Saturday, February 2nd.

On Saturday, February 2nd, we will have two crews working.

Phoenicia

On Saturday, February 2nd, George Peck will lead a crew doing bolt replacement on the line. They will meet about 9-9:30am in the Phoenicia Yard. They will be taking the work train to the Route 28 crossing in Mount Pleasant and be working from there east to Andrew's Lane. If you are running late, meet them east of Mt. Pleasant.

I do not know if work is planned on the 702 Saturday. Please contact George Liucci for further information.

Kingston

On Saturday, February 2nd, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard, and work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. He will open the yard at 9am.


Sunday, February 3rd

Kingston

On Sunday, February 3rd, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard, and work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. He will open the yard at 9am.


Upcoming Events

February 23rd - Entry Level Rules Class. Phoenicia U&D Station 10am-4pm.

March 15th - CMRR Annual Stockholder Meeting

Weather is expected to be sunny this weekend with highs in the low 40's.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator, Catskill Mountain RR

Saturday, February 2nd


On Saturday, February 2nd, most work was concentrated in Kingston.

In Phoenicia, Tom Healy, Dick Wilhelm and Joe Marsh worked on the tamper, and Joe took a part home to be refabricated.

In Kingston, the crew consisted of Earl Pardini, George Peck, Chris Rittner, Gregory Peck, Paul Hintz, Raphael Demeglio, John Pantane, Bob Blake, Jeff Otto, Peter Fluchere, and Ron Epstein.

Because we are still waiting on a sign-off from the fire department, work on the fence had to be put on hold. Work focused on equipping the new work flat, 201, with hand rails from the 213. Another crew worked on installing seats in the caboose.

Otto Vondrak, now an official CMRR volunteer, stopped by and paid a visit to the crew in Kingston, and got a tour of RS-1 2361.


Sunday, February 3rd

Sunday the crew at Cornell Street consisted of Bob Blake, Paul Hintz, Raphael DeMeglio, Jeff Otto, Earl Pardini, John Patane Jr., and Greg Vaughn.

From Greg Vaughn: "The first half of the seats were installed in the caboose, the stake pockets on 213 were moved on the passenger loading end, the tall grab irons from 213 were fastened down on work flat 201, the west siding turnout was located and new fence alignment surveyed on the west end of the yard."

Photos:

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 145609.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 485638.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 415679.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 585721.jpg


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
Catskill Mountain RR

Saturday, February 9th.

On Saturday, February 9th, we will have three crews working:

Phoenicia

On Saturday, February 9th, George Peck will lead a crew doing bolt replacement on the line. They will meet about 9-9:30am in the Phoenicia Yard. They will be taking the work train to the Route 28 crossing in Mount Pleasant and be working from there east to Andrew's Lane. If you are running late, meet them east of Mt. Pleasant.

Al Johnson plans to lead a team continuing work on the windows on the 702. If possible, let him know ahead of time if you are coming. He will plan to start at the coach in Phoenicia at 10am.


Kingston

On Saturday, February 9th, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard, and work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. He will open the yard at 9am.


Sunday, February 10th

Kingston

On Sunday, February 10th, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard, and work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. He will open the yard at 9am.


Upcoming Events

February 23rd - Entry Level Rules Class. Phoenicia U&D Station 10am-4pm.

March 15th - CMRR Annual Stockholder Meeting

Weather is expected to be cloudy in the low 40s Sunday and clear but cold on Sunday.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator, Catskill Mountain RR

Saturday, February 16th.

On Saturday, February 16th, we will have two or three crews working:

Phoenicia

On Saturday, February 16th, George Peck will lead a crew doing bolt replacement on the line. They will meet about 9-9:30am in the Phoenicia Yard. They will be taking the work train to the Route 28 crossing in Mount Pleasant and be working from there east to Andrew's Lane. If you are running late, meet them east of Mt. Pleasant.

Al Johnson and George Liucci may be working on the 702 again this weekend. Please contact them directly to confirm if you would like to join them.


