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The October meeting of the Cornell Railroad HistoricalSociety will take place on a special date this month. In a con-current meeting with The History Center of Ithaca, we willbe hosting John Laurence Busch, an independent historianwho has scoured archives and libraries from the East Coastof the United States to the far reaches of Europe, uncoveringa wealth of never-before-published material on CaptainMoses Rogers and the Steamship Savannah. He lives inConnecticut. For thousands upon thousands of years, humans hadalways known that there was a force far more powerful thanthey upon this Earth, and that was what they had come to
call Nature. Whether it manifested itself on land, or onwater, or in the sky, the forces of Nature dominated Man atevery turn. Only with the natural means of animals, orwheels, or paddles, or sails, did humans have a chance—andin the minds of the ancients, only a chance—to overcome itspower, if Nature so chose.Attempts to overcome this supremacy always provedfleeting.
In the early 1780s, hot air balloons rose into the skiesabove France, leading witness Benjamin Franklin to believethat he had looked through a window into the future. Butfor most others, such endeavors led to an entirely different
conclusion—“What an interestingexperiment, yet it will never serve anypractical purpose.”
So it also was for the many efforts tocreate a steam-powered boat in Europe andAmerica through much of the 18th century.Inevitably, the inventors of such machinescould make them work for only a few limitedexperiments, or soon found themselves andtheir creations facing a solid wall ofall-too-human resistance.
This resistance was grounded in morethan just the perception of impracticality. Italso was based upon the unspoken fear ofdaring to try to overcome Nature.
Then, at the dawn of the 19th century,along came a brilliant, creative, andcontroversial American by the name of
ValleyNewsletter of the Cornell Chapter, NRHS October, 2011
LeakySpecial Meeting Date — October 4
Concurrent Meeting with The History CenterSteam — Steamships Not Railroads
Author of "Steam Coffin" to Speak on His BookAbout the First Atlantic Crossing via Steamship
Cover painting of the Savannah from John Laurence Busch's book The Steam Coffin.
Robert Fulton. In 1807, he declared his intent to build anexperimental “steamboat,” which would be used to initiate acontinuous passenger service between New York City andAlbany, New York. With the success of his North River SteamBoat, Fulton showed that it was possible to alter artificiallyboth a person’s location and the amount of time it took tochange it. In so doing, he also broke through the enormouspsychological barrier that had existed in people’s minds; it was,in fact, possible to overcome Nature to practical effect.
It took time for many people to accept Robert Fulton’striumph as the truth. (Fulton was not alone in his invention ofthe steamboat, and was contested, hotly at times, by others.Among them was Cornelius Van Der Bilt [Vanderbilt], whosuccessfully ran steam ferries and boats on the Hudson whilestill in his 20s. He extended his shipping empire and later beganacquiring railroads, becoming what is known as "America'sFirst Tycoon" and founder of an economic empire based on theNew York Central Railroad. — Editor)
One man who did not need to be convinced was a sloopcaptain named Moses Rogers. He had witnessed the firstsuccessful runs of the North River Steam Boat to Albany, andthe experience gave him the fever—steamboat fever.
Moses soon became one of the first steamboat captains inhistory, taking command of one of Fulton’s first rivals, thePhoenix. In his new profession, Moses learned not only thetechnicalities of this new technology, but the peculiarities of atraveling public just getting used to this new mode oftransport.
In time, running these steamboats on rivers, lakes and baysbecame a normal and accepted part of American life in theyears immediately following Fulton’s triumph. But takingsuch a vessel on a voyage across the ocean was a differentproposition altogether. Experienced mariners didn’t think itcould be done. These early steamboats, they declared, werejust too flimsy and unwieldy to withstand the dangers of thedeep.
But Moses believed otherwise. Combining his knowledgeof the old mode of transport—sail—with the new mode oftransport—steam—he set out to design a vessel that wascapable of overcoming the many dangers of the sea. This craftwould be not a steamboat, but a steamship, the first of its kind.
Moses found willing partners for his vision in the boomingport of Savannah, Georgia. In due course, they formed theSavannah Steam Ship Company, to build what would becomethe first steamship the world had ever seen.
Finding a crew for this new-fangled contraption proved tobe exceedingly difficult. Traditionally-minded mariners lookedupon its unnatural means of propulsion with the greatestsuspicion. To them, it was not a “Steam Ship”—instead, it wasa “Steam Coffin.”
Doors for the meeting will open at 7:00 PM, and themeeting will begin promptly at 7:15 PM. Feel free to invitefriends and interested parties to this special presentation.
