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What's new with the ASRA

Classroom Presentations

Dear Teachers and Administrators:

Thank you for showing interest in the American Southwestern Railway Association and its Educational Outreach Programs. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about Railroad History, especially as it pertains to the Southwest. We primarily are involved with the restoration of historic railroad equipment at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park Los Angeles. We offer tours of several passenger cars to the public on the third weekend of every month - except during exceptionally hot summer months. Private tours to school children can be made in conjunction with the Travel Town Museum, which also offers tours on certain days of the week of all the equipment at the Museum.

ASRA also offers a speaker to come to your school to talk about railroad history. The following pages are rough outlines of the basic speech and other topics I can bring into the presentation. If your students are studying a special part of history that you would like me to illustrate, please call. I ask at least three weeks of lead time to give a standard speech, a bit longer if you'd like me to speak on something specific. I will talk for 30-40 minutes and allow time for questions, use overhead projected tranparencies (your school to provide the projector), large photographs and some hands-on equipment for the kids to see.

This is our first year offering this outreach program, and it is changing to the requests of the teachers and needs of the students. I do ask that you write a letter to the ASRA Board of Directors critiquing my presentation. This letter may be used in foundation requests to help our project funding for next year. We are offering this service free of charge for the 1996-1997 school year, but we may ask for a $25 donation next year, depending on grant funding. The money will cover better visual aids and traveling expenses of the speaker. If you have suggestions or recommendations, or would like to know more about what our organization does, please contact me at 818-795-5329. ASRA is here to help you teach!

Looking forward to working with you, I am

Nancy Gneier
Development Director

Topics that are covered in Educational Outreach Presentations:

Information in Parenthesis refer to visual aids and discussion involvement with the students. Older students can have the same presentation as the younger grades, but can have more history, math, etc. involved in the discussion. Please discuss with me what your students are studying and what they need to help tie this presentation in with your regular curriculum.

Younger Students - Grades 1-5:
This is the outline for the speech I give most frequently.

What is a train? (Include discussion of Metro-link, who has ridden on one, where did they go, was it noisy? Fun? etc.)
What are the different types of trains? Passenger & Freight Trains
What are the different types of cars? (I have transparencies for these types of cars.)
What are some different types of Engines? (Large photos)
Who works on the railroad? Overheads of different people in their jobs, hands-on demonstrations with large maul and spikes, Math problems to figure out how many blows it took to lay 1 mile of track in 1865, etc. (Can include discussion of different ethnic groups' contributions to the RR, Chinese, African-American newly-freed slaves, Irish, etc.)
What are some train Signals? (Guided instruction with students as to how brakemen signals work, get students to volunteer to be brakemen, engineers and cars to back up, couple to other cars, go forward, and backward, etc.)
Always Stop, Look and Listen at Grade Crossings! (Questions taken at end.)

Grades 4-5, and Junior High:
These Grades usually have had some U.S. or California History and the following topics can be included with the lower grade presentation, or can be a presentation by themselves. Please give me three weeks to research and create my visual aids!

How did Railroads settle the West?
Trade Routes to Asia and the Eastern U.S.: Why Los Angeles and San Francisco? Railroad and Real Estate Propaganda in Southern CA.
Building of the Transcontinental Railroad!
Emigrant Trains: 8 days from Chicago to Sacramento. (Twice as long by any other route.)
Food Service-Fred Harvey and the "Harvey Girls" - women settling the west, Dining Car Service.
Sleeping Cars and Pullman Technologies
What role did the U.S., Government play in helping RR's settle the West, and why did the Government aid in the RR's demise?
Important Railroads in the 19th century:
Important People in California RR Development:

High School Students:
More detailed topics can be developed with teachers on a specific basis. Here are some ideas in addition to any for the younger grades:

What role did the U.S., Government play in helping RR's settle the West, and why did the Government aid in the RR's demise?
Art and Architecture involved in the Business of Railroads - advertising schemes and brochures, etc.
Art on the rails: Interior Design, Special furniture and china creations, advertising graphics, station architecture.
Business of Railroads - how the West was won & why- Civil War, Indust. Revolution, money!
California's "Big Four" versus the Newspapers (media)
Sociology on the Railroads:
Food Service - Fred Harvey "Civilizing the West", Harvey Girls, Dining Car Service, etc.
Sleeping Cars and Technology: (Pullman Cars, development of Pullman Empire)