MY BIO PAGE AND AFFILIATIONS

From 1967 to present I have been a member of the Illinois Railway Museum. Over the years I have been a conductor, motorman, helped with restoration and given tours. I also participated in charter runs over several electric lines over the years.

During the 1970's and 80's I also belonged to the Central Electric Railway Association or CERA. I always enjoyed going on various South Shore Line and CTA fantrips sponsored by this group.

In 1990 I moved to Wisconsin and eventually joined the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. I became an active volunteer working the different fairs and shows held on the grounds, was both a conductor and engineer on the train ride and a tour guide or Docent for tour groups. I learned how to operate a Fairbanks Morse diesel, Alco diesel and the hybrid steam engine. I also was a conductor on the 16 car steam excursion train with Milwaukee Road #261 during the July 4th celebration in Green Bay a few years ago.

In 1998 I became active with Trolleycar '86 and was the safety trainer and motorman trainer. I wrote the rulebook for the organization and taught the classes. Eventually I was elected president and expanded my duties to the overall supervision of the trolley museum operations. I developed the current Appleton Trolley Museum website, recruited new members, participated in city planning committees where it involved the trolley museum, acquired some grant money for the organization and made some new acquisitions for the museum. I organized the successful bid and transport of car 28 from the CTA, rescued a flatcar from destruction at the National Railroad Museum and later traded it to Illinois Railroad Museum for much needed trolley parts. Over the 1999 winter I was able to produce the first 75 minute long video telling the story of Trolleycar '86.
I also supervised the addition of Birney 12 and followed its
loading and transport through to safe storage in Green Bay by negotiating with the Mayor of Green Bay. This year I oversaw the addition of more trackwork and the installation of our new loading platforms. Over the winter I plan to continue work on car 28 and get sheet metal on Birney 12.

In 1999 I joined the East Troy Electric Railroad and was able to volunteer my time as a conductor on their two car L train.


				*TOM'S RAILFAN PAGES* *MY BIO PAGE AND AFFILIATIONS*



	Home \| TROLLEY SQUARE \| SAVING CTA CAR 28 \| CAB RIDE AT THE EAST TROY RAILROAD \| MODULAR LAYOUT PROJECT \| RIDING ON BUDD CARS \| THE 14 YEAR OLD CONDUCTOR \| THE ELECTROLINER STORY \| MY UNCLE THE MOTORMAN \| SOME PHOTOS \| IN SEARCH OF CIRCUS WAGONS \| IRM IN 1966 \| MY BIO PAGE AND AFFILIATIONS


		A brief summary of my museum and railroad affiliations. From 1967 to present I have been a member of the Illinois Railway Museum. Over the years I have been a conductor, motorman, helped with restoration and given tours. I also participated in charter runs over several electric lines over the years. During the 1970's and 80's I also belonged to the Central Electric Railway Association or CERA. I always enjoyed going on various South Shore Line and CTA fantrips sponsored by this group. In 1990 I moved to Wisconsin and eventually joined the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. I became an active volunteer working the different fairs and shows held on the grounds, was both a conductor and engineer on the train ride and a tour guide or Docent for tour groups. I learned how to operate a Fairbanks Morse diesel, Alco diesel and the hybrid steam engine. I also was a conductor on the 16 car steam excursion train with Milwaukee Road #261 during the July 4th celebration in Green Bay a few years ago. In 1998 I became active with Trolleycar '86 and was the safety trainer and motorman trainer. I wrote the rulebook for the organization and taught the classes. Eventually I was elected president and expanded my duties to the overall supervision of the trolley museum operations. I developed the current Appleton Trolley Museum website, recruited new members, participated in city planning committees where it involved the trolley museum, acquired some grant money for the organization and made some new acquisitions for the museum. I organized the successful bid and transport of car 28 from the CTA, rescued a flatcar from destruction at the National Railroad Museum and later traded it to Illinois Railroad Museum for much needed trolley parts. Over the 1999 winter I was able to produce the first 75 minute long video telling the story of Trolleycar '86. I also supervised the addition of Birney 12 and followed its loading and transport through to safe storage in Green Bay by negotiating with the Mayor of Green Bay. This year I oversaw the addition of more trackwork and the installation of our new loading platforms. Over the winter I plan to continue work on car 28 and get sheet metal on Birney 12. In 1999 I joined the East Troy Electric Railroad and was able to volunteer my time as a conductor on their two car L train. In the Summer of 2004, I was motorman on several cars at the East Troy Railroad including the 2 car 4000 series train, 5-50 car 45 and the Open Trolley. I am also a member of the Shoreline Historical Society which concentrates on the operations of midwest electric railroading past and present. The past railroads include the North Shore Line and the Chicago Aurora and Elgin. The present railroads include the CTA and the South Shore Line. Also included are the many streetcar lines of the CSL, Chicago West Town and Gary Railways. I have contributed news articles to their quarterly magazine "First and Fastest" which has many photos and interesting facts about these great electric railways. In 2001 I have become a member of the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton PA. They are rebuilding a portion of the Laurel Line interurban system to operate their trolleys, and are a new part of Steamtown USA attractions. They have acquired quite a large collection of equipment, have put track through a 4000 foot tunnel, built interactive displays in their museum building and continue to restore more trolleys to operate over their line. I feel that belonging to these museums has broadened my knowlege and appreciation for the past achievements of electric railroading and helped me look to the future as more cities and regions rediscover what was lost and start to rebuild their transportation networks. The proof of the success of these new trolley systems is in the ridership and increased business for revitalized downtown areas. Property values continue to rise as a higher rate once the systems come on line. I look forward to seeing success in Minneapolis with their new system under construction since 2001. It will link their airport with the downtown and Amtrak station serving all suburbs in between.