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HDC News 2017



Western
New York
Railway
Historical
Society

Steel Plant
Museum


Nickel Plate
Road
Historical
& Technical
Society


Erie Lackawanna
Historical Society


Buffalo Lighthouse Association


Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society


Buffalo Geological Society

News Updates - 2017

January 2017
By Ron Dukarm

ARCHIVE COLLECTIONS - We continue to expand our archive collections and library. We now have over 6,000 square feet devoted to storing all the artifacts, books and photographs in our collection. Last month we were offered 4 skids of several thousand railroad movies from the Federal Railroad Administration in Pueblo, Colorado. These are from the 1970's and 1980's and will soon be arriving at the museum. We also received 4 boxes of hundreds of blue prints of PRR rail cars. The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society is more than doubling their space as their archive collection is expanding now that they have a permanent home at HDC. Soon they plan to staff their site so their collection will be accessible to the public. The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society has over 30,000 RR employees entered into our data bases and is ready to add another 20,000. We have erected more shelving in the library and now have maxed out our space. We have had to take half the space from our confer-ence room to house new collections. We have received several grants for the library and are being considered for a major grant to allow interns to assist in archival activities.

BUILD IT - AND THEY WILL COME - This old adage is very true. In the past month we have been offered 5 historic rail cars - a burro crane, three flat cars and a PRR coal hopper. Archive collections constantly come in the doors. The Steel Plant Museum, the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society, the Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society and the Nickel Plate Society are all experiencing the same effect. All groups have asked for more space. In the case of rail cars, our ability to accept cars is limited more by funding than by space. Moving a car can run from $5,000 to $10,000. If you are interested in helping us save some of these historic cars and can fund these moves, please contact us.

CAMPUS ACTIVITIES - This past year we logged 6,441 hours of volunteer time devoted to the Heritage Discovery Center. This must be considered in light of the thousands of hours devoted to our other four sites at Williamsville Depot, Orchard Park Depot, our rail car excursions at the Medina Railroad Museum and our locomotive restoration activities in Hamburg, not to mention our two Train Shows. Many hours are devoted to maintaining our nine buildings, nearly 50,000 square feet of space and 20 acres of land at HDC. All this is done by volunteers. Now we are planning to install a new HVAC system in the Don Owens Center and are planning a major private sector investment in 10 acres of our property. The ELHS is planning a major investment in the Hospital Building. The new year looks to be a very busy one with major projects on the horizon.


February 2017
By Ron Dukarm

COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
  • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 2/2/17 - The WNYRHS Board of Trustees held their monthly planning meeting and held their election of officers.
  • YACHT MEETING - 2/16/17 - HDC hosted the quarterly meeting of the China Light Yacht Club.
  • ELHS MEETING - 2/16/17 - The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society Archive Committee held their first organizing meeting.
  • OSC MEETING - 2/16/17 - Joe and Don met with Ontario Specialty Contracting concerning a potential land lease and sale.
DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
  • Federal Railroad Administration - donated thousands of railroad films from the Federal Railroad Administration test site in Pueblo, Colorado and will be a valuable addition to our archives. On 2/14/17, our Director of Collections, Stephen Kocsis helped unload the donation to the Society's library. The four pallets of movie film were delivered to the museum and unloaded to be placed in the Archive Storage Building. We also want to thank ABF Freight for the donation of the transportation of the nearly 4,000 pounds of movie film from Colorado to Buffalo.


  • Emil Walerko - donated 5 Walthers catalogs from various years, Howell Day "Red Ball" Cataloge, "The Brass Train Guide Book" by Dan Glasure, A 12 Volume set of - "The Next Station Will Be," "Horse Drawn Commercial Vehicles" by Dan Berkebile, "Railroad Currency" by John Muscalus, "Locomotive Quarterly" Vol II Number 1, "Erie Railroad, Rochester Division" by William Reed Gordon, "King Coal" by Stan Cohen, autographed by Stan, "Railroad Days" by Louis C. Langone and a reproduction of "The Erie Railways and its Branches" by Henry F. Walling. Thank You Emil!

WORK ACCOMPLISHED
  • HOUSEKEEPING - 2/16/17 - Barb and Tony did surface cleaning. Barb delivered items for the Train Show. Barb also had keys made up for the ELHS Archive Committee.

  • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 2/14/17 - Ron and Nestor picked up propane for our forklift. Marty got the forklift started. Steve operated forklift and took 4 pallets of Railroad films off the ABF tractor trailer. Nestor, Tony, Marty and Steve placed films in Archive Building.

  • LIBRARY - 2/14/17 - Pat, John and Bob worked on library projects.
    2/4/16 - Ed worked on Erie RR personnel records. Barb O. and Bob C. started painting Don's office.


    • March 2017
    By Joe Kocsis

             This year is shaping up to be very busy with several long-awaited projects planned to bring to completion over the summer. Late last year we received a RFP from a very respected local developer and we are in the process of finalizing the agreements with them. We hope to be able to formally announce our participation in this joint venture later this month. There is a tremendous amount of development occurring within a short distance of our museum site and now we will be able to become part of the renaissance of this neighborhood. The project on our parcel along the Buffalo River will include a restaurant and up to 150,000 square feet of new warehousing and light manufacturing buildings. Once the agreements are finalized, we will be able to make a formal announcement. The deal is expected to provide the Society and museum with a continuing revenue stream over the next 20 years. Our project, along with the other neighborhood development initiatives, will certainly bring added attention to the Heritage Discovery Center.

    Additional projects planned for this year are to move our donated 90-ton crane to the site within the next month or so and use it to place the five cars now at the HDC onto the display track. We will need to build an additional 40 feet of track to accommodate our two boxcars, tank car, and two cabooses. In addition, the HVAC work on the Don Owens Center will be completed by May 1st as well, finally solving our persistent roof leaks through the rusted-out 34 year old rooftop unit. We will also be working to correct our parking lot drainage issues once the backhoe is returned from repairs. As a result of the development deal, we will be losing some valuable storage space for the Society, however we are currently getting quotes on a building to be built behind the museum to replace this lost storage and plan to begin construction later this summer.

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 3/1/17 - Bill Donohue, a local author, spoke about Buffalo and the Civil War. Mr. Donohue imagined the lives of his great grandfather and great uncle, veterans of the Civil War.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 3/2/17 - The WNYRHS Board of Trustees held their monthly planning meeting and held their election of officers.
    • St PAT's DAY DINNER - 3/11/17 - The Heritage Discovery Center hosted a St Pat's Day dinner party for HDC volunteers.
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 3/16/17 - The WNYRHS held their March Public Meeting. Society member, Geno Dailey, gave a well received program covering a personal record-breaking 11 train Amtrak trip he completed in September 2016. The trip covered rides on the The Lake Shore Limited (3x), City Of New Orleans, Crescent (2x), Piedmont, Carolinian, North-east Regional, Pennsylvanian, and Capitol Limited!
    • NURSING HOME TOUR - 3/21/17 - We hosted a tour by residents of the Elderwood Nursing Home.
    • BLA MEETING - 3/23/17 - A public meeting was held by members of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association.
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • DISPLAYS -3/26/17 - On Sunday March 26th, CSX began the process of activating the series of new signals that the railroad has been installing over the past year. One of the signals being replaced was the old New York Central Cantilever Signal Bridge at CP434 located along Broadway just east of Harlem Road. The Society had been working with CSX for the past two years or so to attempt to preserve the signal bridge for the museum. With the assistance of CSX's Public Affairs officer Bob Rohauer, we were able to save the signal bridge from scrapping and have it moved to the museum for future display.

      With a huge Thanks to Bob and CSX, the signal was ours if we could move it off railroad property the day it was removed. This signal was installed along with about 300 other signals by the NYC between 1919 and 1929. The bridge itself was most likely made by International Steel Company out of Youngstown, Ohio and the signal heads were originally General Railway Signal type 2A Semaphores and later replaced by GRS type SA Searchlight heads around 1939.

      The work at CP434 began around 2:00pm as the removal of the signal bridges to the East wrapped up.   Clark Rigging out of Lockport, was hired by CSX to remove all the signal bridges from MP429 to MP434 that Sunday. The bridge was removed in one piece and then dismantled into two sections to be trucked to the museum by Symans Enterprises  owned by Scott Symans. (0-4-0 Baldwin Locomotive - Viscose #6)
    The Clark Rigging crews started at 4:30am down at MP429. Unfortunately, CSX continued to run freight and Amtrak™ trains on their regular schedule which really slowed down the removal process. It was not until 3:00pm that Clark Rigging had their Terex 350 ton Crane ready to go. Fortunately WNYRHS president Joe Kocsis was able to put in a 12 hr day to capture all the action.

    Once the rigging chains were in place the Clark torch crew started cutting off the six 2" bolts that held the bridge to its base. At 5:45pm the lift began as the huge crane swung the bridge over six tracks (over 100 feet) to the North side of the service road where the bridge would be disassembled and loaded onto the Symans' trucks.

    With the signal on the other side of the "Eastbound Runner," a 3rd set of cables were added to allow the crane operator to tip the bridge onto its back. When it was safely on the ground with the 37 foot bridge sticking straight up, the torch crews went to work removing the many rivets that held the two sections together.

    Joe from Clark Rigging was a wizard with his torch and did a great job separating the two huge sections with no damage to the gusset plates.  Scott Symans and his partner Terry Storer brought two trucks. The "bridge" section was loaded first onto Terry's flatbed trailer. He then pulled up so that the base section could be loaded onto Scott's low-boy trailer.

    The signal masts on the bridge section were too tall to transport on the flatbed trailer. Once again, Joe from Clark Rigging did a great job of removing the four mounting bolts, electrical cable and braces from both masts so they could be laided flat. It was getting near 9:00pm when the trucks arrived safely at the HDC.

    The scale in the cab of the Terex 350 ton crane registered 39,800 pounds when the whole signal was lifted. With each section of signal weighing just under 10 tons there was concern that unloading the trailers could be problem. Thankfully, Marty L. and Adam P. who patiently waited at the museum, found a way to safely unload both sections.

    Now that the signal is at the museum, we have a lot of work cut out for us. We are now looking for donations to help defray the trucking costs and restoration the signal. This will require that a substantial concrete base be poured, sandblasting and painting. So we are looking to raise funds for the concrete work and the reassembly of the two pieces.

    Work has already begun on the signal masts. Ed Patton supervised the loading of the masts onto a trailer to move them indoors for cleaning, painting and rewiring.

    If you want to help out with the project, please send a check payable to WNYRHS Inc., 100 Lee Street, Buffalo, NY 14210. Or use the PayPal button below to make a safe and secure donation through Paypal. Just indicate that your donation is for the "Signal Project". Every dollar donated will go directly to getting this "gateway" reassembled, erected and illuminated again. THANK YOU!


    April 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 4/5/17 - Shane E. Stephenson, a local author, presented selections from his book, "Buffalo's East Side Industry." A great time was had by all.
    • WNYRHS TRUSTEES MEETING - 4/6/17 - The WNYRHS Board held their monthly meeting.
    • GATHERING OF THE CLANS - 4/15/17 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held a public seminar on how to research one's genealogy. Our meeting room was full of interested individuals listening to BIGS President Ed Patton and he described research techniques. This session was followed up with an open house in our Library where folks got hands-on experience researching on our computers.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 4/20/17 - The HDC held their monthly business meeting.
    • GARAGE SALE - 4/22/17 - Joe, Leslie, Cheryl, Chris, Don and Barb set up tables, assisted vendors and sold refreshments. Later, they oversaw clean-up. It was a very successful event and well attended.
    • SCHOOL TOUR - 4/27/17 - Two school buses of youngsters from Mt. St. Mary's Summer Camp toured the museum.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Ron Dukarm - donated 10 gallons of gasoline and large pack of toilet paper. Thank You Ron!
    • Emil Walerko - donated several boxes of RR items totaling several hundred items (coins, books, postcards, etc). Thank You Emil!
    • Patrick Connors - donated "Brownhoist Crane" manuals and blueprints. Thank You Pat!
    • Don & Barb Owens - donated miscellaneous cleaning supplies & trash bags. Thank You Don and Barb!
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated roofing material and a dozen sheets of plywood. Thank You Mike!
    • Lynn Heinz - donated $400 to the restoration of passenger equipment. Thank You Lynn!
    • Don Williams - donated funds for coffee and snacks. Thank You Don!
    • CSX Transportation & Bob Rohauer- donation of NYC CP434 Cantilever Signal Bridge. A Huge Thank You to CSX and Bob!
    • Scott Symans - donation of truck hauling services to move the CSX Signal Bridge to the HDC. A Huge Thank You to Scott!
    • Joseph Streamer - donated 14 boxes of books, magazines, postcards, photos, maps, timetables and collectibles. Thank You Joe!
    • City of Buffalo - donated a Grant of $1,500 for library materials. Thank You City of Buffalo!
    • Steven Myers - donated a box of Railroad Calendars for 2017. Thank You Steven!
    • Buffalo Envelope Company - donated an antique envelope making machine plus catalogs and historical paperwork. Thank You BEC!
    • Anthony LoTempio - donated a hand-crafted original Kittenger desk and Credenza. Thank You Anthony!
    • Doug Hooper - donated in memory of Alan Hooper, books, catalogs and an antique wall telephone. Thank You Doug!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 4/27/17 - Nestor cut front and back lawns and he also weed-wacked the fence line. Tony took out more trash to dumpster and trash was picked up today. Barb worked with Verizon on our phone problem. We still get other vendor calls on #61 line.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 4/27/17 - Barb did dishes and general cleaning.

