WILLIAMSVILLE DEPOT - 2010 UPDATES

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Williamsville Depot 2010

April 2010

The crew at Williamsville was hard at work putting the finishing touches on the upcoming "Caboose Affair" to be held at the Main-Trainsit Fire Hall on April 16th, 2010. Tom S. and his gang were busy making sure all of the raffles, auctions and entertainment were all ready to go for the big event. This was all being done to help raise the funds needed to truck Lehigh Valley Caboose #95050 from Hamburg to Williamsville.

May 2010

CABOOSE AFFAIR A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Thanks to Don Boyd, Mark Klepadlo, Art and Sandy Toale, Sharon Richardson and Tom Stackhouse, who spearheaded the effort, the Caboose Affair was a great success, achieving its goal of bringing to the Society sufficient funding to move the Lehigh Valley caboose from the Buffalo Southern siding in Hamburg to the new segment of track southeast of the Lehigh Valley Depot on the Lehigh Valley Memorial Train off South Long street in the Village of Williamsville. Those who attended were treated to wine from nearby vineyards, free beer, soft drinks and an almost endless supply of food, with coffee

and desserts all while enjoying easy listening live music of a band that played throughout the evening. Fund-raising activities included a Silent auction with nearly 60 items, a Chinese auction with 100 items, and 25-25-50 programs, while a large number of door prizes were available for admission ticket holders.

In addition to the above, the Committee for the Caboose Affair would like to thank the following who volunteered their services before and during the event: Bob Snyder, Rick Henn, Dave Fleenor, Al Olmstead, Joe Kocsis, George Spect, Nancy Locke, Daniel Pitrola, Pat Crowley, Sandy Crowley, Billy and Mary Barren, Matt Biekel, Bill Richardson, Brian Geary, Christine Geary, Sue Klepadlo, Nancy Haley, Marty and Sue Bauer, Don Boyd III, Barbara Stillwell, and Jeanne Marcella.

And special thanks to Steve Kocis, announcer for all of the events and auctions.

Thanks also to the Farmers market participants: Erwin Rakoczy of the Buffalo Spice Company; The Bavarian Nut Company from Clarence; Carla Spilak of Carla's Crumbly Creations, Amherst; Bruce Fowler of the family Chocolate Shoppe in Clarence; David Setzer from Artful Table Artisan Breads in Williamsville; and Julie Blackman of the Blackman Homestead Farm in Lockport.

Thanks also to our participating wineries: Dave Backus from Deer Run Winery in Geneseo; Robin Ross from Arrowhead Spring Vineyards in Lockport: Jackie Connelly of Niagara Landing Wine Cellars in Lockport; and Ann Schulze of Schulze Vineyard and Winery from Burt, NY.

Two large dessert trays were donated by Wolters Bakery on Hopkins Road in Williamsville, Italiam cookies came from DiCAmillo Bakery in Williamsville, while puffs, vegetables and cheese were donated by The Chef's Table in Williamsville, and small fancy sandwiches were donated by Judy Palmisamo of the Golden Parachute in Williamsville.

June 2010

Big hearty Congratulations go out to the Williamsville Depot "Caboose Affair" Committee for planning and hosting a very successful fund raising event this past April from President Joe Kocsis and the rest of the Society. The Main-Transit Fire Hall was packed with more than 200 generous folks who opened up their wallets to support the restoration efforts at the Williamsville Depot. They are still tallying up the numbers, but it appears over $5,000 was raised through the Silent Auction, Chinese Auction, Split Club Raffles and sales of event tickets. Many local businesses supported the efforts of the committee by donating food and items to sell..

Not to rest on their success, the Depot Crew was actively soliciting bids to local trucking companies for movement of #95050. The track was ready and now all they needed was a caboose to put on it. On Wednesday June 23rd, 2010, it all happened!

June 23rd, 2010 - Lehigh Valley #95050 arrives in Williamsville

After a years worth of planning, countless phone calls and a major successful fundraiser the dream of bringing #95050 back to Williamsville became a reality! Click the following link to read how #95050 came to Buffalo, in 1996.

Silk Road Specialty Transport Company of Arkport, NY. came in with the low bid and a contract was drawn. Early Wednesday morning, two Silk Road trucks arrived in Hamburg, NY. to begin the loading process. The BSOR graciously moved #95050 up the siding closer to the old Erie Freight Depot (Art Craft Toy Trains) to facilitate the loading. One tractor pulled a tilt bed, three axel trailer, with rails to allow for alignment to the second trailer which is a drop-bed

with removable fifth wheel. Once the tilt-bed was lined up with the drop-bed, two 4 foot extension rails were clamped into place to allow the caboose to roll from one trailer to other.

