ROC News
2000 January - June

• January 1, 2000:

  
  ROC members ran seven motorcars on the RS&N on January 1st for the Y2K Run. The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny, and each car was filled with spouses and friends. After a leisurely breakfast at McDonald's restaurant, we set-on in Red Springs. We did some pruning and cleaned trash from a highly visible section of right-of-way behind the car wash in Red Springs. Then we were off, with the usual stops to clean grade crossings. We even took turns swinging a pick to remove pieces of asphalt from the flangeways of the new crossing at the chicken plant. After arriving in Parkton, we posed for photos and ate lunch. The ride back to Red Springs went much faster. Some members packed up for the day, and the rest rode again to Parkton and back. A fine dinner at Gore's Seafood Restaurant in Red Springs capped off a perfect day. Click here for a few photos.

• January 15-16, 2000:

  
  Several ROC members and guests did maintenance on the RS&N right-of-way this weekend. Tom Stallings and Robin Eanes worked in the cold on Saturday; it was 21 degrees F in the morning. Phil Gandy and guests worked on Sunday when the temperatures were more civilized.

• February 5, 2000:

  
  Four railcars rode and worked on the RS&N today. Regulars Tom Stallings, Earl Barber, and Andy Dingsor got off to an early start. New members Freddie and Tammy Upton from Caroleen, NC rode today with their M19. The weather was mild and clear as we did a little chainsawing, a little weedwhacking, and a little on-line maintenance to the railcars! Phil and Nancy Gandy joined the group for another fine dinner at Gore's Seafood restaurant. Click here for a few photos.

• February 19, 2000:

  
  Seven railcars polished the RS&N rails today. In alphabetical order:

  • Earl Barber and grandson Justin
  • Mr. and Mrs. Danny Beck
  • Carey Boney
  • Ned and Tom Chilcote
  • Andy Dingsor
  • Phil Gandy and his guest Carl Bloom
  • Tom Stallings
  The weather was beautiful for riding and a little sprucing up. Whatch here for a few photos thanks to Carl Bloom.

• March 4, 2000:

  
  Five cars and seven people rode on the RS&N in a misty rain today: Earl Barber, Susan and John Cease, Andy Dingsor, Robin Eanes and friend (Bill?), and Tom Stallings. Many thanks to Hollis Batchelor of Red Springs for cleaning the grade crossings south of town for us! We made two trips to Parkton, and covered about 50 miles. Both times in Parkton we enjoyed watching a CSX freight blast through town. Becky and Carey Boney joined the group for dinner at Gore's Seafood.

  Watch here for a few photos by Robin Eanes, including one which caught John Cease working under his railcar.

• March 19, 2000:

  Eight cars and fifteen people set a new attendance record on this beautiful cool day. Robert and Grace Rhew enjoyed their first ride on the RS&N. The group enjoyed sharing Robert's turntable, which is required for his big A-5, but a luxury for the other cars. The group included:

  • Earl Barber and Tom Stallings on Earl's M-19
  • Carey Boney and Joe and Jeffrey Quinn on Carey's open M-19
  • Andy Dingsor on his open M-19
  • Robin Eanes and his daughter on their MT-19
  • Phil Gandy on his M-9
  • Ernest Haddock and Joe Jordan on Ernest's M-9
  • Robert and Grace Rhew on their A-5
  • Hugh and Sylvia Sterling on their M-19
  Mr. Hollis Batchelor of Red Springs again cleared several grade crossings, and even made a custom pushbroom to sweep the sand from the flangeways. We made two trips to Parkton, and covered about 50 miles. We stopped several times along the way to do some chain sawing and pruning. (Get ready for lots of 'yard' work at RS&N. Springtime is just around the corner!) Another fine relaxing dinner was enjoyed at Gore's Seafood.

• April 1-2, 2000:

  Two groups of ROC members enjoyed the RS&N, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. On Saturday, the group cleaned more trash from the right-of-way behind the car wash, then six cars and fourteen people rode the rails this beautiful spring day. It was touted as 'S-2 day', with two S-2 cars in attendance. Several dignitaries from Red Springs visited the set-on and spoke with the group, and some went for rides. After having cleaned grade crossings for several weeks, even Mr. Batchelor went for a ride. Cars included:

  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • John Cease's MT-19
  • Susan Cease's MT-19
  • Tom Stallings' S-2
  • Phil Gandy's M-19
  • Freddie Upton's M-19
  The ride was shortened a little by a cut of loaded grain freight cars being stored by CSX on the north end of the RS&N, between Parkton and highway 71. Another fine dinner was had at Gore's Seafood.

  On Sunday, two cars attended:

  • Carey Boney
  • Rick Tufts
  Carey and Rick set-on at Lumber Bridge and enjoyed several leisurely laps. They saw snakes, hawks, and beavers on their rides. They spent time cleaning out the ashphalt grade crossing at the chicken plant, and shoveled dirt mounds off the track at Shannon. They had a great day.

  And, in other news...

  ROC t-shirts are being developed. Email Earl Barber with your requests.

  Get those weedwhackers ready for the next run day. Tom Stallings recommends installing metal blades to commence the attack!

• April 21-24, 2000:

  Several groups of ROCers rode the rails throughout this beautiful Easter weekend. On Friday, Carey Boney and Danny Beck brought their cars and rode. They also cleaned out several grade crossings.

