Mad River & NKP Railroad Society, Inc.
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A Bit of History
Rollie
graduated with a Bachelor's degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Fenn
College in 1962 and became a Professional Engineer in 1967. Rollie worked for
several companies including the Nickel Plate, N&W, but spent the bulk of
his career with Whirlpool retiring in 1999.
Rollie was involved in the museum
from 1975 and held all officer positions at one time or another. At His
passing he was a trustee.
His wife Janice, four children
and four grandchildren survive Rollie. I only knew him for the last few
years, but he always had an up beat attitude, and everyone at the museum will
sorely miss him.
Memorials can be made to the
museum or Immaculate Conception School.
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My Summer Vacation con't. -The four places we visited were: 1). Steam Town in Scranton, Pa. You have to go there some time in your life. Plan a day or two if you are taking the long train ride. I could write a whole newsletter on Steam Town. Along with working and static steam engines, they also have a few vintage diesels including a well kept, Nickel Plate GP9.
The train station at the half way point of our ride from Steam Town. The engine was a 4-8-2 Mikado 2). Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington narrow gage railroad in Alna, Maine. We got there late and they were just putting the steam engine to bed, but they gave us a ride on the engine over to the ash pit. It was a short & sweet ride, but it was a thrill. 3) The Sandy River & Rangley Lake (narrow gage) railroad; is one of those one engine tourist trains that is struggling. No one was there when we arrived, but there was a sign on the door that said, "We need $15,000 to fix the boiler. Please call if you would like to contribute". 4) Gorham Rail Station Museum in Gorham New Hampshire. It is a small but interesting museum and they have a nice little Grand Trunk Steam Engine in the front yard. All of our stops have same issues we do, money (or never enough of it), the search for volunteers, and invaluable core of people who believe in keeping the history and legacy of rail alive. As they say though "There is no place like home". We still have best museum around. Be proud of it, Take care of it - Dale Owens Newsletter Editor |
