Growing Up a Railfan in New York City, 1946-1968
Presented by Ira Silverman
Ira Silverman, hooping up orders on the EJ&E at Bart Tower.
Join us as Ira Silverman takes us on a journey through his time as a railfan growing up in New York City, from 1946 through 1968. The presentation will include looks at the Long Island Rail Road, the New Haven, the New York Central, and excursions and adventures beyond city limits.
As a young boy, Ira Silverman was infected by the railroad bug on three trips to Florida on the Atlantic Coast Line. Although he was not a mileage collector, he got to ride twice on the Maine Central en route to summer camp. While in college at NYU, he sold tickets for the Long Island Railroad one summer at Penn Station. He completed his course work for an MS in Transportation at Northwestern University. One summer, he got more hands on experience as an operator for the EJ&E. Smitten by Chicago, he worked five years at the Illinois Central in the planning department where management included three future Amtrak presidents: Alan Boyd, Paul Reistrup, and David Gunn. He followed Reistrup to Amtrak where he eventually was Director, Route Marketing. He then wound up 41 years in the industry at MARC where he was Chief Transportation Officer. He is retired in Rockville, MD, where he volunteers at the B&O Railroad Museum when not wandering the country to various historical society meetings.
This meeting will only be available virtually.
Attendees should not travel to Saint Elizabeth University.
For Virtual Attendees: All of our membership meetings are simulcast on Zoom and our Facebook page. The membership portion of the meeting begins virtually at 7:30 PM. The presentation should begin around 8:00 PM. For Zoom, click here to register in advance for this meeting. Virtual attendees will need to register in advance for the meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Admission is free and all are welcome to attend!
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