The building we do today will preserve our rail heritage for tomorrow.

Donate a Ton

Help build our Empire State Express Siding

The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum has been working very hard on the construction of a new siding west of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad.   The goal is to use this siding in late summer 2010 for the storage of its operational six-car ex-New York Central Railroad Empire State Express stainless steel passenger car set.    At a minimum to hold that train, the museum needs six hundred feet of tangent siding.  

To date, the museum has:

1. Paid for and had the LA&L install a new turnout in their mainline.
2. Cleared and graded over 600 feet of land for the siding to be installed on.  In some areas, the over two feet of dirt had to be removed.  
3. Installed over 400 feet of track on sub-ballast.
4. Has the material on hand to install the next 150+ feet of track.

The biggest challenge the museum faces right now is affording the purchase of the 300 TONS of ballast needed to raise, tamp and level the currently installed track and the soon to be installed 150 plus feet.    That is six hundred thousand pounds of stone. Therefore we hope you can help us.

We are starting a new fundraiser called Donate-A-Ton! For every $20.00 you donate, the museum can buy one of the three hundred tons of ballast we need.  Where else can you donate $20 and know you have purchased a TON of material.    Every ton helps so please consider donating $20 or more.

Please help us fill our cars full of the ballast we need.   Thanks!

Partners in Panels – Completed!

Fundraiser for ex-New York Central Empire State Express coach #2567

As a part of our 2010 Annual Fundraising campaign, we are starting a new fundraiser called Partners in Panels to aid in the interior restoration of ex-New York Central Empire State Express coach #2567.   We have been actively working on the interior of the car over the past several months in the museum’s restoration building.  A portion of the work includes the total replacement of the lower interior wall panels on both sides of the car which had been damaged by some water infiltration and simple wear & tear from forty plus years of service.   At this time, we have all of the old panels removed and the substructure ready to receive new material.   We plan to start the wall panel installation work in late March with the goal to complete the installation by mid-May.  Yet, we need your help to be able to purchase the material needed to complete the job. 

The wall panel material we plan to use comes to us in 4’ by 8’ sheets and at a cost of $75.00 per sheet.   We are going to need 16 sheets to complete the job.   Therefore, we are looking for 16 people to donate $75.00 each to help us purchase the sheets of material that will make up the wall panels.    Donations can be made online by PayPal or by mail via the link or information to the right.   Checks should be made out to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum.   Donations to the Rochester Chapter NRHS and its Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. 

Would you please help us raise the funds to purchase the material we need to complete this phase of NYC #2567’s restoration in the coming months? Our current goal is to have the interior restored and display ready for the museum’s Diesel Days event in August.   We want to thank you again for your continued support and for becoming one of our Partners in Panels!