Click on the director’s name for email address.
NYCSHS Directors and Officers for 2019 – 2020
President
Dave Mackay
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Noel Widdifield
Archivist
Central Headlight Editor
NYCentral Modeler Editor
Directors At Large
Tom Gerbracht
Recording Secretary
Mike Vescelus
Nick Ariemma
Directors Emeritus
Joseph P. Quinlivan
Dick Barrett
Darwin Simonaitis
Information Contacts
Click on the director’s name for email address. Phone #s are listed below the name.
Dave Mackay – President
201-960-1873
Noel Widdifield – Treasurer, Business Manager, Webmaster, Editor, NYCentral Modeler
703-407-3059
Nick Ariemma – Membership Chair
201-745-5447
Mike Vescelus – Collinwood Shop
502-727-4524
Jim Suhs – Secretary
815-588-1504
Seth Lakin Modeling Committee Chair
219-477-0090
Joe Burgess – Convention Mentor
617-594-1031
Joseph Epperson – Archivist
Tom Gerbracht – Engineering Drawings
Rich Stoving – Editor, Central Headlight
570-724-7709
Ralph Schiring – NYCS Knowledge Coordinator – I can get you answers to your questions about the NYCS.
Sheldon Lustig – Vice President
440-823-7762
Darwin Simonaitis – Calendar
Please note we have no railroad employment records.
Contact the Railroad Retirement Board for more information on genealogy searches.
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Pension Records
You can now search a free index of 1.5 million US Railroad Retirement Board pension records on the Midwest Genealogy Center (part of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Mo.) website.
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers a federal retirement benefits program similar to Social Security, but for railroad workers. The RRB index covers records from 1936 to the early 2000s . The program started in 1936, so these records don’t cover earlier railroad workers, or workers for local streetcar or interurban lines. Those who worked for railroads on a short-term or casual basis also might not have participated in the program.
Start your RRB index search on the Genealogy Quick Look website http://quicklook.midwestgenealogycenter.org/index.php—choose US Railroad Retirement Board from the Collection menu.
The results give you the last name and usually just a first initial, along with dates of birth and death (month and year for birth and death, and occasionally the day). Once you find a relative, you can order copies of the pension records for about 80 cents per page from the National Archives Atlanta office. Use the provided link on the search results to Print This Page and then click on Submit Your Request, which gives instructions on how to request copies.
Before this index, you had to pay $27 to have RRB staff check their index to see if your ancestor was part of the retirement system. The Midwest Genealogy Center’s RRB index saves you the $27 and gives you the flexibility to do further research on potentially relevant search results.
This article was written by May Ann Boggs for the South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society. The Midwest Genealogy Center at the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, MO has the index on their website. We thank all of them for allowing us to publish this article on our website.
http://quicklook.midwestgenealogycenter.org/index.php
Under the “Collection” title click on the dropdown to “U.S. Railroad Retirement Board”.
General Research Questions:
PLEASE NOTE: While we try to respond to all inquires, due to the overwhelming amount of mail received, our volunteers cannot possibly answer general inquiries in a timely manner. Please consider asking your historic or general interest question in one of the many friendly discussion groups, such as the New York Central Forum.
Official Address (Do not send membership forms or money to this address)
New York Central System Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 130
Gates Mills, OH 44040-0130
Membership Address (Please mail all membership forms and payments and address changes to this address)
New York Central System Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 264
Emerson, NJ 07630
Treasurer Address
New York Central System Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 328
Shady Side, MD 20764
To update your mailing address, phone number or email address click here to send an email to Noel F. Widdifield Webmaster
If you need to contact us you can click on one of the Board Member’s
names and that will give you an email to contact us. If you want to ask
a general question you can contact us by clicking below at:
NYCSHS@verizon.net
