Winnie Vaughn, & Jeff Wilson. Please join me in thanking these good citizens for their hard work. If you are interested in joining our volunteers in a leadership position, please feel free to contact any of our Board members.
2003 Activities
In June, we were blessed to have been included on the historic BNSF passenger train itinerary. More than one hundred of our contributors enjoyed a tour inside the train and Harvey House, with wonderful food & decorations provided by the Slaton Bakery, Klemke’s Sausage Haus, and Pauline’s flowers. The following month, the Lubbock Model Railroaders put together a fabulous display for our July 4 open house, with refreshments donated by Dr. George Privett. More than 200 residents and visitors stopped by to see our progress and renew friendships.
We continue to receive great publicity around the region for our project, including
a major story in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, and an upcoming article scheduled
to run on the AAA Magazine web site next spring. A documentary film company
from Ft. Worth has begun production of a video that will highlight the restoration
of the historic building, including interviews with many people who worked in
the Harvey House. They plan to have the video ready for broadcast and purchase
when we open the museum next year.
First Floor Construction
Final construction plans are in Austin for approval by the Texas Dept. of Transportation and the Texas Historic Commission. We hope to have the first floor museum, kitchen, & community room open by Spring or Summer 2004. You can stay up to date on the progress on our web site:
Second Floor Construction
We’ve been invited to apply for a large Economic Development Administration grant. If successful, we should have enough money to finish the second floor in about a year. Keep your fingers crossed!
Fund Raising
Contributions have steadily increased with all our activities this year, and in the anticipation of our grand opening. We still need to raise nearly $200,000 in matching grants, so if you are thinking of some end-of-year donations, I hope you’ll keep us in mind. We are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, so your donations are tax deductible.
We’ve just received notification of another $10,000 donation, honoring Slaton pioneers. Our Board will be considering a special outside display to honor the $10,000+ donors. Please call or email me if you have questions about our donor recognition levels.
I thank each of you again for your interest and support of the Slaton Harvey House. It has been a long process, but the building will soon be open and available for use by residents, visitors, historians, and school children for generations to come. Slaton’s important railroad heritage will be preserved, thanks to your help.
Please contact me if I can assist you in any way. I look forward to seeing you at our grand opening in 2004!
With gratitude,
Tony Privett President
Slaton Railroad Heritage Assn.
AMTRAK POSTS RECORD RIDERSHIP Submitted by Ron Warner
OAKLAND, Calif. - More than 24 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in Fiscal Year 2003 (ending September 30), the highest annual ridership ever experienced by the Nation’s intercity passenger rail service in its 32-year history.
Despite many adverse conditions this year, including a lagging economy that has hurt the travel industry overall, the Iraq war, the Presidents' Day blizzard, the Northeast blackout and Hurricane Isabel, Amtrak's ridership topped the record of 23.5 million passengers set in 2001 and was 2.7% better than last year's result of 23.4 million.
Combined ridership on Amtrak's three California intrastate routes increased by 11.7% for Fiscal Year '03, achieving a record 4,101,341 passengers during the year.
The three state-supported routes include the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose Capitols, the Bakersfield-Oakland/Sacramento San Joaquins and the San Luis Obispo-Los Angeles-San Diego Pacific Surfliners.
Ridership was up 26.3% on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner over last year with 2,179,427 passengers traveling along the route. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliners provide 11 round trips Monday-Thursday and 12 round trips Friday-Sunday between San Diego and Los Angeles, with four extending to Santa Barbara and one continuing to San Luis Obispo. The Pacific Surfliner is Amtrak's second busiest route nationwide.
Ridership on Amtrak's Capitol Corridor increased 5.5% over last year with 1,139,136 passengers traveling along the route. Amtrak's Capitol Corridor trains provide service between Sacramento and the Bay Area (San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) with twelve weekday round trips and nine on weekends.
Amtrak attributed the overall positive results largely to its "back-to-basics" approach to winning over passengers, begun earlier this year, including:
* January fare rollbacks and a newly introduced straightforward pricing structure for passengers. The rollback, combined with national marketing offers, contributed to strong ridership in the following months. Total ticket revenue, too, began to increase above last year's levels in July.
* In April, Amtrak reduced fares for Acela Express travel between Boston and New York, capping business class fares at $99 each way. This resulted in a 13% increase in ridership in the five weeks following the reduction (compared with the five weeks before the reduction).
Other service improvements during the year included new menus on the long-distance trains so that passengers traveling more than one night would have more dining options.
LUBBOCK MODEL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 53674
LUBBOCK, TX 79453