All Aboard! Last Call! The Annual Christmas Luncheon get together will be on Monday Dec. 29th from Noon until 4 PM

To All ExCons and their Friends,

Last call to remind you of our Christmas luncheon get together. Fifty four of you have responded that you are attending. If you are sure you are coming, and have not confirmed with me, please answer this email to fswanson@rcn.com so we have a better count for Victory Brewing. However, if you decide at the last minute to come, that's OK, just come as you are.

Victory Brewing has remodeled their restaurant and we now have a private room. We will have a small silent auction of some Conrail gift items and other railroad memorabila thanks to Jon Broder. The proceeds will go to the Vic Giardini Scholarship Fund at the U. of Delaware. Our room has a big screen and we will be showing some of Larry DeYoung's Conrail photography. So don't miss this once a year reunion event. It gets bigger and better every year.

The Annual Christmas Luncheon get together will be on Monday Dec. 29th from Noon until 4 PM at:
Victory Brewing Company
420 Acorn Lane
Downingtown, PA 19335
610-873-0881

The setup will basically be the same as last year. Victory Brewing will serve a hot all you can eat buffet lunch and pitchers of ale and beer. Cost is anticipated to be $25.00 per person payable when you arrive. Please forward this email far and wide. Last year we had over 90 ExCons attend. I am sure we will have more this year as this has grown every year. Don't miss this once a year Conrail reunion with all your old Conrail friends. Mark your calendar and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. This event is not restricted to Marketing and Sales. All Excons and friends are welcome.

Your Hosts,

Fletcher Swanson, Mike Behe, Mike Kasper and Joe Bowers

PS: Last year some attendees made contributions to the U of Delaware's Victor Giardini Award Fund. In addition, a small surplus from the admission collection was added to the fund and sent to The U of D. See their letter attached. Let's plan to remember Vic again this year.

While there is no requirement to make advance reservations, if you are sure you are coming please email your intentions to: fswanson@rcn.com so he can give Victory Brewing an estimated count.

See you on Dec. 29th

Jerome Cossel

Passing along this information:

----- Original Message -----
From: PAC31536@aol.com
To: DATSMan@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 8:41 PM
Subject: Fwd: Jerome Cossel
Bob please pass this information on to anyone and everyone that you think might need it. Thank you again for your help in distributing this info.

From: PAC31536To: jcossel@visconsi.comSent: 12/13/2008 8:31:28 P.M. Eastern Standard TimeSubj: Jerome Cossel

We have tried to reach many of you, and we apologize to those we haven't contacted, but we're writing to inform all of you that Jerome has unexpectedly passed away. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. The funeral arrangements are as follows:

- Friends and family may pay their respects on Tuesday, December 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 at William A. Moore Funeral Home, 708 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, Pa. 19428. If you need to contact the funeral home, their website is at www.williamamoore.com. There you can find an copy of the actual obituary, as well as directions to the funeral home and other useful information.

- On Wednesday, December 17, there will be a second viewing from 9:00 to 10:20 AM at Mother of Divine Providence Church, 333 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406. The viewing will be immediately followed by a funeral mass beginning at 10:30 AM. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pa.

For those of you traveling from out of town, we have booked a block of rooms at the Radisson/Scanticon Hotels at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia. The hotels are connected within the Convention Center and rooms are available for the evenings of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, December 15 thru 17. The rate will be $89.00 or less per night. The reservation will not be in the hotel's computer system until Monday, so please contact us to ensure that there are enough rooms reserved. Should you need directions or other information, the websites are www.RadissonValleyForge.com or www.ScanticonValleyForge.com.

Please pass this information on to anyone else that you think should know.

Should you need to contact us, try one of the following numbers:

- House in K of P (610) 265-7849
- Jeff C. cell (216) 538-7126
- Jerry C. cell (937) 206-3398

Again, thank you all for your kindness and consideration. We look forward to seeing you and thanking you in person.

Annual Christmas Luncheon

From: Fletcher Swanson

To All ExCons and their Friends, The Annual Christmas Luncheon get together will be on Monday Dec. 29th from Noon until 4 PM at:

Victory Brewing Company
420 Acorn Lane
Downingtown, PA 19335
610-873-0881

The setup will basically be the same as last year. Victory Brewing will serve a hot all you can eat buffet lunch and pitchers of ale and beer. Cost is anticipated to be $25.00 per person payable when you arrive. Please forward this email far and wide. Last year we had over 90 ExCons attend. I am sure we will have more this year as this has grown every year. Don't miss this once a year Conrail reunion with all your old Conrail friends. Mark your calendar and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

This event is not restricted to Marketing and Sales. All Excons and friends are welcome. Your Hosts, Fletcher Swanson, Mike Behe, Mike Kasper and Joe Bowers.

