150 Years of Railroads in Vermont Expert Panel Debates the Future of Vermont's Rail Sites! Switch onto this year's journey theme at Vermont (USA) Archaeology Week's premier event! The panel discussion "150 Years of Railroads in Vermont: Past and Future" will be held on Thursday, September 17, 1998 at 7-9 p.m, free of charge, in at Contois Auditorium in Burlington's City Hall. The Burlington Mayor's office, Burlington Department of Parks and Recreation, the Vermont Archaeological Society, Inc., and historic preservation consultants such as GEOARCH, Inc., and Fox Associates are sponsoring this fascinating look a Vermont's historic engines of social and economic change. Panel guests include author Robert C. Jones, railroad historian Gerald Fox, architectural historian Scott Newman, archeologist Robert Sloma, and Rails to Trails liaison Chuck Vile. Featured speaker Robert C. Jones, with a forty year railroad career, and other panelists will cite some of Vermont's most famous railroad case studies. How did railroads shape Vermont's past? Panel discussants will engage the audience in an interactive discussion highlighting the identification of Vermont's important railroad sites, threats to their preservation, the adaptive reuse of rail properties, and potential for heritage tourism. Join the panel and debate what significance 150 years of Vermont's railroad history, architecture, and archeology holds for the future. "150 Years of Railroads in Vermont: Past and Future" officially launches Vermont Archaeology Week, September 20-26, 1998, cosponsored by the Vermont Archaeological Society, Inc. and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. Vermont's leading heritage tourism outreach is coordinated by scores of volunteers and publicizes over 70 educational historic preservation events and exhibits, most free and open to the public. This year's theme, Journey Into the Past, celebrates the 5th Vermont Archaeology Week, 30th anniversary of the Vermont Archaeological Society, Inc., and the 150th year of railroads in Vermont. Seven other Vermont Archaeology Week events around the state that feature railroads will include: "Logs on Rails" in Stockbridge, "Frederick Billings and the Railroads" at the new Marsh-Billings National Historic Park in Woodstock, "Verde Antique Showcase" in Rochester, "Rutland and Burlington Engine Roundhouse Archaeology" in Burlington, "Traveling in the Old Days" in New Haven, and "Working on the Railroad" in Swanton. For more information on these and other Vermont Archaeology Week events, contact the following: To Receive a Free Event Calendar: Division for Historic Preservation National Life Building, Drawer 20 Montpelier, Vermont 05620-0501 TEL: (802) 828-3119 For General Publicity Information: Kathleen E. Callum/Robert A Sloma VAW '98 State Coordinators c/o GEOARCH, Inc., 594 Indian Trail Leicester, Vermont 05733 TEL: (802) 247-8127 For Donation in Support of VAW or a VAW '98 Poster ($6, Supply Limited) Send check or money order to: Vermont Archaeological Society, Inc. ATTN: Vermont Archaeology Week P.O. Box 663 Burlington VT 05402-0663