OCTOBER MEETING ON ZOOM
TAKE A VIRTUAL TRIP TO MEXICO 

Our next Zoom program will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021 at 7 p.m. (CDT). 

Harvey Laner will present a beautiful and fascinating tour of a three-day trip to Empalme, Mexico to visit the massive NdeM's Pacifico shops.

In November of 1989, Ed and Mary Lee Von Nordeck’s Let’s Travel Tours sponsored a three day trip to Empalme, Mexico to visit the massive NdeM’s Pacifico shops.  The fully narrated program begins with a cab ride on the Sonora-Baja California division’s Mexicali section of NdeM train 2 for Guadalajara.  At Benjamin Hill, the SBC EMD GP40-2 power is removed as we enter the world of NdeM’s ALCO and GE power dominated Pacifico Division. The next day the group toured the huge, very busy shops at Empalme where Alco PA number DH-19 and Alco RS11 number 501 were in operation. The highlight of the trip was when these two classic Alcos powered our train, NdeM train 1 from Empalme to Benjamin Hill the next day. The cab ride between Hermosillo and Benjamin Hill was a wonderful opportunity to take a step back in history and see how railroading was done before block signals, CTC and the widespread use of radios.

20th Century Returns to the Rails
with new trips available!

October 23, 2021 board an Amtrak Train at Union Station or in Joliet for a day at Springfield, Illinois. You can visit the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, and The Old State House. Enjoy a leisurely lunch or snack and return by Amtrak.

Click on TRIPS for more information. However, the online registration period for the trip has ended.

The Midwest Rail Rangers will provide trip narration of interesting historical and natural sights along the way.

ZOOM Meetings
20th Century Railroad Club's Sept. meeting featured Andrew Selden and a lively discussion of just how Amtrak can make the most of its anticipated Infrastructure Bill windfall. 

August's meeting featured long-time 20th Century member Mike Blaszak who spoke about "Works in Progress," focusing on travel and photography since his retirement in 2019, along with a look back to Mike's tenure as editor of the Fast Mail during the late 1970s for the Club's 50th Anniversary. 
Keep an eye out here for recordings of both to be posted in the near future.

April  Zoom meeting recording now available

20th Century's April Zoom meeting features the history of Pennsylvania inter-urban line Lehigh Valley Transit. The recording of the April 14 presentation by John Nicholson of the Central Electric Railfans' Association runs just about an hour long. 

Click on the below link to watch: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Nk13u9DFU&feature=youtu.be

March Zoom meeting recording now available

20th Century Railroad Club's inaugural Zoom presentation of Wednesday March 10, 2021 featured Dan Bartlett of the Elmhurst History Museum taking us on a history trip on the Galena Chicago Union Railroad.

Dan talked about the earliest history of the Galena Chicago Union Railroad through the western suburbs, its operations, and how the coming of that first rail line from Chicago affected the communities along its path.

The recording of the meeting is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzlRoWzpFQ

The Midwest Rail Rangers and the 20th Century Railroad Club "virtual" educational program regarding La Plata, MO and related railfan things of interest remains available. Use this link to view the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WulTvv4fiMc 

If you're a railfan with an inclination towards writing or editing we can use the help with The Fast Mail. Contact us and let us know how you can help.

The former Midwest High Speed Rail Association is now the High Speed Rail Alliance, with the website being https://www.hsrail.org. The snail mail address is 4765 N. Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60625; the phone number (773) 334-6758. There’s a petition available on the website seeking signatures to send to Congress to support high speed rail service in America. 

Your Club needs Board and Committee members to help make things happen. You can help as a committee member with such things as trip planning, meeting planning and Fast Mail production. Please contact our office by email at board@20thcentury.org or phone us at 312-829-4500.