Issue 06-4, Winter 2006

What's in a Word/Name!?!?

CTA 43 and 40 as the "Polar Express" ready for boarding at Blackhawk Station.
Santa greets riders at the entrance to John J, Duerr Forest Preserve.

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings, Joyeaux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, - "POLAR EXPRESS" ah yes that said it all for 1542 happy, smiling, enthusiastic, sometimes sleeping, grateful, family members as they enjoyed the Museum's "2006 POLAR EXPRESS." The festively lit and decorated Blackhawk Station in the winter setting of the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve greeted our guests as they arrived to board the equally festively lit and decorated CTA cars 40 and 43 for their trip to the North Pole (Castlemuir) and Santa and Mrs. Claus.

North Pole (Castlemuir) was decorated for the "Polar Express."

Ed Konecki, a.k.a. Santa Claus, and Dave Doerner chief cocoa cook, in Illinois Central caboose 9638 at the North Pole (Castlemuir) , prepare gift bags of coal for parents. Dave stirs the pot of hot chocolate prior to loading into the "Polar Express."

Doug Rundell, Bill Minerly and Bob Wayman pose before the "Polar Express" deadheads to Blackhawk.

Conductor Bob Wayman assists eager passengers aboad the "Polar Express".

After being seated in the warm, intimate and cozy atmosphere of 40 and 43 our guests were served hot chocolate and cookies by Santa's helpers all of this occurring to the tune of the season's music. Finally the conductor called out his famous and anticipated "All Abooaarrd" and off to the North Pole (South Elgin) the "POLAR EXPRESS" went.

As the train moved through the forest and along the shores of the Fox River our travelers enjoyed a superb reading of Chis Van Allberg's "POLAR EXPRESS." Anticipation mounted and mounted as finally the conductor asked "Do you see what I see?" The train approached the North Pole platform with Santa and Mrs. Claus and their bag of gifts. They were readying to board the train and meet their bright eyed admirers.

Santa's helpers from York High School add to the enjoyment of our "Polar Express" guests.

Conductors Bob Blaus and Ralph Taylor taking tickets on the "Polar Express."

Santa and Mrs. Claus made their way through the cars greeting each child with warm and animated conversation and of course giving them traditional sleigh bell gift. Cameras clicked and flashed capturing the smiling children's faces and occasionally the near teary eyes of parents and grand parents enjoying the delightful fervor of their children. Finally Santa and Mrs. Claus "laying their finger aside of their noses gave a nod as out the closing door they chose, saying "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."

The drama of the "Polar Express" saga unfolds as the train travels to the North Pole.

Santa (Ed Konecki) and Mrs. Claus (Laura Taylor) start passing out the traditional "Polar Express" bells.

Adam St. James and member Paul Kaufmann accompany a sing along on the return trip from the North Pole.

Jingle bells, songs and hot chocolate warmed the "Polar Express."

Doug Rundell, Bob Blaus, Adam St. James, Don MacBean and Ed Klemm pose at the end of a magical "Polar Express" night.

Returning to Blackhawk Station the story was concluded and everyone joined in a sing along of seasonal music. Our seasoned parking lot attendants assisted in the departure of our guests and assisted in the arrival of the next train's riders as they drove down the luminary decorated road into Jon Duerr.

Don MacBean, Ed Konecki

The Museum is greatly indebted to and appreciative of all of its volunteers and other participants listed below who gave so unstintingly of their time and resources that made this the BEST "POLAR EXPRESS" season ever!!!!

Event Management
Bob Blaus, Event Coordinator Don MacBean, Community Relations

Saturday, December 2, Polar Hosts, Music, Readers, and Car Hosts
Edward Klemm - reader, Adam St. James and Paul Kaufmann - accordion York High School students: Steby Peters, Shreya Singh, Andrew Ruth, Brigid Okeefe, Ariel Yong, and Colin OConnell
Trolley Train Crew & Dispatcher
Eugene Jannece, Dan Kelly, Bill Minerly, and Ralph Taylor
Blackhawk Station Helpers
Chuck Galitz, Fred Lonnes, Lke Helm and Andy Roth
North Pole (Castlemuir) Helpers
Bob Wayman, Laura Taylor, and Edward Konecki

