Stewartstown Railroad: Upcoming Work Weekend Announcement – OCT 3,4, and 5

We will be holding the first October work weekend, Friday thru Sunday, this weekend October 3,4, and 5. Meet at the station at 9 AM. The train will be running so we need to depart quickly and bring your lunch! We have a spot west of the picnic grove where the roadbed is sloughing down. We need to repair that with some big rocks, concrete mix and ballast so it is in good shape for the big train to cross.
On Saturday, October 18, we will be having a house work day to do some painting and fix-up and clean-up in the house we bought at 5 N Hill Street to get it ready for rental. We need a crew of scrapers and painters for this project, the RR Company will provide materials and tools. This will follow our usual 9 to 5 timing and we will provide a pizza lunch to the crew!!
On Saturday and Sunday, October 25 and 26, we will have the second October Work Weekend. The train will also be running that weekend, so I anticipate that we will be working west of the Red Board ( end of class I track).
We need to continue pushing on our tie and trackwork to keep our railroad in good shape. Ties deteriorate every day they are out there, we need to change as many as we can!!

As always, we have much to do and all are encouraged to come out and help!! Many hands speed our progress. October is one of the nicest months for outdoor work with cooling days and pretty leaves and scenery to enjoy whilst we are out and about on the line!To improve our safety effort , we are looking to be more diligent in using eye protection ( safety glasses) while working on track and equipment while striking, digging, pneumatic and  power tools. It is very easy to get some dirt in your eye and safety glasses will prevent this. We encourage each volunteer to come with eye protection, and wear it while working . We have a small supply of safety glasses in stock if you cannot!!

Hope to see you there!
Dave Williamson

Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad Christmas Party

🎄 Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad Christmas Party 🎄


You’re Invited!

Join us for a festive evening of celebration and camaraderie.


📅 Date: Saturday, December 14th, 2024
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Location: Stewartstown Railroad HQ Building
19 West Pennsylvania Ave, Stewartstown, PA 07363


The evening will include:

A catered dinner by Original Italian Pizza of Stewartstown
A brief annual meeting of the Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad
A special proclamation from the York County Commissioners
🍷 Drinks: Soda, beer, wine, and water will be available.
👔 Attire: Business casual or your finest railroad-inspired look! 😊


Please RSVP to Mike Ruane (friendsofstrt@hotmail.com) by December 7th, 2024


We look forward to celebrating the season with all our dedicated volunteers!

2024 Stewartstown Railroad Work Weekend Schedule Released for January – June

We are sending out the following list of proposed trackwork weekend dates for the first-half of 2024 so that you can get them in your calendar and plan to help out! Keep a watch on our website for any changes.

We will be continuing with the maintenance and upgrading of the Class I track from station to picnic grove planning to install approximately 250 ties, plus continuing with tamping and ballasting. We will continue working towards Five Forks Crossing. There are about 150 ties left to install to get to there. Or less if we get a bunch done in December!! Conditions improve once we get past Five Forks and we should move faster from there to Bridge Five.

Work Weekend Dates for the first Half of 2024:
January 20 and 21
February 17 and 18
March 23 and 24
April 5, 6, 7
May 17, 18, 19
June 7, 8, 9

Coach work on coach 1158 and 1341 will be on- going, contact Dave Watson to help out with the coach work. The goal is to have 1158 looking good, complete and serviceable for Easter Bunny Trains.

Work in Locomotive #12 is ongoing and we want to have it serviceable by mid -2024. To help with the locomotives, contact Mark Koppenhaver. We have winter maintenance tasks to do on both #9 and #10.

We will be working on caboose 782 and the new flatcar to get them in service next year, contact Dave Williamson to help with these projects. We are also looking for a crew or individuals to help with the Erie Railbus #300, and to get the red motorcar and trailers back in service for some motorcar excursions next year. Contact Dave Williamson to help with these projects.

We will be posting work weekends at least six months out so that hopefully we can avoid schedule conflicts and get some good work crews out. We are looking forward to a good year in 2024 with many trains, events and improvements coming down the line!

Regards,
David Williamson
fairmontdave@gmail.com

Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad, Inc. receive a $10,000 grant from The Powdermill Foundation of York County

We are pleased to announce that The Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad have received a very generous $10,000 grant from the Powder Mill Foundation of York County. These funds will be used to finish the external painting and complete the inside restoration of coach 1158. We sincerely thank the Powder Mill foundation for their generous gift to help push 1158’s restoration across the finish line. When complete, coach 1158 will be added as a second passenger coach, more than doubling the amount of passengers that can take a nostalgic train ride from the turn-of-the-century on the Stewartstown Railroad.