Ridership at railroad will top 75,000 by end of year Polar Express will account for 30,000 of year's total BY MARIE WHITEHEAD Ridership is up at the Texas State Railroad. At the final meeting of the year for the Texas State Railroad Authority, contractor American Heritage Railways reported that more than 75,000 will have ridden the train by the end of the year. "With the conclusion of our Polar Express event, that alone will account for close to 30,000 of the number of passengers," said Paul Schranck, AHR liasion with the home office. A regular business meeting of the TSR Authority was held at 9 a.m. Dec. 11 at City Hall in Palestine. A proposed calendar of events for '09 includes many of the well-received themes from '08. Chap Boaz, TSRAH manager, and Lori Kastrop Pennington, marketing manager, submitted a summary of considerations for the next 12 months. These include a photo run, the return of The Lone Ranger, special events for dogwood season, a new feature, "The Easter Beagle," a fireworks show, and a Sunday feature of barbecue. "We hope to have the entire year's listing available on the Internet as soon as possible, said Mrs. Pennington. Early notice is planned for the convenience of larger groups including schools. Bills for payment were approved and included checks for interest to the City of Rusk and the City of Palestine in the amount of $6,250 each. Approximately $26,000 in unrestricted cash was reflected in the financial report. Several large amounts are pending with entities which are being negotiated through the assistance of Gary Traylor & Associates, a grant consulting firm. Mr. Traylor wrote to the board members, "The Federal Highway Administration has reviewed the $12.5 million enhancement nomination that contains the $10 million earmarked by the 80th Texas Legislature and has determined that all activities are eligible for federal funding. This is indeed, good news, and reflects the willingness of all parties to work together." "Another $53,000 is pending from FEMA," said Steve Presley, TSRA chairman. At the outset, new officers were named for the coming year. By acclamation current members were reelected. They are Mr. Presley, president; Bob Goldsberry, vice president; Charles Hassell, treasurer and Dale Brown, secretary. Other board members include Dan Davis, Al Holmes and Marie Whitehead. Mr. Schranck announced a bid had been submitted for the acquisition of another facility in Sacramento, Ca. "If we're (American Heritage) low bidder, we plan to integrate the property with our Texas operation." He expected to hear the results of the bid process within a few days. Per the original agreement, and with obligations met, American Heritage earned its first, one-eighth interest which was officially signed off and prepared for filing at Thursday's meeting. "We have been a time getting here, but it's coming together very well," said Mr. Presley. Negotiations continue to secure filmmakers to use the park and its historic steamdriven train. The next regular meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at Citizens lst Bank board room in Rusk.
