Thanks to Facebook and Ryan Lennox, I have the privilege of scooping Ernie on at least something on the Catskill Mountain:

Scenes of clearing work near Route 209:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Darn! Ernie's too far off!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

I'll let Ryan's captions speak for themselves.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

I will simply say this work is huge. One can not say enough about the dedication and the work performed by these people. It's a shame that they have to face the threats that they do.

What have I been saying about something we should get and don't?

Friday, October 4th

Engineer was Walt Otto, Brakeman was Al Schoessow, Brakeman Trainee was Dave Hilliard, Ticket Agent was Peter Fluchere, and Conductor was Dan Howard.


Saturday, October 5th

Conductor was Ray Farrell, Engineer was John Prestopino, Brakeman was Bill Kaba, Al Johnson was Car Attendant, and Ticket Agent was Bruce Devorkin.

At Campground Curve, George Peck and Dave Heick connected the north rail all the way to the tracks on the west of the curve.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211546

At Route 209, George Bain and Ron Epstein primed the CMRR gondola and did additional work on the ballast hopper:

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211537

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211538

Ryan Lennox and I cut brush ahead of the track crew to just beyond the washout at MP 5.53:

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211524

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211525

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211526

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211527

The track crew, consisting of John Patane, Mark Glaser, Freddie Rasmussen, and Al Schoessow inserted and spiked 16 ties between MP 5.47 and 5.48, bringing upgraded track up to the first washout, which was partially filled.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211528

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211529

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211530

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211531

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211532

Finally, Earl Pardini dug the holes and inserted the crossbucks for the Route 209 crossing:

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211533

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211534

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211535


Sunday, October 6th

Conductor was Dan Howard, Engineer was Walt Otto, and Brakemanwas Tony Bocchino. Ticket Agent was Russ Hallock.

George Peck continued installing track at Campground Curve.

On Sunday, a crew consisting of Al Schoessow, Tom Whyte, and Mark Glaser cut in gauge w/the sickle bar from O'Neil St. to Gill's Farm Crossing on the north and south side of the track. Ernie Klopping repaired the MOW Pickup at Cornell St. Later in the day, Earl Pardini delivered 2 bundles of ties to the Route 209 work site.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Friday, October 11th

On Friday we will be running in Mt. Tremper atarting at 10am.

Earl Pardini and Mark Glaser will lead a track crew starting at 209 at 9am. They plan to continue installing and spiking ties going west.


Saturday, October 12th

On Saturday we will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

All otherwise unassigned volunteers please go to Mt. Tremper to assist with crowd control and/or help as a car attendant or ticket agent. This is usually our highest volume weekend of the year!


Sunday, October 13th

Trains will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

All otherwise unassigned volunteers please go to Mt. Tremper to assist with crowd control and/or help as a car attendant or ticket agent. This is usually our highest volume weekend of the year!


Monday, October 14th

Trains will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

All otherwise unassigned volunteers please go to Mt. Tremper to assist with crowd control and/or help as a car attendant or ticket agent. This is usually our highest volume weekend of the year!


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Wednesday, October 9th

A charter was run at Mt. Tremper. Brakeman was Ed Winstanley, Car Attendants were Pat Smalley & Fred Rasmussen, Engineer was Al Schoessow and conductor Dan Howard.


Thursday October 10th

Al Johnson continued work on the Duck.


Friday, October 11th

On Friday, Conductor was Walt Otto, Engineer was Al Schoessow, Brakeman was Dave Hilliard, Car Attendants were Pat Smalley, Tyler Carelli, and Ticket Agents were Thom Johnson, Peter Fluchere.

In Kingston, Track crews working west of Rte.209 inserted 15 ties and spiked 13, built cribs and backfilled 2 washed out areas. Working today were; Earl Pardini, Tom Whyte, and Mark Glaser.


Saturday, October 12th

On Saturday, Conductor was Ray Farrell, Engineer was Walt Otto, Brakeman was Neil Isabelle, Car Attendants was Tyler Carelli, Ticket Agents were Russ Hallock, Peter Fluchere, and George Bain. Al Schoessow helped in the parking lot.

In Kingston, Track crews working west of 209 continued repairing washed out areas with fill and cribbing. 17 ties were inserted and 19 spiked. Todays crew included; Earl Pardini, Ron Epstein, Bill Brosnan, John Patane, Frank Libihoul, and Mark Glaser.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211720

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211721

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211723

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211724

Ron Epstein and I continued repainting the CMRR ballast hopper.

George Peck, Art Vogel, Dave Heick and Neil Remsen continued work on Campground Curve, putting in the last rail.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211727

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211728

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211730

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211778


Sunday, October 13th

On Sunday, Conductor was John Prestopino, Engineer was George Peck, Brakeman was Tony Bocchino, Car Attendant was Tyler Carelli, and Ticket Agents were: Peter Fluchere and George Bain. Al Schoessow helped in the parking lot.

