Active ERA members for 2023 are invited to attend the first of two in-person meetings this year at Manducatis Restaurant, located at 13-27 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens (directions here). This meeting will include a cash bar at 6:30 p.m., complimentary dinner at 7 p.m., and a slide presentation afterward by longtime member and acclaimed traction photographer Noah Caplin. Noah’s presentation will include aerial images of subway and railroad locations in the New York City region.

We can accommodate a total of 50 ERA members. Each member may bring one guest. So register ASAP by completing the online registration form (reservation button below). Reservations close on July 21 at 11:59 p.m. or when space is filled up, whichever comes first. See you on July 28! Read More

Our June Zoom program, Ralph Cantos’ 1966 Eastern Traction Odyssey, takes us on a most memorable eastern traction adventure as it existed over 56 years ago. For three weeks, armed with a vintage 16mm movie camera and lots of film, Cantos rode and filmed rail transit in and around Chicago, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Newark, and Boston. His historic 16mm film was edited and transferred to video by Harvey Laner and will be narrated by both men. This show will not be recorded, so don’t miss it! Read More

June 2023 Meeting Notice

For its 2023 Annual Convention, the ERA returns to the dynamic Pacific Northwest, anchored by our two primary destinations: Portland and Seattle. These two spectacular cities are, respectively, the nation’s 22nd and 15th most populous metro regions.

The combination of a 60-mile light rail network, local streetcar, commuter rail system, and high-frequency grid bus system have earned Portland the title of one of the best transit networks in the U.S. Seattle is the metro area most committed to developing urban transit, with $54 billion earmarked for transit in 2016, more than any other U.S. city. Read More

2023 Convention Flyer

The ERA is pleased to announce a tour of Staten Island Railway’s new Clifton Maintenance Shop, our first trip to an MTA railcar maintenance facility since we visited the LIRR’s Hillside Maintenance Complex in May 2019. SIR’s $165 million facility opened on December 7, 2022, replacing the previous shop which suffered severe damage during Hurricane Sandy.

Extra copies of Eric Oszustowicz’s The Elevated Railways of Brooklyn and the BMT Subway, Volume One: 1864-1940 are still available for sale on our Publication Sales page. This incredible 436-page book counted as the 2019 and 2020 issues of Headlights.