Well, it’s over! Thanks to a lot of hard work by many dedicated members, the 2003 Lone Star Convention comes to a successful close. Many thanks to Ron and Jan Kutch and the crew for all their labors. The readers may find interest in some statistic. There were 112 registered guests (after removing the cancellations), four of which were children and 28 were spouses. We had 95 guests at the BBQ Friday night and 127 at the Saturday night banquet. Thirty-three people signed up for the special prototype tours and five came to the soldering clinic.
The silent and live auctions were much more active than I would have imagined, thanks in part to some estate sales which swelled the total number of items to almost 300. Most of them actually sold, also somewhat to my surprise.
I don’t know as yet about the profits from the convention because all the bills are not in and/or paid. Nevertheless, I am quite sure we made a small gain.
All in all, I think the convention went well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the events, the comradery, and the food. However I believe, speaking for the convention crew, that we would like to wait a few years before doing this again.
Randel wanted to pass this message onto all the readers:
I want to say a big Thank You for all the work that the convention committee and other volunteers did at the convention. A special thank you to Terry Chancellor, Rip Maples, Homer Morrow, Jack Seay, Margie ‘O’Neil and Ron and Jan Kutch, Bob Mamlok and Dave Lamberts for all the hard work that went into the convention. Also I would like to say a big thank you to all the people that opened their homes for the layout tours. Thank you to Al Fox for bringing his N–scale layout to the convention and running his layout. That you to Ray Zips and his grandson for helping run trains (I received a lot of complements about Al’s portable layout). Thank you to Ron Warner for his help on the convention and help with running the trains.
Thank you one and all
Randel L. Bittick
MORE FROM RANDEL
Folks, remember to bring your appetites for ice cream and your ears for the DCC clinic to be presented by Homer Morrow.
Do not forget that we will be setting up modules for the 4 th of July at the Harvey House in Slaton, TX.
FROM RONALD WARNER
from Trains Magazine, 25 June 2003
DENVER, CO - Ron Harrow, one of the last Burlington Northern Santa Fe firemen engineers to have worked steam locomotive for a predecessor line, retired June 10 after 44 injury free years. Based in Denver, he began his career with the Colorado & Southern in Cheyenne, WY, in 1958, right at the end of steam on the C&S, a subsidiary of the Burlington Route.
Harrow never suffered an injury, nor was he ever disciplined. His only separation from the railroad was from 1960 to 1962 when he served in the military.
“His personal record is flawless,” says Denver Superintendent of Operations Matt Boyd. “As I sit back and reflect on this employee with 44 years of service, I can only imagine the changes in equipment, procedures, and technology he has experienced. When I spoke with his supervisors, all of them said that Ron accepted every change immediately and completely.”
BNSF Road Foremen of Engines, Ken Matzick, who worked with Harrow, noted that Harrow’s train-handling skills were excellent. Another characteristic of Harrow, said Matzick, was that the man never cursed. In fact, his co-workers nicknamed him “By Thunder” because those words were the closest he ever came to using an expletive.
CARILLON THANKS THE LMRA
We received a thank you card from the folks at Carillon. It reads as follows:
To all of you that went to all the hard work. We all appreciate your time to come and set up and show all our staff and residents here at Carillon your models. It’s so good to see that “childlike” fun. Keep up the good work. I know that you put many hours in this. Thank you again and hope to see you next year.
“TRAIN MAN” IS KEEPING TRACK
Continued from last month.
By Laura Griffin as printed in the Dallas Morning News , December 10, 2002, pg. 29A.
Mr. Fitzgerald worked day and night, creating rocks molded from casts of rocks in a creek outside his home and piecing together intricate retaining walls, trellises and suspension bridges.
“We’d work all day, go home, get something to eat, take a nap, and come back and work until we were goofy,” he said. When the train scape opened in 1990, hospital officials need someone to maintain it. Because Mr. Fitzgerald works at night, he volunteered – temporarily, he said. “I told them I’d do it for a few months until they found someone.” He said. “Five years later, I told them, ‘OK, don’t find anyone. These are my trains until I’m done with them.’ ”
He’s constantly adding animals to the circus train or characters, ever superheroes, to some trains. And he always adds holiday touches. Mr. Fitzgerald recently perched Santa and some reindeer a top a snow-covered mountain. But that meant removing the plastic Tyrannosaurus rex – “I didn’t want it to look like T-Rex was chasing Santa Claus,” he said.
. . . . To be continued
WHAT IS A GALLOPING GOOSE
by Jay Underwood from the Colorado Railroad Museum
The Colorado Railroad Museum has three “galloping geese.” Having their origin during the “Great Depression” they were built to replace the much larger steam train. The “galloping geese” ran on the Rio Grande Southern between Durango, Telluride and Ridgway in southwestern Colorado. The “galloping goose” got its nickname by the wobbling motion it made as they ran over uneven tracks and by the unusual sound its horn made. They were made out of used Buick, Pierce Arrows and other spare parts. The “galloping geese” had fewer demands than the larger steam engines. For the most part they carried mail, freight, and passengers to the otherwise remote towns.
Goose #1 is built from a Buick “Master Six” four-door sedan, a creation of Superintendent Forest White and Chief Mechanic Jack Odenbaugh. This first Goose (the railroad actually called these ‘motors’ until the 1950s) weighed just 5300 lbs. and was only 20' long. Its engine developed 28 hp and top speed was 30 mph (although 20 mph was more typical). The cost was $828.55. It had a cab capable of carrying two passengers, and a stake body in back fo mail and other cargo. Color was dark green of black.
Motor No. 3 (now the Knott’ Berry Farm’s “Galloping Goose”) was “hatched” on December 2, 1931. Utilizing a much larger engine than its predecessors, the vehicle was powered by a 1929 Pierce Arrow Model 33 engine and weighed 14,800 lbs. With its original Pierce Arrow passenger compartment widened out, it could accommodate eight passengers and could handle 16 to 18 thousand pounds of mail and freight. In 1947 the Pierce Arrow body was replaced with a Wayne passenger compartment that held 10 passengers. In addition, the Pierce Arrow engine (which was worn out and impossible to get parts for) was replaced with a GMC #60 heavy duty truck motor.
This is the editor. There is a terrific web site for the Galloping Goose Historical Society at <doloresgallopinggoos5.com>. It is filled with information and pictures about these interesting “motors” from yesteryear.
AMTRAK LOOK INTO EXPANDING LINE, SERVICE INTO WEST TEXAS
As printed in the Avalanche-Journal , Saturday, May 31, 2003, pg. A14
HEREFORD – Ticket sales are a long way off, but there is a chance Amtrak will begin service coming through Deaf Smith County in far West Texas.
A member of the US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s staff told the Hereford Brand in Friday’s editions that Amtrak officials have initiated discussions about the possible addition of a line that would move diagonally through the Texas Panhandle into New Mexico.
The trains would run on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway lines that roughly parallel U.S. 60 through the Panhandle into Clovis, NM.
U.S. Rep Mac Thornberry, who was in Hereford Thursday, said he was aware of the proposal but said it is a long way from reality. “I wouldn’t buy a ticket any time soon,” he said.
Deaf Smith County Judge Tom Simons said he also had learned of the Amtrak plans but had no idea how far along the plaining is.
If the proposal becomes reality, the new line would complement the Texas Eagle, which is the state’s leg of Amtrak’s route from Chicago to Los Angles.
In early 1997, the Texas Eagle was targeted by Amtrak for elimination, but a joint federal state effort saved the line. The effort to save Amtrak in Texas was spearheaded by Hutchinson, a staunch supporter of a national passenger rail system.