    • DON OWENS CENTER - 4/27/17 - Work is progressing on the installation of the two new air conditioning systems. Al Olmstead has almost completed a separate system to accommodate our Room 160 tenants plus on the Archive building. The major system for the building has the electrical connections in place and we are about ready to remove the old roof units. The new system should be ready in June.

    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 427/17 - The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society and Ed Patton are continuing work on the Hospital Building in order to make it an archive center. Arrangements have been made to get gas service into the building and install an HVAC system. All windows will be glass-blocked in for added security. Several rooms have been cleaned out and are ready for reconditioning.

    • LIBRARY - 4/27/17 - Several BIGS members were in and worked on data input.


    May 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 5/3/17 - Bob Synder, docent from the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, gave a wonderful presentation on "The History and Future of the Botanical Gardens." "Buffalo's Botanical Gardens." A great time was had by all.
    • DONOR MEETINGS - 5/6/17 - Ed and Mike met with a potential donor concerning future fund raising activities. 5/9/17 - Ed had another meeting with the potential donor concerning future fund raising and dock facilities at HDC.
    • BOSTON SENIORS TOUR - 5/9/17 - Ed Patton and Don Williams gave a talk & tour of the HDC to a busload of 30 senior citizens from Boston.
    • LIBRARY MEETING - 5/11/17 - Ed had a meeting with the Library Resources Council of WNY who would like to place an Erie Canal Display at HDC for one month, pending scheduling dates.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - "Steel on Fire" - 5/12/17 - The Steel Plant Museum opened their new exhibit "Steel on Fire".
    • JAMESTOWN PRESENTATION - 5/13/17 - Ed Patton was in Jamestown as a representative of the WNYRHS giving a talk for "National Train Day."
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 5/18/17 - The WNYRHS held their May Public Meeting. President Joe Kocsis presented a very informative and interesting history of the ERIE Railroad in Western New York.
    • WNYGC CONFERENCE - 5/20/17 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society and the Western New York Genealogy Confederation held a joint conference and training session for 20 members.
    • SCRG MEETING - 5/20/17 - Ron and Steve met with representatives of the Southtowns Commuter Rail Group concerning rail routes into the City.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 5/23/17 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • SRCG MEETING - 5/25/17 - The Southtowns Rail Commuter Group was in to meet with Ed and Ron.
    • SPM DINNER - 5/25/17 - The Steel Plant Museum held their Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at 6:00pm hosted by Joe & Leslie Kocsis.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 10 lateral file cabinets (stored in Hospital Bldg) and a large wall cabinet for library. Thank You Mike!
    • Don Williams - donated a can of coffee. Thank you Don!
    • Emil Walerko - donated 5 boxes of railroad artifacts including about 150 railroad coins, 6 sections of HO Flex track (code 70 & 83), a print of the Erie Railroad at Port Jervis, NJ., a map of the railroads in NJ. in 1890, a map of colonial NJ., a handdrawn vellum drawing of a smokestack from Allied Chemical Detroit Tar Works, another 100 railroad coins, an assortment of "Z" gauge cars, an assortment of medals, depicting railroad and historical motifs, an assortment of Woodland Scenics metal kits, in plastic bags and complete, two Funaro and Camerlengo diesel switcher kits, two Railway Engineering Agency Old Town lighting kits, one Precision Details stone mountain bridge, three Tenshodo switch machines, one Roco Pine Tree kit, two sets of Preiser machinery kits, one Preiser fire equipment set, one Tyro/Mantua 1890 AT&SF Combine, one Bachmann John Bull Coach, and one Grandt Line Ore Chute kit. Thank You Emil!
    • Barb Owens - donated several cleaning products. Thank you Barb!
    • Anonymous - We received 10 boxes of railroad artifacts from an unnamed donor. Thank you!
    • Dave Young - donated three railroad books. Thank you Dave!
    • WNY Genealogy Confederation - donated $500 to the Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society. Thank you WNYGC!
    • Dave Skoney - donated a rototiller. Thank you Dave!
    • Erica Wanecski - donated 2 genealogy books on church history. Thank you Erica!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated a case of water. Thank you Ron!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • DISPLAYS -5/13/17 - Joe Kocsis rearranged some display cases.

    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 5/2/17 - OSC Icehouse Building - Several crews and a backhoe were working. A dumpster was on site. Crews knocked out plywood windows on trackside.
      5/9/17 - Nestor cut front & back lawns. Steve weed-wacked. OSC had crews working on the roof and in the Icehouse Building.
      5/11/17 - Nestor weed-wacked along the fence line and Steve trimmed bushes. OSC had crews working in the Icehouse Building.
      5/16/17 - Nestor cut lawns front & back, Tony watered plants and Steve trimmed more bushes. OSC had 11 vehicles of workers doing roof repairs on their Icehouse Building.
      5/18/17 - Nestor weed-wacked, Tony watered the plants.
      5/20/17 - Don Williams removed brush and scrap from our dumpster area. Tony watered the plants.
      5/23/17 - Nestor cut the front and back lawns, plus along the railroad cars. Tony watered the plants. 5/25/17 - Otis Elevator - was out of order due to the power shut off. A repairman will come Friday morning to inspect it.
      5/27/17 - Joe met with a repairman from Otis Elevator on Friday but a part needs to be ordered. The repair set for Tuesday. Steve picked up cuttings and parts left from archive building HVAC installation.

    • HVAC INSTALLATION - 4/30/17 - Al Olmsted and Joe Higgins worked 7 hours Sunday the 30th making final connections. The plenum was fabricated and mounted, refrigerant lines were run to the roof, duct work was completed in the ceiling and they started evacuating the system to remove moisture from the condenser & evaporator. The system almost ready.
      5/6/17 - Mike Pietrocarlo bought a 20'x40' tarp for the roof to cover the air conditioner. He, his helper, Steve and Bob installed it and tied it down several ways.
      5/13/17 - Al Olmsted and Joe Higgins finished the duct work installation in Rm 160.
      5/21/17 - RM160 HVAC - Al Olmstead completed installation of the new HVAC unit for our RM 160 complex and it is now working. Thank you Al!
      5/23/17 - This morning saw the start of a long-awaited project at the Heritage DiscoveRY Center Buffalo. First, our main electric service line needed to be repaired so three men from National Grid showed up this morning to shut the power down to the building's 480V supply line for the repair. Our three electricians replaced broken line supports and after two City of Buffalo inspectors checked the work, the power was turned back on by 3:00pm. Our alarm system was also working. At the same time, our crew from Parise Mechanical began work on replacing our huge antiquated inefficient HVAC unit. Two smaller Trane© AC units with greater capacity were lifted onto the roof by three men from "Farley Rigging" using a 40 - Ton crane.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 5/2/17 - Barb did the dishes, swept floors, vacuumed and did general cleaning. Tony and SPM set up the meeting room for their First Wednesday presentation.
      5/6/17 - Steve and Bob mopped up a leak in the Church area and on the first floor replaced a ceiling tile.
      5/9/17 - Barb mopped and swept the floors and also collected bottles and trash. Tony took the trash to the dumpster.
      5/18/17 - Barb cleaned the floors and restrooms. Leslie setup the bar for our Public Meeting.

    • LIBRARY - 5/2/17 - Shelia, Pat, Ed, Jim, Donna and Chris worked on library projects.
      5/6/17 - Ed, Jim, and Donna worked on library projects. John Slater worked on NKPHTS archives.
      5/9/17 - Ed, Chris, Pat, Jim, and Donna worked on library projects.
      5/11/17 - Ed and Bob worked on library projects.
      5/13/17 - Jim, Donna and Diane worked on library projects.
      5/16/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane, Pat and Chris worked on library projects.
      5/18/17 - Ed and Bob worked on library projects.
      5/25/17 - Ed and Pat worked on Library items. John Slater worked on NKP archives.
      5/27/17 - Diane worked on Library items. Steve worked on archives. Tony assisted SPM with boxes of archives.


    June 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 6/1/17 - The WNYRHS Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • SPM ANNUAL BOARD MEETING - 6/3/17 - The Steel Plant Museum held their Annual Board meeting.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 6/7/17 - Greg Gerstung, Vice President of the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the NRHS presented his program, "By Trolley to Olcott." A great time was had by all!
    • SPM & RENTER MEETINGS - 6/8/17 - Don O. and Ed P. toured our properties with a potential renter who wants to rent an office and lease the use of our Erie Lackawanna boxcar. The SPM will explore selling our 700 "First Day Cover" postcards through eBay© and their store.
    • SPM TOUR - 6/10/17 - The Steel Plant Museum held a "Behind-the-Scenes" tour for SPM members to view new displays, library activities, archives, etc.
    • SPM & RENTER MEETINGS - 6/13/17 - Our potential renter of an office and the EL boxcar returned for another tour of our facilities and was escorted by Barb O. Their Board of Directors is considering a proposal. Don Williams from the SPM met with Ed and Ron about the proceedure for selling our 700 "First Day Cover" postcards through eBAY© and their store.
    • VOLUNTEER DINNER - 6/17/17 - Over 30 volunteers attended our bi-annual appreciation dinner. Leslie and Sheryl prepared a delicious meal for everyone. A great time was had by all. Thank you Joe and Leslie!
    • SPM BOARD MEETING - 6/22/17 - The SPM held their monthly Board meeting.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 6/27/17 - The Heritage Discovery Center Board held their monthly meeting.
    • MOOG TOUR - 6/27/17 - We were visited by a MOOG Industries retiree group. Ed conducted a talk and tour.
    • DOCK MEETING - 6/27/17 - Ed met with a promoter who gave Ed a proposal for installing portable docks along our shore line.
    • OSC MEETING - 6/27/17 - Ron met with Tom Wagner of Ontario Specialty Contracting to update each other on grounds maintenance activities of both of our organizations.
    • TOUR & TALK - 6/28/17 - Ed conducted a talk and tour for 15 members of the Catholic Health Life Services group.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Ron Dukarm - donated 2 bags of cans, 17 gallons of gas, a new blade and spindle for a lawn tractor and a battery for our Jacobsen gang mower and a bag of cans/bottles. He also donated 2 gallons of hydraulic fluid, 3 gallons of antifreeze, 8 quarts of motor oil, 6 pints of grease, a new diesel fuel container, a tree pole trimmer, 2 quarts of paint and 4 nuts & bolts, a grease gun, ratchet set, 2 ratchet wrenches, 15 gallons of blacktop sealer, a squeege, tool box, 4 gallons of hydraulic fluid, 2 screwdrivers, 3 tubes of grease, an oil drain container, 5 screwdrivers, reflective tape, 16 paint brushes and more nuts & bolts for the Jacobsen mower. Thank You Ron!!!
    • Noel Varela - donated a can of Coffee Mate. Thank you Noel!
    • Barb & Don Owens - donated a round table, 4 chairs, a case of water and a case of paper towels. Thank You Barb and Don!
    • Ken Kraemer - donated a collection of "RAILROAD" Magazines, April 1955 - May 1978 and an indexed collection of NRHS Bulletins, 1958-1993. Thank You Ken!
    • New Jersey Transit Authority - donated about 100 engineering photos and documents of the DL&W Hoboken Station. Thank You NJTA!
    • John Radzikowski - donated 15 boxes of Delaware &Hudson and other railroad items. Thank You John!
    • Jim Long - donated 2 push lawn mowers, 2 bottles of two cycle oil and 6 cases of water. Thank You Jim!
    • Dave Young - donated a case of water and pop, a box of snacks and 12 RR books. Thank You Dave!
    • Jerry Bower - donated a battery charger. Thank You Jerry!
    • Al Olmstead - donated a battery charger. Thank You Al!
    • Dave Sheilds - donated $20. Thank You Dave!
    • Gary Landrio - donated 4 boxes of RR magazines, books and video tapes. Thank You Gary!
    • Emil Walerko - We want to make special mention of a sizable donation of railroad artifacts we received over the past two months from Emil Walerko. The donations total an amount approaching $15,000. Included in the collection are: over 200 railroad commemorative coins, over 700 postcard first day covers, several maps, a large Erie RR print, 6 pieces of flexible track, over 20 HO gauge model buildings, numerous blueprints, 20 railroad medals, a collection of z-gauge railroad cars, over 100 books & booklets, numerous magazines, railroad advertising, and numerous other items.. Thank You Emil!!!
    • Ray Kammer - Bob Clancy delivered a "cow-catcher" pilot used on DL&W multiple unit commuter cars. It was donated by Ray Kammer, Curator of the "Lebanon, Mason & Monroe Railroad Museum in Ohio." Thank You Ray and Thank You Bob for traveling to Ohio to pick it up!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • HVAC INSTALLATION - 6/2/17 - Parise Mechanical, our HVAC Contractor was on the roof installing the curb for our new HVAC units.
      6/12/17 - Ed worked with Parise Mechanical who installed the new curbing and plenum adapter.
      6/21/17 - The big day finally arrived. Thanks again to Parise Mechanical Inc. for all their professional work at the museum. Our 35 year-old, obsolete and rusted-out rooftop unit was removed from the roof. The old unit weighed in at 14,500 lbs and has been a source of persistent roof leaks for the past 5 years. With a grant from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation to cover 80% of the cost, the work is nearing completion. The new smaller and more efficient units will be able to separately cool and heat the first & second floors. The larger Lennox unit was set on the curb and will be wired in later this week. Our crew was working to cover over the open space to make it weather-tight and then the second unit will be placed on top to hook up with the second floor duct work.

