CENTRAL ELECTRIC RAILFANS' ASSOCIATION
What's new at CERA! CERA on Zoom, Open to All The South Shore Line: Once again, we return to the South Shore Line to view scenes of America's last interurban when it truly was an interurban and looked like one. In this edition we'll see scenes from the 1940s and 50's including street running in East Chicago and the construction of the bypass. These views, brought to you by John Nicholson, will bring back pleasant memories to some and be seen for the first time by many more. Join us for a memorable and enjoyable evening. Join us at: https://tinyurl.com/CERAonZOOM Meeting ID: 831 2668 5411 Passcode: 959625 Dial in: 312-626-6799 CERA In-Person Michigan Railway’s The cities of both Saginaw and Bay City were split by the navigable Saginaw River and in both cases their early street railways were separate companies, later to be consolidated into the Saginaw – Bay City Railway. An early interurban line connected both cities with a line on the west side of the river, originally named the Inter-Urban Railway. Another early line, the Detroit, Flint and Saginaw Railway had been built south from Saginaw to Frankenmuth, with Detroit as Please note, the Dec. 17 program will not be recorded or streamed online. Join us at Conference Chicago (University Center) in the Lake Room The Lake Room is located on the second floor. After entering the lobby, go through the glass doors on your left for stair and elevator access to the second-floor conference rooms. Doors open at 6 p.m. Due to Covid regulations, Conference Chicago requires all attendees to wear face masks to enter the building and when in public areas. For more railfan programming listings, visit: http://www.railcc.org/events.html RECORDINGS AVAILABLE CEDAR RAPIDS: A TALE OF TWO INTERUBANS Take a ride over the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railroad Many of the interurbans of Iowa continued to provide electrically operated passenger and freight service well into the 1950s. Two of those were the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (Crandic) and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railroad. Watch the recorded Zoom session here. Luke Stephens is a Cedar Rapids area high school student who has a curiosity about “the way things used to be” where he lives. After seeing a 1920s photo of a Crandic interurban on the main street of his hometown, he began to research the interurban industry in general and the Crandic in particular. The result was a 20-minute video that impressed many of us “old timers” with his depth of research and articulate presentation. Luke now presents an expanded PowerPoint program on both of the Cedar Rapids interurbans with views along the line and insights into the operation of these roads. Many photos in both black-and-white and color (edited by John Nicholson), maps, and other graphics promise to make this an entertaining and informative program. Be sure to join us and spread the word to other CERA members. RECORDED PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO ALL David Wilson: From the Garfield 'L' to Blue Line Rapid Transit Watch David Wilson's fascinating presentation of how a historic “L” and interurban corridor was transformed into today’s Eisenhower Expressway and its pioneering rapid transit line. Watch the recording of our public Zoom presentation from May 14, Before There Was a Prairie Path: The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, presented by John Nicholson. The program, which clocks in at an hour and 52 minutes of fascinating stories and photograpy can be viewed here. Watch 20th Century's LeHigh Valley Transit program. 20th Century Railroad Club welcomed CERA President John Nicholson for a reprise of the Lehigh Valley Transit portion of John's August CERA Zoom meeting. That's the program we had not been able to feature in a recording. So click here to see and hear the history of Pennsylvania inter-urban line Lehigh Valley Transit. The recording of the April 14 presentation for 20th Century runs just about an hour long. TIME TRAVEL TO CHICAGO'S METROPOLITAN "L" On Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 Bruce Moffat presented: Chicago’s Metropolitan “L”. The Zoom program recording is available here. OTHER CERA ZOOM PROGRAMS RIDE THE NORTH SHORE LINE AGAIN!We were happy to see at least 282 viewers on our Jan. 22 program about the North Shore Line. Watch the recorded program by following this link.
