CRHA Niagara Division Members:

This is a long, but very important email setting out, literally, the next 9 months of our Division business, so you might want to sit down. All good news…..read on……

Your exec has been at work, with two meetings in the last month or so. The first meeting we met at Caroline Cellars in the lines and concessions of NOTL, and hosted CRHA President Robbie Robinson, where we were updated on our parent organization and the happenings at Exporail. Our Division provided a donation of $500 to Exporail, for ‘paint’, the intention to be used on the CPR observation car from the Canadian, Sibley Park, currently under restoration there.

The second meeting was held this past week at Coppola’s Restaurant in St. Kitts, where we managed to settle on the next year’s worth of things that needed to be settled upon.

Meetings This Year

The meetings from now ‘till the end of the year will be held at 7 pm at the Lock 3 Museum, as in the past, as follows:

• Wednesday, September 24
• Wednesday, October 29
• Wednesday, November 26

Our obligation at the Museum ends this year, as we are paid up for the room rental until December.

Meetings in 2026

GOOD NEWS

Meetings will be at Coppola’s Restaurant in their private presentation/dining room on Carlton Street, 500m east of Lake Street in St. Kitts and only about 1-minute south off the QEW, so no negotiating traffic in town or etc.

Our meetings will be held as follows, commencing at 2 PM on these Wednesday dates:

• January 28
• February 25
• March 25
• April 29
• May 27

The meetings will be held at the Coppola’s Restaurant meeting room.

THE REALLY GOOD NEWS…..

The room is FREEEE, so we save hundreds of dollars on room rental fees. There are no parking restrains, parking, like at Andyland, is FREEE.

From the parking lot to the meeting room, the path is FLAT, so no problems with walkers, canes, etc. – NO STAIRS or ramps. The room has a LARGE screen, designed for projection. The room has blackout curtains for meetings with presentations in the daytime
The room is equipped and designed for dining at the same time as presentations, and the restaurant has a BROAD menu. Therefore, we don’t have to change venues betwixt dinner and the meeting, although of course it is now a late lunch and meeting.

And best of all, especially for those having to drive back to Burlington, Stoney Creek, Mississauga, North York or beyond, the meetings will conclude by 5pm, so except perhaps for January, you will be driving home in daylight, instead of 10 o’clock at night!!!!

Note our meetings now run 2.5 hours, so we are adding a half hour, Why? Because we can !! As long as you don’t mind some fork clinking whilst doing a presentation, we will run 3 hours.

Many of our members were using the last Wednesday to chase trains (try to chase trains) in Niagara prior to the dinners and subsequent meetings. Now, it will be possible to do this in the a.m., up until after the noon hour, have lunch at the meeting, and still head back in the light. This saves having to pay for lunch, and then pay for dinner, a considerable savings figuring in the cost of even lunch these days.

Christmas Party

MARK THIS DATE DOWN, we need you and your +1 guest there in order to maintain our pricing with the venue. You don’t really need to bring a +1, just kidding there.

Saturday, November 29, at 1 pm (again, a daylight ride in both directions) at COPPOLA’S Restaurant. We spent some time with the owner of the venue and arrived at the following menu and pricing situation:
House salad, big bowls, served family style
Pasta (penne tomato) with meatballs, also served family style,

Entre – Roasted herb chicken breast, with roasted potatoes and vegetables, nobody is going home hungry

Dessert – tiramisu
Coffee, tea, pop all included, alcoholic and other beverages are on you, of course.

Normal price $45, not including tip and tax. NOW HEAR THIS, the ‘normal price ++’ comes out to, according to our mathematician Gerald A., to $60.01 per person. INSTEAD, the Division, because of careful management of finances, can, like it used to do in the past, subsidize a portion of the value of the meal for Members paid in full for 2025, and a guest of theirs. The Division will cover $15 of the meal, so the Members plus one guest will only pay $45 each.

Calendars (and Annual Dues)

John B. and Gerald A, have figured out a way to deal with calendar distribution after I actually produce them (in progress as you read this). Thank you to Tammy for providing guidance in calendar distribution. Calendars will be available for distribution worldwide in early October, and available to members at our meetings on October 29 and November 26 ,and at the Christmas Party on November 29.

Ron Danielson will be dealing with membership dues, coupled with calendar sales to members. There was talk at several meetings over the last year that the dues should be raised to $35 or $40, and most recently, that the calendars were too expensive at $25. Well, GOOD NEWS AGAIN on both counts….

Ron has provided the following:

September 24th marks the start on the next year of CRHA Niagara monthly meetings. It is also time to renew your membership, or join if you are not yet a member.

Benefits of CRHA Niagara membership:

• Monthly meeting with fellow railfans featuring excellent presentations by members and prominent speakers.
• Stimulating conversation at monthly lunch/dinner with members prior to the meeting.
• Notifications of group outings with fellow members
• Group walking tours with fellow members to historic railway sites
• Advice from fellow members on photography and rail history
• Frequent email contact, from fellow members, often with photos or video, featuring sites visited, experiences, and rail history .
• Opportunity to participate in the outstanding historic plaque programme conducted by CRHA Niagara.
• Direct contact with CRHA/Exporail through CRHA Board member Andy Panko.
• Camaraderie and friendships created by contact with fellow CRHA Niagara members.

Membership fee for 2026 $30.00 (Unchanged)

• Calendar only – picked up at meeting in October or November $20
• Calendar only prepaid postage in Canada  $25
• Early payment bonus – for membership paid no later than November 29, 2025

Membership                                       $30.00 2026 CRHA Niagara Calendar with prepaid postage
$20.00 (regular price $25.00)
Total                                            $50.00

or with CRHA calendar at the meeting (no postage)       $45.00                   

Methods of Payment

• Cash to Chris Paxton or Ron Danielsen at the next monthly meeting
• Interac e-transfer to crhaniagara@gmail.com
• cheque payable to CRHA Niagara – address: 72 Hillcrest Ave., St. Catharines, ON, L2R 4Y1

Ron adds:

We look forward to seeing you as we start the next exciting year at CRHA Niagara. From December to November, dinner is at Ricki Joes, 286 Bunting Road, St. Catharines, at 5:15 PM; meetings are at 7:00 PM, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines. the last Wednesday of each month.

From January to May, lunch and meeting will be at Coppola’s Restaurant , 203 Carlton Street, St, Catharines.
Meetings are “hybrid”, that is by Zoom link, and face-to-face, unless it is clear there is an impending winter storm, in which case the meeting will be Zoom only.

Thank you to Ron for taking care of membership and to JB and Gerald for dealing with the calendar sales, and to Tammy for providing me a bit of a history lesson on all these topics.

Hope to see you all this Wednesday, September 24 at either Ricci Jo’s for din-din at 5:15 or Lock 3 Museum at 7.

Andy Panko