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Cornell Railroad Historical SocietyP.O. Box 3886 Ithaca, New York 14852
Officers,and Directors — How to Contact ThemPresident : Ron Koger116 Candor Hill RoadCandor, NY 13743(607) [email protected]: Steve Peck4978 Frontenac RoadTrumansburg, NY, [email protected] (607) 387-5508NRHS Regional Vice-President: Dave Flinn866 Ridge Road, Lansing, NY [email protected] / Gene Endres 126 Sears Street Apt. 1, Ithaca, NY 14850(607)[email protected] — or — [email protected]: Dave Flinn866 Ridge Road, Lansing, NY [email protected] Director: James Torgeson 393 Davison Road Apartment 5Lockport, NY 14094-4004(716) [email protected] Director: Steve Peck4978 Frontenac RoadTrumansburg, NY, [email protected] (607) 387-5508Editor/ Historian: Gene Endres (as above)Membership Director: [email protected](as above)Board of DirectorsGreg Dickinson Gene EndresDavid Flinn Ron KogerRichard Moore Steve PeckJim Torgeson
The Cornell Railroad Historical Society is a non-profit organization based in Ithaca, New York, chartered by the New YorkState Board of Regents and is affiliated with the National RailroadHistorical Society, of which it is a chapter. The CRHS is open toanyone with an interest in railroads, trolleys, model railroads,transportation, the history of these functions, etc. Meetings are heldon the second Tuesday of each month at the History Center, 401 EastState Street, Gateway Plaza, Ithaca, NY. From NY Route 13, takeGreen Street (NY 79 East), three traffic lights to East State Street.After third light, turn hard right into Gateway Plaza parking behind401 (large building with two pizza shops on ground floor). Ifwestbound on Rt. 366 or 79, make left at foot of hill to 401 (GatewayPlaza). Doors open at 7:00 PM. Meetings start promptly at 7:15 PM.Programs range from videos to slide presentations to guest speakers,authors, model displays and more Meetings are generally active andinteractive, with members present representing all aspects of
railroading, including current andretired railroaders. The meeting roomcontains large-scale video projection andother computer-based projectionsystems.Web Site: http://www.lehighvalleyrr.com
www.facebook.com/CornellRailroadHistoricalSociety
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Pictures from the CRHS Picnic at Oakland Road near Weedsport in July, courtesy of Larry Parmelee.
Frank Barry, well-knownto the Cornell Railroad His-torical Society, received theFred A. and Jane R. StindtPhotography Award for life-time achievement in railroadphotography from the Rail-way & Locomotive HistoricalSociety at the Center for Rail-way Photography and Art'sdinner on April 15, 2011 inLake Forest, Illinois. The award was presented byRailroad History AwardsChairman, Mark Entrop.(Photo ©Steve Barry, editorRailfan and Railroad (norelation to Frank)
History Awards UpdateFrank Barry Honored by R&LHS
(From the Web Page of the Railway and Locomotive HistoricalSociety)
The Fred A. and Jane R. Stindt Photography Award for2010, was presented to Frank Barry on Friday, April 15, 2011at the Center for Photography & Art's annual "Conversations"conference at Lake Forest College in Illinois, just north ofChicago. The award was presented by Railroad HistoryAwards Chairman, Mark Entrop. The full citation, written bythe Scott Lothes, Executive Director of the Center for Rail-road Photography & Art, appears in the Spring-Summer 2011issue of RAILROAD HISTORY. Here is an excerpt: "WhileBarry's biography is impressive, it is the nature of his travelsthat gives his photography such lasting poignancy. His inde-pendent style placed him in constant and intimate contactwith the land and the local people -- relationships that shinethrough in his work. The stories of places and people areintrinsically woven into the thematic fabric of his photo-graphs. They give both context and meaning to railroads asan entity and show steam locomotives as integral pieces oftheir communities. A half-century has added luster to Barry'sphotographs. They have taken on relevancy -- culturally, his-torically and aesthetically -- enhancing understanding of rail-roads both now and for the future."BULLETIN FROM CATSKILL MOUNTAIN RAILROAD:
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Waverly Free Press, January 13, 1911
Recent Trip InformationFinger Lakes Railway Offers Trips
LVRR Fall Foliage Rides Saturday, October 8, 2011
Come and board our 1950's coaches and travel by rail fora 90 minute, roundtrip, ride from the Shortsville LVRRHistorical Society Museum toward Historic Clifton Springsand Phelps.
While you are in Shortsville, visit the LVRR HistoricalSociety Museum. http://www.lvrrhs.org/ and the old historicdepot building, which is now a converted restaurant.
Train will depart Shortsville at 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm.Finger Lakes Railway and LVRR souvenirs available.
Concession stand on board.Reservations can be made on line at fingerlakesscenicrailway.com -or- call Judy at 315-374-1570.
Halloween TrainsSaturday and Sunday, October 29th and 30thSaturday, October 29th, Victor Halloween Trains are a
family favorite. Choose from 3 trips and be sure to wearyour costumes. Participate in a costume parade on the train.
