Great Meeting in Richmond

The JRD had a great meeting last Saturday in Richmond at the old Southern Railway station on Hull Street.  It was a great venue full of atmosphere and history yet plenty of things to see and do.  Many fine exhibits, a gift shop where several good deals were found, and a large HO layout with many fine scenes taking shape every time you look around the corner. The Old Dominion Chapter of the NRHS were great hosts and the JRD wishes to say Thank You.

The meeting consisted of four parts with two sections by Kurt Reisweber who is a noted author and photographer with an extensive collection bolstered by his extensive knowledge of the history of the Hampton Roads area.  He was gracious in sharing his knowledge while answering the many questions from the attendees.  We look forward to hopefully hearing from him again

The annual meeting of the JRD did decide one major issue in deciding to dissolve the library. The upkeep and sheer size while having very little activity convinced the membership that we could use the time, resources, and energy of the division better in other areas.  Ken Montero has agreed to spearhead the disposal of the library.  Also, Ken has agreed to become the new editor of the division's Crosstie newsletter so expect him to call on JRD members for material.  The last topic was the adjustment of boundaries to add some areas on our western border which is unorganized territory at the moment.  This topic will be discussed more at future meetings

The fourth section was Larry Hudson who is a retire RF&P and CSX employee.  Larry brought an informative talk about railroad operations and signaling.  He years of experience as a railroad employee both on the tracks and in management came through in his presentation.  Larry still has much we could from him and hopefully he can return when the JRD is next in Richmond

After the official meeting members were able to tour the Hull St Museum, the HO layout and the old Main Street Station across the James River.  Thank you to everyone who helped bring these folks to the JRD and to the many who help prep, set up and clean up after the meetings.