CENTRAL ELECTRIC RAILFANS' ASSOCIATION
What's new at CERA! October at CERA Wilkes-Barre Traction Presented by George Gula Wilkes-Barre, located in the Wyoming Valley of Luzerne County, Pa., was the hub of anthracite coal mining in that area. The large population needed to support the mines, railroads, and related business and industry required the establishment of a street horse railway as early as 1866. The first electric cars began operation in the valley in March 1888. The final streetcar operation took place on October 14, 1950, although trackless trolleys continued to run until 1958. This program gives the history of the company from its 1866 beginnings until the demise of its trackless network, illustrating each route through the use of both maps and photos. Be sure to join us! Friday, October 22, 2021, at 7 p.m. CDT at Conference Chicago's Lake Room. Conference Chicago at University Center is located at 525 S. State St., Chicago, Ill., between Ida B. Wells Drive and Harrison Street. 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. CERA on ZOOM CERA October Fantrip a success! In our first fantrip in over a year, we'll be a visiting East Troy via a round-trip chartered motor coach on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. The trip includes a catered luncheon aboard a former South Shore Line car at East Troy, an exclusive charter on the newly refurbished North Shore Line 761 and a tour of East Troy's modern shop facility. RECORDING 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.cc |
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IN-PERSON MEETINGS RETURN!! Wilkes-Barre Traction Presented by George Gula Friday, October 22, 2021, at 7 p.m. CDT Conference Chicago (University Center) Lake Room 525 S. State Street, Chicago, Ill. Located between Ida B. Wells Drive and Harrison Street 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. Wilkes-Barre, located in the Wyoming Valley of Luzerne County, Pa., was the hub of anthracite coal mining in that area. The large population needed to support the mines, railroads, and related business and industry required the establishment of a street horse railway as early as 1866. The first electric cars began operation in the valley in March 1888. The final streetcar operation took place on October 14, 1950, although trackless trolleys continued to run until 1958. This program gives the history of the company from its 1866 beginnings until the demise of its trackless network, illustrating each route through the use of both maps and photos. Be sure to join us! Due to Covid regulations, Conference Chicago requires all attendees to wear face masks to enter the building and when in public areas. WATCH THE RECORDING OF OUR JULY ZOOM PROGRAM Cedar Rapids: A Tale of Two Interurbans, by Luke Stephens Take a ride over the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway and the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railroad Watch the recorded Zoom session here. WATCH THE RECORDING OF OUR JUNE ZOOM PROGRAM 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 OUR MAY PROGRAM CERA President John Nicholson presents: |
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