      6/22/17 - Our electrical contractor finished the wiring on the first floor unit. Upon completion of the duct work, the unit will be ready. Mike P. stopped by and is ready to scrap the old unit. Al O., a certified HVAC contractor, evacuated the freon from the old unit at the end of the day.
      6/24/17 - Mike dropped off supplies for the AC roof work. Joe checked out the electrical installation on the roof. Ed scheduled work on Monday.
      6/26/17 - Mike and his crew continued demolishing the old HVAC unit. Parise Mechanical Inc. delivered new ductwork and started installing it on the roof.
      6/27/17 - Parise Mechanical has completed installation of the first floor HVAC unit and it is NOW WORKING! They are working on the second floor unit.
      6/28/17 - Ed met with the HVAC engineer and the first floor system was balanced for even air distribution. Mike and his crew continued demolition work on the old HVAC unit. Ed met with the HVAC and electrical contractors and scheduled work for Thursday and Friday. 6/29/17 - Mike Pietrocarlo and his crew continued demolition of the old HVAC unit. Ed met with Joe Schveder about the HVAC installation in the Hospital Building. Joe will have roof contractor look at it next Monday.

    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 6/1/17 - Elevator - Repairmen were in again but a new control system will be needed. This was ordered but will not be installed until next week. Elevator is still unusable. Nestor weed-wacked, Erica pulled weeds and Tony watered the plants.
      6/3/17 - Display Track - Joe ordered 200 relay ties from a supplier in order to lengthen our display track. Nestor and Adam repaired a lawn tractor by installing a new spindle and blade. Nestor cut the front lawns and Adam cut the back lawns. Tony watered plants.
      6/6/17 - Elevator Repair - Joe met with one company and secured an estimate and is now contacting a second company for the replacement of the control panel. Nestor weed-wacked along the street curb line and cut back grass by the rail cars. Tony watered the plants.
      6/8/17 - Nestor weed-wacked more by the boxcars. Tony watered the plants.
      6/10/17 - Nestor cut the front and back lawns and weed-wacked around the building. Tony and Nestor put out 2 picnic tables and the hoses for watering. Tony watered the plants. Armor Electric cut our grass along the sidewalk at our Elk St. parking lot.
      6/13/17 - Nestor weed-wacked by the front fence line along Lee Street. Nester sprayed yellow paint on all obstacles in the grass in Areas A & B and cut circles around the obstacles. Tony watered the plants. Adam cut grass in Area A along the shore line and Nestor gathered up all our empty gas cans to refill.
      6/15/17 - Nestor cut the grass along the fence line and behind the boxcars in Area B.
      6/17/17 - Nestor cut the grass behind the boxcars in Area B and weed-wacked around the Guardhouse. Both Nestor and Adam operated our large Jacobsen gang mower and cut over 5 acres of grass in Area A and B. Erica weeded over 200 feet of our gardens in front of the building. Tony watered the plants.
      6/20/17 - Nestor weed-wacked along the boxcars in Area B and weed-wacked around the Guardhouse and parking lot. Tony watered the plants. Steve K. cut the remaining grass in Area B, which is now completed.
      6/21/17 - Tom Wagner of OSC cut the swales in Area A with his brush-hog. Thank you Tom!
      6/22/17 - Nestor weed-wacked the remaining areas of our parking lot and around the Guardhouse. He also cut more grass around the building. Tony watered the plants and picked up debris.
      6/24/17 - Steve installed a new high speed modem for the HDC building Wi-Fi. Nestor weeded along the Lee Street curb and mowed behind the fence. Tony watered the plants and picked up debris. Steve G., Nestor and Tony painted all the bumper posts orange plus the I-beam posts supporting the "Bethlehem Steel" sign.
      6/26/17 - Nestor weeded the parking lot behind the HDC and tarred the cracks where weeds were growing.
      6/27/17 - Fire Inspection - Our insurance company fire inspector stopped in for a surprise inspection. All extinguishers were properly in place and in date. A new certificate of compliance was issued. Tony watered the plants. Don Williams scraped out a broken push mower. Adam re-organized the Tool Room.
      6/29/17 - Nestor weed-wacked around the building and trucks near the Guardhouse and also removed parking lot weeds and tarred them over. Adam cut the lawns all around the building. OSC dug 3 holes in Area A and repaired wells. Tony watered the plants. Nestor and Steve picked up all brush piles.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 6/1/17 - Barb collected trash and cans.
      6/8/17 - Barb cleaned the floors and restrooms, removed the trash and cans. Nestor swept the stairs and took the trash to dumpster.
      6/13/17 - Barb cleaned the floors and restrooms and removed the trash and cans.
      6/15/17 - Joe and Leslie delivered food for our volunteer dinner and set up the meeting room. Nestor and Tony placed portable AC units in the kitchen and meeting room.
      6/17/17 - Joe and Leslie cleaned up after the volunteer dinner and re-set the meeting room. Trash was removed.
      6/20/17 -Leslie cleaned up and scrubbed all the kitchen appliances. Tony cleared the meeting room of furniture. Barb and John scrubbed the meeting room floor. Barb removed the trash, cans and bottles. Bob brought in a contractor to give us a price on stripping and waxing the floors. Barb cleaned the restrooms and vacuumed floors. Barb also contacted Verizon about our wireless internet problems.
      6/21/17 - Joe purchased a new more powerful DSL Gateway modem which will improve our Wi-Fi in the HDC. Steve will install it on Saturday.
      6/27/17 - Barb cleaned the floors, restrooms and removed all trash and cans. Nestor and Jerry removed furniture from the bar and meeting rooms for an upcoming wedding. Ron took the Guardhouse key to get copies made.
      6/28/17 - Joe and Leslie brought in supplies and did preperation work for Saturday's wedding reception.
      6/29/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, vacuumed the floors, did general cleaning, and picked up the trash and cans. Adam moved furniture out of meeting room. Joe cleared all handouts and display items out of the meeting room. Joe and Leslie brought in more supplies and set up tables and chairs for Saturday's wedding reception.

    • STEEL PLANT LAYOUT - 6/3/17 - Steve K. and George S. drove to Lockport and picked up two 4'x8' train boards which were donated to the HDC. Steve and George moved them into the museum display area were they will be reassembled for display. This is a highly detailed HO layout of a typical steel plant and all its railroad operations. Steve has all the building structures which will be placed on the boards once they are assembled and
      rewired. We will be placing it against the wall where you see it in the photo. Steve is looking for volunteers to help work on this project and get the trains running. See Steve if you can help.
      6/10/17 - Steve and Nestor erected the Steel Plant HO layout in the museum area.
      6/20/17 - Steve placed several of the Steel Plant Buildings on the layout. We are looking for some model train folks to help us put it back into operation and need assistance with wiring, track work, etc. Also, we are looking for HO cars that were typically used in a steel plant operation as we were not able to acquire any cars or locomotives for the layout. If you have any spare HO cars or switching locos and want to find a good home for them, consider making a donation to the layout. Email us at wnyrhs&gmail.com  if you can help.

    • MECHANICAL - 6/17/17 - Ed P. and Adam P. did maintenance on our large Jacobsen 7 gang turf mower to get it started.
      6/20/17 - Ed and Nestor worked on our Jacobsen gang mower and installed a new battery. They filled it with fuel and determined that we need hydraulic fluid, antifreeze, oil and grease.
      6/22/17 - Ed supervised repair work on the Jacobsen gang mower. Adam changed the oil and added hydraulic fluid. They removed rusted bolts, replaced them and changed the thermostat. New antifreeze and water in the cooling system completed the repairs.
      6/27/17 - Nestor and Adam worked on the Jacobsen gang mower. They topped off the hydraulic fluid, greased all the bearings, tightened all the reel bolts and ordered a new water temperature gauge.

    • LIBRARY - 6/3/17 - Ed and Diane worked on Library projects.
      6/6/17 - Ed, Chris, Barb and Pat worked on Library projects.
      6/9/16 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Chris worked on Erie personnel files. Ed also met with ELHS Archivist Dr. Scott Randolph about the Erie personnel files and showed him our data base.
      6/8/17 - Ed and Diane worked on Library projects.
      6/10/17 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Ed worked on Library projects. Steve filed away new donations.
      6/13/17 - Ed, Chris, Jim, Donna, and Pat worked on Library projects. John worked on NKPHTS archives.
      6/15/17 - Dave worked on ELHS archives.
      6/17/17 - Jim, Donna and Diane worked on library projects. Steve catalogued railroad archives.
      6/20/17 - Jim, Donna, Pat, Ed and Diane worked on library projects.
      6/22/17 - Ed, Chris and Avery worked on library projects.
      6/24/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna and Diane worked on library projects. Steve K. worked on archives.
      6/27/17 - Ed conducted a meeting of all tenants who use library and had a dealer presentation of a new high-speed digitizer which may be rented and submitted for a grant request.
      6/29/17 - John Slater and several NKPHTS members worked on NKP archives. Joe Schveder and Dave Heckman worked on ELHS archives.



