Amherst Railway Society
January 15th, 2008
Meeting Announcement

The next meeting of the Amherst Railway Society is Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 8:00 p.m. at the Amherst Middle school.

"Early Days of the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington RR"
by Mr. Chet Louis

One of our own members, Chet Louis, will present a program about the early days of the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington RR when the railroad was three (3) foot gauge. ‘The Deerfield River RR was chartered in VT in 1884; on July 4, 1885, it celebrated the opening of 3 foot gauge track from Readsboro, VT to the junction with the Fitchburg RR, at the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel in Rowe, MA. In 1886, proprietors of the railroad incorporated the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington RR (affectionately known as the “Hoot, Toot & Whistle”) in Massachusetts; it acquired this Mass. potion of the line and leased the VT part, with which it was consolidated in 1892. By then, the line had been extended north from Readsboro to Wilmington, VT, another 13 miles. The entire line was converted to standard gauge in 1913.’ (Compiled by Mike D’Amico)

Chet Louis comes to meetings from Granby, MA. He is a Senior Drafting Designer at Alstom Power in Windsor, CT, which used to be Combustion Engineering whose beginnings go back to “The Locomotive Superheater Co. of Chicago, IL. Chet has been collecting material on the railroad, which he hopes to use in a future book.

RAILROAD HOBBY SHOW - January 26-27, 2008

From Doug Moore, Volunteer Coordinator: Showtime is rapidly approaching and we are still looking for more volunteers. The addition of a fourth building means that we have places for more volunteer workers. Help is needed before, during and after the show. Sign up at the meeting or fill out the form on the reverse side and mail it to me. Please think about volunteering a couple hours of your time to help make our show better than ever.

Doug

Re Show Passes: All current members will receive their show pass in the mail before the show. Remember that if you volunteer to work part of a show day, January 26 or 27, you will not need to pay admission on that day. Everyone has to pay for parking this year.

There will be no February meeting because of the Railroad Hobby Show - January 26-27, 2008. The next meeting will be March 18, 2008.

Railroad Hobby Show - January 26 & 27, 2008

Please consider now whether you can volunteer at our great show.

NAME_____________________________________________________________

ADDRESS__________________________________________________________

TOWN_________________________STATE____________ZIP_______________

TELEPHONE___________________________________________

I would like to help at the Railroad Hobby Show. (Please indicate approximate times)

THURSDAY__________________________________________________________

FRIDAY___________________________________________________________

SATURDAY___________________________________________________________

SUNDAY______________________________________________________________

Please send or give to Doug Moore - PO Box 341, Warren, MA 01083

(413) 436-7071
djmoore@samnet.net

Trip Committee notes:

Chairman Phil Johnson reports no upcoming trips in the near future, however, more members are needed. If you enjoy researching possible sites for railfan trips, then this is the committee for you. See Phil at the meeting or call (413) 774-5855. p.e.Johnson@verizon.net

From Amherst Belt Lines - Our HO Scale Modular Layout:

“…Wow! December already! Time has flown by and we are already three shows into the 2007-2008 season. The Pepperell Siding Model Railroad Club show in September, Bedford Boomers 25th Anniversary show in November, and now the HUB show this past weekend (December 1 and 2) are behind us and we are left with two more races to the finish - our own show in West Springfield at the end of January, and the Worcester Model Railroader’s show at the end of February…” (Excerpt from Modular Mumblings - Winter 2007). For the Amherst Belt Lines, 2008 represents 30 years of model railroading. Congratulations! They are featured as the host layout at our upcoming show.

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