(rshsdepot) North Tonawanda, NY (Erie Depot)

["J. Henry Priebe Jr." <root_@_net.bluemoon.net>]

Memories In Training ; New Museum Recalls Railroad's Glory Days
Source: Buffalo News 
Publication date: 2003-06-01

By BILL MICHELMORE 
News Niagara Bureau
6/1/2003 

The railway tracks end at Goundry Street, but the history of local railroads
is just beginning. 

A group of people with a lifelong interest in trains toiled for 16 years to
transform an 80-year-old freight station into a rail museum and potential
tourist magnet. 


The Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier opens today in the old Erie
Railroad freight station on Oliver Street. 


Members of the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the National Railway Historical
Society started out needing a place to park their engines and cabooses and
store their artifacts, but the shoestring, sweat- equity endeavor may be
chugging toward bigger things. 


Railroad museums are "few and far between," said Joe Kocsis Jr., president of
the Western New York Railway Historical Society, based in Orchard Park. "They
can be a large tourist draw." 


There are similar museums in Medina, Salamanca and outside Rochester. The
Medina Railroad Exhibit Center, at 304 feet long and 34 feet wide, is the
longest former freight depot in the state, said Linda Klein, a director. 


But the Oliver Street building -- 219 feet long and 24 feet wide - - is
unique in the Buffalo Niagara region, chapter officials said. 


"Our original intention was to open a museum for our archival material," said
Becky Gerstung of Lockport, the chapter's national director whose late
husband, Geoffrey, was a driving force behind the museum. 


"Once we got started, we realized that with the natural lure of the falls and
the popularity of the area, the museum has the potential to be a great
tourist attraction," she said. 


A 20-ton red caboose and an old steam engine command the front of the museum. 

"People of all ages will be able to climb on board and see just how big
railroad equipment is," said Jim Ball of Cheektowaga, president of the
Niagara Frontier Chapter. 


An 1890 handcar that skims along the rails when two people pump down hard on
handles -- often seen in old movies, perhaps pursued by a fast-approaching
locomotive -- will be available for museum patrons to take rides up and down
the mile of track behind the museum. 


Display cases contain old lanterns, radios, photographs and a variety of
historic artifacts. The library shelves are stocked with everything from
technical volumes from the National Railway Adjustments Board to "The World's
Greatest Train Rides." 


Antique baggage wagons, steamer trunks, potbelly stoves and model trains are
scattered throughout the museum. 


A gift shop will sell railroad memorabilia, from glossy picture albums to
train videos to coffee mugs. 


An appropriately attired mannequin model of one of the first clerks who
calculated the rates for freight -- a man known as J.A. Potter -- is now a
permanent fixture behind a desk in the agent's office. 


For retired autoworker Richard Dutton, who grew up on Jane Street to the
sound of trains running behind his house, the museum is a nostalgic trip into
the past. But children get a big kick out of it, he said. 


"We had some special-ed kids in here for a preview," said Dutton, a member of
the chapter's board of directors. "When they left, we were standing at the
door with tears in our eyes." 


Although the southern end of the track behind the museum now ends at Goundry
Street -- cut off when a bridge over the Erie Canal was removed -- the
northern section connects with the main line of the CSX Railroad Co. The line
is used by freight and passenger trains traveling among Toronto, Niagara
Falls, Buffalo and the major east- west traffic lines. 


Gerstung said it's important for the museum to maintain a connection with the
main line to bring in antique and modern engines and carriages for display at
the museum. 


As Gerstung travels the country in her role as national director, she spreads
the word about the new museum in Niagara County, tapping into the national
association's 20,000 members with package tours and discount tickets. 


"There's a huge fascination with railways, whether it's model trains or real
trains," Gerstung said. "Trains appeal to people from all walks of life. We
have people of all ages and every kind of occupation in our chapter." 


Restoring the old station has been a labor of love for the local railway
buffs. 


"You should have seen what we started with," said Ball. "The building was
ready to be torn down." 


The Conrail-owned station had been abandoned in 1978 and became the victim of
neglect, vandalism and fires. The Buffalo Chapter -- now the Niagara Frontier
Chapter -- of the National Railway Historical Society bought the building in
1986 for $15,000. 


"We commenced to take back the property from the decay it had suffered," said
Ball. 


"That station was part of my youth," said State Sen. George D. Maziarz,
R-North Tonawanda, who was raised on Goundry Street behind the station. "And
now it becomes part of the region's history." 


Maziarz, one of the local dignitaries to attend the grand opening, said the
museum is another link in a series of tourist attractions within walking
distance of downtown. 