    July 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • INVESTOR MEETING - 7/1/17 - Joe and Ed met with a potential investor interested in docks and a restaurant in Area A.
      7/18/17 - Joe and Ed met with development contractors concerning Area A.
    • WEDDING RECEPTION - 7/1/17 - Joe and Leslie brought in food. Steve G. helped set up the decorations. Leslie and Cheryl prepared a banquet dinner. Joe helped serve dinners and played wedding videos and Rick bartended. Over 80 guests had a wonderful time.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 7/5/17 - the SPM welcomed Jim Pace, former West Seneca town historian and current President of the West Seneca Historical Society. Mr. Pace presented a fascinating history of West Seneca.
    • BUFFALO GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY - 7/8/17 - Don and Barb met with the Board of the Buffalo Geological Society and they voted to become our newest tenant. We would like to welcome our newest member to the Heritage DiscoveRY Center. The Buffalo Geological Society encourages the study of Geological Sciences including minerals, fossils and lapidary arts as well promoting education through exhibits, shows, lectures and field trips. They are currently renting a small office and will be using one of our boxcars for additional storage and displays. Visit their website at  Buffalo Geological Society  to learn more about their organization.
    • CONVENTION MEETING - 7/13/17 - Ron met with representatives of a national railroad group exploring the possiblity of holding their national convention at the HDC in 2019 or 2020.
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 7/15/17 - The WNYRHS held their bi-monthly "Summer Picnic" meeting. Thank you to Joe, Leslie, Barb and Cheryl who served up a great. Various historic railroad films were shown. A good time was had by all.
    • BIGS MEETING - 7/18/17 - held their quarterly members meeting and research training.
    • ECEMA MEETING - 7/18/17 - The Erie Country Environmental Managers Association held their annual picnic and meeting hosted by Don and Barb.
    • SALES MEETING - 7/18/17 - Ron met with a contractor interested in buying a substantial number of equipment dolly wheels.
    • RIVERKEEPER MEETING - 7/20/17 - A representative of The Riverkeepers met with Don Williams about photos of the river and its history.
    • LIGHT RAIL MEETING - 7/20/17 - Representatives of the Southtowns Light Rail Group met with Joe and Ed seeking our advice and involvement in this project.
    • CONTRACTOR MEETING - 7/21/17 - Ed and Joe met with a construction contractor to inspect building #75 and its adaptation for a second floor.
    • ECIDA PRESS CONFERENCE - 7/25/17 - Don Owens represented the WNYRHS and the HDC at the Erie County Executive's press conference at Bethlehem Steel.
    • NARFE TOUR - 7/25/17 - The SPM hosted a tour of 16 federal retirees of the National and Active Retired Federal Employee's organization from Batavia
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 7/25/17 - The Heritage Discovery Center Board held their monthly business meeting.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Erica Wanecski - donated two books for the library. Thank you Erica!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated weed-wacker line, 6 keys, painters tape, another 5 gallon bucket of sealer, an applicator, more nuts & bolts, 2 more gallons of paint, 2 box cutters and a case of water, 8 gallons of diesel fuel and 5 gallons of gasoline. He also dnoted 2 more gallons of paint, 20 more gallons of sealer, 2 masks, 2 rolls tape, 2 handicap signs, 2 bags of blacktop filler, 6 pairs of work gloves, 3 paint brushes, one more gallon of paint, 3 rolls of painters tape and 2 bags of cans & bottles. Thank You Ron!
    • Bob Clancy, Ron Dukarm and Barb Owens - each contributed $100 for a floor cleaning contract. Thank You Bob, Ron & Barb!
    • David Restall - donated 15 railroad books brought in by his father Jim. Thank you David!
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 8 sheets of 4x8 pegboard a pallet of curtain rods and a professional janitorial cleaning cart. Thank You Mike!
    • Barb Owens - donated a case of hand cleaner. Thank You Barb!
    • Dave Young - donated a cordless drill & charger, 2 railroad framed photos and a collectible glass milk bottle. Thank You Dave!
    • Attorney Joe Collins - donated a box of railroad material, including 4 safety videos, 6 labor contracts, and various railroad legal labor papers. Thank You Joe!
    • David Skoney - donated a roto-tiller. Thank you Dave!
    • Ev Janesh - donated this architectural model of the Buffalo Central Terminal to the WNYRHS in memory of her husband Dale Madison. She also donated over 1,000 railroad magazines by leading publishers. The model will become a prominent display in the museum. Our many thanks go out to Ev and her family!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 7/1/17 - Nestor weed-wacked the parking lot and sealed more cracks. Erica weeded the gardens. Tony watered the plants and removed weeds. Joe set out signs for wedding reception parking.
      7/3/17 - Nestor weed-wacked around the caboose and tarred more cracks. Tony watered the plants. Nestor filled in holes in the pavement with cold patch before the main gate and then applied sealer.
      7/5/17 - Nestor cut the grass along the curb line at the Elk Street parking lot. Mike and his crew picked up miscellaneous scrap and trash on the site. Six new keys were made for the new Guardhouse lock.
      7/6/17 - Nestor weed-wacked more of the parking lot and filled more cracks with sealer. Tony watered the gardens. Ron and Jerry swept up clippings and trash along the Elk Street parking lot.
      7/8/17 - Don took a truckload of bush and branches home. Nestor cut all the lawns around the building. Barb planted more flowers.
      7/11/17 - Nestor sealed more cracks in the parking lot. Tony watered the gardens. Ron and Nestor painted the gas pipes leading into the building. Nestor also painted two fire hydrants. A HDC lock was placed on the Guardhouse, replacing the old gate lock. Keys are in the key drawer.
      7/15/17 - Nestor cut all the lawns around the building. Tony watered the gardens. Steve G and Nestor painted the king posts safety orange at the main entrance and the back lot leading to Hospital building.
      7/18/17 - Nestor weed-wacked along the HDC curb line and also painted the gas pipes and the Archive Building side door grey. Steve painted more bumping posts safety orange. Jerry and Ron painted the old red fire hydrant house green.
      7/20/17 - Nestor painted more bumping posts orange and reorganized the tool room.
      7/21/17 - Nestor and Ron painted the sign on the Archive Building and painted the Hospital Building doors.
      7/22/17 - Erica weeded the front gardens. Tony picked up the brushes and weeds. Mike Pietrocarlo loaded up his dump truck with debris from the Hospital Building, near dumpster and garden cuttings.
      7/25/17 - Nestor cut the lawns around the HDC building. He also weed-wacked in front of the Guardhouse and sealed more cracks. Bob painted the sign on The Archive Building. Tony watered the plants. OSC Tom Wagner said they will seed the well areas in Area A that were dug up in September.
      7/27/17 - Nestor sealed a pedestrian walkway from the HDC building into parking lot and then painted safety stripes. Tony the watered plants.
      7/29/17 - Nestor weed-wacked and cleaned around the Hospital Building. He also sealed the pavement around the building. Joe K. and Mike P. identified electrical wires, communication wires and boxes to be removed from the Hospital Building. Joe K. changed the lock on the outside door of the white shed to an I-3 key. Tony watered the plants.


    • HOUSEKEEPING - 7/3/17 - Joe and Leslie removed trash, cleaned the kitchen and reset the tables and chairs in the meeting room.
      7/6/17 - Jerry and Tony brought back the red chairs from the museum area, reinstalled the microwave and set up the 8-ft table in the bar room.
      7/11/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and swept the floors. Ron did the dishes. Our Wireless Internet went down in the morning but was immediately reset.
      7/13/17 - Our HVAC contractor did not completely button up the roof accesses and we had a major roof leak on first and second floors after 3.36 inches of rain fell in three hours. Nestor, Ron, Adam, Barb, Ed and Bob picked up fallen ceiling tiles and mopped up the water.
      7/15/17 - Steve and Tony picked up more ceiling tiles and mopped up the water. Mike replaced a broken light fixture.
      7/18/17 - Barb cleaned the floors and counter surfaces, plus the restrooms. Ron set up the meeting room. Mike delivered 100 new ceiling tiles and started replacements them in the Meeting Room and the Church. Extras are stored in the Store Area. Nestor moved extra blue chairs to the Archive Building. Leslie cleaned the kitchen.
      7/20/17 - Ron reset chairs in meeting room and restacked all handouts in meeting room and lobby.
      7/22/17 - Ron sorted and organized all drawers in Bar Room and labeled them.
      7/25/17 - Barb cleaned and collected all the trash and cans & bottles. Tony took several bags of trash to the dumpster.
      7/27/17 - Ceiling tiles were moved from the back hallway to the Store Room and garden tools were moved to the Electrical Room. The rest of hallway was organized and cleaned out. Our new janitorial cart was set up with mops, brooms, buckets, etc. and placed in an empty stall in the ladies room.

    • HVAC INSTALLATION -7/1/17 - Mike Pietrocarlo and his crew finished demolition of the old HVAC unit and removed almost all the scrap. Joe power washed payment to remove oil and debris.
      7/3/17 - Mike and his crew removed the old 31 foot steel base of the old HVAC unit using our fork lift.
      7/5/17 - Our HVAC contractor got the new curb installed and started on the duct work for the second floor unit.
      7/6/17 - Ed met with our HVAC contractor and they scheduled work to be completed by Friday.
      7/8/17 - Ed met with Mike P. and scheduled the final work for Monday, weather permitting. Steve and Mike also inspected the Archive building for leaks. Mike will remove the old HVAC roof unit from the Archive Building starting Monday.
      7/11/17 - Our HVAC contractor has finishing up the curb work. A crane is scheduled for Wednesday to lift HVAC unit onto the curb.
      7/15/17 - Our HVAC contractor cleaned 2 roof drains after 3.36 inches of rain fell in 3 hours on Thursday flooding both floors.
      7/18/17 - Mike P. and his crew went on the roof and patched an 18" crack with tar. They also screwed down loose plywood and placed a 50 lb bag of sand on it to weigh it down.

    • ARCHIVE BUILDING - 7/1/17 - Steve K, Steve G and Tony cleared out a room in the Store Area which will be viewed by potential renters next week. Steve restacked the boxes into other rooms.
      7/3/17 - Steve finished clearing out the store room. Rusty and Joe S. worked on ELHS archives.
      7/8/17 - Steve K. and Bob worked on organizing and cataloguing the Dale Madison Collection.

    • MECHANICAL -7/15/17 - Adam worked on the Jacobsen gang mower and cut Areas A & B. Mike and Steve pulled our forklift out of the mud.
      7/18/17 - Marty and Adam worked on the forklift.

    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 7/3/17 - Joe S. and Rusty met a roofing contractor and went on the Hospital Roof to view needed work and get an estimate.
      7/20/17 - Mike and his crew have started to remove the old steam and water pipes which were attached to the South Park Avenue Bridge and the exterior of the Hospital Building. He will also remove an old communication wire dangling from the building. Nestor A. has started painting the bumping posts around the building plus will paint the fire pipes red. The exterior doors will be painted green. Asphalt paving around the building will be sealed. Weeds will be removed from the front of the building. National Grid has started the installation of a new gas line to the roof. On the interior, The Erie Lackawanna Historical Society has half the old suspended ceiling removed. We have a found a used HVAC unit which will be mounted on the roof. This weekend we will receive contractors bids to do the roof repairs.
      7/21/17 - National Grid completed the installation of a new gas line to the roof and patched leaks.
      7/22/17 - Ron did a walk-through with Joe S. and noted completed work and what work will be done next. A report will be made to HDC Board.
      7/25/17 - Ron and Steve G. removed weeds from the front of building. They also moved a stack of concrete blocks and PVC pipe. Jerry B. painted the doors and one side of fire shed.

    • LIBRARY - 7/1/17 - Ed and Diane worked on library projects.
      7/8/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna and Pat worked on library projects.
      7/11/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Chris, Tony and Pat worked on library projects. Peter worked on archives.
      7/13/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Larry worked on library projects. Dave worked on ELHS archives.
      7/15/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Diane worked on library projects.
      7/18/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Chris worked on library projects. Bob worked on ELHS archives.
      7/20/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Pat and Diane worked on library projects. Jim and Donna moved and covered valuables and cleaned up new leaks.
      7/22/17 - Dave and Diane worked on library projects. Bob worked on ELHS archives.
      7/25/17 - Pat and Chris worked on library projects.
      7/27/17 - Rick researched Buffalo Creek diesel data. Dave and Mike worked on ELHS archives. John and Tom worked on NKPHTS archives.
      7/29/17 - Diane and Pat worked on Library projects. Steve worked on HDC archives.


    August 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • DAYCARE TOUR - 8/1/17 - Don Williams and Jerry B. hosted a busload of 8 year-olds from St Mary's Daycare Center. After a talk and lunch, the group toured the museums and visited inside the N&W Caboose.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 8/3/17 - The WNYRHS Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 8/3/17 - Jim Pace, former West Seneca town historian and current President of the West Seneca Historical Society, presented the history of West Seneca, It was well attended.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - ROSIE THE RIVETER EVENT - 8/12/17 - The Steel Plant Museum of Western New York held their 3rd Annual "Rosie the Riveter Tea" at the Heritage DiscoveRY Center Buffalo on Saturday. Five original "Rosies" all in their 90's attended the event to tell their stories of working in the steel plant during the war years. The "Buffalo Dolls" put on another wonderful show!
    • ORCHARD PARK DEPOT - 8/17/17 - All hands were on deck for a grant award ceremony at the OP Depot. Jim Slominski hosted local dignitaries including State Senator Chris Jacobs, the Orchard Park Mayor, Town Supervisor and a champion of the Depot Village Councilman Francis Hogenkamp. Channel 4 TV covered the event. Senator Jacobs presented Jim a check for $150,000.
    • WNYLC VISIT & TOUR - 8/24/17 - Don & Barb hosted representatives of the Western New York Land Conservancy interested in making the HDC a possible trail head of a rails/trails pathway.
    • BENEFACTOR MEETING - 8/26/17 - Joe, Ed and Ron met with a benefactor discussing new fund raising projects for the HDC.
    • HDC MEETING - 8/29/17 - The Heritage DiscoveRY Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • MOVIE MEETING - 8/31/17 - Ron met with three movie scouts interested in using some of our railroad equipment for a movie being filming in Buffalo.
    • SPM TALK & TOUR - 8/31/17 - The Steel Plant Museum hosted 15 members of the Autism Services of Williamsville.

