It was an ordinary day. Visiting with a former high school student of mine who volunteers at The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA. Hadn’t seen George for close to 50 years and the reunion was…well fantastic. Tough to catch up with 50 years of life, but we had a great time talking as well as viewing the displays at the museum.
The main reason I had planned a trip to Strasburg was to take a photograph of the recently moved flipboard that had been delivered from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Railroad Station a few months ago. Meeting George happened to be an unexpected surprise. Noticed his name a few weeks ago in the newspaper for winning the “Volunteer of the Year” award at the museum and found he would be at the museum when I planned to visit for my photograph.
George showed me the flipboard and explained what they had done to it over the past few weeks. Did a total cleaning of the board, which removed about 50 years of scum and haze from the numbers and letters and brought it back to life once again. Each individual number or letter has multiple faces that could be shown, so the work was very tedious. He said he believes the cleaning is just about complete and it will be ready for the public soon and a metal railing will be put in front of it.
Rep. Boyle was pleasantly surprised by Mr Anderson’s response that they will try to retain the sign in some form, if not make it the main flipboard once again. The board provided travelers with details about track locations and delays since shortly after Amtrak was formed in 1971. Some times new technology may be for the best, but in this case keeping a renovated board will be a sentimental favorite for many who travel daily through the station. The main reason they had planned to change the flipboard is because Italy’s Solari Company, maker of the board years ago, no longer makes replacement parts. New electromechanical displays are run by computers. But, the clacking noise of the changing flipboard numbers and letters would be missed. Perhaps the board I just photographed will someday be returned to its proper location in the train station and make most everyone happy again. And, my visit with George was an added pleasure for me during my visit. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
The clipboard at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. |
Preparing to move the clipboard to Strasburg, PA. |
This will be the new home of the clipboard for a few years. Fencing will be placed in front to prevent people from touching it. |
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