Sunday, December 3, Polar HostsMusic, Readers, and Car Hosts
Edward Klemm - reader, Adam St. James- music, and Paul Kaufmann - accordion York High School students: Meg Dolan, Liz Buddnik, Gwen Robinson, Madeline Brodt, Amy Maduram, and Lauren Maxon
Trolley Train Crew & Dispatcher
Luke Helm, Bill Minerly, Bob Breese-Rodenkirk, and Ralph Taylor
Blackhawk Station Helpers
Chuck Galitz, Stan Nettis
North Pole (Castlemuir) Helpers
Bob Wayman, Laura Taylor, and Edward Konecki

Saturday, December 9, Polar Hosts, Music, Readers and Car Hosts
Reader - Edward Klemm, Music, Paul Kaufmann - Accordion—Adam St. James - Guitar
Car Hosts
Colin O'Connell, Dan O'Connell, Drew Nannini, Callie Pittman, Cori Haack, and Sam Debernardis
Trolley Train Crew & Dispatcher
Bill Minerly, Doug Rundell, Ralph Taylor, and Bob Wayman
Blackhawk Station Helpers
Chuck Galitz and Luke Helm
North Pole (Castlemuir) Helpers
Dave Doerner, Laura Taylor, and Edward Konecki

Saturday, December 16, Polar Hosts, Music Readers, and Car Hosts
Marcie Lautenen-Raleigh, Reader, Music - Serge and Penksik, Guitar.
Car Hosts
Rachel Marten, Hannah Sheppard, Jamie Kostecki, Tiffany Marbules, Drew Nanina, Minwoo Kim, Gina Varchetto, and Mrs. R. Hillman
Trolley Train Crew & Dispatcher
Bob Blaus, Bill Minerly, Ralph Taylor, and Dan Zedan
Blackhawk Station Helpers
Bob Hillman, Chuck Galitz, Fred Lonnes, Ken Ward, Chris Nelson, and Andy Roth
North Pole (Castlemuir) Helpers
Bob Wayman, Mrs. R.Hillman, Laura Taylor, and Edward Konecki

Don MacBean, Ed Konecki

The Mission of Safety

Museums of all types struggle to define their mission statement and structure their development to fulfill their mission statement. However, most mission statements never have a word or mention of safety as a key part of the museums mission. Most museums focus on a mission of preservation and interpretation, but the reality is that one of the first mission for any museum should be safety especially museums that focus on industrial subjects such as railway preservation.

Safety must be first and foremost a primary goal of every museum. Every museum, including ours, must address the three critical safety goals:

•Safety of the Public;
•Safety of the Members;
•Safety of the Collection and the Property.

Before our Museum can do anything else open the grounds to the public, run demonstration trains, invite Members to work on maintaining the collection and the rest of the Museum infrastructure must provide a safe environment. Our Museum does this through the policies of the Board of Directors and the work of our Managers. Our Managers write the Safety Rules, instruct the volunteers in the rules, monitor the safety of visitors and volunteers, and provide safety mentoring and guidance to the volunteers. That way, safety is always fresh in their minds of everyone at the Museum.

Why should we have such a strong focus on making safety fresh and in the foreground of every Museum activity? Well, in 2006, most people do not work in an industrial environment where safety is a constant element of the job. Today, people live a white-collar life-style. In this type of lifestyle, people don't think about safety all the time. Without this safety background, most people are not used to the idea that there is risk in interacting with large equipment. Therefore, it becomes part of the Museums job, its Mission to teach our Volunteers and Visitors about safety. Because when we can interpret safety for our Volunteers and Visitors, we make safety a conscious focus of everyone.

Edward Konecki

Mission

To preserve and interpret Chicago's electric transport era that began in the 1890s and peaked before 1950. The electric transport era is significant because electric railways, including interurban, rapid transit, and streetcars, helped the Chicago region grow to be one of North America's great metropolitan areas. The Museum strives to show that electric railways were more than convenient, they were and are a way of life for generations of people from all walks of life.

The Museum fulfills this mission by preserving, interpreting, and operating historic railway vehicles on its demonstration electric railway, over the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric route at South Elgin, Illinois. Furthermore, the museum preserves, displays and interprets smaller artifacts, photos, oral histories, and documents which help relate the importance of electric transport in and around the Chicago Metropolitan Area, putting them in context with their surroundings and era.

Track Fun

Our next Fall Track Fun get together is this Saturday, November 25, 2006 At 9:00 AM.
Back to our regular time this Saturday.
After we finish, join Roadmaster Ed for supper, on individual settlement, at Portillo's in Batavia. Portillos is located at 531 N. Randall Rd, Batavia. This is south of the intersection of Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway.
This will be the last Track Fun Day of the 2006 Season .

