Amherst Railway Society
May 19, 2009
Meeting Announcement

"The Future of Rail Transportation in the Northeast"
by Deborah L. Murphy,
Manager of Passenger Service for the Vermont Railway System.

Deborah L. Murphy will discuss rail transportation in the northeast, where Amtrak is headed, and how Amtrak fits in with our smaller regional and tourist railroads and the importance of partnering with them to build the industry.

Ms. Murphy grew up in Vermont, attending school from the 4th grade until she graduated from high school.  A graduate of Syracuse University majoring in Environmental Studies and Forestry, she was also a New York State Licensed Real Estate Agent. She is OSHA Certified in Hazardous Waste Transportation, and certified in CPR and First Aide.  After graduation from Syracuse, she held positions in her area of expertise with Environmental Consultants and the like, eventually forming her own company specializing in 24-hour spill response, waste management and consulting. Deborah Murphy was even the Superintendent of Public Works for a small town in central New York, just prior to her current position.

Currently and for the past 3 years, Ms. Murphy is the Manager of Passenger Service for the Vermont Railway System.  She is responsible for the oversight of daily passenger services department for all Vermont locations and has direct responsibility of all passenger financial requirements. Also, she is responsible for working with private, not for profit and public agencies to promote passenger development services throughout The Green Mountain State.

In addition to serving as President of the Bellows Falls Chamber of Commerce, Ms Murphy is a Board Member of the State of Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Attractions Association, and on the committee of the Bellows Falls Downtown Development Organization.

Upcoming Events

• May 20, 2009 7 PM – 8:30 PM Public Meeting
  Presentation of the Knowledge Corridor Passenger Rail Study (Springfield to White River Junction
  Clarion Hotel, 1 Atwood Dr. Northampton
   
• May 30, 2009 2 PM ARS day on the Berkshire Scenic Railroad
   
• June 3, 2009 Rhode Island Convention Center Providence, R.I
  "Surface Transportation Connectivity -- A New Vision" Randall Wade, Passenger Rail Manager at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
  See below for details
   
• June 16, 2009 ARS Annual Meeting and premeeting silent auction.
  Speaker will be Donald Nevin,
  “Cog Railways of New Hampshire and Switzerland”
   
• July 5 -12, 2009 NMRA National Show
   

Message from the Show Director:

Having just completed our first formal Show Committee Meeting, I can report to you that we have much to do to get ready for the 2010 show (can you believe it’s the 2010 Show?!). We are first endeavoring to update our complete data base. A notice will be going out to all current exhibitors as well as all wait list applicants (BTW, there are 267 companies on our current wait list). In addition to this update of contact information, we are sending all contacts a very short questionnaire/survey to help us better understand what exhibitors are looking for which will in turn help us plan for the future. We will certainly keep you posted as the results come in!

My only other note is that of a reminder for the Silent Auction that we will have just before the final meeting of the season (at the June meeting). We are accumulating many great items that will allow you to bid, have some fun, obtain these items at a VERY low price, and we get to add to the grant fund all at the same time. Items include works of art, cars and locos, vintage Lionel, scenic materials, books, throttles (some new still in the box), clothing and more. I look forward to the “friendly” bidding that we saw at last year’s silent auction. It will be interesting..!!

Stay tuned!!!

John Sacerdote, Show Director

From the AMHERST BELT LINES…

National Train Show – July 10-12, 2009

The Amherst Belt Lines has been officially invited to participate at the National Train Show at the NMRA Hartford National Convention in July. We are in the process of finalizing our participants list and the layout plan. If you are interested assisting with the layout during the show, please contact Sudro, Clark or Alan for more details, or see the Modular Mumblings on line.

Thanks!

Thanks again to all who participated at the shows this season and support the promotional efforts of the Amherst Railway Society and Amherst Belt Lines!

Show Schedule Update

The Belt Lines attends about six shows per year from September through April. As with every rule, the NMRA National Convention and Train Show in July will be the exception in 2009. If you would like to mark your calendars ahead of time for shows the Belt Lines will be attending, here are the dates for the rest of the 2008/2009 schedule:

• July 5-12, 2009: NMRA National Convention and Train Show – Hartford, CT

FROM THE CLERK

Please check your mailing label. Your membership expires on June 30 of the year listed on the label. You will not be able to check out items from the library, or participate in other benefits of membership after that date. Now is the time to think about renewing. Free for Full Time students, 1 year for $20, 3 years for $50 and 5 years for $80

A Special Invitation for a Complimentary Day
at the Community Transportation EXPO

All passenger rail advocates, community leaders and public officials are invited to join RAIL Magazine and the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) as special guests on Wednesday, June 3 in Providence, R.I., for a complimentary day at the Community Transportation EXPO .

Specifically, passenger rail supporters are invited to attend our general session , "Surface Transportation Connectivity -- A New Vision" in which Randall Wade, Passenger Rail Manager at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation , will be a featured presenter. The session will focus on how reauthorization of our nation's surface transportation legislation can improve connections between modes on a regional basis, as well as offer long-term solutions to national priorities such as land use, energy policy and environmental protection.

After that session, all in attendance are encouraged to tour the Community Transportation Trade Fair featuring a collection of nearly 100 vendors, suppliers and consultants to the public and community transportation industry. Finally, the Association's annual awards will be presented on the morning of June 3 at breakfast gathering of attendees. These events will take place at Providence's Rhode Island Convention Center .

R.S.V.P.
To take advantage of this special offer, interested participants need only email their names, company or organization names and city/state to sampson@ctaa.org. We must have a valid email address to process these free registrations.

Day pass badges will be waiting for you at the registration area. For more details, you are encouraged to call Rich Sampson, CTAA's Communications Specialist and RAIL Magazine Staff Writer, at 202.415.9666.

For full details on Community Transportation EXPO, please visit www.ctaa.org/expo

Contact

Richard Sampson
Communications Specialist
Community Transportation and RAIL Magazines
800.891.0590 x729
202.415.9666

FROM THE TRIP COMMITTEE

May 30 Amherst members are invited to ride the Berkshire Scenic Railroad on their 2 PM run from Lenoxdale to Stockbridge.
Please see Phil at the May meeting to sign up, we need a count for the Railroad to reserve cars for us.

June 7th, we are arranging a visit to a local model railroad featured in model Railroader.
Details at the May meeting.
please let the Trip Committee know if you can help arrange more trips.

Thanks,

Phil Johnson
Trip Director