CRHS News

RAILTHON 2013: Berea, OH

Russ Swinnerton — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 14:43:27 -0400

Railthon 2013:

36 Hours at Berea, OH

Start: Fri, July 5, 9:00am

End: Sat, July 6, , 9:00pm

Are you ready to take railfanning to the extreme?

Berea is one of the premier railfan hotspots in all of Ohio, and in the entire country. A focal point for east-west traffic during the New York Central, Penn Central, and Conrail eras, Berea hosts a staggering number of through freights ever day. Berea was an all Conrail interlocking for 23 years, boasting high levels of traffic. In a post-Conrail era, the combined traffic of CSX and Norfolk Southern is now nearly double what it was 12 years ago during Conrail's last few months of existence.

Two years ago, we at the CRHS wanted to celebrate the history of Conrail's presence in Berea by throwing an extreme event the likes of which had never been done.

The challenge: Document every single train that passes by Berea Tower for 36 hours straight without falling asleep. It wasn't easy, but we managed to stay awake for 37 hours and 4 minutes straight, and in that time span we recorded an astounding 172 trains, all without missing a single one! In 2011, we recorded 173 movements.

This event is FREE!

There's no registration, nothing to sign up for. This event is open to absolutely everyone, not just CRHS members. Bring your friends, family, and coworkers. Walk, hike, bike, drive, or bus your way in; whatever you do, just get yourself down here because I promise, you won't want to miss what we've got planned

As usual, the CRHS will be bringing:

-our massive CRHS party tent (weather proof, illuminated at night!)

-the full CRHS Shoppe (model trains, apparel, books, DVDs, etc for sale)

-live railroad scanner feed

-night-time trackside slide/multimedia shows - (weather and presenter permitting)

-Conrail artifacts on display (signs, signals, CRHS archive materials)

-snacks and ice cold drinks (donations graciously accepted)

-former Cleveland area Conrail employees (meet with real Conrail engineers, conductors, tower operators, etc)

What should I bring with me?

-lawn chair (!), camera (!), hand-held scanner (there are no benches at Berea)

-foot stool and blanket (if spending all of Saturday night with us)

-Conrail related items to sell, trade, or display (model trains, literature, artifacts, etc)

-your family and friends!

Learn How To Use ATCS!

The CRHS will have ATCS (Advanced Train Control Systems) online and running for the duration of the event. ATCS is a free program that allows individuals to monitor train movements on a dispatcher map just like the real thing in certain territories. See trains approaching Berea before they arrive! We'll be on hand to demonstrate how the program works.Learn all about ATCS, which territories are live, and how to run the program on your own computer.

Directions to this event:

Our event will be held in the long grassy area adjacent to the parking lot of the large former New York Central (Big 4 ) sandstone station in Berea. Station is located at intersection of Depot and Front Streets in Berea, OH 44017. Our party tent will be pitched right in front of Berea Tower (south side of CSX mainline). Parking is available in the station's parking lot as well as on numerous side streets adjacent to the station. From south of Cleveland: take I-71 north to Bagley road exit; go west several miles until intersection of Front Street (Baldwin-Wallace college is on corner). Turn right; head north for ¾ mile. Turn left at Depot Street. Arrive at Berea Interlocking.

Here's the link to our gallery from a previous year:

http://thecrhs.org/events/RAILTHON-36-Hours-at-Berea-OH/photos

2013 Ride the Rails for Cancer

Donnie Lee — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:24:17 -0400

Ride the Rails for Cancer will be held again in Middletown, PA on Saturday June 8th, and Sunday June 9th, 2013 from 11:00am to 4pm. Last train ride is at 4pm.

Our trains board at the Hoffer Park platform and tickets for this round trip experience are just $5 per person, and $1 for children under age 5.

The Conrail Historical Society has operated “Ride the Rails for Cancer” for the past 4 years. The event has operated on the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad and benefits Vickie’s Angel Walk, a PA nonprofit group who helps families financially during cancer treatments. For the past 4 years, the CRHS has raised and donated over $19,000.00 to Vickie’s Angel Walk who gives 100% of donations to the families. The CRHS uses its’ restored bay window caboose # 21165 and another caboose provided by the M&H Railroad. The “Ride the Rails for Cancer” is a one of a kind event. It is just one example of the exciting events that the CRHS promotes and what sets the Conrail Historical Society apart from most other railroad historical societies.

