Still Available! The ERA will kick off this summer with a day trip to two fantastic rail museums in Connecticut. We will visit the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven and the Railroad Museum of New England in Thomaston. We’ll conclude the day with a steam train ride on the Naugatuck Railroad over the former New Haven Railroad Naugatuck Valley Branch. We look forward to seeing you there! More details here.
Still Available! The 2017 ERA Annual Convention will take place in two cities, Atlanta from July 1–4 and New Orleans for July 4 and 5. We had to change the dates to avoid a Labor Day mega-convention and problems with hotel room availability and very high prices.
Highlights of this year’s convention will include riding the new Atlanta Streetcar through the Martin Luther King historic district, a tour of the MARTA heavy rail shop, a visit to the famed Southeastern Railway Museum, and a tour of New Orleans’ comprehensive streetcar network starting with North America’s oldest railroad, the St. Charles Streetcar (1835). This is ERA’s first visit to these two dynamic metropolitan areas, making it a convention not to be missed! More details here.
Sold Out The ERA regrets to announce that our free visit to the NYC Transit 207th Street Yard and Heavy Maintenance Shop in Inwood has sold out (as of June 20). We were limited to only 40 participants and this popular tour filled up fast. More details here.
Max Diamond’s April meeting presentation concluded with a preview of BVEStation, the open-source train simulator he created with fellow ERA members Mark Perelmuter and Emil Luk. More details here.
All dates are subject to change
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
This will be a scenic day trip through New Jersey to visit the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians Museum and take a ride along the Delaware River on a steam train. On the trip home we will dine in the open-platform Blue Comet dining car at the Clinton Station Diner, home of the astonishing 50-pound Mt. Olympus burger.
Pappas
Pappas
The ERA three-day regional trip this year will be to Pittsburgh. We will visit the Pittsburgh Light Rail system which has been in operation since the streetcar era. We will also visit two electric railway museums, Railways to Yesterday in Orbisonia and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Arden. We will also stop for lunch at the famous all-you-can-eat Shady Maple Buffet during the return trip.
Supplies are limited, so hurry!
“The Elevated Railways of Manhattan,” traces the colorful history of New York’s elevated railway system from its earliest steam days until its demise. There are 372-pages of rare photos, many in color, and never-before-seen rosters of incredible detail. A must-have collectible for classic rail enthusiasts and hobbyists alike, the gorgeous El book by Eric R. Oszustowicz is only $59, plus $6.95 shipping and handling. More details here.
Campbell
Campbell
Headlights gets a new look for the first time in 20 years, and some members are calling it the best issue ever published. Eric Oszustowicz, author of “The Elevated Railways of Manhattan,” answers the question of how the Second Avenue Subway might have turned out had it been finished 86 years ago in “The 1931 IND Plans,” his exclusive examination of actual SAS blueprints. Then John Pappas compares the new streetcar systems of Cincinnati, Kansas City and Granada in our gorgeously illustrated cover story, “A Tale of Three Cities.” A few extra copies are available for only $20 each, including shipping. More details here.
Campbell
Campbell
The special 2015 “Traction in Japan” issue of Headlights by John Pappas is still available! It provides a modern day pictorial survey of the surviving streetcar systems of Japan as seen by ERA members during a comprehensive tour in May 2014. With 92 pages of spectacular photography by Mr. Pappas, Ron Yee and Michael Glikin and design by Sandy Campbell, this is the most comprehensive edition of Headlights ever printed and has been met with overwhelming praise from members. A few extra copies are available for only $20 each, including shipping. More details here.
Campbell
Campbell
We have added PDFs of every Headlights index from 1950–1977 (1971 was the Toronto book by John Bromley). Thank you John Swindler for your invaluable scanning work! More details here.