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headbanger If this is how you feel after a week in the office, you need to reduce your stress! Come on down to the museum and make a difference. Vol­un­teer activities are available on weekdays and week­ends.

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A Railroad Shop Full of Treasures and Great Memories

Nestled in the Catskill Mountain region in Kingston, New York, a small railroad shop has suddenly sprung into life. Located at Milepost One on the old Delaware and Ulster Railroad, the shop building that houses part of the collection of the Trolley Museum of New York is quite busy these days with a beehive of activity. Even after the operating season is over, work continues right thru the coldest months of the year. This shop is BUSY!!!

Work here has centered around not one, but on several of the museum's cars. Cosmetic work continues as our Brill-built Model 55 Do­odle­bug inches closer to completion. This car returned to passenger service in 2017, seventeen years after sitting inactive. Master Mechanic Bill Wexler, his son Liam Wexler, and Chief Mechanical Officer Harold Greenblatt literally spent hundred's of man-hours bringing this once dead car back to life. This car is almost complete! A repaint of the car was completed throughout the 2018 season. Several other individual's have also assisted on this project as well, including Travis Gorham and others who have pitched in as time and availability permitted. Thank you everyone, for a job well done!

Work has also been done on our Johnstown PA trolley #358. The 358 had it's old air compressor removed and a new one installed, as the old one was on it's last legs and was be­gin­ning to fail. Limited work was also done to install the upper sash windows which were missing from this car. This was, and still is, a big job, as they had to be installed a certain way to insure that they fit properly. The idea here was to further improve the 358's outward ap­pear­ance, as well as totally enclose the car's interior. By doing so this car can operate during inclement weather and into the colder months of the year. Both cars 120 and 358 are very much a work in progress!

Work was also done during the latter part of the 2018 season to restore the City of New York IND R4 subway car 825. Clean up and initial cosmetic work is ongoing and our volunteers are expected to complete this work soon.

With all the work that is going on we are in need of additional volunteers to allow us to grow even further. We still need help on several projects now underway at the museum. Major trackwork is planned in order to keep our right-of-way safe. Motormen, Conductors and Flagmen are needed as operating crews. Additional help is also needed in car repair in order to improve the appearance of the mu­seum's col­lection. We have a job for just about anyone with some free time to spare. All you need is a desire to come up and volunteer! The 2019 operating season is already shaping up to be our best one yet! Why not climb on board as a volunteer at our museum? Great times and great times await you along with a great group of fellow volunteers! We have a great time together; Why not join in on the fun?

Come on up, the 2019 operating season is just a few months away!

In the meantime, please take a look at out our newsletter! The Porthole is a newsletter written by our very own volunteers and gets sent out in the mail to our museum members. Please click here to read up on the latest issue and our previous ones.

Hard Work, Long Hours, No Pay…

We're a volunteer non-profit educational organization bring­ing trolley and subway history to life today and for the future.

IBM group at R16

Can you use a telephone or a computer? A paintbrush or shovel? A hammer or saw? Are you a real go-getter who can help with fund-raising or organizing vol­un­teers? We need you! We can use your abilities, be they muscular, cerebral, or something in be­tween!

IBM group at R16

Spread the word that the Trolley Museum needs volunteers. Talk to your co­workers. Mention it at your church group. Brag to your relatives. Impress your golfing buddys with your community spirit. Get 'em down to the museum!

The Trolley Museum - Volunteers in Action!

The museum depends on people like you to make everything happen. Here is a sampling of people volunteering at the museum.

5600 painting
Jim McGinty, Arjun Lal and Omar Pagan paint the Lo-V 5600. 6/13/15 (photo credit: R. E. Nowakowski)

Watch this short video showing work on the R-16.

6398 floor grinding

Smoothing out the floor of the R-16. 5/9/15 (photo credit: J. McGinty)
From the 3rd R-16 work day: Gail Brillhart Myrick, Carlos A. Herrera, Patrick McGinty, Justin Myrick, Harold Greenblatt, James McGinty, Debbie Greenblatt, Robert Edward Nowakowski and Omar Pagan. Also present but not pictured: Mary Donch, Erik Garcés. (photo credit: C. McGinty)

6398 work day III

6398 work day IIf

Harold Greenblatt grinds down a rust spot on the R-16. (photo credit: J. McGinty)
James McGinty squares up the edges of the cut steel on the R-16. (photo credit: J. McGinty)

6398 work day IIe

6398 work day IId

Omar Pagan applies new number signs to the R-4. (photo credit: J. McGinty)
Omar Pagan cleans tape off the R-16 windows. (photo credit: J. McGinty)

6398 work day IIc

6398 work day IIb

Gail Brillhart Myrick and Bill Ingolia use tools and elbow grease to strip the roof air grills from the R-16. (photo credit: J. McGinty)
Harold Greenblatt, Erik Garces and James McGinty pause during the 2nd R-16 volunteer day. (photo credit: J. McGinty)

6398 work day IIa

6398 work day 1

Harold Greenblatt shows components of the R-16 to some of the new Pres­er­va­tion Experience vol­un­teers. (photo credit: J. McGinty)
Nancy Riseley and Joi Becker prepare gift bags for our guests to the ATRRM Spring conference hosted by TMNY. (photo credit: E. Jennings)

Nancy and Joi

americorps1

Americorps paid a visit to the museum on May 11 ready for work! They did cleanup work in the yard. L-R: Mayo Campos, Adriana Bayona, Natalie Anne, Liz Griffin and Alyse Kearns. (photo credit: N. Anne)
During an afternoon rain shower, the Americorps group gathers in the Brussels trolley. (photo credit: N. Anne)

americorps2

IBM volunteers return a third time!

