Volunteer Railroader Association Inc.

"So close, only the paycheck is missing."

Volunteer Railroader Association Inc.

August Membership Meeting Minutes – 9/18/2011

VRA General Meeting
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Called to order at 7:15pm

  1. President’s report
    1. Reviewing possible trips and activities
    2. KC may take a position that would ultimately require his moving out of state; more details available as soon as possible.
    3. Craig and Chris did an excellent job running the motorcar trips.
    4. All volunteers did an excellent job working on and operating the station
  1. Treasurer’s Report
    1. $ 1,560 – JK Weber Fund
    2. $ 2,600 – Savings
    3. $ 9,560 – Checking
    4. Motion to accept report by Craig Hartman; second by Chris Vitz. Passed unanimously
  1. Committee Reports
    1. Hawthorne Station
      1. Need help staffing the station on Sunday’s for the farmer’s market.
      2. Frank Ball mentioned we should have a “draw” at the station
        1. Bring TV’s out of storage
        2. Set up Train Simulator for people to use
        3. Charles Smith suggested we use the 17” flat screen monitor from his office which was going to be discarded
        4. Andrea Rebner got two “Open” flags to display when the station is open to the public; may zip tie mount the flag pole base to the fence
    2. Station garden Paver’s
      1. Company in Florida offers a very nice, laser cut image on their pavers
      2. Carolyn Hoffman is gathering the most recent orders for processing/ordering from the company
    3. Hawthorne Station Roof
      1. Looking to get the roof done before the winter
      2. Need a person to become the chair for this committee
      3. Looking at possible materials to use on the roof – slate, imitation slate, etc.
      4. Frank Ball to look into the possibilities
    4. Hawthorne Station Benches
      1. Bob Kerdock’s nephew wrote an email on when benches will be made
      2. We need to pour/build the benches soon
      3. We have forms to make them loaned to us from Ed Newman
    5. Motorcar trips
      1. Stourbridge & M&NJ Oct 15 & 16 – 10 signed up at this moment; need 21 to break even
      2. NYS&W Southern Division Oct 29 & 30
        1. Planning a possible second run over the NYS&W this year
        2. Considering different starting points and mileage; probably set on in Sparta again
    6. VRA DIGEST Newsletter
      1. August DIGEST Newsletter was sent out
      2. We need other people to submit stories for the publication
    7. Joseph K Weber Fund – no update at this time
    8. Joseph K Weber Library
      1. Paul Trabert has been working on the library and it is very organized
      2. Andrea Rebner donated two stands for the video tapes
      3. More tapes transferred to DVD
      4. Model Railroaders
    9. URHS Delegate’s Report
      1. Open house at Boonton Yard this Saturday has been postponed
      2. Chester Branch trip on Sept 24th has been postponed
      3. URHS looking to run a Santa Train – KC is assisting them with planning (Point Pleasant to Long Branch)
      4. Sept 11th PATH cars are still in JFK Airport and future move to Whippany is uncertain
      5. Considering a harbor cruise looking at rail facilities in Newark or possibly a day trip in the Delaware in conjunction with a trip on the Black River & Western
  1. VRA Fund raisers
    1. Train show – no update
    2. Yard sale
      1. October 8th & 9th at Hawthorne Station
      2. Carol Smith coordinating this
      3. Looking for donations to be made for sale with proceeds to benefit Hawthorne Station
    3. Hawthorne Day
      1. Andrea Rebner got us enrolled for the day, in the tent area – a 10×10 area for us to man
      2. We will be promoting the station and the VRA
  1. Old VRA business
    1. M&NJ motorcars
      1. Cars are paid for and we are arranging a pick up for them soon
      2. The brush car is wide and will need to be transported carefully
    2. Joint picnic at Whippany – coming up this Sunday at the museum 11am – 4pm
    3. Volunteer thank you picnic to be Sept 10th at the Hawthorne Station
  1. New VRA business
    1. Santa Train
      1. December 3rd out of the Wayne/Rt 23 Transit Center for this year
      2. NJT is not permitted to run excursion trains west of Suffern at this time. VRA Board to look at possible alternatives to resolve this issue for our Glen Rock
        trips
      3. Ticket Turtle is set up to sell tickets
    2. URHS Santa Train – KC is assisting them with planning (Point Pleasant to Long Branch )
    3. Group trips
      1. ELHS in Scranton?
      2. Port Jervis Fall Festival?
    4. Toys for Tots Train – awaiting approval
  1. Meeting Adjournment at 8:45pm – entertainment begins
August Membership Meeting Minutes – 9/18/2011