In short order the trailer was loaded and the caboose chained down. Measurements were taken and the total height came in at 15ft - 6inches. 3 long nylon straps were fastened over the coupola from one platform to the other to guide any low hanging wires or branches over the roof. At 10:00am, the caravan left Hamburg for a three hour trip around Erie County on roads certified by the DOT to allow "high and wide" loads. By 1:00pm, #95050 was back in Williamsville!

It took a little more effort to get the 73 year old "cabin" onto the panel track due to the limited space the tractor and trailer had to work in but the guys from Silk Road really knew their stuff and got all eight wheels on the rails by 4:45pm.

The Depot crew is already making progress getting the caboose ready for public display. Materials to
build a public friendly access platform are being collected and now the search for a local
company to sandblast the exterior is being sought. Please visit often as updates are made.

South Long Stories:
The Year 2010 in Review
By Martin J. Bauer

2010 was a year of great activity at thee Williamsville depot. In August of last year, a list was created of accomplishments achieved at the Western New York Railway Historical Society's Lehigh Valley Historic Site in Williamsville, New York. A copy of the list was given to each member of the committee overseeing this railroad place in order to remind them of the progress they had made on this project in just eight months. The committee, consisting of Depot Chairman Tom Stackhouse, Society Trustee Art Toale, and Society members Marty Bauer, Don Boyd, Larry Brenton, Mark Klepadlo, and Aleks Porock, continued updating this record of accomplishments through December of 2010. What follows in this article is the story told by that list. It illustrates how some big steps have been taken to move the Williamsville railroad project forward.

In January of 2010, work began on "The Caboose Affair," an event created to raise the funds needed to move Lehigh Valley caboose 95050 from Hamburg, New York to the Williamsville depot site. Planning of "The Caboose Affair" took place during January, February, and March of 2010. Silent and Chinese auction items were collected, arrangements for refreshments were made, and a musical group was booked to provide entertainment for the event. Displays pertaining to the Lehigh Valley and the Williamsville depot were constructed, and a history of the Williamsville depot was written, printed, and made available to guests at the caboose fundraiser.

On April 16, 2010, The Caboose Affair took place at the Main Transit Fire Hall on Main Street in Amherst. The event was a success as more than enough money was raised to enable the Western New York Railway Historical Society to move Lehigh Valley caboose 95050 to the Williamsville railroad site.

Beginning May 1, 2010, the annual season of spring and summer open houses began on Sundays at the Williamsville depot. A used book sale, started in the summer of 2009, was staged again in conjunction with the open houses.

On June 23, Lehigh Valley caboose 95050 was delivered to the Williamsville depot site and placed on a section of track that several depot committee members had constructed during the previous summer. It took a while for the caboose to arrive, but it was quite a sight when the truck carrying this piece of rolling stock turned from Main Street onto South Long Street and slowly approached the spot where the Lehigh Valley once ran through Williamsville.

In July of 2010, Sunday open houses continued at the Williamsville depot. Many who came to the depot expressed interest in and curiosity about the caboose. The most important event in July was the reconstruction of the depot restroom in its original place, the building. In 1896, when the Williamsville depot opened for business, the restroom was located next to the passenger waiting area in a small room at the western end of the depot. The LVRR ended passenger service at Williamsville in late September of 1940. Sometime in either the late 1940's or very early 1950's, the Lehigh Valley moved the restroom from its original place to a corner of the station agent's office. There the depot restroom facility would remain till a Western New York Railway Historical Society work crew moved it back in July of 2010. It should be noted that the station agent's restroom was torn out and that an original entrance to the agent's area was re-established in its place. By the end of July, the original architectural layout of the Williamsville depot could be seen again.

August of 2010 was a busy month at the Williamsville depot site. On August 7, Dr. Charles Blumle of Emporium, Pennsylvania brought his collection of steam locomotive whistles and diesel locomotive horns for a "Whistle Blow" at the depot. Reports came from people living near the Williamsville railroad station that it sounded as if trains had returned to Williamsville! Refreshments were available and raffles took place at this event. Those attending could tour the depot and the caboose as the music of locomotives filled the air!

