Microsoft Word - 99feb.doc Page 1 of 4 HotScoop Shovel Logo by Larry Rose A publication dedicated to the volunteers of the San Diego Railroad Museum February 1999 MUSEUM NEWS VOL XI NO II *** Annual Dinner *** The Museum's Annual Dinner will be held at the Bali Hai on Thursday, March 25th at 7:00pm. Cocktails and fellowship will start at 6:00pm. The Bali Hai is located at the north end of Shelter Island. We all had a fine time at last year's dinner and hope to see you there again this year! Cost is $25 single and $45 couples. >>>ENGINEER TRAINING<<< Randy Gibson I am planning a refresher course for all engineers at Campo on March 13th. It will cover the starting, running, and trouble shooting of all of our engines. Ross Bryan is going back to Kansas on the 15th, so this will be the last chance to make use of his knowledge for the next 9 months. Let me know if you can make it. >>>DO WE NEED VOLUNTEERS?<<< Alma Gilbert In a word, YES! However, we also need to keep the volunteers we have. A lot of our volunteers disappear while still trainmen, so we need to look at why. First, let me tell you a little about why I am qualified to make these suggestions. I have been volunteering, recruiting, or supervising volunteers for over 22 years, so I know a little about what makes a volunteer tick. People become volunteers because they like what they are doing, and they remain volunteers because they are happy at what they are doing. So that is the question, how do we keep the volunteers happy? First, no one likes to be thrown into a situation they don’t feel comfortable in. When we first started as trainmen, there was a class and then just a couple of meetings to expand our knowledge. Better training or at least more information available in a short form that is suitable for the quick information we give out on tours and trains. The backcountry history in the Hot Scoop is good, but we really need an abbreviated form. Second, in our initial training, we are instructed in our duties as trainmen. Then many promptly forget and/or choose to neglect said duties. No one likes to clean up after other people, but it is worse after it has set for a week because the trainmen neglected to pick up, empty trash, and water bottles. Third, when the conductor gives us a job to do, it makes us feel useless or untrusted if someone comes along after us and re-does the job or repeats instructions to passengers. In most cases, each trainman is responsible for one car. Let that trainman take care of his/her car and everyone will be much more relaxed. Fourth, trainmen are people too. Everyone wants to be appreciated for what they do. If someone does a good job, let them know. If someone looks extra sharp, let them know. If someone deserves recognition for going the extra mile, let them know. Trainmen may be at the bottom of the ladder, but they are important to the guests of the museum as they are the ones the guests are in contact with the most. So don’t step all over them as you climb. Fifth, some of us are career trainmen since for physical or personal reasons we have no desire to go any higher. These are the people you can use to train other trainmen, assign new trainmen to work on days when the veterans are there. Sixth, last but not least, encourage volunteers, don’t discourage them. Thanks for letting me air my thoughts, lets hope this will help in keeping the volunteers we have and any new volunteers that join us. Page 2 of 4 >>>PRIVATE CAR SERVICE<<< Maryanne Thompson Over the past year, private car services have increased due to bookings of charters and dinner trains. I am currently accepting candidates for private car service. If you are interested and have completed the trainman class, please give me a call. After I outline the work requirements, if you are still interested AND accepted, you will be paired with a lead steward on a dinner train or charter to begin your training. Of those who apply, 2 or 3 new stewards will be chosen by their training evaluations. Private car service IS NOT for everyone! It requires alot of hard work both before AND after trips. Most of you only see the finished product – not the 4 to 6 hours of work required to complete all cleaning and preparation. A lot of private car service is a "show" in the Pullman tradition and you will be expected to carry on these traditions. Interested? Call Maryanne Thompson at (619) 443-4418 by March 10. If you get my machine, leave me your name, phone number and the best time of day to return your call. Due to my "odd-hour" work schedule, if I have not returned your call within a day or two, please, call me again. >>>FROM THE TRAINING OFFICER<<< Jim Baker Trainman's Class Feb. 22, Mar. 1, and Mar 6. Contact the training officer ASAP to sign up (baker@train.sdrm.org or 619-670-7441). Brakeman's Class: Hands-on days are scheduled for April 10 & 24. We need to schedule 4 hours of classroom time before then. People who want to take the class will decide with the Training Officer when these will be. Remember, time as a Trainman is no longer required to take this class, but taking the Trainman's class first is highly recommended. Contact the training officer ASAP to sign up (baker@train.sdrm.org or 619-670-7441). Engineers: A review class is scheduled for the Morning of March 13, contact Randy Gibson for details. An engineer is needed for the Brakeman's class the afternoon of April 10. Please let me know if you can help. >>>SDRM on the World Wide Web<<< Randy Houk Folks all over the world have been able to have a look at our museum through http://www.sdrm.org without leaving their computer screens. Where we