The weekend of the Ride the Rails for Cancer are very tiring, a lot of work before, during and after the event. But, it is all worth the effort. Knowing that 100% of the money that is raised for Vickie’s Angel Walk will go to help families fighting cancer, makes this CRHS sponsored event, a labor of Love.

“The bottom line is the real winners of all your hard work is the families that we help. In that 100% of the money we raise goes directly to our families. On top of that every one seems to love trains especially a caboose ride. In a addition to the many fans that came, we had many families who we are helping along with their children participating. It was great to see them with a big smile on their faces and having fun. Ride the Rails for Cancer has a little magic about it and the future really looks bright. I enjoy all to come out and support to Conrail Historical Society and all of its wonderful volunteers.”

Quote by Mickey Minnich, founder of VAW

Come out and enjoy a great event and know that you're not just supporting the CRHS, you're also helping people in need. The Conrail Historical Society is more than just a group of individuals who enjoy trains. We're a collective family of railroaders, doing our part for a better tomorrow.

2013 Second Quarter Membership Meeting

Russ Swinnerton — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 12:09:21 -0500

Second Quarter 2013 Membership Meeting will be held at the Annual Spring RailBQ on Saturday May 4, 2013 in Newport, PA at approximately 1pm. All are welcome to attend See the Spring RailBQ event for more details.

Annual Spring RailBQ

Russ Swinnerton — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:55:55 -0500

Come on out and enjoy a spring day trackside with the CRHS! Our RailBQ event is open to all and is set in Newport, PA along Norfolk Southern's (Formerly Conrail / PC / PRR) Pittsburgh to Harrisburg main line. The RailBQs are great events and feature many trains, a softball game, excellent food and lots of friends and fun. Our menu usually consists of Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sausages, Fresh-Cut French Fries, Chips, Cookies and drinks. There is no cost to attend or eat, but donations are welcome. We often have people who bring models or items for sale and The Conrail Shoppe will be there too!

2013 First Quarter Membership Meeting

Russ Swinnerton — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:48:50 -0500

First Quarter 2013 Membership Meeting will be held at the Station Inn in Cresson, PA on Sunday February 17, 2013 at 1pm. This meeting will be held in the basement of the Inn. All members and friends of the CRHS are welcome to attend.

2012 "State of the CRHS" Report

Russ Swinnerton — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 22:04:20 -0500

---2012 Conrail Historical Society "State of the CRHS" Report---

By: Russ Swinnerton, CRHS President

Hello Members and Friends!

I hope that this message finds everyone having a great start to 2013. With all that's going on in the world right now and all the bad things that have been happening, I hope that '13 is better for everyone. 2013 looks like it's shaping up to be a good year for the CRHS too and I'll outline that in a minute, but first lets take a look at our progress for 2012:

-Train Trip: In June of 2012, we ran our second excursion using Amtrak and Norfolk Southern trackage. The "Susquehanna Limited" ran from Washington DC and traversed the Port Road, Enola Yard, Rockville Bridge and the ROY Branch. While we left Washington almost an hour late due to problems with a coach, a good time was had by all 740 passengers and we finally got to see the Susquehanna in beautiful sunlight.

-Equipment: This was a slow year in the equipment department. The flat car and caboose reside and are in use at the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad, the Roadrailer is safe and sound in Breinigsville (a suburb of Allentown, PA), and the gondola still resides in Lewistown on a siding of the Juniata Valley Railroad. We managed to get some work done on the Camp Car. One end of the car had a rotted floor (about 1/3 of the car) and that was all torn out and replaced with new wood. Insulation was installed and new flooring is on site. We also got the 220 VAC electrical hooked up and a 220V "extension cord" made that now allows us to plug in to the electrical system in Topton and power outlets and lights on the car, including the big flood lights on the ends, which is a big help when we're working into the night.

-Ride the Rails For Cancer: Held again this year was our annual fundraiser for Vickie's Angel Walk. RTRFC was proposed by member Brian Saul who works with both organizations and allows The CRHS to give back to the community (Just as Conrail did!). We've donated over $13,000 to VAW, with 100% of the funds going to help families with children with cancer.

-RailBQs: In 2012, two RBQs were held in Newport, PA and one in Marion, OH. The Spring Newport and Marion RBQs were well attended and The Fall Newport was moderately well attended. The supply of hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh cut fries and sausages along with sides, desserts and cold drinks made everyone happy and fueled a couple of great softball games (at Newport).