PS: Last year some attendees made contributions to the U of Delaware's Victor Giardini Award Fund. In addition, a small surplus from the admission collection was added to the fund and sent to The U of D. See their letter attached. Let's plan to remember Vic again this year. While there is no requirement to make advance reservations, if you are sure you are coming please email your intentions to: fswanson@rcn.com so he can give Victory Brewing an estimated count.

See you on Dec. 29th

Jim Viscusi

From Fletcher Swanson: "I knew and worked with Jim on many projects. He was an honorable and fine man and I will miss him. May he rest in peace. "

From Jack Hillis: "Jim worked in the Mechanical Engineering department at Conrail." From Richard Scullin: "Jim Viscusi passed away Oct. 21. Death notice attached. I tried to find a link to the death notice but couldn't. Sorry to be the bearer of sad news."

Dave Sweetland

David Ross Sweetland, 71, of Exton, Pennsylvania, a retired Conrail manager and a lifelong railroad buff, died of cancer Saturday, September 13, 2008, at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester. A native of Rhode Island, Mr. Sweetland earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Maine, where he met his future wife, J. Susan Heath. He served in the Army Reserve with a railroad transportation group. In 1959, he joined the Pennsylvania Railroad's mechanical department in Altoona. In 1976, when Conrail was created, Mr. Sweetland was in charge of re-numbering the locomotive fleet for the new company. He was transferred to Philadelphia in 1985 by Conrail and became manager of mechanical training, educating the next generations of railroaders. After his retirement in 1996, he was a consultant at the Academy of Industrial Training in Essington. Mr. Sweetland authored over 70 railroad books, including many "All Color" late steam and early diesel pictorials for "Morning Sun Books", and many railroad related articles as well. He was a member of several railroad historical organizations. He was especially proud to be involved in the preservation and restoration of a Class E7 diesel locomotive, which he rescued from the scrapyard, his wife said. The train, one of the first passenger diesel locomotives acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, has been on display for 10 years at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. In addition to his wife, Mr. Sweetland is survived by sons Ross and Christopher; daughters Elizabeth and Joyann; and two grandchildren.

Passing of Don Wentzel

I regret to inform you that Don Wentzel passed away today. Message from Jerry MacDonald:

Don passed away this morning. Barbara called to let me know. Funeral arrangements are not set, however she said it may not be until next Friday or Saturday. Please check with the Press of Atlantic Obit announcements for details when it is published.

I will pass other information on as it becomes available. I will also pass on a home address for Barbara Wentzel should you choose to send a sympathy card. The address in the chapter roster is incorrect as Don and Barbara got rid of their P.O. Box earlier this year.

My sympathies to those who were close to Don.

Link to the Conrail LinkedIn Group

What is LinkedIn?

Want to reconnect with former Conrail colleagues? LinkedIn is an online network where you can create a personal profile and share information with former colleagues, clients, and friends. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know.

We have set up a group at linkedIn called "Conrail". Join the LinkedIn Conrail group and share your contact information with other members of the Conrail group. Click below to get started: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/149255/196ED30010FA

Passing of Herbert E. "Herb"Lukens Jr.

From The Intelligencer, August 25, 2008

Herbert E. Lukens Jr. of Chalfont died Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008, in Central Montgomery Medical Center, Lansdale. He was 82.

He was the husband of Margaret Lukens. Born in Hatfield, he was a son of the late Herbert E. and Clara H. (Moyer) Lukens. He graduated from Hatfield Joint Consolidated School in 1944 and began working on the Reading Railroad as a clerk. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 until being discharged as a sergeant in 1947. He returned to the railroad for a career that spanned 45 years. During this time he was chief clerk until being promoted to sales representative for the Philadelphia area. By the time the Reading Railroad was merged with Conrail, he had worked in sales in Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia. In 1980 he was promoted to customer service and developed the customer service phone center. He retired as director of customer service in 1990.

Mr. Lukens was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ, Lansdale. He was also a Mason and car enthusiast. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his three daughters, Dr. Patricia Bainbridge and her husband, Donald, Debbie Brucks and her husband, Glenn, and Mary Beth Myers and her husband, Andrew; and three grandchildren, Victoria Eustice and Colleen and Andrew John Myers.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his viewing from 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, until his service at 11:30 a.m. in Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, 701 Derstine Ave., Lansdale. Interment will be in St. Peter's Union Cemetery, Hilltown. Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, Lansdale.

