Things have been rather quiet in Phillips since mid October when #4 entered the roundhouse for its winter hibernation. In the few weeks that followed, several cars were wrapped in tarps, the bulk of the gift shop supplies were removed for the Whitman and Springfield shows, and the generator was removed from the roundhouse for safe keeping. From the viewpoint of a passerby, the railroad has been in hibernation for the past five months.
Actually, the railroad has been extremely busy. Jeff Haley, a local contractor gave us an estimate of $84,000.00 to complete the remaining four stalls of the roundhouse. This was submitted as part of a proposal for a federal grant to upgrade the Farmington and Phillips Historical Societies and the Railroad. Unfortunately, the grant was not funded, but was liked. We have been encouraged to resubmit it.
Many of you have heard conflicting stories in regard to the purchase of the property through which our right-of-way passes. Herb Spencer has offered us 99+/- acres, his trailer, and Ambleside for $140,000.00. It was appraised at just under $108,000.00. We offered $120,000.00 and things have not changed in nearly two years.
The Phillips Post of the American Legion asked if we were interested in purchasing the Phillips Depot, the machine shop, and the five acres on which they rest. We responded affirmatively. They are currently in the process of getting an appraisal.
We are currently making inquiries about a steam engine that may soon be on the market. One of our members informed us of this possibility. I will withhold the details of this investigation because of the sensitive nature of the situation.
The "Colorado Couplers" we purchased a few years ago are being retrofitted to mount on our cars. Stirrup steps have been fabricated for all our boxcars and flanger #505. A pair of freight trucks is also being constructed. We procured 610 feet of 40 lb rail for the passing siding near the roundhouse. The light rail of the mainline in that region will be replaced with 50 lb rail (which we have). The light rail (25 lb, 30 lb, and 35 lb) will be used in the roundhouse expansion.
The plan to replace the bridge over Beedy Brook was temporarily delayed because we erroneously thought the steam engine we are looking at was heavier than our bridge design. Plans are back on track. We will be asking the Department of Environmental Protection if we can replace the North abutment as it occurs in the 1916 survey. If this is approved, we can fabricate the bridge with the steel on hand.
Preliminary talks have taken place between the railroad and an outfit in Pennsylvania to cast the components to manufacture duplicates of the original seats in our two Laconia Coaches. A great deal of work is involved in this project.
Maplewood Station has been given to the railroad. We will be moving it to Phillips as soon as weather permits. It is in sad shape, but has four good walls. The roof, floor, sills, and windows need to be replaced. This and the section house moved to the site last fall are looking for restorers.
The railroad has been indeed busy. I have been in conversation with several members of the Board of Directors and we all seem to be in accord; if we can obtain the property, the depot, or the steam engine and continue all the other undertakings, we cannot maintain our properties with our present all-volunteer structure.
We need a manager or superintendent and an assistant to maintain our physical plant and be available to assist the many railfans that visit us on days we are not operating. To most of the members of the Board, the aforementioned opportunities are the things we have dreamed about, but the realities come with responsibilities which we need to address.
The past few years we have made great strides in upgrading our track, completing four stalls of the roundhouse, repairing our buildings, and maintaining and restoring our rolling stock. Our accomplishments would have been nearly impossible without the generosity of our members, friends, and the Amherst Railway Society. But even this generosity will not support a manager and an assistant, nor does it provide a continuing future for the Railroad as an organization. What we need is an endowment to cover all the costs associated with paid personnel, so that our normal operating budget would not be affected. Thus we need an endowment of nearly a million dollars. This would insure the continued existence of the railroad. Only the interest will be used from the endowment, the principal cannot be touched.
I have been asked by several of our members and friends, "What will happen to the SR&RL RR when Wes Spear no longer has the ability to do the many things he has done for the Railroad for the past 35 years?" The endowment answers that question - both short term and long term.
Can we raise a million dollars? I think we can. Last year we established a securities account with Charles Schwab. The account was not advertized by other than word of mouth, however it contained over $32,000.00 of gift stock by the 31st of December. People are generally reluctant to invest in an organization that does not have a plan for the future. The Endowment Fund secures the future of our Railroad.
Along with this letter is our normal membership renewal envelope. We are looking forward to having you aboard again and hope you get a chance to visit Phillips and see the progress we are making. Many thanks to those who have already renewed their membership. I encourage your support of our Endowment Fund and if you desire to pledge toward the Endowment Fund over the next few years, just indicate this on the renewal envelope. If you would like to donate appreciated stock to the Endowment Fund, please call (or have your broker call) Deborah Francesco at Baldwin Financial Management (1-888-532-0566) for details.
A version of this letter will be going out to several non-members and Foundations. If you know persons or organizations we should contact, please contact me. We would also appreciate the names and addresses of any who share our common interests.