MANHATTAN TRANSFER David Wilson takes us on a trip to New York City in this recorded Zoom program. THE LOOP "L" Patrick Reardon's history of The Loop: The "L" Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago. The edited video of the program is now live. Ray DeGroote's October railfanning in Hungary and the Czech Republic, is also available. And from John Nicholson comes September's presentation ofthe Chicago South Shore and South Bend. If you’d like to present a program with CERA via Zoom, contact us. We can scan your photos or slides and format them into a PowerPoint program for presentation. |
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IN-PERSON MEETINGS RETURN!! Michigan Railway’s The cities of both Saginaw and Bay City were split by the navigable Saginaw River and in both cases their early street railways were separate companies, later to be consolidated into the Saginaw – Bay City Railway. An early interurban line connected both cities with a line on the west side of the river, originally named the Inter-Urban Railway. Another early line, the Detroit, Flint and Saginaw Railway had been built south from Saginaw to Frankenmuth, with Detroit as Please note, the Dec. 17 program will not be recorded or streamed online. Join us at Conference Chicago (University Center) in the Lake Room The Lake Room is located on the second floor. After entering the lobby, go through the glass doors on your left for stair and elevator access to the second-floor conference rooms. Doors open at 6 p.m. Due to Covid regulations, Conference Chicago requires all attendees to wear face masks to enter the building and when in public areas. For more railfan programming listings, visit: http://www.railcc.org/events.html CERA on Zoom Recordings available now CEDAR RAPIDS: A TALE OF TWO INTERUBANS Watch the wildly successful July 23 program from railfan newcomer Luke Stephens. Take a ride over the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railroad Many of the interurbans of Iowa continued to provide electrically operated passenger and freight service well into the 1950s. Two of those were the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (Crandic) and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railroad. Watch the recorded Zoom session here. Luke Stephens is a Cedar Rapids area high school student who has a curiosity about “the way things used to be” where he lives. After seeing a 1920s photo of a Crandic interurban on the main street of his hometown, he began to research the interurban industry in general and the Crandic in particular. The result was a 20-minute video that impressed many of us “old timers” with his depth of research and articulate presentation. Luke now presents an expanded PowerPoint program on both of the Cedar Rapids interurbans with views along the line and insights into the operation of these roads. Many photos in both black-and-white and color (edited by John Nicholson), maps, and other graphics promise to make this an entertaining and informative program. Be sure to join us and spread the word to other CERA members. RECORDED PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO ALL David Wilson: From the Garfield 'L' to Blue Line Rapid Transit Watch David Wilson's fascinating presentation of how a historic “L” and interurban corridor was transformed into today’s Eisenhower Expressway and its pioneering rapid transit line. Watch the recording of our public Zoom presentation from May 14, Before There Was a Prairie Path: The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, presented by John Nicholson. The program, which clocks in at an hour and 52 minutes of fascinating stories and photograpy can be viewed here. Watch 20th Century's LeHigh Valley Transit program. 20th Century Railroad Club welcomed CERA President John Nicholson for a reprise of the Lehigh Valley Transit portion of John's August CERA Zoom meeting. That's the program we had not been able to feature in a recording. So click here to see and hear the history of Pennsylvania inter-urban line Lehigh Valley Transit. The recording of the April 14 presentation for 20th Century runs just about an hour long. TIME TRAVEL TO CHICAGO'S METROPOLITAN "L" On Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 Bruce Moffat presented: Chicago’s Metropolitan “L”. The Zoom program recording is available here. OTHER CERA ZOOM PROGRAMS RIDE THE NORTH SHORE LINE AGAIN!We were happy to see at least 282 viewers on our Jan. 22 program about the North Shore Line. Watch the recorded program by following this link.
MANHATTAN TRANSFER David Wilson takes us on a trip to New York City in this recorded Zoom program. THE LOOP "L" Patrick Reardon's history of The Loop: The "L" Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago. The edited video of the program is now live. Ray DeGroote's October railfanning in Hungary and the Czech Republic, is also available. And from John Nicholson comes September's presentation ofthe Chicago South Shore and South Bend. If you’d like to present a program with CERA via Zoom, contact us. We can scan your photos or slides and format them into a PowerPoint program for presentation. |
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