The Niagara Division will meet as scheduled this Wednesday (in two days) at Coppola’s Ristorante at 3 pm for the last meeting of the season.

The Treasurer’s Report and the Minutes have been sent out. As shown in the minutes, at the start of the last meeting we had 20 members present, we eventually had 24 at the end…all in all a great turnout.

You may have noticed the meetings are running a bit long – A GOOD THING. With some research, we have established that the reason for this is three-fold:

1 – the quality and depth of the presentations are precipitating some very solid discussion.

B – the venue provides an excellent place to discuss things, railway history and otherwise, amongst our Members.

iii – when we were at the Lock 3 Museum, we were turfed out into the cold at 9:30, done or not, and that parking lot was not the greatest place to carry on a discussion that started in the warm confines of the Museum. Here, we CAN carry on pretty well as long as we want, and the meetings after the meeting have been going on for up to half an hour afterwards … a good thing!

There is no feature show this Wednesday, as we are hoping to fill the entire time with Member’s shows, each being 12 or so minutes long. Please contact Bob Martin if you want to present so he can put you on the list.

See you all on the 27th.
Andy Panko, CRHA Niagara President

March Meeting

Well, this Wednesday’s meeting is shaping up to be a dandy. Weather looks reasonable, and we have a very interesting guest speaker.
The meeting is scheduled for 3 pm at Coppola’s Restaurant on this Wednesday, March 25.

You will be able to order food during the meeting, as this is a full-service restaurant. Most, or many of you, have been there for our most recent Christmas Party, so you know what it’s all about. We are in the same private room, with the video set-up, and the very accommodating seating arrangement. Lots of free parking and a flat environment good for wheel chairs and walkers.

As for the Guest Speaker – this is the cat’s pajamas – Wayne Ettinger’s friend, Bob Dingman, the owner of the New York & Lake Erie Railroad, will tell us some interesting stories. You will not want to miss this first hand account of a nearby railroad that many of us are familiar with….’Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ and ‘The Natural’ were filmed there. But there is more to it than that!

We were debating whether we need to do an RSVP for this meeting, but decided to go out on a limb and figure that we should have a great turnout without asking for an RSVP from the gang. It is important that if you can get there, please try to be there. Also remember you can order supper right at your seat.

There will be other presentations as well, at least one on the NS&T. There will be a short book auction and a raffle as usual. The business meeting will be as abbreviated as possible, that you know your Prez knows how to do

Andy Panko,
President, CRHA Niagara Division

October 30th @7pm, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines is the next CRHA Niagara monthly meeting. If you have not already done so, please consider paying your 2025 membership dues at the meeting. You may take advantage of the early payment bonus and receive a 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar with your membership for a package price of $50. This offer expires on October 31st.

Benefits of CRHA Niagara membership

• Monthly meeting with fellow railfans featuring excellent presentations by members and prominent speakers
• 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 2025         $30.00 (Unchanged)

Early payment bonus – for membership paid no later than October 31, 2024
Membership                              $30.00
2025 CRHA Niagara Calendar $20.00 (regular price $25.00)
Total                                           $50.00


The 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar is really an album of rare historic rail photos and their stories.

Methods of Payment

1. Cash to Paul Chapman or Chris Paxton at the next monthly meeting
2. Interac etransfer to crhaniagara@gmail.com
3. cheque payable to CRHA Niagara address: 72 Hillcrest Avenue, St. Catharines, ON, L2R 4Y1

Membership must be paid no later than January 31st, 2025 to continue all the benefits.

We look forward to seeing you as we start the next exciting year at CRHA Niagara. Meetings are at 7:00 PM, the last Wednesday of each month, from September to May, except December, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines. Meetings are “hybrid”, that is by Zoom link, and face-to-face, unless it is clear there is an impending winter storm.

September 25th 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
• 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 2025         $30.00 (Unchanged)

Early payment bonus – for membership paid no later than October 31, 2024
Membership                              $30.00
2025 CRHA Niagara Calendar $20.00 (regular price $25.00)
Total                                           $50.00


The 2025 CRHA Niagara calendar is really an album of rare historic rail photos and their stories.

Methods of Payment

1. Cash to Paul Chapman or Chris Paxton at the next monthly meeting
2. Interac etransfer to crhaniagara@gmail.com
3. cheque payable to CRHA Niagara address: 72 Hillcrest Avenue, St. Catharines, ON, L2R 4Y1

Membership must be paid no later than January 31st, 2025 to continue all the benefits.

We look forward to seeing you as we start the next exciting year at CRHA Niagara. Meetings are at 7:00 PM, the last Wednesday of each month, from September to May, except December, at the Lock 3 Museum in St. Catharines. Meetings are “hybrid”, that is by Zoom link, and face-to-face, unless it is clear there is an impending winter storm.

There are still a few copies left of our excellent 2024 calendar. Email chrisjpaxton@icloud.com to get yours. See the calendar page here for more details.