In Kingston on Sunday, Tom Whyte, Ron Epstein, and Mark Glaser inserted and spiked 11 additional ties west of the Rte.209 crossing.

Ryan Lennox and Alan Kordzikowski cleared brush near Hurley Mountain Road.


Monday, October 14th

Conductor was John Prestopino, Engineer was Al Schoessow, Trainman was Neil Isabelle, Brakeman was Tony Bocchino, Tyler Carelli was brakeman trainee. Car Attendant was Chris Burtt. Ticket Agents were Peter Fluchere and George Bain.

In Kingston on Columbus Day, crews working west of the Rte. 209 crossing completed trackwork and washout repair required to move the coaches, hopper,and gondola west of the crossing and clear of the billboard. Several sections of cribbing were completed and 10 ties inserted and spiked. Participating today were Earl Pardini, Tom Whyte, and Mark Glaser.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211779

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211780

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211781

At the end of the day, the six pieces of equipment were moved west across Route 209. Crossing protection was provided by Tyler Carelli, Tony Bocchino, John Prestopino and Tom Whyte. Al Schoessow was conductor for the move which saw the first locomotive cross Route 209 since 1976.


http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211782

http://youtu.be/FA2AnTavAZo

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211783

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211784

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211785

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211786

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211787

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211788

A BIG CONGRATULATIONs to all who worked hard this weekend, our top weekend of the year at Mt. Tremper, also to our track crews at Campground Curve and Route 209 who keep pushing forward!


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Wonderful, wonderful! Keep it up, you may actually get the whole line running before the court case ends! That would be an embarrassment to the county for sure!

Ernie, congratulations to you and the entire crew! Quite a milestone, especially in the
face of the opposition against rail. Keep up the excellent work!

Alan W.

Friday, October 18th

On Friday we will be running in Mt. Tremper atarting at 10am.


Saturday, October 19th

On Saturday we will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

All otherwise unassigned volunteers please go to Mt. Tremper to assist with crowd control and/or help as a car attendant or ticket agent.

George Peck will be assisting operations starting in Mt. Tremper at 9am and will later move to Campground curve to complete trackwork there.

We will be running our Halloween train in Kingston starting at 1pm at Westbrook Lane.

I will be leading a crew painting cars on 209 starting at 11am and assisting with the Halloween Train at 209.


Sunday, October 20th

Trains will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

All otherwise unassigned volunteers please go to Mt. Tremper to assist with crowd control and/or help as a car attendant or ticket agent.

We will be running our Halloween train in Kingston starting at 1pm at Westbrook Lane.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Congrats to the CMRR on all their recent great progress!

The passenger trains have been full!

Bringing more and more people to Ulster County.

A video of this road and its fall foliage train is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzfEUSdxN9E

Three things that impress me in the video.

(1) Acoustics--you guys in New York have great echoes! Now you need a steam engine, with a whistle that sings!

(2) You all had a good crowd that day! Keep it up and put the lie to the talk that no one rides the train.

(3) The condition of the track. It may be authorized only as Class 2, and I have to admit to being a 100% bonafide total amateur on the subject of track work, but one thing I noticed was the lack of sway between cars. That means good line and surface and a solid foundation of ballast and ties, at least for the speeds at which you're currently operating. Considering the history of the line, which once had trains running at 60 mph maximum speeds (though average was much lower due to stops), you could be preserving something that will be useful later.

The trail crowd and certain politicians either don't know what they are trying to do, or don't want to know. . .

Friday October 18th

At Mt. Tremper, Conductor was Neil Isabelle, Engineer was John Watson, Brakeman was Dave Hilliard, Car Attendant was Kathy Isabelle, Ticket Agent was Peter Fluchere.


Saturday. October 19th

In Mt. Tremper, Conductor was Ray Farrell, Engineer was John Watson, Brakeman was Bill Kaba, Ticket Agent was Peter Fluchere.

At Campground Curve, George Peck led a crew that included Art Vogel, Dave Heick, Al Johnson, Russ Hallock and Franc Libihoul. They spiked up most of the ties in the new track there.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211890

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211891

In Kingston on Saturday, CMRR ran Halloween Specials with stops at Rte.209 and Gill's Farm Crossing where pumpkins were available from Gill's Farm of Hurley. These were the first revenue passenger trains to Rte. 209 since the 1950's. Large turnout for the event required five roundtrips to accommodate all of our passengers. Today's crew: Earl Pardinin, Engineer, Walt Otto-Conductor, Al Schoessow-Trainman, Ron Epstein, Mimi Pardini, Karin Vogel, Jan Harrison, Alex Sorenson-Car Attendants, Tony Bochinno, Tyler Carelli, Freddie Rasmussen-Flaggers, Mark Glaser-Brakeman. Ticket Agent was Alan Kordzikowski.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211881

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211883

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211884

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211885

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211886

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211887

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211888


Ryan Lennox weed wacked east from Hurley Mountain Road.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211889



Sunday, October 20th

In Mt. Tremper, John Prestopino was engineer, Dan Howard was Conductor, Tony Bocchino was brakeman, and ticket agent was Gladys Gilbert.