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Ron Dukarm - Ron donated 3 cases of water, 4 cases of soda, 80 gallons of sealer, 8 gallons of paint, 4 pints fuel, a sealing tool, a spreader tool, 5 brushes, 9 rolls of painters tape, a roller tray, a roller handle, 17 rollers and a gallon of brush cleaner. Thank You Ron!
    • Don & Barb Owens - donated a large pack of bathroom tissue. Thank Don & Barb!
    • Anonymous Donor - donated funds for a handicap parking stencil. Thank You!
    • J Raver - donated 42 issues of Narrow Gauge Gazette 2007-2013. Thank You J!
    • Noel Varela - donated a large container of Coffee Mate. Thank you Noel!
    • Jim Long - donated four railroad DVD videos, 12 magazines and 5 cases of water. Thank You Jim!
    • Roman Lesniak - donated a DL&W lantern and a NKP lantern. Thank You Roman!
    • Mike Fitzsimmons - donated four boxes of railroad magazines, calendars, blueprints, booklets and paperwork. Thank You Mike!
    • Bob Griffiths - donated 35 hand-made wooden railroad logos. Thank you Bob!
    • Donna Shine - donated a "VAN" stencil for the back entrance. Thank you Donna!
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated a security system. Thank you Mike!
    • Emil Walerko - donated 200 First Day Covers and 3 dozen vintage railroad postcards. Thank you Emil!
    • Kevin Cutting - donated 27 framed New York Central ads from the 1950's. Thank you Kevin!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 8/1/17 - Nestor weed-wacked and cut the front and back lawns. Tony watered the plants. Jerry painted the Hospital Building doors. Bob C. painted the letters on the Buffalo Color "OSHA" sign. Nestor laid out handicapped parking stripe spaces on the pavement and painted them with Steve G. Steve painted more bumpers around the Hospital Building. Barb met with a delegation from the "Buffalo Geological Society" and showed them all our amenities. She got them settled in their new office. Nestor removed ceiling tiles and one desk from their office and added 2 chairs. The group asked for one file cabinet and a bookcase if we have them.
      8/3/17 - Erica weeded the front gardens. Tony watered the plants and removed weeds.
      8/5/17 - Joe K. and Ed P. surveyed the outside of the HDC building with a contractor who will give us a bid on calking the building. They also viewed the finished HVAC installation and will get a bid on an insulating cap and constructing a new angled cover for the old "curbing."
      8/8/17 - Jerry B. finished painting our "Fire Shed" and also painted the word "ENTER" with an arrow next to the main rear entrance. Nestor sealed the pavement where the two handicap spaces are located and then painted new stripes and a "H" symbol. Tony watered the plants and took out the trash. Members of the Buffalo Geological Society moved into their office. Barb assisted and secured their keys. Nestor moved in a file cabinet and helped arrange their furniture. They plan to put up displays in our museum area and to build stairs and a platform for access to the Erie Lackawanna boxcar they are renting. The Geological Society will hold their monthly public meetings in our large Meeting Room and we encourage to all to attend and join in their activities. The BGS has over a 1,000 members and will contribute even more activities at the HDC.
      8/1017 - Buffalo Geological Society members were present and continued moving in their files and store materials. Tony watered the plants. Steve striped 8 parking spaces. Nestor sealed more pavement along the sidewalk and behind the building. Tom Wagner of OSC cut some of our grass in Area A. Ken was able to fix a running water problem in our 2nd floor restroom.
      8/12/17 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor sealed more pavement and cut all the lawns around the HDC.
      8/15/17 - Tony watered the plants. Nestor sealed more pavement, Steve and Jerry striped more parking spaces. Jerry also applied a second coat of paint to the "ENTER" sign on the tower entrance. Ron met with Mike P. to go over the last of the unused pipes and electrical lines to be removed from the Pump House.
      8/19/17 - Nestor sealed more pavement and striped lines near the Hospital Building. Tony watered the plants.
      8/21/17 - Joe met with Elevator Technician and started repairs to the control panel.
      8/22/17 - Nestor cold patched a hole at our entrance driveway and walkway. He also sealed pavement near the entrance. Ron striped yellow parking lines in the lot. We have a major project underway to upgrade our parking lot. We are restriping parking spaces, sealing pavement to highlight special areas such as walkways and sidewalks, patching holes, removing weeds, reinstalling the fire lane, adding two handicap van parking spaces, increasing other handicap spaces, and marking out areas for storage of crane, backhoe and dumpster.
      8/24/17 - Our plumber looked at our 2nd floor toilet running water issue and must order a part to repair it. Nestor sealed the handicap parking pavement area. Steve striped more spaces in the parking lot. Ed & Ron met with a contractor to secure bids for calking the exterior of the HDC building, covering the access hole on the roof and installing a cross-buck signal at the main entrance. 8/26/17 - Nestor and Ron striped more of the parking lot and Nestor applied new handicap logos.
      8/29/17 - Nestor cut all the lawns around the HDC and sealed the new handicap parking spots. Jerry and Ron striped more spaces in the parking lot. Tony watered the plants.
      8/31/17 - Nestor sealed more handicap parking spots. Steve G and Ron striped more spaces in the parking lot. Tony watered the plants.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 8/3/17 - Barb cleaned the Geological Society office and had new keys made. Nestor organized the Tool Room and took utility sink and extra weed-wackers to the Guardhouse. He also took stakes to the Shed and brought over a rack of bolts to the Tool Room.
      8/15/17 - Tony emptied the trash containers. Jerry made copies of Donation Sheets and placed them in the appropriate drawer.
      8/19/17 - Barb cleaned the floors and surfaces and removed all the trash.
      8/22/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and surfaces and removed all the trash. She also collected cans and donations.
      8/29/17 - Barb vacuumed all the floors and cleaned counter surfaces.
      8/31/17 - Barb did more surface cleaning. Tony removed the trash.

    • HVAC INSTALLATION - 8/4/17 - Early this morning Parise Mechanical lifted our second HVAC rooftop unit onto the "curb" mounting already in place. We just need to have our electrician hook it up and the second floor will be cooled. Joe K. was on site to photograph the lift and installation.
      8/19/17 - Ed met with our HVAC contractor and they connected the last remaining electric lines. On Tuesday the thermostat will be installed and the AC turned on upstairs.
      8/29/17 - Our contractor installed the thermostat in the Library and Ed turned on the complete system. Now both the 1st and 2nd floor are air conditioned. This was a huge major project for the HDC and our sincere thanks go out to Joe K. and Ed P. for seeing it through!

    • HOSPITAL BUILDING - 8/5/17 - Joe, Ed and Ron discussed roofing bids with Joe Schveder from the ELHS. Proposed roofing and price was agreed to and final approvals will be sought. Building was surveyed and location of the new HVAC units identified. Determination of which windows to glass-block and brick-up was made.
      8/8/17 - Joe K, Ed, Ron and Joe S discussed the roofing bids. Joe S will also submit a new bid for the HVAC system.
      8/10/17 - Ed met with an HVAC contractor and went over engineering a new system for our part of the building.
      8/24/17 - Ron, Don, Ed and Joe Schveder met to discuss more options for the roof repairs. Another bid is being secured to do tarring. The spray on contractor visited with Joe to give further details on his process.
      8/31/17 - Ed met with our contractor, secured bills and scheduled a new gas line to be installed.

    • BUILDING #75 - 8/10/17 - Mike and his crew cleaned up inside the building and put a new lock on the main door.

    • LIBRARY - 8/1/17 - Jim, Donna, Chris and Pat worked on Library projects. John S. worked on NPRHTS archives.
      8/3/17 - John S. and Tom G. worked on NPRHTS archives.
      8/5/17 - Diane worked on Library projects. Dave worked on ELHS archives.
      8/8/17 - Jim, Donna, Chris, Ed and Pat worked on Library projects. Joe S and Peter W. worked on archives.
      8/10/17 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      8/12/17 - Ed, Diane, Jim & Donna worked on Library projects.
      8/15/17 - Ed, Pat and Chris worked on Library projects. John, Tom and Brian brought in a truckload of new NPRHTS archives.
      8/19/17 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Ed worked on Library projects. Steve organized WNYRHS archives. Dave and Mike worked on ELHS archives.
      8/22/17 - Donna, Chris and Ed worked on Library projects. Steve organized more WNYRHS archives.
      8/24/17 - Donna, Jim, and Ed worked on Library projects. Joe, Dave, Rusty and Bob worked on ELHS archives.
      8/26/17 - Steve catalogued all our new donations.
      8/29/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Chris worked on Library projects. Joe and Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
      8/31/17 - Ed and Pat worked on Library projects. Steve K worked on archives.


    September 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • CONTRACTOR MEETING - 9/5/17 - Ed and Ron met with another contractor and discussed bids for calking HDC building, trenching an electrical line, the Hospital roof and HDC roof cover. The work areas were visited.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 9/6/16 - The Steel Plant Museum held their September First Wednesday Program featuring Gerald Halligan's presentation on the "History of Lackawanna" A great turn out made for a very enjoyable evening for all who attended.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 9/7/17 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • INVESTOR MEETING - 9/9/17 - Joe and Ed met with a potential investor interested in Building #75.
    • WNYLRC AWARD - 9/12/17 - We are pleased to announce that Donna Shine has been selected as one of the recipients of the Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC) Excellence in Library Service Award. The award will be presented at WNYLRC's 51st Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at the Marcy Casino in Delaware Park, 199 Lincoln Parkway, Buffalo. Happy Hour starts at 4:30 pm. Tickets, which includes dinner, cost $35 https://www.wnylrc.org/workshops/289. Pat Klaybor can be contacted by September 22, 2017 to obtain tickets pklaybor@wnylrc.org or 633-0705.

      The Buffalo Irish Genealogical Society recently nominated Donna for the WNYLRC Excellence in Library Service Award, for her work at the Library at the Buffalo Irish Center and for her work at the BIGS Library at the Heritage DiscoveRy Center (HDC), 100 Lee Street. Our current Library at the HDC also houses the Library of the Western New York Railway Historical Society and the Steel Plant Museum. Donna established the Library at HDC without any formal library training.
    • RIVERWORKS TOUR - 9/14/17 - The WNYRHS Board was invited to tour RiverWorks as a potential site for future Society projects.
    • BGS MEETING - 9/14/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society Board held their monthly meeting.
    • BC&J MEETING - 9/16/17 - Joe K., Ed P and Ron D. met with Board Members of the Buffalo, Cattaraugus & Jamestown Railroad to discuss possible future joint ventures.
    • SPM TALK & TOUR - 9/21/17 - We conducted a Talk & Tour for members of the Buffalo Handicap Workshop
    • ENGINEERING STUDY MEETING - 9/21/17 - Don Owens and Ed Patton met with engineers to survey Area A and locate drilling sites and underground foundations to prepare for track construction. An engineering proposal was received for track layouts in Area A & B.
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 9/21/17 - We really enjoyed our guest speaker at last evening's meeting. Joan Scalfani spoke to us about her experiences as a "Century Girl." Joan was one of 5 girls that were employed by the New York Central as hostesses on the famous 20th Century Limited in 1960-1962. Joan's job was to tend to passenger's requests and serve hors d'oeuvres in the observation and lounge cars. She said it was the best job she ever had and we were fascinated by her talk. We also want to congratulate Al & Cathy Olmstead who we awarded life memberships in the Society for their volunteer efforts over the past years.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 9/28/17 - The Heritage Discovery Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • STEELFEST - 9/30/17 - The Steel Plant Museum hosted "Steelfest 2017". Well over 100 people attended. "Ru's Pierogi" and "Flying Bison Brewing Company" sold food and refreshments. Vendor tables and historical exhibits were set up in the Meeting Room and outside. Leslie and Joe staffed our concession bar. Ed and Marty did docent duty. Our thanks to Don Williams and his able staff for holding another great event at the HDC.
    • NEW BOARD MEMBER - 9/30/17 - The Heritage Discovery Board welcomed Earl Ketry as their newest member. Earl is the owner of Riverworks, Pearl Street Grill, the Lafayette Hotel and several other local establishments. He is a CPA, a graduate of Canisius College and has interests in early American History and Railroads. Welcome aboard!

