Trenton War Memorial
3/16 Möller Theatre Organ
Trenton, NJ

August 1, 2005 Update

After the short rededication concert series with good attendance between February and September 2002, the organ went offline in 2002. This decision was made as a result of valued feedback from organists and consulting world-respected organ builders.

There were some additional problems which required correcting in order to make the organ perform exponentially better. The ultimate outcome of these updates will be a more exciting and fulfilling concert going experience, a more stable and reliable instrument in terms of winding, tuning and tonal quality, and a greater capacity for music making. We look forward to the Möller coming online again around November 2005 as constant testing and improvements continue.

We also look forward to new and exciting concert seasons involving this well known and liked Möller theatre organ.

Photos: Crew Chief - Jason Taylor. Click on them to get a larger version.


Console view shows several modification and repairs. All the pistons including the key-cheek pistons are new. This has greatly enhanced the ease of setting up the registration for concerts.

The memory switch and level indicator has been moved up to the fallboard from its previous position on the lower right. It is now both easier to see and change. The number of memory levels has been increased from 16 to 48.

The keys have been completely rebushed, refinished by Rick Grethe, and recalibrated by Allen Miller, who also modified them to increase second touch pressures.

Not shown is a new Sostenuto Switch on the main swell pedal, built and installed by Allen Miller.


Different view of the console.

Compare this picture to an older picture (shown below) from 2002 to see some of the enhancements.

The chest where the pipes have been removed and sent to A.R. Schopp's Sons, Inc. for repairs, and the area where the swell motors have been removed for rebuilding.

The pipes are due back in late August. The reports from Schopp's indicate that they found and fixed all the things that had been causing stability problems.

An offset chest that normally contains the tenor octave of tubas that are currently being replaced by Schopp's.  To the right is the Tibia Plena chest.  The pipes are out getting a new coat of shellac. Both chests in this picture have been newly shellaced.

Charcoal drawing rediscovered on the wall behind the 8' Diapasons by an unknown artist. Looks as if it was produced in the early thirties when the building was new.


The main chest on the right side. You can see where the Tuba, Horn, French Trumpet and Clarinet will soon be when they return from their rehabilitation trip.

Chest tops and rack boards will be cleaned and refinished while the pipes are out.

Offset chest containing 12 8' Diapasons, 8' Horns, and 4' French Trumpets. The chest will be turned around so it can be serviced.

On top of the chest are groups of rebuilt swell motors ready for remounting.

Artwork on the wall is normally blocked by the pipes.

New 15 HP Spencer Orgoblo. It replaces the original big green Kinetic blower and a smaller Spencer added in 2001-2002. The new windline and split to each chamber can be clearly seen here.

The blower is one of the last three Orgoblos built by Spencer. It only had approximately fifty hours of use prior to our purchase.

Side picture of the blower showing the huge air filter.

This picture of the 15 HP Spencer shows the large air-filtering system. By using four filters, the airflow is restricted by less than 1%.

The new combination roll and tap cymbal that has been added to the organ.