Kingston

On Saturday, February 16th, Earl Pardini and Greg Vaughn will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard, namely installing the new east fence. They are very confident they will have all permits ready by Saturday. They will also be working on converting flat 213 to passenger service. They will open the yard at 9am.


Sunday, February 17th

Kingston

On Sunday, February 17th, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard. If the new east fence is installed Saturday, this will involve removing the old fence which will be inside the yard, and begin relocating equipment. They will also work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. Earl will open the yard at 9am.


Upcoming Events

February 23rd - Entry Level Rules Class. Phoenicia U&D Station 10am-4pm.

March 15th - CMRR Annual Stockholder Meeting

Weather is expected to be sunny with a high of 25 on Saturday and 42 on Sunday.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator, Catskill Mountain RR

Yesterday, February 16th, a large crew worked in Kingston to move the east gate east to create additional yard area. A temporary west fence was put up. A larger, permanent west fence will be but up later.

Some photos:

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 128207.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 828249.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 128329.jpg

The crew yesterday at Cornell Street consisted of Earl Pardini, Greg Vaughn, Bob Blake, Raphael DeMeglio, Jeff Otto, John Patane, John Tuma. Ron Epstein, and Peter Fluchere.

In Phoenicia, Al Johnson continued cleaning windows for the 702, and George Peck led a crew installing new bolts on the operating section. His crew consisted of Gregory Peck, Dave Mason, Jason Markowitz, and Derek Stapleton.

Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
Catskill Mountain RR

I just saw your railroad last weekend, when I was visiting Belleayre. I went in a group so I wasn't really able to stop by, but if ever I have seen a railroad on the east coast with more potential, and possibility to turn a profit, your line is it!!!

It was rather neat to drive up the right, (I came in off I-87 to RTE-28) and I believe that that must have been your line off the side of the road the whole time. All I could think to myself is if you guys could get service going up to Belleayre, maybe even contract with some of the major resorts to operate as a ski train/tourist train it seems as thou you guys could do real well. I don't know if their is public transportation for the many in NYC who don't have cars to get to Kingston, but then if the train could act as a connector train from Kingston to Belleayre and or the surrounding resorts, this could bring in some nice money to the community. As it is, there already is a yard and unloading facility at the bottom of the ski area. Seems like a Steam powered Ski/Tourist/Santa train could make a fortune in the winter, if you can make it to Highmount!

One of the other things I have been told by my active in the area ski friends is that Belleayre is always a little emptier in their opinion because it isn't as family oriented of a mountain (Shy of being to one mountain in PA I haven't done any other skiing in the area, so this isn't my opinion). Perhaps a nice ski train could fix this?

From what I saw, it seems like you guys have a beautiful line, in an already popular recreation area, one that isn't too far off the beaten path, and offers the opportunity to pull some actual revenue passengers. I wish you guys the best and when I have a car (I am finishing my senior year at Rutgers) look forward to visiting. Just as a casual observer, I must say all I could see for your line was untapped potential!

Adam

Adam,

Thanks for your enthusiam for the CMRR. We believe that restoring the line from Kingston to Phoenicia is a very realistic scenario, especially because the line is more or less intact, and the line passes along the scenic Ashokan reservoir. Though two bridges need major work, and one semi-washout needs repair, several crossings need gates, and lots of ties need rehab, the line can and will be repaired. We made great progress towards this goal over the past year by returning to service over a mile of track, with more to come in 2008.

Restoring the line from Phoenicia to Bellayre is a much more difficult prospect. At least five washouts, one major bridge repair and a complete bridge replacement are needed, and this is beyond the ability of the CMRR to repair. In other words, this segment will require state investment in order for train service to return. If the Bellayre expansion happens, and the state is willing to repair the line, I'm sure the CMRR will be happy to run trains to Highmount. But in the meantime, our focus is Phoenicia to Kingston.

We look forward to seeing you if you stop by during our operating season (or one of our work seekends!).

EH

Ernie,

Along the way I saw a train station with a caboose standing along side of it, is that the end of the line in Phoenicia? Can trains from Kingston reach it?