The railroad museum is along a two-mile walking path that includes the
historic Riviera Theater on Webster Street, Gateway Park next to the Erie
Canal at the Renaissance Bridge, the Carnegie Art Center and the Herschell
Carrousel Factory Museum on Thompson Street. That tourist attraction begins
its summer season today with a magic show and a ride on the 1916 carousel. 


The yard locomotives now parked outside the railroad museum are part of the
area's history. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, North Tonawanda was
one of the largest lumber producers in the world, and the trains, along with
barges on the Erie Canal, were used to move the lumber. 


During North Tonawanda's lumber years, the city was one of the busiest stops
on the Erie Railroad Co.'s route between Chicago and New York City, said
Ball. 


Those days are gone, but clearly they are not forgotten. 


"We're building a new industry here, and the railroad museum is another
component of that," North Tonawanda Mayor David Burgio said. 


Trains are the ticket when it comes to bringing in tourists, Maziarz agreed. 


"When I travel around the state, I am amazed at how many people are
interested in railroads," Maziarz said. "The railroad museum will definitely
add to the tourism experience in North Tonawanda." 


Other railroad heads had high praise for what the members of the 65-year-old
Niagara Frontier Chapter have achieved. 


"They've done a great job in building up the museum," said Kocsis, the
Western New York railway man. 


The building was restored entirely with volunteer help. 


Dick Britton, a retired engineer, built the 48-foot-long, fireproof room that
houses irreplaceable archive material. His wife, Eileen, was still working on
the windows last week to get ready for the grand opening. 


Retired maintenance supervisor Harry Martin has volunteered his skilled hands
for the past 15 years. 


"This project has been a longtime interest for all of us," said Martin, who
is also a "railroad chaser," tracking down abandoned railroad lines and
stations and taking photographs of them. 


The red brick Erie Railroad Freight Station was built in 1922, when
communication up and down the line was by Morse telegraph. Freight was
weighed on a large scale in the center of the building and then loaded onto
railroad cars through sliding wooden doors. In the 1950s, the station was
used to unload Chevrolet automobiles bound for local dealers. 


The members of the local chapter, which subsists on a modest budget of
membership dues, have never calculated how much they've spent on the project. 

"If we added it up, we'd probably be too shocked," Ball said. "It's just very
satisfying to finally share a vanishing treasure with the rest of the world." 

e-mail: bmichelmore_@_buffnews.com 


Source: Buffalo News 
Publication date: 2003-06-01
Arrival time: 2003-06-03

The railway tracks end at Goundry Street, but the history of local railroads
is just beginning. 

A group of people with a lifelong interest in trains toiled for 16 years to
transform an 80-year-old freight station into a rail museum and potential
tourist magnet. 


The Railroad Museum of the Niagara Frontier opens today in the old Erie
Railroad freight station on Oliver Street. 


Members of the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the National Railway Historical
Society started out needing a place to park their engines and cabooses and
store their artifacts, but the shoestring, sweat- equity endeavor may be
chugging toward bigger things. 


Railroad museums are "few and far between," said Joe Kocsis Jr., president of
the Western New York Railway Historical Society, based in Orchard Park. "They
can be a large tourist draw." 


There are similar museums in Medina, Salamanca and outside Rochester. The
Medina Railroad Exhibit Center, at 304 feet long and 34 feet wide, is the
longest former freight depot in the state, said Linda Klein, a director. 


But the Oliver Street building -- 219 feet long and 24 feet wide - - is
unique in the Buffalo Niagara region, chapter officials said. 


"Our original intention was to open a museum for our archival material," said
Becky Gerstung of Lockport, the chapter's national director whose late
husband, Geoffrey, was a driving force behind the museum. 


"Once we got started, we realized that with the natural lure of the falls and
the popularity of the area, the museum has the potential to be a great
tourist attraction," she said. 


A 20-ton red caboose and an old steam engine command the front of the museum. 

"People of all ages will be able to climb on board and see just how big
railroad equipment is," said Jim Ball of Cheektowaga, president of the
Niagara Frontier Chapter. 


An 1890 handcar that skims along the rails when two people pump down hard on
handles -- often seen in old movies, perhaps pursued by a fast-approaching
locomotive -- will be available for museum patrons to take rides up and down
the mile of track behind the museum. 


Display cases contain old lanterns, radios, photographs and a variety of
historic artifacts. The library shelves are stocked with everything from
technical volumes from the National Railway Adjustments Board to "The World's
Greatest Train Rides." 


Antique baggage wagons, steamer trunks, potbelly stoves and model trains are
scattered throughout the museum. 


A gift shop will sell railroad memorabilia, from glossy picture albums to
train videos to coffee mugs. 