    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Charley Beggy - donated a set of railroad cross-bucks from the Santa Fe Railroad. Thank You Charley!
    • Dave Young - donated a pair of railroad rail bookends. Thank You Dave!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated a ream of 24-lb copier paper, 6 rolls of painters tape, 6 paint rollers, a bag of cans & bottles, 15 gallons of sealer, 4 gallons of paint, a spreader tool, a case of water, 2 cases of soda and 10 gallons of gasoline. Thank You Ron!
    • Barb and Don Owens - donated two boxes of contractor bags and a case of paper hand towel rolls. Thank You Barb & Don!
    • Stan Dusza - donated a BR&P system map. Thank You Stan!
    • Carl Ambuske - donated a HP-2207-h wide-screen computer monitor for vertical or horizontal viewing. Thank You Carl!
    • Dave Skoney - donated a dozen model railroad cars. Thank You Dave!
    • John Slater - donated 3 file & 2 microfiche cabinets and 5 boxes of NKP publications. Thank You John!
    • Mark Lempke - donated 7 boxes of Pennsylvania Railroad material from the 1920-1940 period, including I-1 blueprints, engine assignments and correspondence. Thank You Mark!
    • Gordon Thompson Estate - We received a large donation of 26 boxes of historical railroad documents (books, magazines, calendars, photos, etc. from the Estate of Gordon Thompson. Thank You!
    • Tom Stackhouse - donated a large photo of the Cape Hatteras, North Carolina Lighthouse moved by International Chimney Corporation in 1999. Thank You Tom!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 9/2/17 - Tony watered the plants and picked up piles of weeds and brush. Steve and Tony took trash to the dumpster. Erica weeded the front and back gardens and also pulled overgrowth from around the Hospital building. Ron and Mike brought our backhoe back to the HDC from the repair shop. Don Williams picked up large branches to be disposed.
      9/5/17 - Tony watered the plants. Ed gathered tools and supplies needed to cut and re-glue floor tiles in the meeting Room. Stripping and waxing the Meeting Room floor was scheduled.
      9/7/17 - Erica weeded more gardens and cleared all the overgrowth from around the pump house in preparation for painting. Tony picked up more brush and weeds. Joe Schveder surveyed work to be done for the HDC roof enclosure and made a materials list for work to start next week. Plumber Ken Vaughn is not able to obtain the part needed to fix the second floor toilet. He may have to install a new toilet if Mike P. does not have the part.
      9/9/17 - Nestor weed-wacked cracks in the pavement, swept the area and then sealed the pavement. He then applied handicap logos. Ron and Tony striped more parking spaces. With National Grids need to shut down the power on Lee Street, Steve turned off all electrical appliances. Power was returned to the HDC Building at 1:15 pm. Joe coordinated with our security company on reseting alarms.
      9/11/17 - Nestor weed-wacked cracks in the pavement, swept the area and sealed more pavement. Ron striped more parking spaces.
      9/12/17 - Nestor weed-wacked more cracks in the pavement, swept the area and sealed more pavement. Ron and Steve striped handicap parking spaces. Tony watered the plants. Jim & Donna Shine applied a custom made stencil "ENTER" sign on the wall of our back entrance. Donna also made other stencils for the parking lot.
      9/13/17 - Nestor sealed more pavement. Jerry painted the north wall of the Pump House.
      9/14/17 - Nestor sealed more pavement and applied handicap parking logos. Ron striped the parking spaces. Tony watered the plants.
      9/19/17 - Nestor applied the last handicap parking logo. Ron striped more parking spaces. Tony watered the plants. Jerry continued to paint the Pump House. Donna touched up the "ENTER" sign. A new lighter chain and lock was placed on the person gate for handicap entry. Ken the plumber was able to find a new replacement part for the upstairs toilet. It is now back in service
      9/21/17 - Nestor cut and weed-wacked all the lawns. Tony watered the plants. Jerry painted the east side of the Pump House. Donna did final touches on the back wall "ENTER" sign.
      9/23/17 - Nestor cut 10 acres of grass in Area A & B with our Jacobson Gang Mower. Tony watered the plants. Carl measured for new doors on the fire shed.
      9/26/17 - Tony watered the plants. Cardno Company has extended their lease of Building #83 until the end of November.
      9/28/17 - Tony watered the plants. Jerry painted the south side of the Pump House.
      9/30/17 - The Waterkeepers (formerly Riverkeepers) - The Heritage Discovery Center has been of assistance in cleaning up the Buffalo River. All the cuttings along the river bank have been accumulated in our area A parking lot until they can be taken to disposal areas. We also provided a building and other space for storage of new plantings indigenous to the river bank. All this work has been done by contractors under the guidance of the Waterkeepers. The SPM set up tables, chairs, signs, etc. for Steelfest. Tony watered the plants. Erica weeded the gardens.

    • ELEVATOR REPAIR - 9/12/17 - Ed worked with repairmen who started disassembling old mechanical equipment to be replaced.
      9/13/17 - Ed worked with repairmen who put in a full day of work.
      9/14/17 - Repairmen put in another full day of work and will also need all of Friday. It is doubtful that installation will be completed Friday as a few special parts have to be fabricated, therefore the elevator probably will not be ready for Saturday.
      9/19/17 - Elevator Technicians were in all day. They will be back on Thursday.
      9/21/17 - Elevator Technicians were in all day. They will be back tomorrow to finish the job.
      9/23/17 - Our Elevator is now working but needed some fine tuning so a technician came in and made some adjustments.
      9/26/17 - The Elevator is working great!

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 9/7/17 - Barb swept and mopped all the floors and cleaned the restrooms.
      9/14/17 - Barb swept and mopped floors, restrooms and cleaned surfaces. She also removed cans & bottles. Nestor removed items from the Board Room.
      9/28/17 - Barb cleaned and mopped the floors and restrooms. She also removed trash, cans & bottles.

    • SCOUT PROJECT - 9/23/17 - Steve Kocsis is overseeing an Eagle Scout project to repair and refurbish our Fairmont Motor Car. Six scouts did some preliminary work to clean the car and strip off old wood.
      9/30/17 - The scouts continued their restoration work on our speeder trailer under Steve's guidance.

    • HDC ROOF REPAIR - 9/11/17 - Ed met with Joe Schveder who made a materials list for insulating the old HVAC access hole. Joe K. then purchased the materials.
      9/16/17 - Joe, Nestor and Bob pulled roofing materials to the top of the HDC Building. Work began to build a roof over the old access well for the large old HVAC unit.
      9/21/17 - Joe Schveder worked on the roof repairs.
      9/28/17 - Joe Schveder cleaned the roof drains and tarred suspected leaks.

    • LIBRARY - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society continues to make great strides in our various projects. This month they completed inputting 4,656 New York Central Railroad employee records into a searchable data base. They have started on the 40,000 Erie Lackawanna records and have several thousand in the system. Ed Paton has served as mentor to two high school interns we sponsored.
      9/2/17 - Ed , Cheryl, Jim and Donna worked on Library projects. Steve worked on WNYRHS archives and Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
      9/5/17 - Ed , Chris, Jim, Pat and Donna worked on Library projects. Rusty and Joe worked on ELHS archives.
      9/7/17 - Ed , Jim, Tony and Donna worked on Library projects.
      9/9/17 - Steve worked on WNYRHS archives. He also framed & hung two certificates of membership.
      9/11/17 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      9/13/17 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      9/14/17 - Ed and Chris worked on Library projects.
      9/16/17 - Ed and Diane worked on Library projects. Steve worked on WNYRHS archives and Rusty, Bob and Joe on ELHS archives.
      9/19/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, John, Pat and Chris worked on Library projects. Rusty and Dave worked on ELHS archives. Ed arranged for two interns to start working in the Library this month.
      9/21/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Tony worked on Library projects. Rusty and Joe worked on ELHS archives.
      9/23/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Diane worked on Library projects. Steve worked on HDC archives.
      9/26/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Pat and Tony worked on Library projects. Peter worked on archives.
      9/28/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane and Tony worked on Library projects. Ed is scanning 500 color slides of Buffalo Color Corp from the early 1970's. Diane and Donna placed added artifacts in BIGS display case in Meeting Room.
      9/30/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane, Pat and Tony worked on Library projects. Two new high school interns started and assisted the staff. Dave worked on ELHS archives, Steve on WNYRHS archives.


    October 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • ENGINEERS MEETING - 10/3/17 - Ed and Don met with construction engineers concerning Area A and set up a program for core drilling to assess foundations. They also provided engineers with photos and maps.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 10/4/17 - The SPM held their monthly program. Dr. Timothy Kneeland of Nazareth College presented excerpts of his recently published book "Buffalo Blizzard of 77" He detailed the devastation and widespread impact of this storm to the region.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 10/5/17 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • BGS MEETING - 10/6/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society held a public meeting on Friday night.
    • BIGS MEETING - 10/7/17 - The Buffalo Irish Genealogy Society held a members meeting, featuring Ed Patton noting the latest accomplishments, future projects and research techniques.
    • SPM TALK & TOUR - 10/10/17 - The Steel Plant Museum hosted a busload handicapped members from the Heritage Center on Oak Street.
    • BGS MEETING - 10/12/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society held a Board meeting.

    • WNYRRPS MEETING - 10/12/17 - Joe and Ed attended the signing ceremony where in the Mayor of Jamestown, Sam Teresi presented the WNY Regional Rail Project Study to reinstitute train service between Buffalo & Jamestown. He acknowledged the WNYRHS and Joe and Ed for their 5 year effort in bringing this study about. Vince DeJoy, Director of Development, submitted the
      "Western New York Regional Rail Project Feasibility Study"  press release.
    • ENGINEERS MEETING - 10/17/17 - Ed and Ron met with two engineers from OSC who requested to see our drainage maps. Ed explained drainage concerns. We provided them with a copy of our blueprints.
    • RIVERWORKS MEETING - 10/19/17 - Ed and Joe met with Riverworks to discuss the possibility of operating a minature train set on 800 feet of track on their property as a fund raiser for the HDC.
    • SCOUT MEETING - 10/21/17 - Ron, Ed and Joe met with representatives of an Eagle Scout troop who wish to paint one of our cabooses as a project. A project presentation will be drawn up for approval.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 10/24/17 - The HDC Board held their monthly business meeting.
    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Kevin Cutting - donated about 200 pieces of HO track and another 50 - 36" sections with grading. Thank You Kevin!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated 10 gallons of gasoline, 3 cases of soda and 2 cases of water. Thank You Ron!
    • Norfolk Southern Railroad - donated 4 railroad signal masts and multiple vintage signal heads. One pair came from Ohio and one pair from behind the HDC. Thank You Norfolk Southern!
    • Kevin Walters - donated use of his tractor trailer to haul the NKP signals from Ohio. Thank You Kevin!
    • Dave Young - donated a case of water and soda, a box of paper products and a South Buffalo Railway employee ID tag. Thank You Dave!
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated two large wooden boxes of pulleys, wheels and patterns - all artifacts made of wood and well over 100 years old from the old Buffalo Barrel Factory. Thank You Mike!
    • Barb Owens - donated a large container of coffee. Thank You Barb!
    • E.B. HOLMES - We received two scales, two chairs and about 100 wrenches with from the 1890's E B Holmes Barrel Factory. (donor to be announced) Donation solicited by Mike Pietrocarlo on our behalf. Thank You Mike!
    • Noel Varela - donated a large can of coffee creamer and a large box of coffee filters. Thank You Noel!
    • Jim Torgeson - donated a 16 slot mail box to be used by all tenants and labeled it. Thank You Jim!
    • Robert Cornelius - donated 24 bound railroad books, 20 magazines and 15 Locomotive Quarterly publications. Thank You Bob!
    • Bruce Rowell and the Estate of Alfred Paddy Rowell Sr. - On Saturday October 28th, the Society took possession of its latest donation. The Estate of Alfred "Paddy" Rowell Sr. donated a restored 15" guage Railmaster Amusement Park Train that once ran at Dealings Rides on Niagara Fall Blvd near Ellicott Creek Park. The train was one of several built by the family's grandfather here in Buffalo in the late 40's and early 50's. The family fully restored the train about 10 years ago or so. The donation consists of a gasoline powered engine and 3 cars, 300 feet of curved and straight iron track sections and about 1,200 feet of harden aluminum rail. Also two switches and a 24 foot enclosed "Haulmark" trailer to transport the entire train.

      Member Bob Snyder started the conversation with Bruce Rowell a few years ago about donating the train for the Society's use at the depots and other events. He also did the foot work taking the Societies credentials to the Rowell family attorney to assure NYS compliance. Thanks to Marty Visciano and Nestor Arauz for their help loading the track and move the train to the museum. Plans are to use the train for fundraising events at the depots next year.

