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Issue 06-2, Summer 2006
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Chicago Public Television,
Channel 11 - WTTW,
Visits Museum
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Bob Breese-Rodenkirk with CA&E 20 form the backdrop
for Geoffry Baer and his WTTW crew at Blackhawk station.
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Geoffry Baer, and his WTTW crew came to Castlemuir on Saturday, June 3rd to photograph a segment of an
upcoming Geoffry Baer Travelogue "Fox River Valley." It was a picture perfect day with CA&E #20 resplendent in its full red and
gray and crew members Bob Rodenkirk and Dan Zedan.
attired in their "freshly pressed" uniforms. They put her through her
paces for two hours of filming along the Fox River Line.
Because June 3rd was a non-operating day for the Museum, people were needed as riders. South Elgin's Parks
and Recreation Department's Jim Reuter was contacted seeking community members to participate. Signs were posted in
South Elgin locations for several days prior to the big event. Fifty South Elginites and museum members showed up to provide
the needed "extras." While our 1902, CA&E car 20, was the "star of the day" the WTTW crew also shot AE&FRE #5,
another piece of local history that moved the freight to the Elgin State Hospital from 1946 to 1972.
Geoffry Baer, interviewed several Museum and community members during their two and one-half hour visit and round trip
to Blackhawk station. Keep an eye out for our museum on television in the fall.
Thanks to everyone at the Museum who did such a great job on short notice. Thanks also to Geoffry Baer and the WTTW
staff for featuring the Museum in its premier travelogue series.
Mike Tyl
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WTTW crew filming Conductor Dan Zedan as CA&E Car 20 prepares to depart on its southbound trip
to Blackhawk station.
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WTTW Producer Dan Protess is shown here with Car 20 shortly before its departure to Blackhawk station in
the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve.
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Growing Pains
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I received a note the other day from a fairly new member. He wanted to know about programs and opportunities to volunteer
at the Museum. This member is roaring to go, and he wants to plunge in and contribute to the Museum's success. Unfortunately,
I didn't have a good answer for him about volunteer programs
other than that a good area to contribute his volunteer time is
with the train crew Transportation Department, and with the track crew Maintenance of Way (MOW) Departments.
The Transportation Department has built a train crew volunteer program to assure consistency in training and to assure that
the Museum professionally operates our demonstration train rides. The MOW Department has built a volunteer program to
assure that the track receives continual care and maintenance. These two departments have made big steps to creating and building
a volunteer program for their responsibility areas. And one of the most important steps is that:
1) The goals and projects of each department are clearly defined;
2) The Department Managers have created lines of communications to the Members that volunteer in their department.
However, many other Museum departments organize volunteer work in a completely different manner. Here, volunteer
work tends to be casual and ad-hoc. With an ad-hoc volunteer program, a new volunteer must show up at the Museum, and
wander the grounds until he or she finds a Member who is working on something. Then, our new volunteer has to approach
the working Member and ask if they can help. Hopefully, the working Member has something for the volunteer to do to help.
But that may not be the case if it is a small, one-person project. Consequently, the volunteer either continues to wander
around looking for a volunteer task, or the volunteer just gives up and goes home.
The Museum is not user friendly to new
volunteers. However, before suggesting any changes (and there are many I could
suggest), I want to write a few words on why the Museum relies on an ad-hoc volunteer system. Many of our newer
Members may not realize that the Fox River Trolley Museum has been owned and operated by two very different organizations.
Today's Museum, with 303 Members (June 1, 2006), is the Fox River Trolley Museum (FRTM), a membership
organization incorporated as an Illinois Not For Profit Corporation. Yesterday's Museum, with 27 Members, was the Railway
Equipment Leasing and Investment Company (RELIC), a tightly held closed stock corpoation and also a membership based
corporation (organization).