Update on Max Solomon

Max Solomon, long term Pittsburgh Division Asst Superintendent is in the hospital have post stroke symptoms. Sounds like his condition is improving. Here's Max's new room number:

Max Solomon
Wing 10-D - Room 1055-D
UPMC Presbyterian Hospital
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2582
412-647-2345
Oakland Section of Pittsburgh

See http://www.upmc.com/ for driving directions
Visiting Hours in 1055-D are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

According to Dan Struthers of the WLE, Judy Solomon says the cards and notes are appreciated, and his friends should keep them coming because Max really enjoys hearing them as she reads them to him.

From Wall Street

Railroads, Packing Pricing Power, Deliver Big Profits
Union Pacific's Jump In Earnings Is in Line With Robust Industry's
By ALEX ROTH - July 25, 2008;

If the U.S. economy is deteriorating, could someone please tell the railroad industry?

Profits for several railroad companies are surging as they exercise their power to raise prices, in part because they remain a cheaper alternative to trucks and other less fuel-efficient modes of transportation. Union Pacific Corp., the largest U.S. freight railroad operator by revenue, reported a 19% jump in second-quarter net income, despite a 3% drop in carloads, a 54% jump in fuel costs and a variety of logistical issues associated with recent Midwest flooding.

Last week, CSX Corp. also reported a 19% profit increase for the second quarter, while Norfolk Southern Corp. said Tuesday that second-quarter profits rose 15%. Burlington Northern Sante Fe Corp. said Thursday that net income fell 19%, but the results included charges mostly related to an environmental cleanup in Montana. Without the charges, Burlington Northern said profits rose 25%.

The railroad companies are far more fuel-efficient than trucks and relatively cheaper as fuel prices soar. Even more, some railroad customers, for logistical reasons, can't ship their freight any other way.

As a result, beyond fuel surcharges, the railroads have been able to raise their rates "even in this tough economy," said Anthony Hatch, an independent transportation analyst -- a fact that has rankled customers but delighted shareholders.

Mr. Hatch also cited the industry's "very diverse traffic base" as a reason for its successes. While volumes of auto parts, lumber and other materials connected to the automotive and housing industries have sagged, demand for coal, metals and agricultural products remains robust, in part because of surging exports. While revenue in Union Pacific's automotive segment fell 9%, agricultural freight revenue rose 29%.

Union Pacific, CSX and a smaller railroad, Kansas City Southern Corp., have also improved efficiency in the past five years, according to analyst Rick Paterson of UBS Investment Research, calling their financial results in part "an internal productivity story."

Union Pacific's results handily beat Wall Street's expectations. Net income rose to $531 million, or $1.02 a share, from $446 million, or 82 cents a share, a year ago. The Omaha, Neb., company warned last month that earnings would be reduced by about five cents a share and come in at the low end of its estimate range of 90 cents to 98 cents due to severe weather. The mean forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters was for 92 cents a share.
Revenue rose 13% to $4.57 billion.

Burlington Northern, the second-largest freight operator after Union Pacific, said net income dropped to $350 million, or $1 a share, from $433 million, or $1.20 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The results included charges of 34 cents a share for the environmental cleanup and personal-injury accruals. Burlington Northern lowered its earnings projection to $1.30 a share last month due to the severe weather.

Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Young said that while customers aren't happy with the higher prices, they also continually urge expanding capacity. "If you believe that railroads are going to be part of the solution moving forward, we need to keep adding capital and these returns need to move up," he said, adding that the company plans to spend $1 billion in the next year on expansion-related projects.

In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Union Pacific was down 15 cents to $77.18. Burlington Northern, which released results after 4 p.m., was up $1.23 to $100 in after-hours trading, also on NYSE.

Looking for Blog Authors

If you would like to help manage this blog and become a Blog Author, please send me an e-mail at REFlynn@usa.net. All can post comments to posts, but only approved authors can initiate a broadcast post to all subscribers. If you would like to help, let me know.

What happened to the old Conrail.Net

After 10 years, we finally had a technical issue with the old conrail.net web site. Unfortunately, the hosting provider corrupted the site and was not able to recover the database. There were other problems with the domain name that have now been resolved.

The site was originally launched in June 1999 to enable former employees to share their contact information. We were ahead of our time. There are now many social networking sites that allow this.

The site, though expensive to maintain, served a purpose -- and I was reluctant to completely pull the plug. So we are converting it to a blog to enable folks to post comments and broadcast information to former work colleagues.

In addition, we have set up a networking group at http://www.linkedin.com/ that will enable sharing of contact information. The group name is "Conrail". We hope everyone will take advantage of this service and take the time to join.

Comments?

This blog permits former Conrail Employees to post comments.