-Train Shows: The decision was made in 2012 to cut back on the number of train shows we attend due to the costs outweighing the benefits. Many of the shows we used to attend were small "firehall" type shows or shows where we had to travel long distances for little return. It was the feeling of the Board that we could better utilize our time with other events to raise money.

-Conrail Shoppe: The Board also decided to cut back on our offerings in the Shoppe. We decided to focus more on our own branded items (coming soon!) and less on things like model trains and DVDs because of the excessive cost of our merchandise and low margins on most of the models.

So what's new for 2013? I'm glad you asked!

-Directors: After holding nominations for the three open positions on the Board, I'm pleased to announce that I've been re-elected along with Doug Watts and newcomer to the Board, Rich Reinhart. The bad news is that long time Board member Brock Kerchner decided that due to his ever-busy schedule with work, family and reporting on the NHL/Hershey Bears that he must decline nomination this year. Brock's withdrawl from the ballot, along with three other folks declining nomination for various reasons left only three candidates. Thanks for all your hard work Brock. You've been with the CRHS since the beginning and I'm sure you'll still be helping us out for a long time to come.

-Equipment: 2013 should be a busy year for restoration here at CRHS! Last year's train trip along with many donations gave us enough money to paint the caboose (finally!). We had hoped to have it done in 2012, but finding the right paint was an issue and when we finally got what we needed, the weather was against us. Now, the stars are aligning to have it done before the next operating season on the M&H, so there should be some shiney blue paint for this summer. Another project in the works (info to be released in March) is the re-decking and painting of the flat car. CR 715788 is our F41 class flat car and is currently painted black and has a rotting deck. Our annual spring fundraiser will be for the supplied needed to do the restoration ourselves (to help save money) which will include re-painting the car and re-decking the car. This will give us two pieces of equipment we can call "DONE", and will allow us to move on to more work on the Camp Car and getting the Gondola moved. Keep an eye out on our website and Facebook for work weekend locations, times and dates.

-Train Trip: Another trip is being planned for 2013. This trip is in the early planning stage now, but we can say that we plan to leave out of Philadelphia, PA and that the trip will feature a couple new special cars and some new (and rare!) trackage. We're working hard with NS, The Juniata Terminal and Amtrak to make this trip a hit. Our site, our Facebook and our trip site (www.crhstrips.com) will be updated when information becomes available.

-RailBQs: This year, we're putting on the Spring RailBQ in Newport, PA as we have in the past. It'll be the first Saturday in May (May 4) and will feature good food, fun, softball, and of course trains on the NS Altoona - Harrisburg mainline. The event is free to all, but donations to help cover food costs is appreciated. This is probably one of the most fun events we do all year and there really is something for everyone. One thing to note that will be different this year is that we won't be having a Fall RailBQ. Slacking attendance along with a very busy fall season made it almost necessary to annul the fall event, so Spring is where it's at! There will also be another RailBQ in Marion, OH (date TBA) at the Marion Union Station where three sets of tracks bracket the station.

-Convention: Yep, a full blown convention will be on the docket this fall. Sept 13-15 the place to be will be Pittsburgh, PA. Board members Joe Marchinchin (our CQ editor) and Roger Durfee will once again team up to show CRHS members around the steel city. Plans are still in the works, but if it's anything like the Cleveland Convention they did, it's gonna be one heck of a show! When it's announced, it'll be posted here and on our Facebook page.

-Other Events: There are numerous other events in the planning stages, including this year's Ride the Rails for Cancer, Conrail Days (in conjunction with the Railroad Museum of PA), RAILTHON (Berea, OH) and some others, including a possible photo freight once our equipment is finished, so please stay tuned to our webpage and the Facebook page to get all the info as it happens.

Best of luck to everyone in the new year, and I hope that I can get to see some new faces volunteering in 2013!

Warmest Regards,

Russ Swinnerton, CRHS President

Special Fall 2012 Announcements

Russ Swinnerton — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:55:07 -0400

Hello Fellow CRHS Members!

I wanted to take some time and address the membership (and our friends who aren’t yet members) and give you all some info on some big announcements and changes coming to CRHS in the near future. I’ll try to hit these topics one by one as each one is quite important.