But, despite both being membership organizations; the stock corporation was a vastly different from the not-for-profit
(FRTM) organization. People did not join the organization and pay annual dues. Instead, they bought into the organization by
the recommendation of current stockholders through the purchase of stock shares. Because of the way people
became stockholders (members), it was a vastly smaller organization. How much smaller? The 1982 membership roster lists
21-Member stockholders and six - Friends (non stockholders)*. There were only 27-people in the entire organization to
operate and support the Museum! Now, if my memory serves me right, of those 27-people from 1982, 15-people were
Active Members over half of the total membership! During the Museum's operating season, these Active Members would
volunteer (work) on average about 2-weekends a month. And a lot of Active Members were volunteering every weekend a month.
Now, a small organization, where everyone knows everyone else and where half of the Members are active volunteer runs a
lot differently than larger organizations. In small volunteer organizations, most projects are done at an informal, word of mouth
level. For example, in RELIC, with the exception of scheduling operators for our demonstration trolley rides, most projects
were planned, and executed informally and through word of mouth communication between the volunteers. Most active
members would be already out at the
MUSEUM, and if you weren't super active, but wanted to volunteer, you showed up
and wandered the grounds until you found a member working on something and they needed help. Sounds familiar, it should as
that is today's method of Museum volunteering!
That was then, what about today? Today, the membership of the Fox River Trolley Association is over 11-times larger than
the membership of the original closed stock corporation. In an ideal world, our Museum would have over 11 times more
volunteers than in 1982. That would translate into over 166 Active Volunteers! Yet, it seems that we only have about 30 Active
Volunteers. Membership grew over 1000%, but Active Volunteers grew only 100%. Where are the rest of the Active Volunteers?
They are waiting for a Volunteer Program. They are waiting for a program:
1) Where the Museum takes seriously its role to teach volunteers the skills they need to volunteer at the Museum;
2) Where the Museum establishes a Volunteer Policy and Volunteer Guidelines to assist the volunteer to rapidly
start contributing to the Museum Mission and Vision;
3) Where the Museum's Managers concentrate more on leading, organizing, teaching, planning, and managing of
volunteer projects, instead of actually taking on the actual work of the volunteer project;
4) Where the Museum's Managers take advantage of the Volunteer management concepts of other railway preservation
groups, such as the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway and applies them to the specific needs of our organization.
Creating a volunteer program will take an enormous amount of work and effort. But not only in creating the program, but
in changing the Museum's culture and outlook so that we do not behave as past relics, but embrace the dynamic future of
creating service opportunities for volunteers.
I challenge the Museum's Board and Managers to start thinking along these lines so that we can create and deliver a
real volunteer program for the 2007 Membership year. I also challenge the Museum Membership to share their ideas with
me, other Directors and Managers and other Members about what they want in a volunteer program. Please send me an Email
or write a letter to me at the Museum's address.
See you in South Elgin!
Edward Konecki
edwardkonecki@aol.com
*The 1982 Roster lists the following people: Al Barker (S), Frank Bartusek (F), Kendrik Bisset (F), Bob Blaus (F),
Stan Bristol (S), Fred Crissey (S), Robert DeYoung (S), Wendell Dillinger (S), Tom Dionesotes (S), Dave Doerner (F),
Chuck Galitz (S), Joe Hazinski (S), Tom Hemminger (S), Dave Hoffman (S), Edward Konecki (F), Fielding Kunecke (S),
Fred Lonnes (S), Don MacBean (S), Don MacCorquodale (F), Rick Mink (S), Mike Mitzel (S), Ian Muir (S), Frank Reese
(S), Ralph Taylor (S), Lee Walsworth (S), Bob Wayman (S), and Don Zavacky (S). Of interest is that 16 of these people
are FRTM Members today.
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Mission
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To preserve and interpret Chicago's electric transport era that began in the 1890s and
peaked before 1950. The electric transport era is significant because electric railways,
including interurban, rapid transit, and streetcars, helped the Chicago region grow to be one of
North America's great metropolitan areas. The Museum strives to show that electric railways
were more than convenient, they were and are a way of life for generations of people from
all walks of life.
The Museum fulfills this mission by preserving, interpreting, and operating historic
railway vehicles on its demonstration electric railway, over the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River
Electric route at South Elgin, Illinois. Furthermore, the museum preserves, displays and
interprets smaller artifacts, photos, oral histories, and documents which help relate the importance
of electric transport in and around the Chicago Metropolitan Area, putting them in context
with their surroundings and era.