Sunday, October 30th Waterloo Pumpkin Express isanother great event for a family-friendly Halloween event.Enjoy a train ride to Cayuga Harris Park where you canpartake of a Maze and some family friendly games. Hot dogsand Hamburgs will be available for purchase and dougnutsand cider will be provided, compliments of the WaterlooRotary and Interacf Club.Both are great events.
Make your reservations atfingerlakesscenicrailway.com
or call Judy at 315-374-1570
August 30, 2011: The Catskill Mountain Railroad hassuffered severe damage as a result of the catastrophicflooding of the entire Catskill Region due to the effects ofHurricane Irene on Sunday, August 28. Starting from thePhoenicia end of the railroad, the rising Esopus flooded overits banks and washed out Phoenicia Yard (similar to oursituation in 2005). The Empire State Railway Museum andPhoenicia Station survived, but will need repairs as well. Ourtrains were moved to safe ground at Mt. Tremper in advanceof the storm, and were not damaged. Heading east, thelocation known as Campground Curve completely washedaway, leaving the tracks in the river (similar to our situationin 1987). East of Mt. Tremper Station, there are some minorwashouts until you get to the curve at MP 23.3, where we hadbeen repairing damage inflicted from springtime storms.East of Cold Brook station, we have lost the BoicevilleTrestle. Our in-service track from the east end of Bridge C9to
Cornell Street in Kingston fared much better.As per CMRR president Earl Pardini, the Phoenicia end
of the Catskill Mountain Railroad will be closed this weekendwhile we make inspections and repairs as a result of thesevere damage from Hurricane Irene. We are workingtowards resuming train service on Saturday, September 10from Mt. Tremper Station only. Our Kingston City Shuttlewill operate normally this weekend, September 3. Forschedules, please visit http://catskillmtrailroad.com/
We thank you for your patience and support as we repairand rebuild Ulster County's only scenic railroad!-otto vondrakCMRR Volunteerhttp://catskillmtrailroad.com/
Vintage PhotosRail History On the Web
Our national library, the Library of Congress, has postedmany historic photographs taken by the Farm ServicesAdministration (FSA) during the Depression, but also for theOffice of War Information during the Second World War.One of the chief photographers was Jack Delano (birth nameJacob Ovcharov). He took many photos of rail workers andoperations, including a fairly large number of Kodachromeson 5x7 sheet film. The color on these photos from the 1930sand 1940s is evidence of the great archival qualities of thelate, lamented Kodachrome. One would hope that currentdigital work will last as long.
To fill out this newsletter, here are a very few of the his-toric photos found on the Internet.Top Photo: Cabeese in Chicago, Second Photo: Super Chiefat Albuquerque, Third Photo C&NW crossing trestle,Boone, IA, Bottom Photo: Setting retainers on Cajon Pass.
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A letter discovered in the archives of the Western New YorkRailway Historical Society, submitted by Jim Torgeson.
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Cornell Railroad Historical SocietyP.O. Box 3886
Ithaca, New York 14852
Postmaster:FIRST CLASS MAILThey say the Postal Service may haveto discontinue Saturday deliveries.We'll try to get the newsletter in themail before then, but our usualdelivery date has been Saturday. Whatto do??
Amtrak across the country — a neat idea or just plain crazy. Possibly it was a bit of both. My wife and I wanted to visit family in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was going to fly, but had a ton of complaints about the process of trying to find a decent air connection and about the increasing prices, not to mention all kinds of extra fees, inconvenience, security concerns, and on and on. I thought: why not just take the train?. It's cheaper, you get to see the country, and the main
Heading west, the Lakeshore Limited out of Syracusewas only about a half hour late, but it was pretty full. Bythe time it was fully dark after Rochester, it was full. Butwe got into Chicago in good time next morning, andthe Empire Builder to the Twin Cities and across the"High Line" route was in good weather and reallyfascinating. Food in the diner was good, if pricey. I sleptwell and had many good conversations with others onthe train. Coming back, I had the misfortune of having pickedup a cold virus in BC, so I was not really well all acrossMontana, the Dakotas and Minnesota. But the scenerythrough Glacier Park was, as usual, magnificent. See theshot from the train of a couple of BNSF engines inbeautiful Whitefish, MT. However, we kept losing timeall the way to Chicago, and many people missedconnections there. I did make the Lakeshore connection, but it was apacked train, the track was rough and I wondered if mycold would let me survive. But it did, and now I know Ican still do three days in coach.
drawback is three days in a day coach. But remember: Amtrak coach is about as spacious as airline first class. So I went on tracks and she flew. I left three days ahead and got back three days after she had returned. But itall worked out.
