Annual Banquet

Our annual banquet was held on December 2^nd at Windham Community Hospital with about 30 in attendance.  The food was delicious! You missed a good meal if you didn’t attend.  Following dinner, Peter Montville, a member of the Hartford Railroad Enthusiasts, presented a program entitled “Train Watching 2000”, a review of places he visited during the year.  Later, President Granville presented a short tribute and roast of past President Cerreto, who ended the evening with a review of past activities at the museum.

Train Show

Attendance was down a bit at the fall show, but most of the vendors were happy with their sales and we should come out ahead.  Show attendees were given free admission to the museum which resulted in 101 visitors, including 11 paying customers.

Speakers at Monthly Meetings

Our program of having guest speakers at the membership meetings fell by the wayside this past year because of the tremendously successful efforts put into opening the Museum to the public.  We plan to have speakers at our membership meetings next year.  In order to keep the meetings from being too long, we will conduct most of the business at our 1^st Sunday meetings and limit the membership meetings to more important matters.

What’s New at the Museum

Trackwork:

All of remaining 132-pound tie plates were removed from the ties and traded to a used equipment dealer for 179 switch ties.

Additional track areas have been leveled and ballasted by the Army and our members.

A new crossing has been built across the tracks at the village area.  It looks great!

The temporary crossing behind the roundhouse has been removed and the track is being leveled so a permanent crossing can be installed.

Several pieces of rail from the Kendall spur have been moved over to the museum, thanks to the loan of a truck by Howard Spector and a loader by Maurice Bisson.

25-Ton Locomotive:

Jerry Griffin has been hard at work painting the 25-tonner.  It has received a full coat of white paint and has blue stripes on the ends and a blue roof.

Communications System:

The telephone lines are ready to be installed following connection of the underground communications pipes.

Flag:

Jerry Griffin has installed an American Flag on the front of the Section House.

Buildings:

Holes have been dug for the platform piers at the Chaplin Station and the Groton Freight House and concrete will soon be poured.

Turntable in the Pit

On Saturday, November 24^th the turntable bridge was lowered into the turntable pit and placed on blocks.  Central Construction Industries of Putnam, CT recently purchased a new 70-ton crane and offered to help us with the turntable, which weighs 14 tons.  Other than a light rain, the job was accomplished quickly and easily.  Hopefully, it will be restored to operating condition next year with the assistance of the Army.

Committees versus Departments

Our very successful first year as an operating museum means that we must continue to evolve as an organization.  We are not only building a museum, we are operating one!  Accordingly, it has been decided to make a greater distinction between “committees” and “departments”.

Committees will be responsible for those tasks where members will have to meet periodically to discuss or plan actions for the Museum.  Each committee will decide on it’s own chairman.  Departments will deal with those areas that are task or job oriented.  The executive committee will appoint a director or department head to oversee each department

If you did not get to sign up for a committee at the November meeting or are interested in volunteering your talents to a department, contact Mark Granville to sign up or obtain further information.

Committees for 2002

Acquisitions: responsible for searching out new equipment, buildings, or items that would help portray the railroad story to visitors and arrange for transportation to the museum.

Audit: responsible for reviewing the records of our Treasurer to verify their accuracy.

Fund Raising and Grant Writing: responsible for programs designed to raise funds for the museum and preparing grant applications.

Membership Services: responsible for directing a program designed to obtain and welcome new members, assist members with questions or problems, and provide services for the good and welfare of the membership.

Museum Operations and Activities: responsible for developing a program to welcome visitors to the museum, provide tour guides, and develop special programs and activities to attract visitors.

Museum Planning: responsible for planning the development of the museum infrastructure.

Public Relations: responsible for promoting the museum to the public and attracting visitors to the museum.

Rail Operations: responsible for designing programs to provide safe operation of railroad equipment and qualifying rail equipment operators in order to provide for the safety of the workers and visitors to the museum.

Train Show: responsible for planning our train shows, securing vendors, and operating each train show.