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Operating Department Report
January 29, 2006
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Dan Zedan, Jim Gonyo, and Ralph
Taylor met on January 26, 2006, to discuss 2006 scheduling, basic training for
new people who want to join the Operating Department and retraining for existing people. The format for the certification card to
be carried by members was also discussed and formalized.
It was decided to train all brand new; people who want to be part of the Operating Department using the "Basic
Training Manual for Brakemen and Switchmen" published by The Railway Educational Bureau. This will give the Museum
credibility because we will be training to an accepted published standard. The cost of this training material is $10.50 per booklet.
Existing Operating Department personnel will be trained using this material during the regular two-year retraining sessions, or
as time permits on an individual basis. However, all existing personnel will be be provided a copy of this booklet.
Several other items were discussed, including the following:
Check off sheets for each car both for certification, and trouble shooting/preparing a car for service.
A published and approved list of items for operating certification.
Substation training.
Procedures for backpoling, resetting retrievers, etc.
Proper dispatching, operating train orders, designated dispatcher, proper turnover and additional dispatchers on busy days.
Agent/dispatcher training.
Conductor training.
Ralph Taylor
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Car Department
2006 Projects & Goals
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Car 715
Complete roof; install saddles and boards; install poles and associated wiring; rebuild or build new and install upper sash
on both sides; document and trace herald and lettering; fit and install side doors; do needed body work and prepare to
repaint; repaint; upholster 2 or three cushions; inspect and clean all motors
and compressor; clean compressor air filter.
Car 40
Install roof saddles and boards; prepare and install roof wire harness with lightning arrester; obtain trolley pole bases and
install with prepared trolley poles; install trolley catchers; install end stirrups to roof; prepare body for painting; inspect
motors, motor-generator set and control system; prepare to paint car in white and mint green scheme.
Car 316
Resume restoration work on this unit to return it to operation (tasks deferred to project leader); complete inspection of
motors, control system and air brake system.
Car 4288
Continue efforts to return car to service; door and lighting circuit work; roof replacement (tasks deferred to project
leader); inspection of air system and make serviceable; inspect motors and control system.
Loco 5
Continue efforts to resolve South truck binding; continue efforts to resolve battery problems; return to service (tasks
deferred to project leader)
Car 20
Develop plan and technique to repair various wood work problems; inspect traction motors, air compressor and
control system; clean compressor air filter; continue efforts to renew passenger seats
Car 4451
Continue efforts to keep car in revenue service; inspect and clean traction
motors and compressor; clean air compressor
filter; resolve door motor air leaks, replace door safety edges and improve air door operation; finish floor painting
Car 43
Prepare, prime and repaint roof in current paint scheme; inspect motors, motor-generator and control system.
Loco L-202
Continue efforts to remove and have two traction motors renewed (detailed task list under development); repair wipers
and woodwork.
Caboose 9648
Repair floor (tasks deferred to project leader) without taking car out of service.
Car 14
Continue stabilization efforts; install new motorman's window: build reusable side door plug to allow one door at a time to
be removed for repair and restoration.
Loco 73
Usual servicing (tasks deferred to project leader).
Car 5001
Develop plan to repaint exterior of this car in its current CRT scheme; replace B body single blower motor-generator
set; restore PA system to operation; repair review battery box conditions; return car to operating pool.
Car 7
Continue stabilization efforts.
Car 1030
Continue stabilization efforts and move to less prominent location.
Caboose 130
Develop plan to restart work on this car.
Units 6101-6102
Stabilize this pair including charging the batteries; develop plan to deal with paint.
Car 317
Continue to develop plan to restore this unit to operating condition; construct roof wire harness; inspect air compressor,
brake system, motors and control system to this end.
Car 11
Clean up car in preparation for repairs and restoration.
Car 4103
Continue to stabilize this car by sealing up unit from animal infestation and sanitize interior and parts stored in
this car; repaint this car with a primer then gray, cream & green; develop long term plan to pair with other 4000's for operation.
Car 6
Continue to stabilize this car; develop long term plan to motorize and restore this car.
