Williams Train Day - June 20

Arizona Republic Article

Scott Craven Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com:
Future museum to showcase trains that built Arizona

GATX donates Airslide Hopper

GACX 56823, a former Santa Fe vintage 1972 Airslide covered hopper has been donated to the museum by GATX Corporation and arrived in Williams a few days ago.  The railroads in Arizona made and continue to make agriculture a major part of our economy.  Without support from corporations like GATX none of this would be possible.

Williams Train Days, June 14-15, 2014

• Exhibits will include the Arizona State Railroad Museum's 1923 Shay and other equipment.
• Railroad photography show
• Operating model railroad layouts
• Vintage automobiles, motorcycles and tractors
• The Grand Canyon Railway will have tours and equipment on display.  They will also be running the Cataract Creek Rambler with steam locomotive #4960. Trips are at 11am, 1, 3 and 6pm on Saturday and 11am, and 1 and 3 on Sunday.  Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for kids.

For more information, click here to visit the Grand Canyon Railway's web page.

Park Dedication

The Williams community gathered Saturday (31 May) for the dedication of the railroad and Williams exhibits in Glassburn Park.  Outstanding refreshments were provided by Williams Clean and Beautiful and American Legion.

The exhibits are the third of the community projects with a railroad theme.  The two gateway arches and the exhibits are the result of a long-standing partnership between the Museum and City of Williams.  In true community spirit the projects also involved businesses and individuals.  The BNSF Railway, Grand Canyon Railway, APS, Southwest Industrial Rigging, Chamber of Commerce and individuals contributed generously of funds and services in one or more of the projects.

Primary funding was made available through the Museum’s Transportation Enhancement Grants managed by Arizona Department of Transportation and City.  Labor was largely provided through the City’s various Departments.  Staff and project management was a cooperative effort by the City and Museum.

Alicia Raecke lent her artistic talents to the interpretive exhibits and the panels completed by Pacific Studio of Seattle, WA.

Comments at the dedication were made by Mayor John Moore, Supervisor Matt Ryan, and Museum CEO Al Richmond.

Governor Brewer signs HB2694 District Legislation

Last year we were successful in having legislation passed to form a district that enables us to acquire construction bonds on the same playing field as municipalities.  There was a component of that legislation that was not able and now will not be able to be completed for another year at least.  This required us to return to the legislature with a bill that separated the components which will allow us to progress with the Williams projects.

We secured a 44-14 vote in the House and moved on to the Senate.  Then the budget battle reared its ugly head.  This delayed most of the regular business at the legislature for about three weeks which caused us the hang by our fingernails until they returned to “normal” business.  Once back on the agenda we were vindicated with a 22-6-2 vote (the two non-votes would have voted for us had they been present).  That vote occurred at 9:31 PM on 23 April in the last batch of House bills considered before they adjourned Sine Die at 1:46 AM on the 24^th.  Governor Brewer signed the bill into law on 30 April.

Now, after the year’s delay, we can begin the process for acquiring the bonds.  Stay tuned for further developments.

Introduction

The Museum will have as its emphasis the cultural heritage of Arizona as part of the seventy-six railroads that served the entire state. The cultural and ethnic diversity surrounding the mining, logging, ranching, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and the military is extensive and will be the focus of the Museum’s highly interactive educational exhibits. Motive power and rolling stock will be featured in static displays with a variety of steam and diesel locomotives, freight, passenger, and special purpose rolling stock. Interpretive displays will emphasize railroad and industrial workers in juxtaposition with appropriate artifacts. Other interpretive displays will feature aspects such as track construction, Fred Harvey Company history, and the impact of the Santa Fe Ry and Grand Canyon Ry on Grand Canyon National Park. Art exhibits in the Museum’s gallery will have a particular emphasis on railroad and national park advertising art.