Volume 65 – Issue 11 November 1, 2025
From the Brass Hat
Happy November. Wow, that was a successful 30th Anniversary Halloween season. As someone who has seen all thirty, (ouch, I’m getting old) I can definitely say this one ranked up there considering we had to shorten the run this year. While the work never stops, I hope most are able to rest up a little before its decorating time for the Santa Train. Last month, I expressed hope that the weather would hold, and save for a little slippery going on the first day, it did. Saturday October 25th was especially nice and the riders came out with 1,414 showing up on that day. It was reported that 4,989 was the total count for all days. As our museum currently depends on successful holiday rides, we can all be pleased with the outcome! Great work by everybody. The actors once again put on a great show, with Chris Tilley barely surviving his ordeal with the witches and their potions. Brandt (Squiggy) Wilkus, was an energetic Dracula and even did some improv this year when he had to perform solo for a few rides. Jim Meade as the headless brakeman, was also was forced to switch it up this year by walking the infield as we were not able to run the ghost train. While everyone loves the ghost train, all made it work and the show came off without complaint. Thank you to everyone else from G Scale, ticketing, giftshop, parking lot and train crews and many more. Your efforts were noticed, especially with a larger social media presence this year.
At times crew ran a little thin, but we pulled it off as usual. We’ve said it many times before, but these events take a lot of people and not just brakeman on the train. If you have wanted to come out, but do not have a lot of time to commit, that’s ok. We can always use the help even if it’s just for part of a ride day. Volunteering for holiday events is work, but the smiles on the faces of the young visitors makes it very worthwhile.
Speaking of events, look for decorating assistance calls for the Santa Trains this month. It is anticipated decorating will take place over multiple days rather than a large event the day after thanksgiving as has been past practice.
In this space I often comment on train operations as it is a significant part of our organization, however NCRM has other activities that are taking place. Specifically, the work of the museum committee chaired by Jim Jatko.
Recently the museum committee was successful in securing two significant federal grants from the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences for the development of interpretive exhibits. When the multiyear effort is completed, this project will use our historic rolling stock and locomotives to greatly expand our educational function for visitors, especially school children. Exciting things are happening — take a look the next time you are on site at the work taking place on our Atlantic Coast Line Baggage Express car headed by Robert Majors, or the Family Lines Caboose led by Tom Kreuzinger. For more detailed information, check out Jim’s “What’s Happening Newsletter” sent to the NCRM listserve on October 27th. If you did not see it, feel free to ask for another copy.
Many are interested in the status of the Little Beaver Creek trestle as the closure affected our Halloween Train operations. I’m pleased to announce that Burnett Construction out of Virginia was selected for the job. The company are specialists in railroad bridge work. As I write this, Burnett is scheduling their visit. The contract calls for the work to be completed by December 1st in time for the Santa Trains, but it’s looking like it will be completed much earlier. This is very good news and we expect to run the Santa trains the entire length of the track.
Finally, I hope everyone eligible filled out their ballots and voted for the three open director seats. By the time this newsletter is published, ballots will be counted and results announced.
That’s all for now, hope to see you in Bonsal this month for decorating!
-John
John Morck
President, NCRM
Get to Know a Member
by Tom Hutchinson
Name: Charles Stirewalt
How long have you been a member? Since April 2011
Where are you originally from? Old Fort, NC (Asheville area)
What was your job in real life? Accounting and flew helicopters in the Army & NC National Guard
Where do you live now (City & State only)? Fuquay-Varina, NC
Family? Wife, Mary, one step-son & one grandson
How did you become interested in trains? The Southern RR ran thru town growing up and we were always playing around the depot or hoboing rides to the swimming hole (not recommended today).
How did you find about NHVR? We took our grandson for a ride on NHVR as a kid and the brakeman, David Bibb, talked to me about volunteering – sounded interesting, so I did.
What is your favorite activity at the New Hope Valley Railway? I enjoy being conductor on ride days and working with the Wednesday Crew building and repairing facilities, etc.
If you do not receive the operating crew calls, please contact the crew caller at kbedwardsnhvr2019@gmail.com (Kevin) if you are interested in participating in train operations! We need all the help we can get to keep the trains running safely. Kevin will handle all crew calls for November 2025 (thanks John and Kevin!)
Welcome to new members Angel Caraballo, and Peter Gourri. Please welcome them and make them feel right at home. Tell them what you do for the Museum and show them how it is done so they get a feel for things.
Membership Dues Renewal
by Tom Hutchinson
The membership of all annual members who joined prior to last year will expire on December 31, 2025. Our membership system will automatically generate e-mail renewal reminder notices (if we have your email address in our system) for next year’s dues. The first renewal reminder should be sent to you in early November. Subsequent reminders will occur in early December, at year-end and also in late January. Members who have not renewed by the end of February will be placed in a “lapsed” category for further follow-up.
If you are a Lifetime Member, you will not receive these dues reminders.
If your annual membership is expiring at December 31, 2025, you have several options to renew your membership for 2026. When you receive the dues reminder from the system, it will provide you a link to access your membership record on-line, where you may pay your 2026 dues by credit card. Or you can mail your renewal check to NCRM Membership, PO Box 40, New Hill, NC 27562 and put a note on the “memo” line for the type of dues. Or you can pay your dues the good old-fashioned way in cash to Tom Hutchinson of the Membership Committee. Check or cash can also be used if you do not have an email account and therefore did not receive the automated reminder.
If you misplace the membership renewal reminder email from the system (or it went to your Spam folder and was deleted), and you wish to pay for your renewal by credit card, you can also access the membership system and pay your 2026 dues using the following link which will direct you to access your member profile.
As sometimes computerized dues renewals can be confusing, if you have any questions or problems, please contact Tom Hutchinson.
New Member Orientation
by Dennis Winchell
The next New Member Orientation session will be offered on Saturday, November 15, 2025 from 10 AM to Noon. It will be held under the covered area behind the Dispatch Office, and include a tour of the NCRM property along with some of our ongoing projects. The New Member Orientation session is intended
to share information about our history, bylaws, policies, how to get information, who’s who, and most importantly how to get involved as a volunteer (and have fun). This session is open to those who have been members for up to 2 years. This is not a substitute for the Rules and Safety Training sessions necessary to get involved with train operations. This is the final New Member Orientation session offered in 2025. The next session will be scheduled for some time in the Spring. If you are interested in attending on November 15, please RSVP to Dennis Winchell or Velinda Chapman by Wednesday, November 12.
New Hope Valley Railway at the NC State Fair
by Tom Hutchinson
For the last 15 years, the New Hope Valley Railway has set up and operated a garden railway at the NC State Fair. This is one of our best opportunities to raise our visibility with the general public. Each year thousands of people see our garden railway at the Fair, and we tell them our story. This year, we distributed over a thousand cards advertising our Halloween and Santa rides.
This would not be possible without the efforts of the half-dozen volunteers that spend three mornings setting up and taking down the layout, as well as the 25 volunteers (most of whom are NCRM members) who in pairs operated the garden railroad this year for 21 five-and-a -half-hour shifts, contributing a total of 230 volunteer hours.
Many of them also volunteered with the train crew, ticket office, gift shop and garden railway on our Halloween ride days as well as helping decorate our property. Thanks to all who made this year’s Fair layout another success.
Around the Yard (and Down the Line – Halloween Style)
