This year we have new brochures which are very informative and attractive. The price was right so we bought 10,000 which we thought would last two years.  

We have sent brochures to Visitor Information Centres in Alberta and Eastern British Columbia so nearly 5,000 have been sent out. They were bundled and put in the mail on Wednesday.  Over 600 will be distributed in Edmonton. Great advertising and very reasonable.

Thanks to Gloria, Cathy, Chris and Irene.

A very successful weekend.  The rain on Monday was a bit discouraging but we had lots of visitors anyway. The train was a hit as usual and the new look of the station, washrooms and the Volunteer Centre brought many positive comments. The coffee machine works beautifully - coffee, hot water for tea, soup and hot chocolate makes the station cafe a good place to relax.

The volunteer centre is now painted and organized. It has a fridge (courtesy of Gloria and Niale) and a microwave.The sign says: no smoking, no cats, no dirty coveralls. It has space for Terry's office.  Two computers have been installed, one for Terry's use and one for general museum use. The volunteer centre will be the place where visitors can be hosted and welcomed, our records can be kept,  volunteer projects organized, safety meetings held and above all it becomes another social environment.

The lunch room in Calder and the work area has been cleaned up thanks to Brent.

We had several Community Service Volunteer assignments this week.  Without them we would not have made the progress that we did. Next week the crew from Alberta Hospital begins their assignment: Monday morning painting.  They will  painting the trim on St. Albert station and OPAL station.

The paint has been sorted and all the remnants from past projects have been discarded. Dunvegan Shop is being used temporarily as a staging area as things get moved around. As buildings and cars get sorted there are many things that appear and re-appear. We are presently searching for vacuum cleaners! 

If anyone has a full size fridge that they want to donate, let me know. Also, if you have any lace curtains that you no longer need or want, please let me know as well.

Thanks to: Terry, Judy, Jim, Don, Dave M., Dave S., Brad, Nathan, Ken, Stephen, Barry C., Barry W., Hans, Betty, Gloria, Niale, Cathy, Rosemarie, Roland, Janet, Ken H., John, Brent, Phil, Tim and the Community Service Crews.

On a sad note: Don Weymouth's sister passed away this week.  Our sincere 
condolences to you Don.

After many weeks of preparation by dedicated Museum staff and volunteers, the Alberta Railway Museum will open for the 2011 season this Saturday! We will be open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm all three days of the long weekend, and will have a train running once every hour starting at 11:00 am. The gift shop has been completely renovated, with many new and interesting items for every age and gender, and there are more surprises in store. Come on down for a visit and a train ride!

Switching has taken place and displays have been re-arranged. The display at the gate is headed up CP5000, followed by the stock car, two tank cars and the ballast car. John Watton's GP9 is separated from the rest of the locomotives in preparation for sandblasting and painting. 6740 is being readied for a wheel change out. Thanks to Terry, Dennis, Jim, Ken, Ted, Don, Brad, Dave and Ray Myers. Lumber has arrived for the restoration of boxcar 509893 so Barry and Phil can continue.

The Community Service Crews continue to help with painting, cleaning and re-arranging fixtures.  Barry is supervising the "curb appeal" activities. As a result they have been cleaning out the display cars.

Hans is rebuilding and completing the  counters in the gift shop, Sharon has replaced the fluorescent fixtures in the Freight room and Betty, Janet, Roland and Irene worked in the gift shop to set up displays and put out stock.

Janet and Roland have taken on the task of cataloging the artifacts at the museum. They will be working mainly in the Volunteer Centre (bunkhouse). All donations must  be cataloged and therefore must be verified by them.

Space has also been set aside there for Terry to set up small office for his documents and files.

The track spikes that were donated to us by PNR have been picked  up by On Track Rail Services.

CN is spotting a car on the spur for cleaning.  It has some lumber and laminate in it. We can have the contents in exchange for unloading it. Thanks to Louise and John.

The LaFarge 44 tonner is being inspected this week in preparation for moving to the museum.  It is a major donation and we are grateful to John Staples for identifying it as a potential donation, and to John Sidor,Terminal Manager at LaFarge for making the arrangements. Thanks also to CN's Robert Emond for the final inspection prior to the move.  CN  has donated the cost of the move.

Feel free to visit if you wish, but plan to work a bit as well.

Herb

     It has been a busy week. First, my thanks to all those who have put in so much hard work  to make the museum  visitor friendly by improving the curb appeal while maintaining their good humor. 
     Terry, Barry, Hans, Phil, Jim, Dennis, Ted, Nathan, John, Don W, Ken, Janet, Roland, Sharon, Chris and Irene put in a long day yesterday. We also had a Community Service Crew out. They helped to move fixtures, shelves and furniture.
     The washrooms are finished except  for floor washing.  A complete paint job was followed by new counter tops, sinks, taps and a new toilet. New mirrors have been put up along with some pictures in each washroom.  There is space for changing a baby in both washrooms. 

     The station gift shop has been completely re-designed, with new counter tops, new displays and will e filled with new stock for the opening..  A lot of planning has gone into this change. We have rented a Keurig Coffee System Coffee System  so that hot coffee, tea, cocoa and soup will be available in the gift shop.  The station waiting room is  being planned as a sit-down cafe for visitors along with some changes to the seating areas on the platform.

     The NAR display case was moved from the waiting room into the Freight Room (museum room) at the east end of the station. Roland and Janet will be putting that display back together. Sharon replaced all the fluorescent lights in the freight room as well as fitting the fixtures with diffusers.

     Terry conducted a safety class for new volunteers. It was also a refresher class for volunteers.  The Alberta Transportation Safety Management System requirement for Heritage Railways has incorporated a lot of changes which we must implement to maintain our licence to operate. Terry has spent hundreds of hours and completely revamped out Operating Manual. The result is about 40 pages. So considerable time was spent explaining safe car handling/switching requirements.  Following that,  a lot of switching was done.  

     Last year, PNR Railworks donated about 9 tonnes of spikes and bolts  in exchange for storing equipment on our spur.  On Friday, we arranged to have about 1 tonne put into one of our ballast cars and On-Track Railway Services took the rest. We will be paid for about 8 tonnes. This is the first step in clearing up the parking lot.  Rail has to be moved and clay pushed  back - Dennis has begun the process.  He and the `dozer are a formidable pair.     

Don has been pumping water from low-lying areas into the ditch so that it can run away. He has also been keeping the backhoe and Twinky operating.     Barry and Phil spent a few hours cutting up siding from the dismantled boxcar.  Some will be incinerated and some will be reserved for sidewalk repair

.Chris was using a metal detector and found, along with a few nails on the driveway(which he picked up!), a toonie and a penny. He will be investing them in CN stock

     The Volunteer Center is progressing nicely. You are invited out to see the museum and the progress, and perhaps give us the benefit of your help.Herb