CENTRAL ELECTRIC RAILFANS' ASSOCIATION
Upcoming Programs
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Friday, December 22, 2023 7:00 PM • In-Person Clubroom of 899 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago
What's new at CERA? TRANSIT IN THE TRIANGLE VOL. 2 The latest CERA book, Bulletin 152, is now available!
A companion piece to B-145, Transit in the Triangle Volume 2 continues "A Century Look at Pittsburgh Public Transit" covering the Port Authority Years from 1964 to 2014. It has being shipped as a benefit of membership to all who were members in 2019. We also have books in hand at our Chicago offices and are ready to send them. Please click on Buy a Book to order. Take a look in the books section for a special deal on a B-145 and B-152 combination. JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY! It's that time of year again. Please send your 2024 dues renewal in today. And if you're not a member, what are you waiting for? Since 1938, Central Electric Railfans’ Association has presented programs, published books, and hosted fan trips. In 2023 CERA continued its successful online programs on Zoom, offering both “open-to-all” Zoom programs and programs marketed exclusively to members and prospective members. We also returned to our in-person programming at a new location and hosted a fan trip to the Fox River Trolley Museum and Illinois Railway Museum as part of our 85th Anniversary Weekend. We very proudly edited, published and produced the critically received Transit in the Triangle, Volume 2 which was mailed to all of our 2019 Members. Our goal now is to get out two books in the next 16 months to 2020 and 2021 members!! We plan on making 2024 even better. Look forward to new things on Zoom and in our in-person programming, news on upcoming CERA-penned books and other featured products in our store and special deals on older titles in our inventory. Please consider contributing to these efforts by renewing your membership, or becoming a new member. You can pay for your membership by check or credit card and online via our web site: www.cera-chicago.org/join. We accept PayPal. CERA 2024 members will receive a hardbound book on an electric railway subject as a membership benefit. You can count on our publications to continue a long tradition of excellence in historical and contemporary electric railway research, while also being both informative and entertaining. CERA Programs! Texas Electric Railway Harvey Laner’s Texas Electric Railway program is a complete history of one of America’s fabled interurban railways from its beginnings in 1899 as the Denison and Sherman Railway to its demise on the last day of December in 1948. The pages of CERA Bulletin 121 come to life with commentary by author Johnnie J. Myers and digitized films from the collections of Harvey Laner and the Walter Keevil Archive. Though the program’s focus is on Texas Electric Railway, cameo coverage of the Northern Texas Traction Company and Texas Interurban Railway is also included. \The portion of the program on Dallas Railway and Terminal and Waco Transit are commented on by the late Ed Landrum and his son John Landrum. Dallas residents Ed Landrum and Phil Cobb founded of the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in 1983 to return heritage streetcars to Dallas. Ed’s son John Landrum manages the McKinney Avenue historic streetcar operations. The program concludes with a tribute to the railfans who pioneered taking movies in the final years of the Texas Electric Railway. The digitized movies of George Krambles, Gordon Zahoric, Larry R. Dickerson, Richard T. Loane, Dick George and George Roush complete this important documentary. Join Our Zoom Meetings: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81492517167?pwd=dm9DbnV1QlBtTll0WVZ0Um5HS3dodz09
Or use the TinyURL (for both November or December programs): FOURTH FRIDAY IN DECEMBER Friday, December 22, 2023 At 7:00 p.m. (CST) 899 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago Al Styfee's Pacific Electric movies (Conversationally Narrated by Jeff Moreau, Ray Ballash and Harvey Laner) Run Time: 1h29m Alan W. Styfee was a railfan whose career included being a Los Angeles Transit Lines and successor Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority streetcar motorman. His passion for the Pacific Electric is seen in the movies he took in the final years of the red cars in Southern California. When our presenter, Harvey Laner, obtained Al’s movies, he digitized them and organized them in a way that told a story. He then called on his friend, Pacific Electric Railway historian Jeff Moreau to converse with him about these wonderful movies. Al’s movies include the red cars operating on the Bellflower Line. Railfan and Orange Empire Trolley Museum co-founder, the late Raymond A. Ballash occasionally rode the last run of the night with motorman Howard “100 percent” Smith. Ray reminisces about the time motorman Smith let him run the car on the rural outer end of the line. This program meets the goal that was set from the beginning. Convey as much history about the Pacific Electric Railway as possible from an acknowledged authority, the late Jeff Moreau, while honoring Al Styfee’s memorialization of the Pacific Electric as he saw it, on film. This is a members-only program. Join us in person at 899 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago or on Zoom with the link provided to members by e-mail or snail mail. Questions? Send us an email at ceraoffice@gmail.com Remember, CERA's second Friday of the month Zoom programs are open to all. But we'd still love to have you as a member. If you aren't a member, please consider joining and visit https://cera-chicago.org/join Or let us know by email if you have questions at: ceraoffice@gmail.comFor more railfan programming listings, visit: |
