Program Meetings are held, unless otherwise noted, at 8:00 PM on the Third Thursday of the month at the Union Church in Waban, MA. These feature programs with speakers knowledgeable about railroad operations, history and travel. Upcoming programs are listed below.
On the first Tuesday of each month we hold a more informal social gathering: FIRST TUESDAY. This is where we usually prepare a trip flyer or our monthly newsletter, the Callboy, for mailing. These sessions are held at Newton Highlands Congregational Church, starting rather casually about 7:00 PM and are usually followed by an impromptu slide show or video program unless there is a Board meeting or the work session runs unusually late. Members and non-members alike are welcome.
For last minute updates or meeting cancellations in bad weather, please call our information line at 617-489-5277.
Third Thursday Monthly Program Meetings
(Held at the Union Church in Waban unless otherwise noted.)
Thursday, September 16, 6:00 PM: DINNER IN THE DEPOT AND ANNUAL MEETING
Featured guest speaker: Kristina Egan, Project Manager for the South Coast Rail Project.
Join Mass Bay RRE members and friends Sept. 16 for another buffet Dinner in the Depot at the 1892 ex-B&M Malden, Mass. station, now handsomely restored as the Pearl Street Station Restaurant. A social hour (cash bar) begins at 6 PM, followed by a buffet dinner and our 2010 legal Annual Meeting. We also will have a short recognition ceremony honoring the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, 2010 winner of the H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award, for boiler work on Bridgton & Saco River 2-4-4T 7. (Baldwin, 1913).
The Massachusetts "South Coast Rail Project" is working to restore MBTA commuter rail service between Boston's South Station and the South Coast cities of Fall River and New Bedford, which have had no passenger trains since the New Haven discontinued service in 1958. The potential impact of the reintroduction of passenger rail on the South Coast has been studied for more than a decade as part of local, regional, and statewide planning efforts. The Commonwealth recently completed acquiring from CSX 30 miles of track south of Taunton that forms part of the South Coast Project.
Kristina Egan was appointed by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007 as South Coast Rail Project Manager in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Prior to that appointment she was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, a coalition among housing, community development, planning, environment and transportation interests. Previously, she had been the founding director of Odyssey, a statewide transportation choices coalition in California. For three years, she served as an energy policy analyst for the International Institute of Energy Conservation in Thailand.
Ms. Egan holds a M.A. in International Economics and International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She has published in the Far Eastern Economic Review, World Transport Policy and Practice and the SAIS Review.
Ms. Egan’s presentation will review the project's status and progress, as well as the Administration's intention to use the rail expansion to create jobs, address climate change and be a model for green rail.
Dinner tickets are $25 for Mass Bay RRE members and $30 for non-members. Make your dinner reservations NOW using the ORDER FORM or by calling 978-470-2066 (telephone orders with Visa or MastyerCard only). You do not need a dinner reservation to attend the Annual Meeting or our speaker’s presentation!
Thursday, October 21, 8:00 PM: President Steve Butterworth and member Dave West teach "NORAC Rules for Railfans."
President Steve Butterworth and member Dave West, are both qualified operations volunteers with the Naugatuck Railroad. Their discussion will teach you what you need to know about present-day railroad signs, signals and train movements, whether you watch trains at trackside or listen in with a scanner.
Meeting speakers always wanted! Brad Harding, Mass Bay RRE's new Program Chairman, is developing our 2010 program of speakers. To offer a program, email Brad at lbharding@verizon.net .
First Tuesday Callboy Mailing Meetings
(Held at Newton Highlands Congregational Church)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010: Callboy mailing at 7:00 PM. Program at 8 PM: Members' Night - member slides/videos. Bring your best stuff! Digital & slide projectors provided.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010: Callboy mailing at 7:00 PM; Board of Directors meeting 8:00 PM. No program.
Meeting Locations
MBRRE Program Meetings are usually held at the Union Church at 14 Collins Road (corner of Beacon Street), Waban, MA, (near the Waban MBTA stop on the Green Line):
If you are arriving on the T, exit the station onto Beacon St.; the Church is adjacent to the Waban Station.
If you are driving, take Exit 21 East off Route 128 (I-95) onto Rte. 16 (Washington St.). At the first traffic light east of 128 fork right onto Beacon St. and go 0.9 mile. The Union Church is on the right just before Beacon Street jogs to the left over the Green Line. If the church lot is full you may park on the street or in the Waban Station parking lot. CLICK FOR MAP
First Tuesday Meetings are held at The Newton Highlands Congregational Church, Lincoln & Hartford Sts., one block west of Walnut St. and two blocks north of Route 9 in Newton Highlands. Take a T Green Line "D Riverside" car to Newton Highlands and walk one block west. Driving east on Route 9 from 128, go under the T Green Line "D Riverside" overhead bridge; turn left at first traffic light; go two blocks north on Woodward Street to the blinking light; turn right onto Lincoln Street. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM. Enter the church basement from the Hartford St. parking lot. The church normally keeps this door locked; ring the bell!! CLICK FOR MAP
Check the Callboy or the website to confirm date, time, and location of meetings.
"STOP - LOOK - LISTEN!"
Mass Bay RRE members currently volunteer their time and skills to:
--Serve as officers and Directors (we have no paid employees)
--Organize, prepare for and staff our excursion trains
--Write for, edit and produce our Callboy newsletter
--Arrange our program meetings and special events
--Maintain and constantly improve our website
--Tell the media and the public about our trips, meetings and events
--Handle our “back office” financial, legal and corporate administration
We always welcome new volunteers. With today’s expanded e-communications, more RRE members find they can contribute from home or work locations beyond the Boston area. Join us in keeping Mass Bay RRE one of the most active railfan groups in New England!
To Volunteer, Contact Us:
Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts, Inc.
PO Box 4245
Andover, MA 01810-0814, or
Information Line 617-489-5277 or 978-470-2066
Email: info@massbayrre.org or visit our "Contact Us" page.