      We would like to again sincerely thank Bruce Rowell, Alfred Rowell Jr., Gail Wheeler, William Moran, Linda Ernst, and Paul Rowell for this generous donation!

    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 10/3/17 - Tony watered plants. Nestor sealed the fire lane. Steve and Nestor also weed-wacked and swept pavement at Pump House and sealed a new walkway. Ken Vaughn our plumber did everything he could to save our old 2nd floor toilet but his recent repairs did not solve the leaking problem. Today he removed the old toilet and installed a new one, problem solved, no more leaks.
      10/5/17 - Ron striped more of the fire lane. Nestor weed-wacked and swept the pavement around the dumpster and then sealed the pavement. He also picked up brush piles around the grounds. Tony watered the plants. Mike P. and Ron made plans to remove the old diesel fuel tank next to Pump House. Tank was double checked and it is empty. Mike P. removed a truckload of items from Building #75 for scraping. The Waterkeepers were hard at work on the Area D bank restoration.
      10/7/17 - Ron striped the walkway around the Pump House. Nestor weed-wacked and swept the pavement around the Pump House. Tony watered the plants. Nestor weed-wacked the pavement around the dumpster and sealed the pavement. Ron striped new marking for dumpster placement and also striped the fire lane.
      10/10/17 - Mike P. and his crew removed the old signs off the Hospital Building. They also disconnected the electrical wires and removed the feed pipes to the diesel storage tank at Pump House. The dry tank is ready to be removed. Carl took measurements of fire shed in order to build new doors.

      10/12/17 - Ron met with Tom Wagner of OSC who cut swales and difficult grass spots in our Area A. Marty L. rearranged our collection of railroad signals to make room for more new aquisitions.

      Much later in the day, we received two former Nickle Plate signals from Ohio, which were made possible through the efforts of member Kevin Walters who approached Norfolk Southern, and they generously donated them. Kevin owns a trucking concern and used one of his flatbed tractor trailers to pick up the signals and bring them to the HDC. The arrival time was scheduled for 5:00pm. Marty Laurie, our crane operator, arrived at noon to service our Grove Deck crane, which has not been used in 5 months.

      In addition to the two Ohio NKP signals, Norfolk Southern donated two NKP signals, which were located behind the HDC on the South Park Avenue bridge. NS MOW crews placed them on the railroad side next to our fence. In order to move them, Steve Koenig made contact with the NS Police Dept. in order to get us clearance to enter NS property. An NS police officer arrived with great news. He said he could arrange to have a CSX MOW crew use their crane and move them over to our HDC property. We gladly accepted his generous offer.

      The time turned to 6:00pm and we were losing daylight. We received a call from Kevin that his rig got a flat tire near Erie PA and because of the size, weight, length of the trailer, and the delicate load, he had to call for his special wrecker to come from Ohio. At 8:30pm Kevin pulled into the HDC. It was pitch black, raining, cold and windy, the worst conditions you can have for a heavy lift.

      Marty engineered the lift taking into account all the adverse factors. To provide light, we aimed our vehicles at the flatbed and turned on our headlights. Our ground crew of Nestor A., Kevin and his crew were soaking wet and tired, as everyone had been at this for over 10 hours. After an hour of tedious rigging and lifting, the two signals were safely unloaded. Then, Kevin and his exhausted crew had to drive back to Ohio!

      Many thanks are owed to Marty, Nestor, Kevin and his crew for all their hard work unloading the signals. These 1st and 2nd generation "Color Light" signals will be erected outdoors once electrical lines and foundations are poured. Our sincere thanks go out to the Norfolk Southern Railroad for saving these artifacts!

      10/14/17 - Nestor cut lawns on the back side of the building. He also weed-wacked around the Pump House and sealed more of the walkway around the building. Brush piles were picked up. Tony watered the plants.
      10/17/17 - Nestor picked up brush piles and moved ceiling tiles from the pallet outside the back entrance into the Tool Room. Jim started welding a break on the deck of one of our lawn tractors. Tony watered the plants. Nestor moved our dumpster into its new designated location and removed the tape from striping.
      10/19/17 - Nestor cut the grass by our BR&P caboose along the fence line. Nestor A. and Bob C. disposed of the old, wet ceiling tiles and moved the 4'x8' sheet plywood and pallet into the Hospital Building. Jerry painted the south side wall of the Pump House. Jim Shine brought back the welded mower deck for our lawn tractor which will be mounted on Saturday.
      10/21/17 - Nestor installed the repaired mower deck on our lawn tractor and cut the grass around the HDC building. Tony watered the plants. Steve K. rewired some display cases and office outlets for the SPM to allow constant power from the wall outlets for their computers.
      10/24/17 - Tony watered the plants. The "WaterKeepers" continue to do bank work in Area D and store the debris in our Area A parking lot.
      10/26/17 - Nestor put away the picnic tables and hoses for the winter. Our outdoor display rack was placed in a second floor storeroom. Ed tested our backhoe and it will need a jump to start. Ron and Nestor measured our display track and all the cars needed to be placed on the track. A diagram will be prepared.
      10/31/17 - Ron placed concrete blocks by main gates. Both gates must be blocked open to prevent them from swinging into driveway during high winds.

    • HDC ROOF REPAIR - 10/3/17 - Joe Schveder spent the morning tarring suspected leaks and removing debris and old materials left from the HVAC installation. Prep work was finished for installing new rubberized seal.
      10/4/17 - Joe S. and Nestor A. finished constructing the plywood cap over the old HVAC access hole. The inside of the entire curb unit was insulated and then closed in with OSB. Seamless rubberized material was glued down to waterproof the entire curb opening.
      10/7/17 - Joe S. inspected for cracks on roof and patched a suspected leak.

      • 10/10/17 - Joe S. patched a few more cracks on the HDC roof and removed more extra material.

    • HOUSEKEEPING - 10/3/17 - Barb swept and mopped the floors, did surface cleaning and removed cans, bottles and trash.
      10/17/17 - Ken fixed a leak in the upstairs toilet. Barb swept the floors, cleaned the restrooms and did surface cleaning. She also picked up trash, cans and bottles for a refund. Ed worked with the SPM on rewiring their display cases. Tony took trash to the dumpster.
      10/24/17 - Jim S. replaced more stained ceiling tiles in the Library and the restrooms. Bob and Ed replaced all the loose floor tiles in the Meeting Room. A professional floor cleaning and waxing will be scheduled.
      10/26/17 - Barb vacuumed the carpets, swept floors, cleaned the restrooms, did dishes and collected all the trash and cans/bottles. Tony took the trash to the dumpster and watered the indoor plants.
      10/31/17 - Tony watered the indoor plants. Joe attempted to turn on the building heat but an adjustment is needed. Al came in to make the adjustment. Don and Barb attended to a ceiling leak in the SPM area. Ron cut up waste cardboard in Kitchen. Barb and Bob scheduled a Meeting Room floor cleaning for next Monday and to clear out the room of tables and chairs for this coming Saturday afternoon.

    • EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT - 10/3/17 - The scouts applied a primer coat of paint to our speeder trailer.
      10/19/17 - The Scouts painted the underside of our speeder trailer.



    • DISPLAYS - 10/28/17 - Members of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation group changed their displays in the museum area. Mike Fitzsimmons presented a proposal for the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony next year.

    • NEIGHBORS - 10/3/17 - CSX Railroad - Ron met with a signal foreman and asked if old signals could be donated to the HDC. They are scheduled to come down Sunday the 8th. He will try for donation. OSC Inc. - We received notice that new plans for the Area C Ice House will be discussed at a public hearing at City Hall, Rm 901, next week. Waterkeepers - Foreign species and trash were removed from the shoreline and placed in Area A parking lot for disposal.
      10/19/17 - OSC continues to load out the pile of pavement millings they have stored on Area E. The Waterkeepers had a full crew doing bank restoration in Area D. The CSX Railroad had linemen up on the new signal bridge installing new components.

    • GUARDHOUSE - 10/12/17 - Mike P. checked the roof and identified suspected leaks. He also braced the shelving holding our wheel inventory and started to clear space for a major donation secured by Ed Patton. Mike will secure estimates to do the roof repair. Mike has a potential customer for some of the wheels in the Guardhouse which Ed P. has priced. Also Joe Schveder will attempt to sell some of our 26 electric motors.
      10/14/17 - Mike P. had a roofing contractor look at the roof leaks. He will submit recommendations to Joe for repair. Mike also cleared some space and placed two large wooden boxes of donated artifacts in the building.

    • LIBRARY -10/3/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Jan, and Pat worked on Library projects.
      10/5/17 - Jim, Donna and John worked on Library projects.
      10/7/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Pat, Diane and John worked on Library projects. Dave worked on ELHS archives and Steve on WNYRHS archives
      10/10/17 - Pat and Janice worked on Library projects.
      10/12/17 - Tony, Jim & Donna worked on Library projects. Dave & Rusty worked on ELHS archives.
      10/14/17 - Diane worked on Library projects. Steve worked on WNYRHS archives and sorted out railroad coins and first day covers for possible sales.
      10/17/17 - Diane, Ed, Jim, Donna, John, Pat and Tony worked on Library projects.
      10/19/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Tony worked on Library projects. Rusty and Joe worked on ELHS archives.
      10/21/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Diane worked on Library projects. Jim S. replaced some stained ceiling tiles. Joe worked on ELHS archives and Steve on HDC archives.
      10/24/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Pat and Jan worked on Library projects. John worked with Donna on the "Canal Collection." Donna reported that all 4,656 NYC Railroad employee cards have been scanned and put into an Excel database. Joe Schveder reported that a large donation of 50 banker boxes of Erie Lackawanna archives will be delivered to the HDC in the coming weeks.
      10/26/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Pat and Tony worked on Library projects. Peter worked on archives.
      10/28/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Tony worked on Library projects. Peter worked on archives.
      10/31/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Pat and Tony worked on Library projects. Bob worked on ELHS archives.


    November 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 11/1/17 - The SPM held their monthly program on "Buffalo Music History." Rick Falkowski, a historian focusing on the music of Buffalo, detailed how our city help shape the music of today. His presentation was well received by a large gathering.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 11/2/17 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society held their monthly Board meeting.
    • BGS MEETING - 11/3/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society held a public meeting on Friday night.
    • AREA A DEVELOPMENT - 11/4/17 - Joe K., Ed P., Ron D. and Earl K. met with a manufacturer looking to construct a processing plant. Area A was toured and concept plans and financing were discussed.
      11/6/17 - Ed P. held discussions with an interested investor concerning utilities, installations and tax credits. Ron prepared plans of potential building layouts.
      11/7/17 - Ed P., Joe K. and Ron D. held discussions with an interested investor concerning building structures, installation of equipment. Ron has prepared more plans of potential building layouts.
      11/11/17 - Ed and Joe toured the Guardhouse, Buildings #82, #83, #85 and #75 with our electrical contractor to determine power feeds and needs for each building. An onsite survey will be scheduled with National Grid engineers. Ron prepared more construction plans.
    • BLA BOARD MEETING - 11/11/17 - The Buffalo Lighthouse Association held their monthly Board Meeting.
    • WNYRHS PUBLIC MEETING - 11/14/17 - Joe Kocsis conducted the November Public Meeting of the WNYRHS. Devan Lawton presented a very entertaining program on ALCO locomotives. Leslie and Barb served refreshments.
    • HDC BOARD MEETING - 11/28/17 - The HDC Board held their monthly meeting.
    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - Cleaned up and tagged sold some old HDC items and raised $200 for HDC. He also donated 300 new ceiling tiles. Thank You Mike!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated two bags of cans, bottles, 2 cans of starting fluid and 5 gallons of non-ethanol gas for our Grove crane. Thank You Ron!
    • Don Williams - donated a container of coffee. Thank You Don!
    • Paul McGrath - donated 157 issues of "O Gauge Railroadiana" magazine and 178 issues of "Train Collectors Quarterly." Thank You Paul!
    • Mary Moran - donated 6 boxes of Lionel catalogs and assorted railroad magazines. Thank You Mary!
    • John Prybylski - donated 13 cans of Rust-O-Leum paint, 50 railroad magazines, two NYC tapes, one railroad DVD, one track booklet, a box of railroad Christmas Cards and a 50-ft hose. Thank You John!
    • David & Barb Herman - donated 2 boxes of naval books and magazines in honor of Capt. Larry T. Wilson, USNR. Thank You David & Barb!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 11/4/17 - First off was performing maintenance on our back-hoe, changing the filters, charging the battery, lubing and oiling. Ed then began scooping ballast from our supply pile and laying it on the new section of roadbed. Joe and Nestor spread the ballast. Joe then marked all the trucks for their proper location on the track. The track bed is ready for our piece of section track and when weather permits, a bumping post will be placed at the end of track. Car placement is scheduled in the near future when Winters Rigging is availible.
      11/11/17 - Erica weeded the front gardens and also pulled the large weeds growing by our display track. Joe worked on the south tower door to improve its latching.
      11/28/17 - The City of Buffalo made their annual inspection of our elevator and found no problems.
      11/30/17 - Marty and Nestor moved the NKP signals out of the center of the parking lot with our Grove crane and stacked them near the fence. Erica raked up leaves and cleaned gardens.
    • HOUSEKEEPING - 11/2/17 - Tony watered the indoor plants and removed all cut up cardboard from the kitchen to the dumpster. Barb cleaned the restrooms, surfaces and removed trash, cans and bottles.
      11/4/17 - Tony watered the indoor plants. Bob, Steve and Nestor moved all furniture out of the Meeting Room and Bar Room, both are scheduled for floor cleaning and waxing on Monday. Nestor and Mike moved 300 ceiling tiles to the second floor for storage.
      11/6/17 - Bob swept the floors and Barb cleaned the Lobby. Don checked for leaks. Bob and Barb worked with our floor cleaning contractor who stripped the old wax, cleaned the floors in the Meeting Room and Bar Room, and applied a new coating of wax. The wax should be dry by tomorrow to allow furniture replacement.
      11/7/17 - Bob, Nestor, Steve, John and Jacob moved all the Meeting Room and Bar Room furniture back into the rooms. Barb organized everything.
      11/14/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, swept the floors and restocked refreshments. Tony removed the trash. Joe reset the tables & chairs.
      11/25/17 - Steve K. hung a loaned framed aerial picture of Buffalo Color from 1971 in the Meeting Room. Joe affixed plastic skids to the bottom of our red meeting room chairs. Nestor placed the chairs and removed some stack tables to the Archive room. Ron did the dishes and placed handouts on tables. Tony removed the trash. Steve placed donated paint in the Tool Room and staffed the SPM Museum Store and sold $100 of merchandise.
      11/30/17 - Nestor brought all the blue chairs into the Bar Room for the Buffalo Geological Society meeting tomorrow. Tony took out the trash. Ron met with a BGS officer to arrange for meeting set up.