An appropriately attired mannequin model of one of the first clerks who
calculated the rates for freight -- a man known as J.A. Potter -- is now a
permanent fixture behind a desk in the agent's office. 


For retired autoworker Richard Dutton, who grew up on Jane Street to the
sound of trains running behind his house, the museum is a nostalgic trip into
the past. But children get a big kick out of it, he said. 


"We had some special-ed kids in here for a preview," said Dutton, a member of
the chapter's board of directors. "When they left, we were standing at the
door with tears in our eyes." 


Although the southern end of the track behind the museum now ends at Goundry
Street -- cut off when a bridge over the Erie Canal was removed -- the
northern section connects with the main line of the CSX Railroad Co. The line
is used by freight and passenger trains traveling among Toronto, Niagara
Falls, Buffalo and the major east- west traffic lines. 


Gerstung said it's important for the museum to maintain a connection with the
main line to bring in antique and modern engines and carriages for display at
the museum. 


As Gerstung travels the country in her role as national director, she spreads
the word about the new museum in Niagara County, tapping into the national
association's 20,000 members with package tours and discount tickets. 


"There's a huge fascination with railways, whether it's model trains or real
trains," Gerstung said. "Trains appeal to people from all walks of life. We
have people of all ages and every kind of occupation in our chapter." 


Restoring the old station has been a labor of love for the local railway
buffs. 


"You should have seen what we started with," said Ball. "The building was
ready to be torn down." 


The Conrail-owned station had been abandoned in 1978 and became the victim of
neglect, vandalism and fires. The Buffalo Chapter -- now the Niagara Frontier
Chapter -- of the National Railway Historical Society bought the building in
1986 for $15,000. 


"We commenced to take back the property from the decay it had suffered," said
Ball. 


"That station was part of my youth," said State Sen. George D. Maziarz,
R-North Tonawanda, who was raised on Goundry Street behind the station. "And
now it becomes part of the region's history." 


Maziarz, one of the local dignitaries to attend the grand opening, said the
museum is another link in a series of tourist attractions within walking
distance of downtown. 


The railroad museum is along a two-mile walking path that includes the
historic Riviera Theater on Webster Street, Gateway Park next to the Erie
Canal at the Renaissance Bridge, the Carnegie Art Center and the Herschell
Carrousel Factory Museum on Thompson Street. That tourist attraction begins
its summer season today with a magic show and a ride on the 1916 carousel. 


The yard locomotives now parked outside the railroad museum are part of the
area's history. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, North Tonawanda was
one of the largest lumber producers in the world, and the trains, along with
barges on the Erie Canal, were used to move the lumber. 


During North Tonawanda's lumber years, the city was one of the busiest stops
on the Erie Railroad Co.'s route between Chicago and New York City, said
Ball. 


Those days are gone, but clearly they are not forgotten. 


"We're building a new industry here, and the railroad museum is another
component of that," North Tonawanda Mayor David Burgio said. 


Trains are the ticket when it comes to bringing in tourists, Maziarz agreed. 


"When I travel around the state, I am amazed at how many people are
interested in railroads," Maziarz said. "The railroad museum will definitely
add to the tourism experience in North Tonawanda." 


Other railroad heads had high praise for what the members of the 65-year-old
Niagara Frontier Chapter have achieved. 


"They've done a great job in building up the museum," said Kocsis, the
Western New York railway man. 


The building was restored entirely with volunteer help. 


Dick Britton, a retired engineer, built the 48-foot-long, fireproof room that
houses irreplaceable archive material. His wife, Eileen, was still working on
the windows last week to get ready for the grand opening. 


Retired maintenance supervisor Harry Martin has volunteered his skilled hands
for the past 15 years. 


"This project has been a longtime interest for all of us," said Martin, who
is also a "railroad chaser," tracking down abandoned railroad lines and
stations and taking photographs of them. 


The red brick Erie Railroad Freight Station was built in 1922, when
communication up and down the line was by Morse telegraph. Freight was
weighed on a large scale in the center of the building and then loaded onto
railroad cars through sliding wooden doors. In the 1950s, the station was
used to unload Chevrolet automobiles bound for local dealers. 


The members of the local chapter, which subsists on a modest budget of
membership dues, have never calculated how much they've spent on the project. 

"If we added it up, we'd probably be too shocked," Ball said. "It's just very
satisfying to finally share a vanishing treasure with the rest of the world." 

e-mail: bmichelmore_@_buffnews.com 


J. Henry Priebe Jr.    Blue Moon Internet Corp Network Administrator
www.bluemoon.net       Internet Access & Web Hosting
www.railfan.net        Railfan Network Services

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------