Saturday morning found us on the road in two motor coaches headed for the Youngstown Museum of Labor & Industry, which focused almost entirely on the steel industry that once dominated the Youngstown area. The museum had an interesting architectural design to highlight the exhibits, including an octagonal stair tower that gave the feel of a blast furnace. Exhibits told the story of the rise and fall of the steel making industry, as well as the life of a typical steel worker. After touring the museum, we got back on the bus and traveled to Kasgro Rail in New Castle. Kasgro builds and maintains a fleet of Schnabel cars and heavy duty flat cars. They sell or lease the special cars, and their services, to transport oversize loads for companies such as General Electric and Siemens, usually accompanied by a Kasgro caboose with its own crew. After a group photo on an enourmous flat car, it was back to the hotel, with a short stop to rail fan on the way. A buffet banquet and speaker followed. John Nadzam, Conrail locomotive engineer and engineer trainer (retired), shared some interesting stories of his days working for Conrail. Then it was off to bed so we could be on the bus early Sunday morning.
Conway Yard was our destination Sunday morning, where we were split into two groups and had an opportunity to inspect the hump yard tower and the locomotive servicing facilities. Then back to the hotel for two afternoon clinics; Roger Durfee on railroad photography and Brent Weisser relating his experiences overseeing CR's Mechanical Department. We packed a lot into 48 hours, as you can see by the photos below. Thanks CRHS for another well-planned convention!
- Andy