Track Fun Goal and Learning Opportunities
This Saturday, the Track Team, will finish picking up the old ties that were replaced this year and moving them to the Museum parking lot for loading into a dumpster. Work off that Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy the bracing Fall Air.
If time permist, once we are done with the old ties, the next job is to stack the good ties at Coleman.Then, we can start sorting rails stored at the South Coleman switch.We need to separate out usable rails from non-usable rails. The usable rails will be used to upgrade some of the yard track at Castlemuir.
Learning opportunity is to identify usable rails from non-usable rails.

Last Week's Accomplishment
Last week, 11/18/2006, we filled up the second 30-cubic yard dumpster with the old ties that were along the siding at Coleman. Great Job Everyone! You need to come out and see how good Coleman looks.

A big thank-you to Museum Members Chuck Galitz, Jim Gonyo, Bill Hottendorf, Jim Minerly, Chris Nelson, and Edward Konecki for their efforts last Saturday.

Bring Your Camera!
Don't forget to bring your camera and get pictures of our progress and fun!

Pass it On!
Know a friend who would like to help with Track Fun! Pass this email on to them. Then have your friend send me their E-mail address so I can include them in upcoming Track Fun Bulletins.

The 411 on Track Fun
When: Saturday, November 18, 2006, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Late Roadmaster? Sometimes I run late. If I do, please wait by the gate orplease call me on the road at 847-209-5453. Can't be there all day. No problem! If you can only spend part of the morning or part of the afternoon, it is still a big help.
Where: Fox River Trolley Museum, Parking Lot (Meeting Place)
What: Picking Up ties from Stop 54 south and bringing them to Castlemuir.
Who: Contact Ed Konecki, Roadmaster
edwardkonecki@aol.com
847-209-5453 Cell 847-676-8893 Work
Why: Preserving the oldest, continuously operating interurban railroad in the State of Illinois — 110-years young this year!
Safety: here is no dispatcher on duty. However, the work group will be protected by a cone work zone.
Water: You MUST bring your own water. Recommendation is to drink between 1-pint and 1-quart an hour
Lunch: Lunch Break is usually between 12:15 and 1:00 p.m.
You may either bring your lunch or lunch can be purchased at area eateries on an individual settlement basis
Clothing: Dress in loose clothing. Long pants and a shirt are required. Wear old clothes— you WILL get dirty. Dress in layers— you may want to remove layers as you warm up. Bring and wear work gloves—Bring and wear a hat! Hard hat is preferred.
Rain? Regardless of rain, I will be out at 9:00 a.m.

Upcoming Track Fun Work Dates & Projects Next Year!
Track Fun Season will start again in mid-March :)

Previous Accomplishments
On Saturday, 11/11/2006, we filled up the 30-cubic yard dumpster with the old ties that were along the track between Stop 54 and Ward's Bridge! Wow!
We did have some motor car problems, though, as the engine quit running and would not restart. Museum Member Ralph Taylor diagnosed the problem to the distributor and cleaned the points, which allowed the engine to restart. We also have some problems with the clutch not disengaging.

A big thank-you to Museum Members Kevin Lamont and his daughter Diamond, Fred Lonnes, Chris Nelson, Ralph Taylor, and Edward Konecki for their efforts last Saturday.

Ed Konecki

Board Announces Revised
2007 Meeting Dates

At its March 17, 2007 meeting the Museum' Board established the revised schedule for its meetings and member meetings.

Saturday, March 17- 1:00pm, South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Saturday, June 9 - 7:00pm, South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Saturday, July 28 - 7:00pm, South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Saturday, September 22 - 7:00pm, South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Saturday, November 10 - 7:00pm, South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Spring Cleanup Day, Saturday, April 28 - Time to be announced. At the Museum's grounds.

Members Day, October 6, Time to be announced. At the Museum's grounds

Annual Membership Meeting,
November 3 - 7pm South Elgin Village Hall 10 N. Water Street

Don MacBean - Bob Wayman

Letters to the Editor

Ed. Note: The editor and our readers always welcome letters to the editor. This is our first venture in recent history for this column.

