90F Raynor Avenue, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 * (631)-737-4634 * www.trainweb.org/centoplines

Election of Officers for 2008

Election ballots were mailed to all members with last month’s newsletter. Probationary members, honorary members and members on leave of absence DO NOT receive election ballots. You must also be a member in good standing (not behind in your dues) to receive an election ballot. Offices for election are President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and three Board of Directors positions. Ballots MUST be returned before Friday, December 14^th, 2007 at 8:00 pm to be counted at the December Business Meeting. New officers will begin their terms of office in January 2008.

New Jersey Hi-Railers Open House

Sunday, December 2, 2007, 10am-4pm, 185 6th Avenue, Paterson, NJ 973-925-2390 - A few of us are taking a ride to see this layout, approximately 160 ft long, all o-gauge. Check their website (www.njhirailers.com) for further details. If you want to go, call Peter Palma at 631-748-4265.

Open Houses and Swap Meets

The next Swap Meet is November 18^th. Swap Meets are held at the Bohemia Bingo Hall from 7:30 am to 11:30 am. Please come to help setup, teardown and run the Swap Meet to help raise money for our club.

Our next Open House will be November 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th. Please setup your trains the day before or that morning before 11am. Open House hours are 12 noon to 5 pm. The Senior Home from 'Jefferson Ferry' will be visiting the club on Sat. 11/24 at 11:30am by arrangement of Tom Krausz.

Complete Open House and Swap Meet schedules can be found on the flyers (at the club) or on the COL website (the address of the website is on the top of this Newsletter).

What’s Happening at Lionel Electric Trains?

The following information was provided by Tom Nuzzo, Events Manager for Lionel Electric Trains – Thanks, Tom!

Lionel and MTH have come to an agreement to settle the lawsuit, the settlement amount is not public. Lionel layouts are in six Fortunoff's stores, three in NY (Westbury, Melville & White Plains) and three in NJ (Wayne, Woodbridge & Paramus). We also have a 5 x 9 layout at FAO Schwartz. We are in Macy's Toyland with a 4 x 8 layout. Then there is a spectacular layout in Macy's Santaland; it has 12 tracks with numerous accessories. Santaland will open Thanksgiving Day and close Christmas Eve. We will be installing the Grand Central Terminal layout on November 12 and it will open to the public the Monday after Thanksgiving, it has 12 tracks with a subway loop. The Legacy system should be in the stores by December, while the Subway will require some additional time. Lionel should be out of bankruptcy by March 2008. Lionel Day at Xtreme Hobbies in Deer Park, NY on Saturday, November 17 from 10am-4pm, we will raffle off a train set. Lionel Day at Charles RO in Massachusetts on November 17. Lionel Day at Walkers Hardware in Totowa, NJ on Saturday, December 8 from 10am-4pm, we will raffle off a train set.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

Nov. 16^th – Business Meeting, 8 pm to 9 pm

Nov. 17^th – Lionel Day, Xtreme Hobbies, Deer Park, NY

Nov. 18^th – Swap Meet, Bingo Hall, 7:30 am to 11:30 am

Nov. 23^rd to 25^th - Open House, 12 noon to 5 pm

Dec. 2^nd – NJ Hi-Railers Open House, Paterson, NJ

Dec. 9^th – Swap Meet, Bingo Hall, 7:30 am to 11:30 am

Dec. 14^th – Business Meeting, 8 pm to 9 pm

Dec. 15^th & 16^th - Open House, 12 noon to 5 pm