ARRC End of Year Dinner is Saturday

The Akron Railroad Club will hold its final event of 2021 on Saturday when it conducts the annual end of year dinner.

The event will be held at the New Era restaurant at 10 Massillon Road on the east side of Akron.

It will begin with a cocktail hour starting at 5 p.m. with dinner orders being taken between 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Attendees will order from the restaurant’s menu and are responsible for paying for all food and beverages that they consume and a gratuity for the server. The ARRC is not collecting any money for the event.

The restaurant’s menu can be viewed at www.thenerarestaurant.com

The program will be digital images presented by Jerry Jordak of Macedonia. His program is titled A Railfan’s Life: My Life Trackside Behind the Camera.

Jerry has traveled extensively over the years, particularly in North East Ohio and the Eastern United States.

Many of the images he is likely to present were made during an annual trip he makes with two friends in the fall in connection with attending the Penn Central Historical Society convention.

Known as the “bogus adventure,” the trio explores the railroads in the region where the convention is being held.

Jerry has presented to the ARRC in the past, including a program at the December 2010 banquet focusing on his travels to document railroads that run parallel to or intersect U.S. Route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles.

He also has presented at Summerail and his photographs have appeared in various railfan magazines and books.

Due to limited seating in the banquet room of the New Era restaurant, the end of year dinner will be limited to 40 attendees.

Reservations can be made by contacting Bill Kubas (330-928-7025 or bkuboose@gmail.com) or David Kachinko (440-537-6487 or dkachinko@aol.com)

Program Changed for ARRC Meeting

The program for the November Akron Railroad Club meeting has been changed.

The program at the Nov. 26 meeting will now be presented by Todd Dillon who plans to show digital images of Amtrak operations, Nickel Plate Road 765 on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Chicago Metra commuter trains and other rail images.

Ron McElrath had been scheduled to present a program titled Amtrak at 50, but it will now be shown at the February 2022 meeting.

The ARRC meeting will begin at 8 p.m. at the New Horizons Christian Church in Akron.

Officers for 2022 will also be elected during the business portion of the meeting with nominations being made from the floor.

Further details have also been released about the ARRC’s Dec. 4 end of year dinner.

The event is limited to 40 attendees and reservations are required. The dinner will begin at 5 p.m. at the New Era Restaurant at 10 Massillon Road in Akron.

The program is being presented by Jerry Jordak and is titled  My Life Trackside Behind The Camera.

Jordak is a member of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Conrail, and Anthracite Historical Societies and serves as a trustee and was a founding member of the Penn Central Historical Society.

He has photographed extensively the railroad operations of Northeast Ohio and in the eastern United States, particularly in Pennsylvania.

ARRC to Celebrate 50 Years of Amtrak

Fifty years of Amtrak will be the focus of the program at this month’s Akron Railroad Club meeting.

Ron McElrath will present video made over the years of Amtrak operations on and off the trains.

The club will meet on Friday (Nov. 26) at 8 p.m. at the New Horizons Christian Church, 290 Darrow Road, in Akron.

The meeting will begin with a short business meeting followed by the program at approximately 8:30 p.m. During the business meeting officers will be elected for 2022.

Following the meeting, some members gather at the Denny’s restaurant at 1681 Home Avenue in Cuyahoga Falls for a late dinner, dessert or an early breakfast.

The club also has announced that Jerry Jordak will be the presenter at the annual end of year dinner to be held Dec. 4 at the New Era restaurant in Akron.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. at the restaurant located at 10 Akron Road in Akron. Attendees will order from the menu and be responsible for paying for their food and drink.

Jordak, of Macedonia, is a well-known and respected railroad photographer who is best known for his work in capturing rail operations in Northeast Ohio and the eastern United States.

ARRC Cancels End of Year Dinner

The Akron Railroad Club on Friday canceled its end of year dinner that had been set for Dec. 5.

Club President Todd Dillon said the New Era restaurant in Akron where the dinner was to be held has imposed a limit on 10 people in its dining room due to COVID-19 pandemic rules and guidelines announced by government officials in the wake of dramatically rising numbers of virus cases.

ARRC had earlier announced a cap of 30 attendees for the dinner, but was expecting a crowd of between 15 and 20.

The pandemic has canceled other ARRC events, including the summer picnic and monthly meetings. The ARRC has not met since February.

An email sent to members on Friday indicated the club has received authorization from the New Horizons Christian Church in Akron to continue meeting there.