After the August 7, "Whistle Blow," work on the Williamsville railroad site continued. A new column was published in the Western New York Railway Flyer newsletter called "South Long Stories." This series of articles highlight interesting episodes in the life and history of the Williamsville depot and the Niagara Falls Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

During August of 2010, work parties began painting the exterior of the Williamsville depot, working on the interior of LVRR caboose 95050, and even began renovating the concrete phone booth near the southeast corner of the Williamsville depot site. The phone booth, which was originally located halfway between South Long Street and Cayuga Road on the south side of the LVRR tracks was moved closer to the Williamsville depot not long after the Western New York Railway Historical Society purchased the railroad station. In August of 2010, the phone booth was moved by the village of Williamsville from its position in the southeast corner of the Williamsville depot site to a spot closer to the caboose. This was done to improve the overall display of artifacts found in the Williamsville railroad area.

On August 31, 2010, the Williamsville Rotary Club held its monthly meeting at the Williamsville depot. This was the first big step toward a goal that is important to the Williamsville Depot Committee: that the 1896 Lehigh Valley Railroad station not only be a museum but a community meeting place. On September 15, 2010, this goal continued to be realized, as The Toy Train Operating society also held their monthly meeting at the Williamsville depot.

Other activities and accomplishments happened around the Williamsville depot and caboose in September of 2010. Work parties finished painting the exterior of the railroad station, telephone booth renovations continued, and the season of depot open houses concluded. The used book sale come to an end as well earning enough money for the purchase of nine new folding chairs for meetings and events held oat the Williamsville depot.

In September 2010, the booklet giving a brief history of the Williamsville depot and the LVRR's Niagara Falls Branch was revised and had a second printing. Inside the 1896 railroad station, construction of a ticket window began. This window with a marble counter is being built where the original ticket window was located. Also in September or 2010, work continued on the restoration of walls and floors in the passenger waiting room of the depot.

In October of 2010, a model train layout was reconditioned in the Williamsville depot station agent's office and was later raffled at the WNYRHS Toy and Train Show in November.

Finally, the Society's Williamsville railroad area was given a new name by committee overseeing it. With the approval of the Village of Williamsville, this special railroad place is now known as: "The Lehigh Valley Historic Site".

In December of 2010, "The Lehigh Valley Historic Site Committee" had a Christmas party in Clarence, New York to celebrate all the aforementioned accomplishments. Invited were volunteers, friends, and WNYRHS Officers and Trustees who contributed to the success on South Long Street in 2010.

The Lehigh Valley Historic Site Committee has many activities planned for 2011. New depot windows, a second Caboose Affair, and some interesting events at the Williamsville depot are in the works. Stay Tuned! The future of railroading on South Long Street continues to look bright!

"The Caboose Affair": what did it produce?

With the funds raised from the April "Caboose affair", the Lehigh Valley caboose 95050 was moved to the Williamsville Depot, and the first bit of interior work begun. The decision to have the exterior work done professionally requires the raising of further funds.

Meanwhile, the outside of the Williamsville Depot received a coat of paint, thanks to the assistance of several volunteers attracted to the depot by the publicity of the "Caboose Affair". Work has begun on the restoration of the telegraph kiosk, which was moved several feet by a crew from the Village of Williamsville back toward its original location. Under the leadership of Mark Klepadlo, the bathroom was moved from the center of the building, where Conrail had placed it, to the site off the waiting room where it had been in Lehigh Valley days. The original doorway to the agent's office was reopened and the Conrail doorway converted back to the opening for the ticket window, as it had originally been. The final wall in the waiting room now has paneling.

Marty Bauer, who has run a used book sale during open house events, was named historian. A new group of volunteers has been organized. The depot has hosted meetings of the Williamsville Rotary club and the Toy Train Operating Society. Although at a slower pace, some work continues into the winter.

The Williamsville Depot Committee is looking for people interested in the following:
Construction & Maintenance, event planning, tour guides, marketing, data base
management and finance/budget knowledge.
We would welcome any and all help you may have to offer.

Call the Depot at 716-633-7002 or eMail Art T. Thank You!

Regional Rail Notes...

The Buffalo & Pittsburgh has been awarded a New York State grant of two and a quarter million dollars to rehabilitate the Buffalo Creek Yard, which was officially closed some years ago, but has been utilized for car storage. The yard will become a new transloading site for CN and other customers. B&Palso received three and a half million dollars to replace ties on its line between Buffalo and Machias, where the B&P now interchanges cars with the WNY&P (thanks to Railpace, Railroads Illustrated).

According to "The Black Diamond" December 2010 issue (published by the LVRHS), passenger excursions operated by the Finger Lakes Railway have come to an end, the last having run December 19th, 2010. While the Finger Lakes will not run passenger train excursions next year, they are looking for another operator.