The Shoppe

Since 2008, the Conrail Shoppe has grown from a few items trying to fill one table at a train show to three or four tables crammed with CRHS merchandise, models, books, stickers, DVDs, games and apparel. Along with this is the growth of the Conrail Shoppe online (ConrailShoppe.com). While we’re happy to see this arm of our business grow, we also realize that it’s a lot of work for the guy who handles it. (It’s almost his second job) We have also come to the conclusion that we cannot grow the Society if we’re trying to run a hobby shop as well. It simply takes up too much valuable manpower hours to run the Shoppe, run the online store, do train shows and keep up with our other commitments.

Because we discount merchandise (10-15%, generally) we don’t really realize any return on investment by going to train shows once we pay a fuel reimbursement, pay table costs, and other related costs. We also use the valuable time of 3-4 members who staff the shows and have to pay for hotels, fuel, food, etc out of their own pocket.

With that in mind, we will be scaling back our offerings in the Conrail Shoppe and reducing the number of train show appearances effective immediately. We will be discontinuing HO and N scale models and DVDs completely, and will concentrate on our own merchandise such as shirts, hats, custom run models, and other CRHS branded merchandise and apparel. Once sold out of stock, our online store will reflect these changes.

We will also reduce our train show appearances to the following shows: Fall Howard Zane Show (Timonium, MD), “Spring Thaw and First Frost ATMA shows (Allentown, PA) and The Big E Hobby Show (Springfield, MA). We may also do occasional traveling shows such as Worlds Greatest Hobby or Greenberg as time and locations permit.

Conventions

After the success of our Altoona, Philadelphia and Cleveland conventions, the decision was made to take a year off from conventions to get other things in order to move the Society ahead. That hiatus ended up being two years due to an impressive amount of work that had to be done, but now we’re ready to offer you more CRHS Conventions. At the last Board meeting, we have decided that Pittsburgh, PA will be our choice for the 2013 Convention (September 2013), Northern New Jersey in 2014, Toledo, OH in 2015, and a special 40th Birthday Celebration Convention in Harrisburg, PA in 2016. These events promise lots of Conrail and lots of good times and fellowship with other Conrail fans all over the CR system.

Train Trips

Again in 2013 we will be offering a mainline rail excursion. This excursion is planned to leave from Philadelphia and will feature trackage not usually used by excursion trains. While we can’t divulge information about the trip as of yet, we promise that it’s a trip not to be missed

Equipment

It’s been a long time coming, but our last train trip has allowed us to raise enough money to finally paint our Caboose (CR 21165). We are currently working with Central Penn Railcar of Topton, PA to paint the car. If there are no further delays, we should have the car painted before the end of October. We’re also working on another project and that is the flat car project (CR 715788). Quotes are being obtained right now for lumber for decking and when we can get it ordered, there will be a work party to strip the remaining old deck off the car, power wash the body, paint and letter the body and re-deck the car. Work days will be announced on our Facebook page and also on our website (also via email for those who may be interested).

Conrail Quarterly

Our magazine, Conrail Quarterly, was delayed this spring due to our train trip booklet not being finished on time. Editor Joe Marchinchin has worked hard to try to bring the 3 remaining issues of 2012 closer to being on time. We apologize for the delay, but it couldn’t be helped. What can be helped though is we need items for the CQ. We can use stories from former CR employees or anyone related to Conrail, people who railfanned Conrail or folks that may have knowledge of any particular CR line (see the spring issue for the Marion Branch article, for instance) You don’t have to do it alone. Perhaps you have a great story but no pictures, or pictures but no story. This is fine! We can help you fill in the missing pieces and you can share your knowledge with other CR fans.

Membership

Some of you may have not gotten a membership card or welcome letter this year. For that we apologize. You still should receive your issues of Conrail Quarterly and Bulletin Orders. Unfortunately the system we put in place hasn’t worked. In 2013, however, member Tristan Ashcroft has offered his services to us to keep the membership records up to date and also to act as Membership Chairman. His skills will insure that our records are kept accurately. If you have paid for 2012 and haven’t received your Spring CQ, please let us know so that we can make sure that our records are up to date. Please have a check number or online order number when emailing so that we know how to look it up. Emails about this can be sent to admin@thecrhs.org.

That’s it folks! I hope you see that we’re addressing some issues that need to be addressed and that we’re positioning ourselves to move to the next level. Our commitment to Conrail and our CRHS family cannot and will not wane. If you have questions or suggestions, please send them to admin@thecrhs.org as we would love to hear them.

Thank you very much and have a great fall railfan season!
Russ Swinnerton – CRHS PresidentHello Fellow CRHS Members!

