NYCSHS 2002 Annual Meeting - Dearborn, MI

New York Central System Historical Society 2002 Annual Meeting will be held April 5,6, 2002 in Dearborn, Michigan.

Holiday Inn - Fairlane - Dearborn
5801 Southfield Service Dr
Detroit MI 48288

Registration for all events is a modest $10. For those wishing to attend only the Saturday, April 6 NYCSHS Memorabilia Show & Sale, admission is $5 for individuals, $10 for families. Eight-foot tables are $30 and must be ordered from NYCSHS Allen Hilborn in Atlanta, GA.

Friday events include a visit to Dick and Linda Kughn's, (Dick is the former owner of Lionel Trains) CARAIL Museum with its world-class collection of Toy Trains, Antique and Classic Automobiles, toy, and much more.

Friday evening, there's a visit to the Redford Model Railroad Club, formed in 1938, to see their Sand Hill & Western HO scale layout.

Saturday's events begin with the NYCSHS 13th Annual Memorabilia Show & Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the day there will be four one-hour presentations at 10 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 2 p.m.

The presentations include:
  • Former NYCSHS Tack Board Editor Bob Cosgrove's "The New York Central and the Arts,"
  • Former NYCSHS Trustee and 48-year veteran of the NYC, PC and Conrail, Richard Borsos, with a presentation on the Detroit Union Belt, which was jointly owned by the PRR, Pere Marquette and Wabash, later Penn Central, C&O and N&W.
  • NYCSHS Jim Suhs will talk on "The Kakakee Belt."
  • Conservationist and Historian Charlie Conn will talk on"Michigan Stations and Depots."
Saturday afternoon will also feature two layout tours. One will be Tom Lendzion's diesel-era O scale layout depicting the LS&MS's Saline Branch running from Ypsilanti, Michigan to Bankers beyond Jackson, Michigan. The other is Joe Bliss' diesel and steam era HO scale layout with its engine terminal, industrial switching, and mainline operations.

Saturday evening will begin with a Buffet Dinner at the Holiday Inn. Reservations are required and are $29. Contact NYCSHS Trustee Ken Bernhardt of Cleveland.

Saturday evening the Annual Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Graydon "Don" M. Meints of Kalamazoo. Don is the author of "Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies," the most authoritative history of Michigan railroads published in 1992 by Michigan State University Press.
His talk is titled "The Race to Chicago" about the 1846 to 1852 race between the Michigan Central Railroad and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway to span Michigan and enter Chicago.

--Bob Cosgrove
President, Michigan Central District, NYCSHS