Encouraging
the Next Generation of Railroad Preservation RailCamp
is the National Railway Historical Society's highly successful railroad education
program for teenagers. RailCamp gives young men and women of all backgrounds and
abilities the experience of working on the railroad in both a historic and contemporary
setting, helping to spark an interest and a potential career path in railroading
and/or railroad preservation. The
Blackhawk Chapter strongly believes that RailCamp will help encourage and develop
the next generation of railfans and historians, so that our efforts to research
and preserve America's railroad history will continue. The Blackhawk
Chapter is one of only a handful of NRHS chapters that offer a full RailCamp scholarship. RailCamp
attendees will have their choice of two locations for 2012 -- RailCamp
Northwest will open in 2012 and center on rail facilities around Tacoma,
Washington. This is the first time RailCamp will have a rolling format, moving
to different venues that provide both historic preservation and blending modern
railroads into the mix.RailCamp Northwest has relationships Amtrak in Seattle,
Tacoma Rail (a Division of Tacoma Public Utilities) in Tacoma, the Northwest Railway
Museum in Snoqualmie, and
Mount Rainer Scenic Railway in Mineral. Pacific Lutheran
University is the location for camp housing and most meals. RailCamp Northwest
begins in the evening on July 29, 2012 and continues until the evening of August
4, 2012. The program will include modern rail aspects as well as restoration of
equipment and materials.
RailCamp Steamtown will
continue to offer the same quality program that is has for the last 14 years with
cooperative agreements with Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, Amtrak in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C., the Electric
City Trolley Museum in Scranton, the Anthracite Heritage Museum, in Scranton,
and the Canadian Pacific Railroad, in Binghamton, New York. Campers will visit
an Amtrak repair facility, ride and visit the trolley museum operated by the Electric
City Trolley Museum, operate and learn the safety around trains at Steamtown,
and learn hands on restoration techniques. The Steamtown RailCamp begins on the
evening of July 8, 2012 and concludes on the evening of July 13, 2012. | RailCamp
Scholarship The
Blackhawk Chapter offers an annual scholarship for RailCamp and is always looking
for suitable candidates in our area. RailCamp attendees must either be currently
attending high school, an incoming freshman or a just graduated senior. The
scholarship covers the full cost of the camp, however scholarship winners are
responsible for their own transportation to RailCamp. For
more information and dates of upcoming camps, please go to the official
website. |
Any
one interested in the RailCamp scholarship should: | 
|
Congratulations
to our latest RailCamp Scholarship Winner: 2011
Winner
Kyle
Flanigan
Lake
Village, Indiana |
Here's
a letter from 2011 Winner Kyle Flanigan describing his experience at RailCamp: Dear
NRHS Blackhawk Chapter, I
had such a great time at RailCamp! There were so many new things that we all got
to see and learn about that it would take me forever to list them all. I would
have to say that the best part was getting to see inside Amtrak's Wilmington,
Delaware shops. Most of the campers, including myself, had never realized how
many different things are involved in operating and maintaining a railroad. We
also got the privilege to see them lift up one of the older electric locomotives
using two of the large overhead cranes in their shops, and move it over a few
tracks to a different work area. All
of the campers also were able to build a silhouette of a steam locomotive, which
was done using some skills that could be used while restoring locomotives or rolling
stock. These included cutting with a Plasma Torch, welding, grinding, riveting,
and painting. We also got to see how to do a brake test on passenger cars, replace
brake shoes, and lubricate the running gear inspection on Canadian National 2-8-2
#3254 (very dirty). On
the last day, all of the campers got to learn about and give hand signals to the
engineer of NKP GP-9 #514. Then we also each got to run the locomotive for a short
time. A gentleman by the name of Seth also had his 1/8 scale live steam 2-6-0
set up which he kindly let us run throughout the day. I
believe that RailCamp is an awesome thing to experience and I hope it gets to
continue for many years to come. It teaches younger people about the past, present,
and future of railroading and why the railroads are so important. Thank
you so much for sponsoring me and allowing me to take part in this. I will send
a few pictures once I get the chance to get them off of my camera. Thanks
again, Kyle Flanigan |
Past
Winners  2010
Winner
Dominique Hogue
Branson, Missouri |
| Our
2010 RailCamp Scholarship went to Dominique Hogue of Branson, Missouri.
In his thank you letter, Dominique writes that “The knowledge I've gained
will help me in my work on the railroads I currently volunteer with, not to mention
my career on a steam tourist railroad.” Dominique,
seen in the white hard hat guiding his engineer through the yard on Nickel Plate
#514, has documented his RailCamp experience in a series of YouTube videos: |
 | 2009
Winner
Alec Graham
LaPorte, Indiana |
|
| 2009
RailCamp scholarship winner, Alec Graham of LaPorte, Indiana, attended
the RailCamp at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania
where he and the other campers participated in a week of activities which included
trackwork, train operations, and equipment maintenance. Alec says that his time
at RailCamp has not only given him a chance to make new friendships with other
railroad enthusiasts, but has helped with his college planning. Click
here to read about Alec's experience at the 2009 RailCamp. |
 2008
Winner
Alissa Fleming
St. Mary's,
Pennsylvania |
| The
recipient of our 2008 RailCamp scholarship was Alissa Fleming of St. Mary's,
Pennsylvania. Alissa attended the RailCamp in Ely, Nevada, home of the Nevada
Northern Railway. At
RailCamp, Alissa and her campmates learned the fine points of track inspection
and maintenance, locomotive repairs and painting and railroad operations. Click
here to read about Alissa and her friend Janice Bauer's experience at the 2008
RailCamp. |
 2007
Winner
Robby Gragg
Joliet, Illinois |
| In
2007, the Blackhawk Chapter presented Robby Gragg of Joliet, Illinois our
first ever full scholarship to RailCamp at the Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Robby
is an active local railfan and photographer. Visit
Robby's
album on RailPictures.net. Robby shared his
photos and experiences from RailCamp, along with some of his other rail photography,
at the October 2007 meeting of the Blackhawk Chapter. |
|