On Sunday in Kingston, a second set of Halloween theme trains were run with near record patronage. The trips included service to Rte.209 as well as a stop at Gill's Farm Crossing where pumpkins were available from Gill's Farm of Hurley. Today's train crew: Al Schoessow-Engineer,Walt Otto-Conductor,Tom Whyte and Tyler Carelli,-Flaggers, Jan Harrison and Karen Vogel-Car Attendants, Mark Glaser-Brakeman. Ticket Agent was Alan Kordzikowski. Will Willsey also assisted.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211902

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=211903

Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

If things grew in the West like brush grows in the Northeast, or Kudzu in the South; we'd have trouble. Looks like it would be a full time effort to keep the vegetation down along the entire line--never mind track work.

Keep up the great progress. Keep railroading a positive experience in Kingston, it's probably the best way to beat out the opponents.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

^Thanks, Michael.

The row through there is between 2 cornfields.

The fertilizer from the cornfields results in extra brush on the row.

That area gives us the most problems with brush. It has to be cut back each year.

Friday, October 27th

On Friday we will be running in Mt. Tremper atarting at 10am.


Saturday, October 28th

On Saturday we will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

George Peck will be assisting operations starting in Mt. Tremper at 9am and will later move to Campground curve to complete trackwork there.

We will be running our Halloween/Pumpkin train in Kingston starting at 1pm at Westbrook Lane.

George Bain and Harrison Balduf will be leading a crew preparing CMRR 2940 for priming in Cornell Street yard. They will begin around 9:30am.


Sunday, October 29th

Trains will be running in Mt. Tremper starting at 10am.

We will be running our Halloween/Pumpkin train in Kingston starting at 1pm at Westbrook Lane.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

From "All Aboard for Ashokan" (Catskill Mountain Railroad Facebook page):

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

All I can say is;

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Hope the moderators don't mind a bit of a shout here!

Friday, October 25th

In Mt. Tremper, the crew was: Conductor: Neil Isabelle, Engineer: John Prestopino, Brakeman: Al Schoessow, Car Attendants: Kathy Isabelle, Dakin Moorehouse and Ticket Agent: Peter Fluchere.


Saturday, October 26th

In Mt. Tremper, the crew was: Conductor: Ray Farrell, Engineer: John Patane, Brakeman:Neil Isabelle, Car Attendant: Dakin Moorehouse, and Ticket Agent: Peter Fluchere.

At Campground Curve, George Peck and his team consisted of Art Vogel, Dave Heick, Rich Desir, Al Johnson, Franc Libihoul and Neil Remsen. They completed primary repairs to Campground Curve and brought the work train into Phoenicia for the first time since we evacuated Phoenicia before the arrival of Hurricane Irene on August 27, 2011. This was done entirely on the CMRR's resources, as the county has refused to disburse $2.3 million to repair the railroad in FEMA funding for Hurricane Irene.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212025

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212026

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212027

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212028

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212029

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212030

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212031

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212032

In Kingston, train crew was as follows: , Conductor: Walt Otto, Engineer: Earl Pardini, Brakeman: Mark Glaser, Trainman: Al schoessow, Flaggers: Tyler Carelli, Fred Rasmussen, Car Attendants: Karen Vogel, Pat Smalley, Mimi Pardini, Ticket Agent: Ken Darmstadt. Trains ran to 209 and passengers bought pumpkins from Gill Farms near 209 before returning to Kingston Plaza.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212018

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212021

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212022

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212023

In Kingston, George Bain led a crew working on priming the 2940 conisting of Harrison and George Balduf, Russell Hallock, Alex Sorenson, Steve Porter, and myself.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212015

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212016

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212017

At Hurley Mountain Road, Ryan Lennox and Alan Kordzikowski led a crew clearing the ROW east towards the washout at MP 5.53.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212024


Sunday, October 27th

In Mt. Tremper, our crew consisted of Conductor: Dan Howard, Engineer: George Peck, Brakeman: Neil Remsen, Car Attendant/Brakeman Trainee: George Bain, and Ticket Agent: Peter Fluchere.

In Kingston, our crew consisted of: Conductor: Walt Otto, Engineer: Earl Pardini, Brakeman: Mark Glaser, Trainman: Al Schoessow, Flaggers: Dave Hilliard, Tyler Carelli, Tom Whyte, Car Attendants: Karen Vogel, Pat Smalley, Mimi Pardini, Ticket Agent: Thom Johnson. Kingston were trains SRO every run on Sunday. Trains ran to 209 and passengers bought pumpkins from Gill Farms near 209 before returning to Kingston Plaza.

This concludes our Mt. Tremper operations for 2013, except for the Christmas train on December 22nd. Our Kingston operations resume on weekends in December starting on November 30th.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR