Saturday November 2nd

On Saturday, in Mt. Tremper, George Peck will lead a crew starting at 9:30am. He plans to finish work at Campground Curve and continue to repair the track in the Phoenicia Yard.

On Saturday in Kingston, we will be working on priming Coach 2940 and painting the roof. We can use as many hands as possible. We also may be doing work priming the two box cars in the yard. Bring paint clothes. Mark Glaser may do trackwork in Kingston if there is sufficient crew. We will start at 9:30am at Cornell Street.


Sunday, November 3rd

Cornell Street will open at 10am. We plan to continue painting the 2940 and other equipment in the yard.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Saturday, November 2nd

On Saturday, in Kingston Ron Epstein, George Bain and I continued priming the 2940 and started work on the roof.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212139

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212140

Al Schoessow and Mark Glaser worked on the 2940's generator.

Also in Kingston Saturday, yard crews prepped equipment for winter storage. Crew included Earl Pardini, Al Schoessow, Mark Glaser, John Prestopino and Neil Remsen.

In Phoenicia, George Peck, Dave Heick, and later in the day Neil Remsen performed track work east of the Phoenicia station.

Al Johnson continued priming flat 35111 in Phoenicia.


Sunday, November 3rd

On Sunday, Crews worked to rearrange equipment at Cornell Street and assemble the train for holiday passenger runs. Coach 2940 was taken to Westbrook Lane Station and Rte.209. Additional work was performed on the generator in the car as well. Repairs to the John Deere backhoe were begun. Today's crew; Earl Pardini, Al Schoessow, Ernie Klopping, Rick Desir, Freddie Rasmussen, Tom Whyte and Mark Glaser.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Saturday November 9th

On Saturday, in Phoenicia, George Peck will lead a crew starting at 9:30am. He plans to do track work east of the Phoenicia station to get the track ready for the ESRM Christmas Train.

On Saturday in Kingston, we will be continuing painting Coach 2940, focusing on finishing the roof. Gary Lowe will be joing George Bain and myself. We can use as many hands as possible. We also may be doing work priming the two box cars in the yard. Bring paint clothes. Mark Glaser may do trackwork in Kingston if there is sufficient crew. We will start at 9:30-10am at Cornell Street.

At Hurley Mountain Road, Ryan Lennox and Alan Kordzikowski plan to lead a brush crew working east of Hurley Mountain Road towards the washout. Bring weed wackers, loppers, and chain saws.


Sunday, November 10th

Al Johnson and Gary Lowe will be working on flat car 35111 in Phoenicia starting at 10am.

Cornell Street will open at 10am. We plan to continue painting the 2940 and working on other equipment in the yard.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Saturday, November 9, 2013

On Saturday, George Peck, Art Vogel and Dave Heick continued track reconstruction in the Phoenicia yard between the Station and the section house.

At Hurley Mountain Road, Alan Kordzikowski and new volunteer Vincent Carcaramo continued cutting brush east towards the washout at MP 5.53.

In Kingston on Saturday, a yard crew consisting of Al Schoessow, Tyler Carelli, Gary Lowe, Jim Bruck, Walt Otto, George Bain, Mark Glaser and I continued work on Coach 2940. 5 new windows were installed, the roof painted, and additional sanding and priming on the car sides done. Earl Pardini repaired the left rear stabilizer on the backhoe.


http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212256

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212258


Sunday, November 10th

Al Johnson and Gary Lowe worked on flat car 35111 in Phoenicia. They also pressure-washed the underframe of the car.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212255

Sunday, additional work on 2940 continued with seat cleaning and repositioning and electrical troubleshooting of the HVAC and lighting circuits. Windows installed Saturday were sealed and caulked and roofing asphalt removed from car sides. Paint top coat was applied to the entire south side. Coach crew included Ed Winstanley, Steve Porter,Tyler Carelli, Al Schoessow, George Bain, Tom Whyte, John Patane, and Mark Glaser.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Ulster County has been unsuccessful at canceling the CMRR lease:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... 37/-1/NEWS


By James Nani

Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 11/13/13

KINGSTON — The embattled Catskill Mountain Railroad Co. has won a temporary reprieve from an Ulster County court, but only if it can post a $75,000 bond by the day after Thanksgiving.

The railroad company has also been battling with Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, who wants to kick it out before its lease on county property ends in 2016 and build a rail trail on the same land.

But last week, Ulster County Supreme Court Judge Richard Mott ruled he would give the railroad until Nov. 29 to lay $75,000 down to go toward unfulfilled maintenance, repairs and demolition of the Big Indian Trestle when its lease finally ends.

Still, Harry Jameson, chair of the railroad's board of directors, called the reprieve a win.

Next, he said, "we look forward from moving to the courtroom to the meeting room, sitting down with the county executive and working out a long-term plan for rail with trail for the entire Ulster-Delaware railroad corridor."

The county had tried in its suit to have the bond be twice as much, but Mott said in his decision that the $150,000 it was asking for was based on "unsupported hearsay" and a "vague list of other, unspecified, potential losses and expenses."

Hein has been pressuring the railroad to abide by its lease with the county or hit the road. The county had cited a "lack of adequate maintenance and serious deterioration of many areas" of the railroad.

The railroad has a 25-year lease for the more-than 38 miles between Highmount and the City of Kingston.

Havranek pointed to the $75,000 bond as evidence that the judge agreed to some of the county's arguments.

"The judge agreed that the Catskill Mountain Railroad has not fulfilled its obligations," Havranek said.

jnani@th-record.com

The CMRR has a new website that shows all their plans for the railroad:

http://savetherails.org

Saturday November 16th

On Saturday, in Phoenicia, George Peck will lead a crew starting at 9:30am. He plans to do track work east of the Phoenicia station to get the track ready for the ESRM Christmas Train.

On Saturday in Kingston, we will be continuing painting Coach 2940, focusing on finishing the exterior. We will also be replacing windows and reconfiguring the interior seats. We also may be doing work priming the two box cars in the yard. Bring paint clothes. We will start at 9:30-10am at Cornell Street.

At Hurley Mountain Road, Ryan Lennox plans to lead a brush crew working east of Hurley Mountain Road towards the washout. Bring weed wackers, loppers, and chain saws. Please confirm directly with Ryan.


Sunday, November 17th


Cornell Street will open at 10am. We plan to continue working on the 2940 and on other equipment in the yard.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Here's a cute little rest stop on the Western Maryland Scenic RR/trail:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35870

Where could this be put on the CMRR?

Just past MP10 where the depot used to be?

Vandalism against the CMRR:

From the CMRR Facebook page:

Our volunteers continue to cut brush near Hurley Mountain Road so that track repair efforts can proceed west towards Ashokan Reservoir.

Ryan Lennox: Get this: I went down there this morning to take pictures of that exact spot, some jerk went down there, cut down a tree to specifically ruin the clearance. So I pulled the entire tree aside and now it's clear again. The audacity of someone going out of their way is astounding. BUT! I suggest they keep doing it, makes my next clearing that much easier.

Friday, November 15th

In Kingston on Friday, bolt work was done west of Washington Avenue adjacent to the Holiday Inn. Friday's crew included; Earl Pardini, Al Schoessow, and Mark Glaser.


Saturday, November 16th

Saturday, work continued on coach 2940 at Cornell St. Crews primed and painted the exterior as well as cleaning bright metal interior trim. 10 additional windows were installed on the north side. Priming of the boxcars adjacent to the loading dock was begun. Repairs on the 410 backhoe were started. Crews included: George and Harrison Balduf, George Bain, Ernie Hunt, Walt Otto, Jim Bruck, John Patane, Tyler Carelli, Ron Epstein, Al Schoessow, Freddie Rasmussen, Alex Sorenson, and Mark Glaser.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212408

At Hurley Mountain Road, Ryan Lennox led a brush crew consisting of Christian Cole and Billy Stewart. They cut the track fully open to MP 5.75.

In Phoenicia, George Peck, Art Vogel, and Dave Heick continued repair of the track between Phoenicia Station and the Section House.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212407


Sunday, November 17th

Sunday, window installation was completed on 2940 after 5 windows were replaced. Interior cleaning and electrical work continued. Seats were prepped for mounting and several securing brackets fabricated. Painting prep on the boxcars continued. Participating were: Earl Pardini, Al Schoessow, Ernie Hunt, Peter Fluchere, Edwin Winstanley, Tom Whyte, John Patane, George Bain, Ernie Klopping, Mark Glaser, and new volunteer, Jesse Gabron.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212409

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212410

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212411

Also on Sunday, Al Johnson worked in the Phoenicia yard.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Some material that came up from "All Aboard for Ashokan" that might be of interest:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/resourc ... ncreasing/

http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/ ... x.html#/1/

I find it amazingly ironic that we should be able to help ourselves by helping the trail people, but at least some of the trail people think the only way they can win is by destroying us.

Saturday, November 23rd

On Saturday, in Phoenicia, George Peck will lead a crew starting at 9:30am. He plans to do track work east of the Phoenicia station to get the track ready for the ESRM Christmas Train.

On Saturday in Kingston, we will be continuing painting Coach 2940, focusing on finishing the exterior. We will also be replacing windows and reconfiguring the interior seats. We also may be doing work priming the two box cars in the yard. Bring paint clothes. We will start at 9:30-10am at Cornell Street.

At Hurley Mountain Road, Ryan Lennox plans to lead a brush crew working east of Hurley Mountain Road towards the washout. Bring weed wackers, loppers, and chain saws. Please confirm directly with Ryan.

Todd Syska and I plan to run the sickle bar from Shokan to the Boiceville Trestle and back, starting around 10am.


Sunday, November 24th

Cornell Street will open at 10am. We plan to continue working on the 2940 and on other equipment in the yard.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

This letter to the editor is an endorsement for turning the Catskill Mountain Railroad into a trail, but the applicable item--perhaps the most important item--is a comment that is posted below:

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/opinion/201 ... for-rejoin

Saturday, November 23rd

On Saturday, George Peck continued work in the Phoenicia Yard finishing trackwork between the station and the section house. His crew conisisted of Rich Desir, Al Johnson, and John Pickett.

Ryan Lennox and Billy Stewart continued to clear track east of Hurley Mountain Road.

In Kingston, on Saturday,crews working on Coach 2940 began holiday decorating of the train, repaired window frames on the south side, and did additional interior and exterior painting. A walkway for passage between the coach and open air flat was fabricated. Boxcars received additional priming.Today's crew:Earl Pardini, Neil Remsen, George Bain, Walt Otto, Jim Bruck, Alex Sorenson, Ron Epstein, Tony Bochinno, Tom Johnson, Peter Fluchere, Karen Vogel, Mimi Pardini, Jan Harrison, Freddie Rasmussen, myself and Mark Glaser.

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212497

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212498

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212499


Sunday, November 24th

Sunday, 2940 work continued with step installation on the east end and placement of the ramp between the cars. 3 seats were permanently installed and additional holiday decorating done. Electrical wiring for decorative lighting was begun. Today's crew: Earl and Mimi Pardini,Neil Remsen, Tom Whyte, John Patane, Alex Sorenson, Jessie Gabron, and Mark Glaser.

In Shokan, Todd Syska, Billy Stewart and I cleared the line of trees and brush from Shokan (MP 16.2) to the Boiceville Trestle (MP 21.3).

http://photos.greatrails.net/s/?p=212520


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
CMRR

Another pro-trail letter; honestly, I can't understand how anybody would think replacing a railroad that doesn't cost the county anything (and even pays a minimal rent) with a trail that will cost at least $5 million to build and run over $50,000 per year in maintenance is a good deal.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/opinion/201 ... c-railroad