    • HVAC INSTALL - 11/2/17 - Our HVAC contractor installed new thermostats in the Bar Room and Library. New gas lines will be installed to the roof units next week. Al Olmsted made adjustments to the boiler.
      11/6/17 - The HVAC contractor started the installation of gas pipes to the two new units on the roof.
      11/7/17 - HVAC contractor made more progress on the installation of the gas pipes to the roof.
      11/11/17 - Don & Barb worked with our HVAC contractor to finalize the heating system. For the first time we now have overhead heat feeding into the center of the building. This will reduce the need for more expensive boiler fed heat on the exterior walls.

    • MECHANICAL - 11/2/17 - Ed and Nestor attempted to start our Ford backhoe with no success. Ed will bring in a large battery charger Saturday.
      11/4/17 - Ed and Joe did maintenance on our Ford backhoe and got it started thanks to Ed's heavy duty battery charger.
      11/28/17 - Nestor winterized our Jacobson gang mower - greased the wheels, disconected the battery and put stabilizer in the gas.
      11/30/17 - Marty and Nestor did maintenance on our Grove crane, filled it with fresh fuel and inflated the tires.

    • EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT - 11/4/17 - The four Eagle Scouts continued their painting of our speeder trailer car.
      11/11/17- The Eagle Scouts continued sanding and priming our speeder trailer in the Guardhouse.

    • LIBRARY -11/2/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, and Tony worked on Library projects.
      11/4/17 - Ed, Jim, Donna, Diane and Tony worked on Library projects. Steve worked on HDC archives.
      11/5/16 - Jim, Donna, John and Ed worked on Library files.
      11/7/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Pat, Jan, John and Chris worked on Library projects.
      11/9/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, and Tony worked on Library projects.
      11/11/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, John and Pat worked on Library projects. Steve sorted and catalogued the 12 boxes of railroad magazines donated on Thursday.
      11/14/17 - Jim, Donna, Ed, Chris and Pat worked on Library projects.
      11/16/17 - Ed worked on Library projects. Dave worked on ELHS archives.
      11/18/17 - Diane B. worked on Library projects.
      11/25/17 - Diane and Tony worked on Library projects. Steve and Peter worked on archives.
      11/28/17 - Pat, Chris and Ed worked on Library projects. Dave worked on ELHS archives.
      11/30/17 - Jim, Donna and Ed worked on Library projects.



    December 2017
    By Ron Dukarm

    COMMUNITY OUTREACH - The Heritage Discovery Center continues to host local community events and has become the meeting place for all of our affiliate partners.
    • BGS MEETING - 12/1/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society held their monthly public meeting with 70 attendees. Don and Barb hosted it.
    • STEEL PLANT MUSEUM - 1st WEDNESDAY EVENT - 12/6/17 - The SPM had to cancel their monthly program "The Streets of Buffalo" due to a winter storm warning. The event has been rescheduled for March 7th 2018.
    • WNYRHS BOARD MEETING - 12/7/17 - The Western New York Railway Historical Society held their monthly Board meeting.
    • BGS MEETING - 12/7/17 - The Buffalo Geological Society held their monthly board meeting.
    • CLYC MEETING - 12/14/17 - The China Light Yacht Club held their quarterly Board meeting.
    • SPM BOARD MEETING - 12/19/17 - The Steel Plant Museum Board held their monthly business meeting.
    • WNY LAND CONSERVANCY MEETING - 12/21/17 - Don and Barb met with reporters from the Buffalo News and representatives of the WNY Land Conservancy to review proposed efforts to place a trail system on the old DL&W ROW, starting at Area A. (see plan)
    • HONEYWELL MEETING - 12/21/17 - Ron spoke with Honeywell representatives interested in our redevelopment efforts on Areas A, B & D for inclusion in their Annual Report.
    DONATIONS - We have received the following donations of artifacts and supplies. Our sincere thanks to all our loyal supporters:
    • Marty Laurie - donated two rain jackets. Thank You Marty!
    • Ron Dukarm - donated 24 bungie cords and a large container of dish soap. Thank You Ron!
    • Kevin Walters - donated use of his tractor trailer. Thank You Kevin!
    • Norfolk Southern Railrod - donated four ex. Nickel Plate Railroad signals from Ohio. Thank You Norfolk Southern!
    • China Light Yacht Club - donated a case of soda, beer and snacks. Thank You CLYC!
    • Tom Gould - donated eight, 40 foot truck trailers, a 6-ton MLT-6H heavy duty fork-lift, lifting chains, cables and straps. He also donated a heavy-duty sewing machine capable of sewing canvas, leather and other heavy weight materials. And last but not least, a mangle machine, used for pressing clothes and paper documents. Thank You Tom!
    • Don and Barb Owens - donated a box of hand towels and a case of water. Thank You Don and Barb!
    • Katie Kocsis - donated 1,000 blank raffle tickets and a magazine holder. Thank You Katie!
    • Steve Kocsis - donated a truck load of scrap metal. Thank You Steve!
    • Mike Pietrocarlo - donated 12 wooden pallets. Thank You Mike!
    • Bob Griffiths - donated a dozen wooden railroad logo plaques. Thank You Bob!
    • Lynn Heintz - donated 2 boxes of railroad books, magazines & railroadianna. Thank You Lynn!
    • Mark Landrieu - donated several video tapes to ELHS. Thank You Mark!
    WORK ACCOMPLISHED
    • BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS - 12/1/17 - It was a great morning at the Heritage DiscoveRY Center Buffalo as our display cars were finally placed on the display track. After more than two years of delays due to other more critical projects, our ex. "Erie County Fair Train" cars are on the rails. Thanks to TJ Winter and his crew from "Winters Rigging" for making quick work of the project. They arrived at the Museum at 8:00am and were ready to leave by 10:30am. Also thanks to the "Buffalo Geological Society" for their help with funding the project. They will be using our Erie Lackawanna boxcar for additional displays and storage. We also want to thank CSX Corp. for their grant to the Society to assist in this project as the white boxcar will contain displays on Railroad Safety.

      President of the Western New York Railway Historical Society, Joe Kocsis was on hand to photograph the event and present the photo essay below. Other members of the Society were on site as well as the Buffalo News that ran a feature "Buffalo Rail Historians"  on the work in their Saturday, December 2nd edition.





      After over two years of waiting we now have four of our over 50 pieces of rolling stock on display at the Heritage Center. Behind the scenes we are working hard to get much more track laid so that eventually all of our collection will be on display so the public can view, explore and learn of how the railroads helped make Buffalo great. Thank you again to all the people who helped make this event happen.
      12/2/17 - Don and Nestor cleaned up the parking lot, moving dirt and debris left from moving our rail cars. Ed and Nestor opened up the door on the EL boxcar and greased the rollers. Ed met with a BGS member to survey the car interior and size up a new lock. A loading platform and stairs were designed.
      12/5/17 - Kevin Walters and his son secured 4 ex. Nickel Plate Railroad signals for the HDC from Ohio. Kevin donated the use of his truck and brought the signals to the HDC at 3:30pm today. Marty operated our Grove deck crane and Nestor did the rigging. By 5:00pm all four signals were placed and stored in our parking lot. Our thanks to Kevin, his son, Marty and Nestor for a job well done.                                  12/7/17 - Marty and Nestor used the our Grove crane to move two of the NKP signals in order to make a path to the 2 soil monitoring wells near the north fence.
      12/9/17 - Our plowing contractor cleared the parking lot. The back door was shoveled out. NOTE: The concrete blocks used to hold main gates open are freezing to the ground. Bungie cords will be used to hold the gates open during the winter.
      12/12/17 - The parking lot was plowed by our contractor. Noel Valara shoveled out the back entrance and Tony shoveled the front sidewalk.
      12/14/17 - Ed shoveled the back entrance. Ron placed bungee cords on the main gate to secure the gates when open.
      12/16/17 - AREA-A - Ed, Joe, Ron, Steve, Don and Earl met to discuss construction plans and lease proposals from a prospective tenant. Nestor shoveled the front sidewalk, entrance and spread salt in the back lot.
      12/19/17 - Tom Gould had four of the eight 40-foot trailers he donated delivered and they were parked parallel to our BR&P caboose. They will be used to store items presently housed in the Hospital Building, Guardhouse and Archive Building. The donated rigging apparatus can be used to move railroad trucks, trailers, signals and other heavy items.
      12/21/17 - Tom delivered 2 more trailers. Our snowplow contractor moved our minature train trailer four feet to allow for better plowing. Steve delivered a truck load of scrap metal which Don Williams transferred to his truck for delivery to scrapper.
      12/23/17 - Joe K. shoveled clear the back entrance. The parking lot was plowed.
      12/23/17 - Joe K. shoveled clear the back entrance again and the parking lot was cleared by our contractor.
      12/30/17 - Ed P. shoveled out the back entrance. Our snowplow contractor plowed the parking lot.
    • HOUSEKEEPING - 12/5/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and floors. Ron did the dishes.
      12/14/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms, swept the floors and took inventory of our janitorial supplies.
      12/16/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and swept the floors. 12/19/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and swept the floors.
      12/28/17 - Barb cleaned the restrooms and floors.

    • EAGLE SCOUTS - 12/16/17 - Arrangements were made to have the Eagle scouts take our speeder crew car off - site to a heated location so restoration work can continue through the winter.

    • LIBRARY -12/2/17 - Jim, Donna, Pat and Ed worked on Library files.
      12/5/17 - Pat, Janice, Ed and Chris worked on Library projects. John Slater worked on NPRHTS archives.
      12/9/17 - Jim, Donna, Diane and Ed worked on Library projects. Steve worked on WNYRHS archives and John S. on NPRHTS archives.
      12/12/17 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      12/14/17 - Ed worked on Library projects. Bob worked on ELHS archives.
      12/16/17 - Diane worked on Library projects. Steve worked on HDC archives.
      12/19/17 - Diane, Jim, Donna, Ed, Pat and Jan worked on Library projects.
      12/21/17 - Ed worked on Library projects.
      12/30/17 - Steve worked on recent donations.

    Contact Us: Orchard Park - 716-662-7002       Williamsville - 716-633-7002
    WNYHDC Inc., 100 Lee Street, Buffalo, New York  14210 - 716-821-9360
    All Donations to the Heritage Discovery Center are Tax-Deductable!

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