On Friday, May 10, 2013, IBM once again came through with volunteers to help the Trolley Museum get ready for opening day. The work accomplished today included: brush cutting, repair and pin the raised bed that Sandy messed up and plant seeds, mulched islands in parking lot, painted bucket truck safety orange, painted line truck in primer, picked up random ties and debris left by Sandy, painted office, and moved interlocking board in gallery (its heavy!).

We want to thank the IBM volunteers and IBM management for making this possible. And thanks to the following businesses who supplied free food to the volunteers: Fresh 'n Easy Bakery, Mariner's Harbor and Savona's Trattoria.

The bucket truck receives safety orange paint. (photo credit: J. Bisti)

truck painter

pinning ties in planter

The raised bed that Sandy caused damage to is repaired. (photo credit: E. Jennings)
The line truck is cleaned to get it ready for primer. (photo credit: J. Bisti)

cleaning out back of line truck

stacking brush on cart

Brush is piled on a cart to be hauled away. (photo credit: J. Bisti)
A general meeting of the volunteers was held March 2 2013 where the group was brought up to date on the activities at the Trolley Museum. (photo credit: E. Jennings)

volunteer meeting

Jeff and Chester

Jeff Bisti and Chester Hartwell discuss the storm cleanup. Notice Superstorm Sandy's high water mark at center of PCC wheels. (photo credit: E. Jennings, Nov. 3, 2012)
Marty Lennox clears leaves. (photo credit: E. Jennings, Nov. 3, 2012)

Marty Lennox with leaf blower

IBM Volunteers Make a Difference

On Friday, October 26, 2012, another team of IBM volunteers came to the Trolley Museum to work on a variety of projects for Make a Difference Day. Brush was cut and chipped along the hillside, tulips and daffodils planted at the front fence, visitors center carpet cleaned, windows washed on the trolleys in the barn, and the following equipment got fresh paint: Loco No. 9, F401 flat car, PCC 3204, platform hi-rail truck (blue and safety yellow), bucket truck (primer).

We want to thank the IBM volunteers and IBM management for making this possible.

9 crew

Painting Loco No. 9. (photo credit: J. Bisti)
The Interborough flat car paint team hams it up a bit. (photo credit: J. Bisti)

401 crew

brush in truck

Larger brush that can't be chipped is carried away. (photo credit: J. Bisti)
The platform truck gets new paint. (photo credit: J. Bisti)

blue truck painters

bucket truck is painted

The bucket truck gets a coat of primer. (photo credit: J. Bisti)
Group photo. Thanks for another fantastic IBM volunteer day at the Trolley Museum! (photo credit: J. Bisti)

group photo

Volunteer picnic 7-4-12

The volunteers of the Trolley Museum of New York at the July 4 2012 gathering: Bill, Harly, Ann, Travis, Allen, Chester, Jon, Evan, Dan, Will, Ron, Harold, Ingrid, Collin, Jim, David, Marie. (photo credit: J. McGrew)
Bill Brandt, pictured, assists Jon McGrew with the packaging and distribution of the 2012 brochures (photo credit: J. McGrew) .

brochures

path to subway car

Young volunteers Collin Schoonmaker, Harold Anderson and Chris Coddington work on improving a path to the subway car. (photo credit: J. McGrew, Oct. 6, 2011)
On June 14, 2011, IBM hosted an event at the Walkway Over the Hudson to recognize the service organizations and IBM volunteers who participated in IBM's Centennial Year of Service. There were more than 2000 IBM employees in the Hudson Valley who volunteered at over 50 organizations. As seen here, at the conclusion of the event, each organizaton was invited to carry their banners across the bridge. (photo credit: J. McGrew)

Walkway 1

IBM Centennial Year of Service Volunteers

On Friday, May 20, 2011, IBMers from throughout the Hudson Valley descended upon the Trolley Museum and accomplished an impressive amount of work. Projects included laying sod in the picnic area, mulching the traffic islands in the parking lot, picking up brush, organizing parts, building a planter, painting a locomotive and cleaning a subway car. We want to thank the IBM volunteers and IBM management for making this possible.

IBM No1

The picnic area first has gravel shoveled out and then top soil set in. (photo credit: J. McGrew)
Sod is finished in the picnic area. (photo credit: J. McGrew)

IBM No2

IBM No3

The traffic islands in the parking lot are weeded and mulched. (photo credit: J. McGrew)
Brush is piled in City trucks. (photo credit: J. McGrew)

IBM No4

IBM No6

Locomotive #9 gets more black and yellow paint. (photo credit: J. McGrew)
A group photo. There were 55 IBM volunteers total. This is a portion of them gathered just after a rain shower had scattered people finding quick shelter. (photo credit: J. McGrew)

IBM No8

IBM Food!

Lunch time! IBM supplied food, water and snacks for the hungry participants. (photo credit: R. McKnight)