Chapter Meeting:

The November Membership meeting of the Long Island Sunrise Trail Chapter, National Railway Historical Society will feature a presentation by Mr. John Titterton. “STOOGE” is an 80-minute Zoom® presentation describing Mr. John Titterton’s firsthand experience working on board three Sperry Rail Service detector cars between April and September 1978 as an entry level Assistant Operator.

This presentation includes three hundred images taken by Mr. Titterton, video and audio segments covering testing 8,345 rail miles across eight states, five Canadian provinces and a Canadian territory, on eight railroads with on the job views of rail operations on early Conrail, CV, B&M, CN, N&W, Northern Alberta Railways, Great Slave Lake Railway, British Columbia Railway, early Amtrak and VIA, and at the Sperry shops in Danbury, Connecticut.  This presentation will touch upon rail testing technology, hiring, training and compensation of Sperry personnel, daily life aboard a Sperry car, how the Sperry fleet was staffed and deployed across the North American rail network along with side adventures, amusing stories, hitching cabooses rides on off days, misadventures and history of rail lines and territories traversed.  Our presenter has over 30 years railroad experience working for Burlington Northern and Conrail, Sperry Rail Service, several short lines including three he founded, is a 50 plus year member of Project 1225 that returned steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 to operation and serves on the Board of Directors of Steam Railroading Institute, owner of 1225.

In Person:

8:00 PM on Friday October 16, 2026, at The Van Bourgondien House; 600 Albin Avenue, West Babylon, New York 11704

Zoom:

Contact Ed Koehler at EdwardMKoehler@nyc.rr.com to register and receive an email invite and instructions. E-mail service ends at 3:00 PM on the meeting date.

Chapter Meeting:

Longtime LIRR fan, author, LIST Board member and modeler Mike Boland was hired this past Christmas season by the Cape Cod Central Railroad’s POLAR EXPRESS – Its annual Holiday Season event as a “Dress Conductor” to ride its “PEX” train to the North Pole for five weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Lifting tickets, assisting passengers, answering questions and posing for passengers, both adults and children, many dressed in pajamas and robes.  Mike took along his camera and captured the magic of the season as the CCC’s POLAR EXPRESS made up to three runs daily with its nine-car consist.  With two full-dome cars and an interesting, colorful variety of other passenger cars, the train included two “old” LIRR C-1 bilevel cars complete with loading ramps!  He was even assigned to work those cars on one particular evening, making it the thrill of a lifetime.  The train was powered by rebuilt New Haven McGinnis painted and holiday decorated FL9’s; and a chop-nose Geep in MASS COASTAL colors.  Come along and enjoy a last look at Christmas 2025 as Mike relives his “experience of a lifetime.”

(In Person: 8:00 PM on Friday October 16, 2026, at The Van Bourgondien House; 600 Albin Avenue, West Babylon, New York, 11704

Zoom: Contact Ed Koehler at EdwardMKoehler@nyc.rr.com to register and receive an email invite and instructions. E-mail service ends at 3:00 PM on the meeting date.