However, the club will not be able to hold meetings at the church until it is opened to the public.

ARRC Cancels November Meeting

The Akron Railroad Club has canceled its Nov. 27 meeting due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

It marks the ninth monthly meeting the club has canceled this year due to the pandemic.

However, ARRC President Todd Dillon said the End of Year Dinner scheduled for Dec. 5 is still going to be held.

The dinner will be held at the New Era restaurant in Akron. Dillion will present a digital images program titled Off the Beaten Path.

ARRC Polling Members on Dinner Event

The Akron Railroad Club is polling its members to gauge their interest in attending the annual end of year dinner.

The dinner is set for Dec. 5 at the New Era Restaurant in Akron between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

An email sent to members indicated that attendees will be required to wear a face mask until seated and that seating will be four to six people per table spread over eight tables.

Attendance at the event will be limited to 30 people and as at previous dinners attendees will order from the restaurant menu and pay their bill individually.

The notice said the program was to be determined, but a notice on the ARRC’s Facebook page indicated that the program will be presented by club president Todd Dillon and feature images of rail operations “off the beaten path.”

This will include trains on short line railroads and lesser used Class 1 branches.

ARRC End of Year Dinner Set, Officers Elected for 2020

The Akron Railroad Club will be holding its annual end of year dinner on Saturday with a program being presented by Roger Durfee.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the New Era restaurant at 10 Massillon Road in Akron.

An earlier announcement of the event indicated that the program would focus on images that Durfee has made since retiring a couple years ago as a conductor for Norfolk Southern.

But he also has indicated to the club that he plans to go “old school” in his program and show slides of railroads around Akron from the 1970s and 1980s.

Whatever the program turns out to be it should be enjoyable given that Roger is an outstanding photographer.

The ARRC elected officers for 2020 at its November meeting with all current officers being re-elected.

Todd Dillon will remain as president, Bill Kubas will continue as vice president, Jim Mastromatteo will be the secretary, Paul Havasi agreed to continue as treasurer and Ron McElrath will continue to publish the every other month newsletter.

The ARRC’s next regular meeting will be Jan. 24, 2020, at 8 p.m. at the New Horizons Christian Church in Akron. Ron McElrath will present the program.

Durfee to Present at ARRC End of Year Dinner

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.

ARRC Members Go South at End of Year Dinner

Mark Demaline (left) and Marty Surdyk adjust the projector before Mark began his program at the Akron Railroad Club’s annual end of year dinner held last Saturday.

On with the show, we’re ready.

Twenty-five Akron Railroad Club members and guests took a trip down South at the annual end of year dinner held Saturday in Stow at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s restaurant.

ARRC member Mark Demaline gave a slide show titled Southern Served the South that showcased Southern Railway operations from Virginia to Florida, and Atlanta to New Orleans.

Mark’s hour-long program had something for everyone, including passenger trains, steam-powered excursion trains and workaday freight trains that ranged from hot shots to locals.

Most of the images were made in the 1970s and early 1980s when Mark worked in management positions for the Chessie System in Richmond, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida.

He would spend weekends traveling the territory in search of photographs. On occasion he was able to make images traveling to or from work.

Among the stars of Mark’s program was the Southern Crescent, which the Southern operated through Jan. 31, 1979, between Washington and New Orleans. The Southern did not join Amtrak when it began operations on May 1, 1971.

Amtrak took over the Crescent on Feb. 1, 1979. Amtrak had operated the Southern Crescent between Washington and New York, just as Penn Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad had done before the coming of Amtrak.

The Southern was a pioneer in mainline steam excursions and Mark caught a few of those in his program. But most of the presentation was an overview of Southern freight operations.

The end of year dinner is the final activity of 2017 for the ARRC.

ARRC End of Year Dinner is Saturday

The annual Akron Railroad Club end of the year dinner will be this Saturday (Dec. 2) at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s restaurant in Stow, 3732 Darrow Road.

Due to the small size of the banquet room, attendance is limited to 32. There are still four tickets left for the dinner.

The tickets are free and available from ARRC officer Marty Surdyk.

The restaurant is located in a shopping center at the southwest corner of Graham and Darrow Roads about a mile and a half east of Ohio Route 8.

The cocktail hour will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. We’ll order dinner off the menu between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Terms are individual settlement.

The program will be a slide show by Mark Demaline titled Southern Served the South.

The program will feature Southern Railway freight, passenger and steam excursion action between the late 1970s and late 1980s from the Washington D.C., area, through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and Northern Florida.