are and how to get there, what trains we run and when they depart are just two of the important things a visitor can find there. Lew Wolfgang has shouldered the burden of creating and maintaining our web page, and we all owe him a big THANK YOU! Roy Pickering and I have begun assisting Lew, and during the last two months the three of us have made some significant additions. Roy has done a considerable amount of research in the creation of a large HISTORY section, devoted primarily to the SD&A. The centerpiece is an article about the creation of the line, including lots of interesting photos. A ROSTER section includes specs and photos of motive power. Roy is also including interesting yarns relating to the SD&A and Santa Fe in a RAILROAD STORIES section. There you can read about a Santa Fe reefer journey from Escondido to New York City, a Santa Fe steam fireman, the SD&A surveyors trek from San Ysidro to Plaster City in 1907, and a 1932 hobo trip taken by my Uncle John from Wisconsin to California and back. Page 3 of 4 I have focused on our volunteers, motive power and rolling stock. The PEOPLE section of the PHOTO GALLERY includes ~40 photos of our volunteers. I don’t have a photo of everyone, so if you have one of the “missing” please send me either the photo or a JPEG scan for inclusion. The ROSTER section includes Diesel and steam locomotives, freight cars and cabooses. Each of these includes wonderful text provided by Bill Schneider, in addition to a photo of each piece. I’ve expanded the Diesel section somewhat (you can tell what I like!) by including links to descriptions of the prime movers, with photos, specs and text included, usually from original documents. Lew made some valuable improvements to the steam locomotive roster section. Another section I had fun working on is the map showing our route from Campo to Miller Creek. I scanned the map from our new timetable, and created points on it where photos can be found. As you move the mouse along the tracks the pointer changes shape to indicate that a photo is hiding there. By clicking the mouse you will see the photo at that location! You can see this feature on the “Golden State” link of the EXCURSIONS page. Thanks to Jack O’Lexey for providing some of the photos. I plan on doing a similar one for the Tecate trip. One of the things Lew has done that isn’t visible to the web visitor is to add certain keywords to the HTML code which makes it easier for web search engines to find our web page. This simple change brings more visitors to the web site, and (we hope) to Campo. He has been a terrific mentor to Roy and me in this endeavor, always helpful and encouraging. Please stop in at http://www.sdrm.org to see our work! >>>Backcountry Background Clarification<<< Tony Neece I have to take issue with the statement that it (Mitchell Convalescent Hospital) was the Army's first such hospital. When I was 5 years old, during 1943, my dad was C.O. of an Army convalescent hospital in Passe Grille, Florida. The Don-Cesare hotel had been converted into a convalescent hospital for GI's wounded in World War II. In addition to standard hospital facilities, it had extensive rehab facilities, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and counseling. It was a beautiful place, built in the style of a Moorish palace, right on a wide, sandy beach on the Gulf. It had its own fire station, a contingent of the Army band, and a great Sunday buffet in the officer's dining room. Unfortunately, all too soon, Dad got orders to go to Germany. Well, he came back in one piece, so I can't complain!! >>>March 99 Dates of Note<<< 1 Ops. meeting 16 School Days 1 Trainman class 20 Tecate 6 Tecate 20 Dinner Train 6 Dinner Train 20/21 MC STEAM 6 Trainman class 27 Tecate 6/7 MC STEAM 31 Museum Services meeting 13 Tecate >>>Article Submissions<<< Please submit articles in pure text (.txt) or MS Word (.doc) format. Please don't send typewritten pages, since retyping may be required. E-mail to hotscoop@train.sdrm.org is preferred, but floppy disks are OK. Page 4 of 4 >>>PHONE NUMBERS and e-mail<<< SDRM ADMINISTRATION @train.sdrm.org Museum Phone (La Mesa Depot)...........697-7762 Business Office, Pat Blackmore.........595-3030 office Business Office Fax....................595-3034 HotScoop Editor, Randy Houk............672-0111 hotscoop La Mesa Depot..........................465-8444 Campo Depot............................478-9937 Campo Car Shop.........................478-9451 Campo Caretaker, Thomas Lee Braginton..478-9344 DEPARTMENT HEADS @train.sdrm.org Facilities, Thomas Lee Braginton............478-9344 Director of Museum Services, Rich Borstadt..294-9321 borstadt Research, Bruce Semelsberger................264-7282 Director Railroad Ops, Denby Jones..........279-2419 jones Deputy Railroad Ops, Lew Wolfgang.........H-662-1963 wolfgang Crew Caller, Mike Retz ....................466-8808 retz Safety Officer, Lew Wolfgang..............H-662-1963 wolfgang Library, Roy Pickering……....................462-3392 pickering Operations, Ross Bryan......................478-9451 Operations Assistant, Jack O’Lexey..........274-4449 olexey Restoration, Ted Kornweibel.................461-0098 kornweibel Steam, Bob Miles............................280-8529 bob Training, Jim Baker.........................670-7441 baker RoadMaster, Allan Dillane...................582-4264 dillane The HOT SCOOP is published by the San Diego Railroad Museum. Please send address changes to: San Diego Railroad Museum C/0 Santa Fe Depot 1050 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101

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