Car S-315
Evaluate condition of this unit; develop plan to return car and its crane to service; replace tool box cover with a new one.
Car 1504
Develop plan to repair and restore this car including truck repairs and locating the Unit Crawler Crane back onto this car
as CA&E "C."
Car 2013
Develop plan to cosmetically restore this car by repainting and relettering it as the
last car out shopped by the Wilson Car Line.
OTHER CAR DEPT. PROJECTS
A- Continue cleaning and organizing the car barn including identifying historic tools and parts.
B- Establish a weekly car cleaning crew to keep our operating and display fleet in presentable condition.
C- Inspect and improve fire prevention and protection in facilities and on cars including storage of flammable materials
(fuels, solvents, lubrications, and paint).
D- Continue to develop written
procedures and instructions as well as develop accessible technical resources.
F- Develop an inspection pit.
G- Develop a parts inventory.
H- Plan for better on-site, secure and
under-cover storage of materials and parts.
J. R. Hazinski
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Help! ! ! !
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There are many many activities going on at the Museum that should be reported in
"Fox River Lines." But they are not.
All we need to paraphrase the U. S. Marines is
"A few good reporters."
Being a reporter or correspondent for the newsletter can be helpful to a members knowledge and understanding of the
Museum its goal and mission. Submittal requirements are very simple and easy to do. An e-mail addressed to me at
DMacbRR@aol.com will get the story to me. It can be part of the e-mail or an attachment to it either an MS-Word or WordPerfect or a
text document will do.
Pictures can be scanned and sent as JPEG files to accompany the stories.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Don MacBean - Managing Editor
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When Our Customers Win,
We Cannot Loose!
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A leading and very successful retail business has this motto as their corporate mission and vision, and I might add . . . passion.
It is similar to the motto of the highly successful great department store giant of the last century, Marshall Field - "Give the
Lady what she wants - The customer is always right." In the past decade or so it became the the basis of the fundamental
change made by the "biggies" of the museum business. They are Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, The Adler
Planetarium, The Shedd Aquarium and The Morton Arboretum to mention a few. They have changed their "modus operandi" from one
of being almost totally involved in "academic pursuits" as the basis of interesting the public in their area of study, hoping that
this would suffice to bring visitors, read
customers, to them. The change is "Education Through Demonstration" merchandised
to attract the public by arousing (tickling) the public's curiosity and imagination. Put another way, these museums took a page
out of P. T. Barnum's book or that of the operation of Chicago's highly successful and world renowned Museum of Science
and Industry. These educational institutions have become "truly educational" by "Give(ing) the Lady what she wants. - The
customer is always right."
The Fox River Trolley Museum stands at the threshold of a major opportunity to revitalize itself and achieve its
mission/vision and goals. We could be the single largest benficiary of the town's long range program to redevelop its downtown. The
museum has been identified as the "draw" - as THE
"DESTINATION" in that redevelopment. The village is very interested in
our vision and long range plan approved by our board in 1996 and seeing it come to be. The recent WTTW filming at the
museum is a case in point. When Our Customers Win, We Cannot Loose!
Comments invited.
DMacbRR@aol.com
Don MacBean
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Fox River Lines Staff
Managing Editor—Don MacBean, 817 College Ave. #5, Wheaton, IL 60187
(630) 665-2581 E-mail DMacbRR@aol.com
Associate Editor—Luke Helm, Jr.
Layout and Graphics— Jack Sowchin
Fox River Lines is the official publication of the Fox River Trolley Association, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit
corporation. It is published four times per calendar year for distribution to members and friends of the museum. Reproduction
of Fox River Lines, either in part or in its entirety, is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the editorial staff or the FRTA board
of directors. Entire contents Copyright © 2006 Fox River Trolley Association, Inc.
Submissions: Submission of stories from members and others is necessary to publish
Fox River Lines. Feature length articles are always welcome and considered. Please contact the staff before undergoing a project.
Contributors submit materials with the understanding that no monetary compensation is provided.
Correspondence: Comments, suggestions, and corrections relating to
Fox River Lines should be directed to Managing Editor Don MacBean at the address listed above. The editorial staff appreciates your feedback.
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