CERA PROGRAMS! Texas Electric Railway Presented by Harvey Laner Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. (CST) Run time: 1h28min Harvey Laner’s Texas Electric Railway program is a complete history of one of America’s fabled interurban railways from its beginnings in 1899 as the Denison and Sherman Railway to its demise on the last day of December in 1948. The pages of CERA Bulletin 121 come to life with commentary by author Johnnie J. Myers and digitized films from the collections of Harvey Laner and the Walter Keevil Archive. Though the program’s focus is on Texas Electric Railway, cameo coverage of the Northern Texas Traction Company and Texas Interurban Railway is also included. \The portion of the program on Dallas Railway and Terminal and Waco Transit are commented on by the late Ed Landrum and his son John Landrum. Dallas residents Ed Landrum and Phil Cobb founded of the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in 1983 to return heritage streetcars to Dallas. Ed’s son John Landrum manages the McKinney Avenue historic streetcar operations. The program concludes with a tribute to the railfans who pioneered taking movies in the final years of the Texas Electric Railway. The digitized movies of George Krambles, Gordon Zahoric, Larry R. Dickerson, Richard T. Loane, Dick George and George Roush complete this important documentary. Join Our Zoom Meetings: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81492517167?pwd=dm9DbnV1QlBtTll0WVZ0Um5HS3dodz09
Or use the TinyURL (for both November or December programs): FOURTH FRIDAY IN DECEMBER Friday, December 22, 2023 At 7:00 p.m. (CST) 899 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago Al Styfee's Pacific Electric movies (Conversationally Narrated by Jeff Moreau, Ray Ballash and Harvey Laner) Run Time: 1h29m Alan W. Styfee was a railfan whose career included being a Los Angeles Transit Lines and successor Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority streetcar motorman. His passion for the Pacific Electric is seen in the movies he took in the final years of the red cars in Southern California. When our presenter, Harvey Laner, obtained Al’s movies, he digitized them and organized them in a way that told a story. He then called on his friend, Pacific Electric Railway historian Jeff Moreau to converse with him about these wonderful movies. Al’s movies include the red cars operating on the Bellflower Line. Railfan and Orange Empire Trolley Museum co-founder, the late Raymond A. Ballash occasionally rode the last run of the night with motorman Howard “100 percent” Smith. Ray reminisces about the time motorman Smith let him run the car on the rural outer end of the line. This program meets the goal that was set from the beginning. Convey as much history about the Pacific Electric Railway as possible from an acknowledged authority, the late Jeff Moreau, while honoring Al Styfee’s memorialization of the Pacific Electric as he saw it, on film. This is a members-only program. Join us in person at 899 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago or on Zoom with the link provided to members by e-mail or snail mail. Our fourth Friday programs are reserved for members, and their guests. If you aren't a member, please consider clicking on the JOIN page on this website right now.
The latest CERA book, Bulletin 152, is now available! It has being shipped as a benefit of membership to all who were members in 2019. We also have books in hand at our Chicago offices and are ready to send them. Please click on Buy a Book to order. A companion piece to B-145, Transit in the Triangle Volume 2 continues "A Century Look at Pittsburgh Public Transit" covering the Port Authority Years from 1964 to 2014. THE RETURN OF CERA VIDEOS! After a brief hiatus from our webpages, CERA is happy to announce that previous videos hosted on YouTube, are now back up and running. Here is a list, and links, to currently available videos. Click on the date: September 2020: A visual appreciation of the South Shore Line by John Nicholson. October 2020: "Hungary for Streetcars? Czech this out!" a travelog of railfanning in Eastern Europe, by Raymond DeGroote, Jr. November 2020: The Loop: The 'L' Tracks that Shaped and Saved Chicago by Patrick Reardon. December 2020: Manhattan Transfer, by David Wilson TROLLEYS TO THE BOARDWALK Order CERA Bulletin B-151 today! Trolleys to the Boardwalk is also available. We also have books in hand at our Chicago offices and are ready to send them. Please click on Buy a Book to order. B-151 is a history of Atlantic City Trolleys from 1854 to 1955, written by James J.N. Henwood, who ecounts the story of trolley operation in Atlantic City, from humble horse cars to the modern Brilliners. Originally conceived of as a seaside shipping port, Atlantic City’s developers realized its potential for summer visitors seeking an escape from crowded cities to the inviting beaches of the Jersey Shore. Resorts and other businesses burgeoned, helped by the crowds brought to the city over three railroads. Local transportation began with a simple horsecart service as well as a steam dummy operation. It was traction Pioneer Frank J. Sprague who electrified the city railway in 1889. Under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad, lines were ultimately consolidated into the Atlantic City & Shore Railroad. Over the years AC&S operated the local Atlantic City trolley service and a short interurban—the Shore Fast Line-between Atlantic City and Ocean City. There was also another electric line in the area, the Atlantic City & Suburban, that led a troubled existence and suffered an early demise. Come on board and ride back with us in time to relive Atlantic City’s colorful trolley era.
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