The Akron Railroad Club has announced that veteran railroad photographer Roger Durfee of Akron will present the program at the club’s annual end of year dinner.
The event will be held on Dec. 7 between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the New Era restaurant, 10 Massillon Road in Akron.
Durfee has been photographing railroad operations since the 1970s and has traveled widely to capture trains on slides and digitally. He retired from Norfolk Southern as a conductor after having worked for NS and Conrail in the Cleveland are and in Pennsylvania.
The title of his program is Rail Travels Since Retirement. The program will probably feature, among other things, images made during a trip he made earlier this year to the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and the wilds of Canada.
The event will begin with cocktails at 5 p.m. with dinner being ordered from the restaurant’s menu between 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Attendance is limited to 40 and reservations can be made at the Nov. 22 ARRC meeting or by contacting ARRC Vice President Bill Kubas at 330-928-7025 or bkuboose@gmail.com
There is no cost for a reservation and the ARRC is not collecting any money for the event. Attendees are responsible for paying the restaurant for their dinner, drinks and gratuities.
The ARRC also has announced its program schedule for the first three months of 2020.
Ron McElrath, who currently serves as the editor of the club’s newsletter, will present a video program at the January meeting on Jan. 24.
McElrath, who owns and operates Revelation Video in Tallmadge, Ohio, has traveled around the world to capture various types of railroad operations.
David Mangold will present the program at the February meeting on Feb. 28.
Mangold is a locomotive engineer who in the past couple years has been a boomer, working for railroads in Nebraska, Mississippi, California and Colorado.
He also worked as an engineer for Norfolk Southern, Canadian National and Conrail and was a car attendant for Amtrak.
The January and February meetings will begin at 8 p.m.
The March meeting on March 28 will be the ARRC’s annual member’s night and pizza party. It will begin at 6 p.m. and feature an open projector night format.
All monthly meetings are held at the New Horizons Christian Church at 290 Darrow Road in Akron.