Upcoming Shows and Meetings

The Urban Transit Club meets once per month, usually on the second Saturday. Our meetings are usually held at the Masonic Hall; which is located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York City. The Masonic Hall is on 23rd Street at Sixth Avenue. Several Subway and Bus lines are nearby, as well as PATH and Penn Station of the LIRR, NJT, and Amtrak. At most of our meetings there is a concession stand offering a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase. Doors open at 6:00 PM for all of our meetings and shows (unless otherwise noted), and the meeting/show begins at 7:15 PM (unless otherwise noted - PLEASE NOTE our auctions begin at 7:30 PM).

2010 Membership Dues:  $40.00
Associate member:   $2.00
Door fee ( for non-members):
    (Please take note of
     change in door fee)
  $7.00
There is no door fee for our annual Fall Slide Auction.
2010 utc:ny Meeting Calendar
January 9, 2010 Jack May
February 13, 2010 John Urbanski
March 13, 2010 Josh Weis
April 10, 2010 Bill Myers
May 8, 2010 Manny Campo
June 12, 2010 Otto Vondrak
July 10, 2010 Gary Grahl
August 14, 2010 Annual Joe Wollner Members' Night
September 11, 2010 Peter McLachlan
October 9, 2010 Fall Slide Auction
November 13, 2010 Glenn L. Rowe*
December 11, 2010 Annual Holiday Party
featuring show by Eric Oszustowicz
* Meeting subject to be announced/content subject to change.
If you have any questions about the above information, or about any of our meetings, please email our Program Director.  Meeting descriptions are usually available approximately one month in advance.

August 14, 2010: Annual Joe Wollner
Members' Night

Our next meeting will be our August monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday August 14th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

This August our meeting will consist of our Annual Joe Wollner Members’ Night. Our Members’ Night is dedicated in memory of late member Joe Wollner who passed away suddenly in December 1997. Joe had won five consecutive members’ nights for his outstanding night photography. Each year, on member’s night - every member is encouraged to contribute to Members’ Night. Members bring their best images that they took themselves. See the submission guidelines below for more info.

Following the members’ night portion of our show there will be a slide show; the presenter/subject will be announced at the beginning of the meeting.

There will be prizes awarded so any and all media/slides you show must have been created/taken by you! You cannot win a prize for someone else’s photography. You must be a current member in good standing to be eligible for the prizes; however you can join at the meeting. 1st Prize is a free 2011 membership. Additional prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the officers. Officers may show their slides but are NOT eligible to win prizes. As always - current event slides are welcome. The club will have a digital projector available but we cannot guarantee that any audio equipment/speakers will be available.

                Our members’ night always includes great variety so make sure to attend – and be sure to bring a submission! The varied interests of our members always provides good variety and interesting content, SO BE THERE!!!

Members’ Night Submission Guidelines:

·         Slides: 30-40 slides will be accepted in Kodak carousels. We will also accept boxed slides for ‘stack loading’ but ONLY if each and every slide bears the photographers name clearly marked on each mount.

·         Digital submissions: may consist of a maximum of 40 images, or 5 minutes of video (or some combination thereof with an estimated run time of LESS THAN 8-minutes). All digital submissions must be provided on a CD or DVD (USB devices will NOT be accepted). Files must be in common media formats such as .jpg, .wmv or .avi.

·         Note: All content must be original and created by the presenter (for example: you can not use a clip of video/slide taken by someone else).

Recent meetings:
To see more past meetings please click here.

July 10, 2010: Gary Grahl (Movies)

Our next meeting will be our July monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday July 10th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

Our July show will feature All-Color Super-8 Movies by Mr. Gary Grahl, including his very informative narration. The subjects to be covered include (but are not limited to):

  • New York City Transit:
    Subway service in the Rockaways (1970s-today).

  • New York City Transit:
    Bus service in Baychester, The Bronx (includes Bee-Line).

  • Philadelphia:
    SEPTA PCC trolleys on routes 53 and 56.

  • Seattle:
    Light rail and street cars.

A long-time Bronx Resident and prolific fan of Transit plus a good eye for capturing the scenes that are now history, Gary's show will undoubtedly be worth attending. As laid out above, there will be a nice variety of topics covered, so BE THERE!!!

June 12, 2010: Otto Vondrak

Our next meeting will be our June monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday June 12th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

Our June presentation will be a slide show by Railroad.net’s Creative Director Mr. Otto Vondrak. Otto hails from Katonah, NY; and since an early age was exposed to the fast pace of Metro-North commuter operations at an early age. As an avid photographer since the age of eight, he’s captured trains and transit action of all sorts. His travels have taken him around the Northeast documenting everything from Class 1’s to obscure shortlines, as well on visits to many other parts of the country.

Otto’s show will include a look at the last ten years of service of the FL-9’s and F-10’s on Metro-North. We’ll also see a number of Alco’s in action around the Northeast. Lastly but certainly not least, we will get a look at Iowa Traction.

Also included will be various miscellaneous  subjects to round out his show. Otto’s last show at our club was a huge success before a standing-room-only crowd, so make sure to arrive on time, and DON’T MISS IT!!!