CRHS Number Board Sale Information

Russ Swinnerton — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:33:33 -0400

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The CRHS is proud to offer for sale a total of 372 number boards. These boards are real, authentic boards purchased during the NS/CSX takeover of Conrail and were to be used to re-number Conrail locomotives into the Norfolk Southern number scheme. Many of the boards purchased were not used, however, and many were placed into storage and never used on a locomotive. Later, they were either disposed of or given away. This particular batch was given to a NRHS group in western Pennsylvania. The group sold some of the other boards, but eventually these were placed in the basement of their station. Recently, the CRHS and this group discussed the purchase of the rest of the boards to resell. On our way back from the 2012 Marion, OH RailBQ, we picked them up and cut a check to the group which will help restore their station to its former splendor.

Now, they're for sale to you!

-These boards will be sold by the CRHS to raise money for preservation projects. In this case, the money will go towards paint and decking for our flatcar and any leftover will go towards one of our other worthy projects. The money raised will not be used for administrative funds, etc.

-Shipping will be $25 anywhere in the USA for up to 8 boards. Additional shipping will apply to orders over 8 boards. Canadian Shipping will be $45 (Canadian Orders please email us at admin@thecrhs.org)

-Boards will be released a few at a time as not to overwhelm our shipping staff.

-Most boards are in good (but dusty) shape. Any noted flaws will be mentioned in the description.

-Boards will be first come, first serve and we cannot take reservations for future releases.

-Multiple sets of the same number will be sold together if possible.

-***SHIPPING HAS BEEN ADDED TO ALL ITEMS. ADDITIONAL SHIPPING WILL NOT BE ADDED AT CHECKOUT***

The complete list of all boards that will be available for sale is located at:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgTtw_QGpoPydGxLTnl6Y1R1QjVtQU1ZQVJ2V2RUaVE

To purchase, use your Visa or MasterCard at our online store- www.ConrailShoppe.com

If you’d like to pay by check or money order, select that at checkout and mail your payment to:

CRHS Number Boards – PO Box 97, Marysville, PA 17053

(Orders placed with a check will be held 10 business days before shipping to allow funds to clear)

The Model Railroad Club of York Conrail Day

Ed Kapuscinski — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:50:57 -0400

The Miniature Railroad Club of York will have its first annual Conrail Day on Sunday April 29th 2012 from 1-6pm.

The layout is HO Scale 30x90 and will feature Conrail rolling stock for the day.

In addition to having a table of info set up, CRHS members are encouraged to bring any HO Scale models to run or display on the layout. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ryan Thoman for info, policies and procedures.

This show will be open to the general public with the goal of raising money for both the CRHS and the MRCY by asking for a donation of $5 at the door.

2012 Ride the Rails for Cancer

Russ Swinnerton — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:51:00 -0400

The Conrail Historical Society has operated “Ride the Rails for Cancer” for the past 3 years. The event has operated on the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad and benefits Vickie’s Angel Walk, a PA nonprofit group who helps families financially during cancer treatments. For the past 3 years, the CRHS has raised and donated over $10,000.00 to Vickie’s Angel Walk who gives 100% of donations to the families. The CRHS uses its’ restored bay window caboose # 21165 and another caboose provided by the M&H Railroad. The “Ride the Rails for Cancer” is a one of a kind event. It is just one example of the exciting events that the CRHS promotes and what sets the Conrail Historical Society apart from most other railroad historical societies.

Every year the Middletown Arts & Craft Fair is held in Hoffer park the same weekend. They have lots of crafters, vendors and delicious food all weekend. Enjoy the craft fair after you Ride the Rails for Cancer.

The weekend of the Ride the Rails for Cancer are very tiring, a lot of work before, during and after the event. But, it is all worth the effort. Knowing that 100% of the money that is raised for Vickie’s Angel Walk will go to help families fighting cancer, makes this CRHS sponsored event, a labor of Love.

“The bottom line is the real winners of all your hard work is the families that we help. In that 100% of the money we raise goes directly to our families. On top of that every one seems to love trains especially a caboose ride. In a addition to the many fans that came, we had many families who we are helping along with their children participating. It was great to see them with a big smile on their faces and having fun. Ride the Rails for Cancer has a little magic about it and the future really looks bright. I enjoy all to come out and support to Conrail Historical Society and all of its wonderful volunteers.”

Quote by Mickey Minnich, founder of VAW