Just received the latest installment of FRL and was mighty impressed with what I interpreted as a well-encapsulated and nicely illustrated annual report style of presenting progress in one of a railroad museum's most elusive, arcane, and under-appreciated departments: MOW / B&B. Equally impressive was Ed Konecki's ability to present Track Fun to the masses during 2006 and to attract a regular slate of volunteers (read: strong backs) to aid in a protracted, regularly scheduled weekend maintenance blitz!

When I participated in these activities over a decade ago, I recall how difficult it was for Ed and Andy Roth to entice folks to sacrifice their weekends in the name of backbreaking track work at the museum. But that was also back in the era when literally everything was done by hand (you know, when the Fairmont motor car was perpetually bad order and the "mechanized spiker" was actually the quartet of Ed, Andy, Chuck, and Fred) and with brute force, including the inevitable shoving of loaded push carts up the grade northbound towards Castlemuir at the end of the day's rewarding and seemingly sublime accomplishments. Even a hearty rib-coating repast at Ollie's Restaurant (or Joe Franta's perennial favorite, Colonial Ice Cream) immediately following the day's toil had little effect on the aching muscles, but it offered a point of repose and a last wave of camaraderie and laughs before trekking home and returning to reality.

Chris

Good morning Don,

Thank you very much for CA&E calendar and the current FRTM Newsletter.

I like the gradual change in the Newsletter how current events of the museum are dominant and the historical content follows.

We are starting to see the beginning of a new cycle that has both interest and need for rail (freight and pass) by the general population. We have seen the long term decline of rail, which took since 1935 (I had to pick a year). Now it is "what is old, is new."

We saw the glory days of rail travel slip and slide for 50 years. Today's population is seeing the glory days of commercial air travel slip and slide before their very own eyes.............even though there is plenty of Pan Am types that can't let go (just like the PRR types).

Why the discussion? Simple, to stimulate . . . thought process to do everything possible for new generations to see FRTM through the next decade, and not be converted into the Fox River Airplane Museum.

Tom

The Swanson Picture Story

Volunteers from Swanson Contracting work on installing new ties on mainline just north of the South Coleman Switch. Picture looks north from the South Coleman Switch.

Life Magazine comes to Fox River Lines. In the tradition of Life Magazine of the 1940's and 1950's "Fox River Lines" presents Swanson Volunteers Day at the Fox River Trolley Museum.

Through the graciousness of Bill Berry of Swanson Rail Contractors, ten volunteers from their ranks visited the Museum and installed 60 ties at Coleman. When completed our "volunteer friends" cooked up a sumptuous lunch from original Mexican recipes. All of us at the Museum whether at Coleman that day or not want to thank Pascual Jimenez, Daniel Cortes Flo Calderon, Salvador Villanueva, Guillermo Barajas, Miguel Noguez, Jaime Oseguera, Manuel, Oseguera, Agustin Fabian and Arturo Montano not only for their labor and generosity but sharing and "breaking bread" with us. THANKS GUYS!

One group of Museum Track Team Members and Swanson Contracting Volunteers are hard at work tamping new ties on the Coleman siding while another group of Volunteers are getting ready to slide a new tie into the mainline just north of the South Coleman Switch.

Museum Member Matt Delguidic (white tee-shirt), and Volunteer Patrick Storm work with the Team from Swanson Track Contracting as they get ready to spike down the new ties inserted into Coleman siding. Picture looks south with DeYoung Junction in the background.

Volunteers from Swanson Contracting "nip" the ties while a Museum volunteer uses an air spiker to drive the spikes into the ties.

The Museum's former CTA "L" car 4451 provides air for the air spiker. In the background, Swanson and Museum Volunteers work to insert new ties into the Coleman siding. Picture looks north from the South Coleman Switch.

All done! 60 Total ties in 5-hours! 4 in the mainline and 56 in the siding! A Beautiful Job by the Great Team of Swanson Contracting and the Track Team Volunteers of the Fox River Trolley Museum.

Want to Run a Museum?

It is more than coincidental that the issue of money and fund raising as it relates to museum boards of directors and their responsibilities has recently come into public focus. The last meeting of KDRMA (Kane-DuPage Regional Museum Association), an association of local museums, composed of some rail oriented museums such as Lisle Depot, Batavia Depot and FRTM and such other big names as the Morton Arboretum, Naper Settlement and Billy Graham Center and Trains Magazine in its Preservation column should both deal with this topic. The KDRMA session lasted about an hour and a half with a lively question and answer period between members and one of the area's leading consultants in the field, Susan Peters. What she said and what is in the March 2007 issue of Trains are very similar.