It didn't seem too far from Belleayre, but that being said right after departing from Belleayre I could see where the track looked like a roller coaster from a severe washout. How many miles from Phoenicia is Belleayre? When I drove by the railroad, I couldn't help but think how far a joint venture between your railroad and the local resorts and potentially the state at Belleayre (The state does own the slopes right?) could go.

By the way, perhaps I haven't been around real full sized railroading too much yet, but are the number of washouts along side the line that you have common.

Adam

Adam,

The caboose you saw is next to the Mt. Pleasant station at MP 25.3. This is about 1/2 way along the operable section of the line operated in the summer by the CMRR from the Route 28 bridge in Phoenicia, MP 27.9 to Cold Brook Station at MP 22.1.

The runaround at Highmount/Bellayre is at MP 41.4. So there are 13.5 miles between Highmount and the end of track in Phoenicia.

Of the 13.5 miles, we have cleared 3 miles for track car use, notably the 2.5 miles east of Highmount which we cleared in 2006, and 1/2 mile west of Phoenicia which we cleared in 2007. We plan to clear all the intact stretches of this section of the line as we have time so that we can do minimal maintenance with track cars and so people don't forget there is a railroad there! (you probably did not notice the 2 spots where Route 28 crosses the tracks between Phoenicia and Highmount as we have not cut the vegetation yet in those two areas).

There is a controversial resort expansion project under way in Bellayre with a private developer that may or may not happen. If it does eventually get under way, I'm sure discussion of train service to Highmount will take place. Until then, we will continue to work to open the line from Kingston to Cold Brook. We hope to narrow the 18 mile gap from Cold Brook to Kingston significantly in 2008.

Ernie

Saturday, February 23rd.

On Saturday, February 23rd, the CMRR will hold its entry-level rules class in Phoenicia.

This rules class is for new volunteers, 2006 volunteers who did not pass the rules class last year, or those who need a brush-up on the rules. It will be held at the ESRM's Station in Phoenicia. The class will begin at 10am, and a light lunch will be served. The class is expected to wrap up about 4pm. A test will be held at the end of the day.

A second class for more experienced volunteers will be held prior to the start of the operating season.

The only work crew on Saturday will be George Peck leading a crew doing boltwork Saturday meeting in Phoenicia about 9-9:30am. The Cornell Street Yard in Kingston will be closed.


Sunday, February 24th

On Sunday, February 24th, Earl Pardini will lead a crew at Cornell Street continuing to move the fence to expand the yard. Most likely this will involve removing the old south fence and relocating it to the new fence location west of the yard, and relocating yard equipment. They will also work on converting flat 213 to passenger service. Earl will open the yard at 9am.

Weather is expected to be cloudy with a high of 33 on Saturday and sunny with a high of 41 on Sunday.



Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
Catskill Mountain RR

Due to the 6-12 inches of snow expected to hit Phoenicia Friday evening, we are cancelling the rules class scheduled for Saturday morning, February 23rd. The storm is expected to continue through Saturday morning.

The rules class will be rescheduled at a later date.

Any other workparties scheduled for Saturday are cancelled.

The workday on Sunday at the Cornell Street yard is still on schedule. The yard will open at 9am.


Ernie Hunt
Volunteer Coordinator
Catskill Mountain RR

On Sunday, February 24th, our crew at Cornell Street consisted of Earl Pardini, Ernie Klopping, Bob Blake, John Patane, John Watson, Raphael DeMeglio, Walt Otto and Jeff Otto.

Writes Jeff Otto:

"We moved various items away from the remaining old fence that used to be East of the gate, removed the fencing material from the posts (in two large pieces), and rolled it all up. We also painted the steel grate leading to the caboose yellow for safety, and did additional work on the scarifier."

Adds John Patane:

"To continue Jeff's report, the belts were removed from the scarifier which had about 2-3 weeks of life left in them! A visual inspection to all hoses, filters, leaks and any other tune-up type item's while the hood is removed. The machine runs clean and has reasonably low hours on it so a valve adjustment does not seem necessary. Various part numbers and filter number were taken for ordering. Also just wanted to add, for anybody that has not been to the yard yet, it takes getting used to. When putting things away or parking equipment, everybody has the natural tendency to put everything inside the old gate line or walk around! "



EH