Milepost 212 Volume 4 Number 3 - February 1, 2000

The Milepost 212 is the official newsletter of the North Central Railcars, Ltd., Scott Janz, Editor in Chief.

Welcome aboard again. First off, I want to encourage you to send in your NARCOA insurance forms and check to Tom Norman as soon as you can. He appreciates all those who send their forms in early, and saves much time in the spring right before the excursions when a lot of folks send in theirs. You should have received your forms already. They were placed inside the latest issue of the SETOFF. If you have not received yours, or have let your NARCOA membership lapse, you need to rejoin, as membership in NARCOA and their insurance is required on all NCR sponsored excursions. Write to Tom Norman NARCOA insurance program administrator, 1047 Terrace View Drive, Alberton, MT 59820-9413. Include a SASE.

Our annual meeting is approaching. It is scheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2000 in Madison, WI. Meeting time is One O'clock PM. Don Mayo has graciously arranged for a meeting place for us there. The location is the Middleton Community Bank, 3207 W. Beltline Highway, Madison, basement meeting room. Consistent with actions taken by the NCR Board of Directors at last year's annual meeting, where the Associate class of membership was abolished and all NCR members became Regular members with voting rights, the first general election of officers will be held at this year's upcoming meeting. Any NCR member who is interested in running for a seat on the boards or who knows of someone else they'd like to see nominated, should contact one of the present board members (Craig Bluschke, John Valek, Tom Sharratt, Terry Grace or Pat Rock) as soon as possible and pass that information along. Keep in mind that a lot of work goes on year-round to make those great summer excursions possible and here's your chance to get more involved with some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of our motorcar hobby. All nominations and voting will take place right there at the meeting. Remember if you want to run or want to nominate someone else, you must get their prior approval.

We have several excursions to announce here at this time, and some bad news to go along with that. The bad news is that the Wisconsin Central/Algoma Central has informed us that they will not be allowing any excursions upon their rails this year. The longtime boss of the WC, Ed Burkhardt, has departed from the company. It may have been his railfan interests that led us to being accepted to ride on the WC in the first place, and we owe him thanks for the opportunities his railroad gave us in the past to ride. We hope the new management will have a favorable interest in us as well, and hope to ride upon the fine rails of the Wisconsin Central again soon.

The good news is that the Wisconsin & Southern management has approved our request for excursions on their railroad. Unfortunately, the railroad has restructured and substantially increased their charges to operate our excursion which means that registration fees for each of the two Wisconsin & Southern trips will increase to $95.00 per motorcar and that each trip will be limited to 25 cars.

The two excursions are as follows: the first is from Milton Junction to Waukesha, WI on Saturday, May 13, 2000, and the second is a repeat of our popular Spring Green to Prairie du Chien, WI run as an early fall colors trip on Saturday, September 16, 2000. Due to the expected popularity of these runs and the reduced car limits from last year, a slightly different sign-up system will be used this time around. Registrations will be accepted for only a limited time prior to each excursion in the hopes that everyone will have a more equitable chance at securing a spot.

With that in mind, registrations will be accepted starting March 1, 2000 for the Milton Junction to Waukesha run and beginning June 1, 2000 for the Prairie du Chien trip. Be sure to watch these dates and if you wish to attend either excursion have your check (payable to North Central Railcars) and other information ready to drop in the mail at that time. Note that registrations received prior to these dates will be returned and it will not be possible to sign up for both excursions at the same time or using the same check to cover both registration fees. Please include the following information when you register: name, address, daytime and evening phone numbers, e-mail address if available, and your current NARCOA operator's certification and insurance card numbers. Because of some past problems with people waiting until the last minute to get their insurance in place, beginning this year Craig MUST have your current insurance number when he receives your registration or it will be returned. It is not enough to have sent in your application to Tom Norman. You must have your year 2000 insurance card in hand before you register for either WSOR trip, so take care of this detail before the season starts! Craig's phone number is 608-437-4419 evenings, if you have any questions about this.

We will publish full information on the upcoming excursions and mail them out before application dates.

Mike Paul states that a 2 day excursion on Escanaba & Lake Superior is in the works. Tentative weekend is July 15-16, 2000. It is not known if this is 100 percent sure or not, only that he is working on it at this time. The trips on this railroad in the past were great, and I know I will be the first to sign up if possible. Keep your fingers crossed. We will have more information in the next issue.

Pat Rock has some trips in the works for the Green Bay Railroad museum, but dates are not confirmed at this time. Will keep you updated soon on what Pat has to offer there. He has been busy on his newly purchased 40 acre estate in the Amherst, WI area. Plenty of space for his motorcars there.

Jim Lindholm and Jeremy Winkworth of Great Lakes Railcars have the Lake Superior & Ishpeming in the works for this year as well. They did a great job with last year's excursion, and we hope they will continue with the excursions there in the future. We will post the notices here as well as them posting it in their newsletter. You can contact Great Lakes Railcars at 9333 W. State Road 46, Columbus, IN 47201. Include a check for $5.00 payable to Great Lakes Railcars for a membership which includes the newsletter.

Wilderness Tours has the following trips on their schedule for 2000. Sault Ste Marie to Ottawa, Ontario, and return. Sept 5th to the 12th, 2000, mileage is 1014. Also available is BC Rail July 2nd to the 12th, 2000, riding from North Vancouver to Tumbler Ridge, BC, and return, mileage is 1543. Contact Hank Brown at 608-839-4939 right away for more information and cost. These trips sell out almost immediately, so get on it if you are interested.