Jim Wrinn, Train's editor, starts the "PRESERVATION" column "Railroad preservation always needs more money. But board members of volunteer groups and professional institutions alike often fail to grasp an important truth: they are there to raise money. "While they may be aware of their role as members of the governing body that sets policies and procedures, many railroad (read trolley) museum board members don't understand that the board exists to find the resources needed to carry out the organization's mission.

"In a field that requires tremendous amounts of cash - boiler work for a modest 2-8-0 can easily run $500,000 (or restoring a vintage interurban car $200,000) - understanding the money rasing role is the difference between survival and failure."

This is not a new concept.

Fifteen years ago, during one of the fall preservation conferences at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Stan Bronsky, . . . summed it up best when he said Boardsmanship consists of `Three G's; Get money, give money, or get off the board.' More railroad museums are talking about this as a prime consideration in board recruitment. `Doers' are needed, but so is a board that consists of a majority of `givers' at some level - even if the minimum is that of an annual membership.

Don Meyer, general manager of Wisconsin's Mid-Continent Railway Museum observed recently that board candidates should be donors. "{they should] not agree to become one, but [they should] be one before even considered for a board seat" he said. "And not just a time donor , but a cash donor as well. It's no doubt fun to sit on the board to discuss policy and establish priorities. In fact it can be a rather heady experience for those who have not served on a board elsewhere. But anyone who wants to be in a position to establish an organization's priorities should also be willing to fund their decisions instead of expecting someone else to pay for them . . ."

John Walker, a board member at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wis., pointed out that boards that participate financially do better when seeking funding from outside sources.

"A board with strong financial support has significant leverage in fund raising where foundations and other grantors look to the individual financial participation (and the board as a whole) as an indicator of organization strength and stability. This tends to establish the organization as a business, rather than a hobby club. (Italics mine.) That leverage is extended through the director's network of business and personal connections. This opens doors, gets a receptive ear and produces results. It's called grease."

"Railroad (Trolley) museums are competing for dollars against other cultural institutions whose pitch is often easier to take," said Molly Butterworth, president of the Association of Railway Museums. "A giving board is a board with influence beyond the railway preservation's own barbs."

Railroad (Trolley) museum boards need a mix of talents, but they need to be made up of givers and not like one board where a community leader observed: "You've got two dozen people who know which bolt fits on a steam locomotive (read C6 controller), but nobody who can raise a million dollars."

Don MacBean

Quotes from Trains Magazine used by permission- Kalmbach Publishing Co .Waukesha, WI.

Help! ! ! !

There are many many activities going on at the Museum that should be reported in Fox River Lines. But they are not.

All we need to paraphrase the U. S. Marines is "A few good reporters." There are a few department heads that make reports and there are others whose "plates are full" carrying out their responsibilities which at the same time are worthy of being in print for the benefit of the membership.

Being a reporter or correspondent for the newsletter can be helpful to a members knowledge and understanding of the Museum its goal and mission. Submittal requirements are very simple and easy to do. An e-mail addressed to me at DmacBRR@aol.com will get the story to me. It can be part of the e-mail or an attachment to it either an MS-Word or WordPerfect or a text document will do.

Pictures can be scanned an sent as JPEG files to accompany the stories.

We are also looking for pictures for the 2008 calendar. We prefer pictures that make a statement about the Museum and its Mission.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Don MacBean - Managing Editor

Fox River Lines Staff

Managing Editor—Don MacBean, 817 College Ave. #5, Wheaton, IL 60187
(630) 665-2581 E-mail DMacbRR@aol.com

Associate Editor—Luke Helm, Jr.

Layout and Graphics— Jack Sowchin

Fox River Lines is the official publication of the Fox River Trolley Association, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. It is published four times per calendar year for distribution to members and friends of the museum. Reproduction of Fox River Lines, either in part or in its entirety, is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the editorial staff or the FRTA board of directors. Entire contents Copyright © 2006 Fox River Trolley Association, Inc.

Submissions: Submission of stories from members and others is necessary to publish Fox River Lines. Feature length articles are always welcome and considered. Please contact the staff before undergoing a project. Contributors submit materials with the understanding that no monetary compensation is provided.

Correspondence: Comments, suggestions, and corrections relating to Fox River Lines should be directed to Managing Editor Don MacBean at the address listed above. The editorial staff appreciates your feedback.