May 8, 2010: Manny Campo

Our next meeting will be our May monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday May 8th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

Our May presentation will be the showing of NYC Subway slides from the 1960s to the present from the collection of Mr. Manny Campo. Slides will be shown of the entire system with emphasis on the abandoned lines Including:

    ·    the Bronx portion of the Third Ave el.
·
    the northern portion of Jamaica el.
·
    the Franklin Ave Shuttle prior to restoration.
·
    and as we approach the 35th aniversary of its closing: The Culver Shuttle!

Also included will be an emphasis on fantrips on the abandoned lines in close proximity to their closures. As always there will be a few surprises, so DON’T MISS IT!!!

April 10, 2010: Bill Myers

Our next meeting will be our April monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday April 10th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

This year for our April show, we will be treated to the return of a master of transit photography – Mr. Bill Myers. Bill’s show will include a look at various older buses. There will be a portion devoted to subways and els (not just in NY), as well as a segment devoted to railroad operations both electric and diesel. The last major segment will include trolleys, and commuter roads, including Metro North, Penn Central and more. The show will be rounded out with a variety of other subjects including some steam, and as always when Bill does a show – a few slides of the unexpected…so DON’T MISS IT! 

March 13, 2010: Josh Weis

Our next meeting will be our March monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday March 13th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

Our March show will be presented by our chairman, Mr. Josh Weis. Josh will show us an expanded version of a show he gave for the Boston Street Railway Association back in November entitled “The New Haven: Then and Now”.

    The show will have two primary features:

  • Vintage New Haven Railroad slides will be augmented by more recent views up to current day giving us an overview tour of the shore Line route from New York to Boston.

  • We will then return west with a slightly more abbreviated then and now tour of the Long Island Rail Road.

  • Josh will also include a brief updates on some NYC area happenings including the last days of Westchester Bee Line’s  400-series Orion 5’s, as well as some NYCT subway content, and as always, some Metro North scenes for good measure.

Josh’s show offers a good variety in both locations and properties visited, as well as time periods covered, so BE THERE for this show!

February 13, 2010: John Urbanski

Our next meeting will be our February monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday February 13th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

Our February show will be by Mr. John Urbanski. John’s will once again give a themed show, similar to his show from last year. This will be John’s first attempt at doing a 'digital' show, including slides, digital photos and videos. Some slide/photo sections will be joined by musical accompaniment. Cities shown will include Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. Bus, subway, trolley, railroad, and monorail subjects will be covered.

John is a life-long transit photographer, who includes a lot of a variety in his shows, so come on in out of the cold and DON’T MISS IT!

January 9, 2010: Jack May

Our next meeting will be our January monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday January 9th, 2010. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin at 7:15 PM.

To welcome in the New Year we will be treated to another show by Mr. Jack May. Following the theme ‘Out with the old, in with the new!’, Jack will be showing us scenes of some new systems. This will include new light rail and streetcar systems in the U.S., as well as new lines on some other systems. Among the places to be visited will be Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, Charlotte and, if time permits, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.

Just as in the past, all of Jack’s shows cover the interesting subjects he points his camera at very well, so DON’T MISS IT!

December 12, 2009: Annual Holiday Party
and show by
Eric Oszustowicz

Our next meeting will be our December monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday December 12th, 2009. Our meetings are held at the Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, usually in Room 2 Central. The Masonic Hall is centrally located, in midtown Manhattan, right at the 23rd Street station of PATH and the NYC Transit F train. The 6, N, R, 1, C & E subway lines, as well as many bus lines are nearby. For your convenience there are soft drinks and snacks available for purchase at the concession stand at the back of our meeting room at most meetings. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the show will begin promptly at 7:30 PM.

In December we will hold our annual holiday party, see below for details.  In addition we will be treated to entertainment in the form of a slide show by Mr. Eric Oszustowicz.

Eric’s very ambitious show will include:
·Liberty Lines Pre Classic buses (pre-1988 going back into 1970's) Liberty Lines -At least 50 slides-These slides have been put in at the request of many members.
· NYCTA/MaBSTOA 1980 Grummans - At least 100 slides.
· NYC Subway 1985-1986 - About 100 slides.
·
NYC Subway 1969-1973 - About 100 slides.
·
Conrail views early 1990's- At least 50 slides.
· NYCTA / MaBSTOA Bus 1973/1974 Flx -7100-7204 series / 7300-7361 series -mostly 1970's views-at least 50 slides.
· Pre Merger views of the Southern Pacific in mid 1990's - About 50-60 slides

Since Eric’s show is so large, and has so much ground to cover, we will start PROMPTLY at 7:30.  Please arrive on time so you don’t miss anything!

As we celebrate the holiday season, this meeting will also be our annual pot-luck style HOLIDAY PARTY. Each person in attendance is asked to bring something to share with everyone, or to donate $5.00 towards food purchased by the club. Please email our vice-chairman, Glenn Rowe at utcny@aol.com to tell him what you will be bringing, or to find out what to bring. There are usually drinks and refreshments ranging from appetizers to cookies and lots more, so BRING SOMETHING and BE THERE!


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