Saturday Night Banquet

Part of what started the idea for Altoona 08 was last year's CRHS Banquet. We repeated it this year with awards, a great talk by Bob Bartle, GM of Norfolk Southern's Northern Region and slide shows by John Durant and Roger Durfee.

Convention Chairman, Russ Swinnerton

Russ gave us a brief rundown on all of the work that went into the convention, and how happy he was that everyone was having such a good time.

Member Display 2

CRHS Member Lance Myers displays his restored Conrail locomotive air horn, while mugs, track charts, numberboards and other items can also be seen.

Member Display 3

Multiple owners showcased their Conrail collection at the Convention. Here we see Lance Myer's air horn and one of a kind sign against the wall, Kevin Yutz's G scale SD70MAC, Joe Marchinchin's custom HO scale C32-8's, Russ Swinnerton's G scale Conrail Mercury trailer and HO scale B40-8 custom weathered by Matt Arentzen.

Member Display 4

Joe Marchinchin brought along this restored and operational signal!

Mr. Bob Bartle

Bob Bartle, the current General Manager of Norfolk Southern's Northern Region and former Conrail employee, spoke at our banquet about some of the business decisions made inside the railroad that railfans seldom are aware of. He praised the productivity and safety record of his former Conrail coworkers and staff and explained that many of the current efficiencies that NS sees were the result of programs initiated under CR.

Silent Auction

Part of the Silent Auction items were these two 12x18" matted and framed prints of Conrail Block Operator Jim Largent hooping up orders to trains. Signed and framed copies of the Form D's also accompanied each print thanks to Brock Kerchner and Jim Largent himself.

Silent Auction Caboose

Another Silent Auction item was the 21165 plaque from Pat Livingston.

Silent Auction Locomotives

CRHS Member Pat Livingston made the trip to Altoona from Casper, Wyoming! Along with him came some beautifully presented silent auction items! These two locomotives were finely detailed and mounted alongside a gorgeous pen set and engraved plaque commemorating the 2008 Altoona Convention.