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NSG Visit September 15, 1996
Two Transportation Museums
by Bill Treichler
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The New Society of the Genesee visited the two railroad museums on September
15, 1996. It was a drizzly morning when we arrived early to be on time
for the 11:00 a.m. departure time of the first rail car ride. The visitor's
entrance to the New York Museum of Transportation wasn't open yet, so
we went in through the back door with the museum volunteers and followed
them to the ticket desk and gift shop. Bob Koch bought himself an engineer's
cap. Everyone bought a ticket for the ride from "Stationmaster" Jim Dierks,
then we went into the main exhibit hall and admired the beautiful restoration
work that has been carried out on the outside and the inside of the former
R&E interurban car 157, climbed through a Genesee & Wyoming caboose, and
viewed the all-wood frame of the 1893 Rochester streetcar numbered 162.
By then the rain had let up a bit and all went out on the platform to
board the rail cars for a trip to the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad
Museum.
Our tickets were punched; we climbed onto the back-to-back seats running
the length of the two passenger-carrying cars that are drawn by gasoline-powered
tractor cars. Ed Van Horn and Larry Kastner eased the cars away, across
switches for the spurs that run into the main building, past the cross-over
for the Museum entrance road and swung west, then southwest, swooping
down-grade across open meadow to skirt along wet lands, passing a farm-lane
crossing and then entering tall woods.
The grade ran along a side hill for more than a mile before the tracks
of the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville became visible below. We soon rattled
through the yards of the Genesee Valley and Rochester Museum, past diesel
locomotives, cabooses, and passenger cars to roll up to the Museum's depot.
Don and Yolanda Shilling had ridden with us and now Don got us updated
on the museum activities, members' articles on transport history, and
announcements of upcoming events like "Transortation Day" in May, "Phoebe
Snow Day" in June, the "Antique Truck Show" in July, "Railroad Days" in
August.
The New York Museum of Transportation is open from 11 to 5 on Sundays
all year, and on Saturdays during the warm months. The Rochester and Genesee
Valley Museum is open Sundays from June through September.Basic membership
is $15.
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