Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club

Message from President Bruce Stuart:

Our CVRTC 2024 annual meeting and elections were held on Saturday March 9th and I have to say quite successful. Refreshments and conversations were enjoyed prior to commencing with the business at hand. Topics regarding upcoming trail projects, runs taking place this season, 2024 events and general maintenance of the facilities were discussed. One of the highlights of the gathering was the awarding to recipients of the Scott T Fuller CVRTC Award of Excellence. Pictured here are this years awardee's. From left to right are, Bruce Stuart presenting, Linda Bernard, Rick Libby, Noreen McDonald, Aaron Mansur and Jesse Mazzie. The award is given to members who embody what Scott stood for and how he showed up in life. That being those individuals who are generous with their time and resources and have made a difference with their contributions to the club and its efforts.

Congratulations to all of this years recipient's. We eagerly anticipate the beginning of this years rail car season and the challenges ahead. I look forward to seeing all of you on the rails.

(MJV)

Message from President Bruce Stuart:

Look what's coming down the tracks - warmer weather and our first meeting of the year! This year's annual meeting will take place on Saturday, March 9th at the the Merrimack Valley Railroad Function Hall, 5 Park Street, Northfield NH (The Freight House). The meeting will commence at 10:00 am, BOD will, if possible, arrive early to help with setup. As always, coffee & pastries will be on hand for all to enjoy. I want to thank Jesse for taking the reins on this and securing the hall with Alan. For those of you who are new to CVRTC, this is an absolute ideal venue to hold our annual CVRTC meeting as you will see when you arrive. I can't thank Alan enough for his grace in always accommodating CVRTC and this request.

Our annual Board of Directors meeting will take place at Fernald Station on Saturdy, February 17th at 10:00am. As always, hot coffee, a warm station and plenty of morning pastries.

Bruce & Cathy

(MJV)

The updated 2024 Membership Form has been uploaded to the Membership Page.

(JWM)

Message from President Bruce Stuart:

Good afternoon friends. There are moments in your life that time and understanding prepare you for, what news I bring does not lend itself to one of those moments. As I sit here at this keyboard, still trying to digest this loss, I struggle to come up with words that can truly express my sadness in saying goodbye to a very dear friend. On this 17th day of June. The brakes have been released, markers hung and the throttle cracked for one last departure from Fernald Station for Sean. More...

(JWM)

The 2023 CVRTC season started off with a bang! Over 25 members attended the business meeting and then stayed working for many hours painting the engine house. It was a great effort with great results. The southern and western sides of the engine house get baked by the sun and weather so it took a lot of paint to cover the faded walls. The window and door trim were also painted. Linda and Jeff came by with a lunch for everyone! Thank you! While the paint crew applied 25 gallons of barn red, a track crew of four headed west and fixed the rolled rail that occurred last fall during the brush cutting activity. The gauge was fixed, rods installed and spiked back down to keep us running into town for the 2023 season. Thank you to everyone involved for the job well done!

(N McDonald,S McInerney,A Mansur Photos) (SPM)