Welcome to the official site of the Electric Railroaders’ Association, Inc. Founded in 1934, the ERA is a non-profit educational organization consisting of people from all walks of life interested in the history and progress of electric railways. The benefits of joining are numerous:

Headlights

All ERA members receive an annual issue of Headlights, America’s premier journal dedicated to light rail transit, subways, interurbans, electric railroads and other forms of electric transportation around the world. Each full color, ad-free issue is packed with in-depth coverage contributed by leading writers and photographers in the transit field.

The Bulletin

All ERA members receive monthly issues of The Bulletin, which consists primarily of news about New York-area transit, with additional reporting devoted to national and international systems. Sample covers from most issues since 2004 can be seen here.

Monthly Meetings

All ERA members may come to our monthly meetings for free (they’re $5 for non-members) to see photo and movie presentations by well-known transit writers and photographers. The meetings take place on the third Friday of each month at the St. John’s University Manhattan campus, located at 101 Murray Street (between Greenwich and West Streets).

ERA Convention

All ERA members are invited to attend the ERA Convention, held annually in a North American city with electric rail operations. The 2012 ERA Convention will be held in Boston.

Tramways in Europe Tours

Every other year the ERA conducts a two-week tour of urban, rural and interurban traction systems in a European country. The next tour will be Tramways and More in Italy, to be held in May 2012.

The Sprague Library

All ERA members may take advantage of the ERA’s extensive collection of electric railway literature and images at the Frank Julian Sprague Memorial Library at ERA headquarters in Grand Central Terminal. The first books and papers in the library were donated to the ERA by Harriet (Mrs. Frank) Sprague and consisted of elements of Mr. Sprague’s personal collection.

Join or Renew Today

Joining the ERA, or renewing your membership, has never been easier. For future members we have our new, easy to use Online Membership Application. And for current members, we’ve made renewal easier with our ERA / LRTA Joint Renewal Notice and Remittance Coupon (link to PDF below).

ERA / LRTA Joint Renewal Notice

Friday, May 18, 2012

Eric Oszustowicz

Our May program will be presented by Eric Oszustowicz. His slide presentation will cover the New York Subway system from the late 1960s through the mid 1980s.

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

Join us for a joint ERA/RRE trip to kick off the summer season. Our destination is the only steam train and riverboat connection in the U.S. The steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches through the picturesque countryside to a track-side connection with the riverboat on the Connecticut River.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Joshua Goldwitz

Josh Goldwitz will present our June program. Josh will cover several rail systems he travelled on during a recent trip to Japan. These include the Nagano and Tokaido Shinkansen, conventional services such as the Nagano Electric Railway and Narita Express, and Tokyo-area services including the Yurikamome and Yamanote lines.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Walkway Over the Hudson

Our second joint ERA/RRE trip will take place on Saturday, June 23. We will take Metro-North from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., after which we will walk the 4.5 mile Loop Trail that includes walking over the Hudson River twice: first on the Mid-Hudson Bridge and then on the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park.

May 10–25, 2012

Tramways and More in Italy

Every other year the ERA conducts a two-week tour of urban, rural and interurban traction systems in a European country. For 2012, the ERA is proud to announce its 11th Tramways in Europe Tour will take place in Italy. Click here to see the full 2012 Itinerary.

August 30–September 4, 2012

Boston Convention

The 2012 ERA Convention will be held on Labor Day weekend, August 30 to September 4, in Boston. We will return to downtown Boston’s historic Omni Parker House Hotel as our convention headquarters. Full details and applications will be on this website and mailed to all members and friends well in advance. In the meantime, be sure to block out the weekend on your calendar and plan to join us for another memorable convention.

Trip Plans for 2012

Here are the other trips for the remainder of 2012 with the scheduled dates. Although these are fairly certain as of now, please be advised that everything is always subject to change:

Saturday, July 28 — Our annual Grand Central Terminal tour.
Sunday, September 23 — A ride on the Metro-North New Haven Line to the Danbury Railroad Museum (cosponsored with the NY Railroad Enthusiasts).
Columbus Day Weekend, Saturday, October 6–Monday, October 8 — We will co-sponsor the NYRRE Fall Foliage in the Poconos trip (details later).
Saturday, November 3 — A visit to the MTA NYC Transit Coney Island Shops.
Saturday, December 8 — We will co-sponsor the NYRRE Holiday Trip, tentatively scheduled for the NY Botanic Garden in The Bronx (details later).

There will be a few additional trips run by our friends from the NY Railroad Enthusiasts which we will cosponsor. Dates and destinations will be announced several months before each such trip, so stay tuned.

May 2012

Track Map Offer #61

The ERA is proud to offer an interesting package of maps and brochures from its Sprague Library and from the collection of one of its esteemed members, Anthony Fitzherbert.

Track Map Offer #61 Order Form