  On Saturday, a large group did some pruning and trash collecting at grade crossings, and made two round trips:

  • Earl Barber's M-19 with his friend Wayne Webb
  • Andy Dingsor's open M-19
  • Robin Eanes' MT-19 with his cousin Kelly Kellam
  • Phil Gandy's open M-19
  • Ernest Haddock's open M-19 with his friend Cecil Walker
  • Tom Stallings' S-2
  Congratulations to our newest member Hollis Batchelor, who bought his first railcar, an open M-19, from Ernest Haddock.

  On Sunday, John and Susan Cease rode with their son and friends, and did more cleanup along the way.

  In other news...

  The ROC t-shirts have arrived! Earl Barber had them made professionally, and they look great. Contact Earl if you placed an order for one. (PS: A photo will be posted as soon as a decent-looking guy can be found to model a shirt.)

• May 6, 2000:
  
  A fine group of railcar hobbyists enjoyed a beautiful day at the RS&N railroad today. Cars included:
  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Carey Boney's open M-19
  • Andy Dingsor's open M-19
  • Robert Rhew's A-5
  • Tom Stallings' S-2
  • Rick Tufts' M-19

  During breakfast at McDonald's, Rick Tufts reminded everyone about the importance of keeping our railcars on the RS&N property and not riding onto the CSX trackage at Parkton. We marked the boundary line on the RS&N side with white paint. Please do not ride beyond this point.

  We made two round trips to Parkton. We did the usual trash collecting, but did a lot more aggressive pruning. The springtime growth is coming on strong.

  Everyone enjoys when Robert Rhew brings his A-5 to RS&N because it comes with a turntable mounted on it. Thanks for letting everyone use it.

  Bill Holdren from Ladson, SC, made his first visit to RS&N today. We hope Bill can visit again.

  A reporter from a Fayetteville newspaper interviewed several members and took lots of photos. We look forward to seeing the results of his work.

  After a long and enjoyable day, another fine dinner was had at Gore's Seafood.

  Click here for a few photos.

• May 20, 2000:

  Today was a light day at RS&N. One car made one slow round-trip to Parkton and back. Andy Dingsor had his open M-19 out, and his wife enjoyed her first railcar ride. They met Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Holt, from the Purdue University School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Dr. Holt took inventory of the plant species while on the ride. After riding, the four enjoyed a fine lunch at the Corner Grill in Red Springs.

• May 29, 2000:
  
  The new ROC t-shirts have arrived. Our thanks to Earl Barber for having the shirts made. Please contact Earl if you want one; there may be a few left...

• June 3-4, 2000:

  
  Two groups of operators rode their railcars on Saturday and Sunday.

  On Saturday, three generations rode in one railcar. Don Chilcote, visiting from California, rode with his son and grandson Ned and Tom on his first railcar ride. (Don loved it!) Also going on his first railcar ride, with Andy Dingsor, was Barrett Richards, from Apex, NC. (Barrett also loved it!) The group rode one lap to Parkton and back, doing light pruning along the way. The group then packed up because of the unseasonably high heat and humidity, and because of the thunderstorms rumbling in the distance.

  Watch here for a few photos of Saturday by Barrett Richards.

  Saturday's cars included:

  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • Ned and Tom Chilcote's open M-19
  • Andy Dingsor's open M-19
  • Hugh and Sylvia Sterling's enclosed M-19
  
  
  Sunday brought scattered heavy rainstorms and much cooler temperatures. Three diehards went riding despite the lousy weather, and twice resorted to wearing makeshift raincoats made from orange plastic garbage bags. When the sun came out, the group cleared away tree saplings, vines, and poison ivy from five mileposts at the north end of the RS&N. (Several more mileposts remain hidden in the brush.) Andy Dingsor rode with Hollis Batchelor; Hollis is ready to solo as soon as his NARCOA paperwork is delivered. Finally, Phil Gandy arrived for a brief ride after the rain stopped, and met the group at the siding just north of Shannon.

  Sunday's cars included:

  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Tom Stallings' S-2
  • Phil Gandy's open M-19

  Watch here for a few photos of Sunday.

• June 5, 2000:

  The Fayetteville (NC) Observer newspaper today published a brief article about ROC activities on the RS&N, and about the railcar hobby itself. Staff writer James Locklear interviewed us and took photos a few weeks ago, and the article made it into today's edition. You can read the article in the local news section of their online edition. ROC thanks James Locklear and the Fayetteville Observer for their fine article.

• June 17, 2000:
  
  A group of seven railcars enjoyed a gorgeous summer day at the RS&N railroad today. Cars included:
  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Carey Boney's open M-19
  • Andy Dingsor's open M-19
  • Phil Gandy's open M-19
  • Robert Rhew's A-5
  • Tom Stallings' S-2

  After breakfast at McDonald's, the group set-on about 9am. Earl brought a son and two grandchildren to ride. Hollis brought his son Richard, from Atlanta, for his first ride.

  After a brief safety meeting, most folks headed directly for Parkton and had lunch there. Carey and Andy leisurely trailed behind, mowing and pruning along the way, and had lunch at Lumber Bridge. After lunch, the group returning from Parkton met Carey and Andy waiting in the siding at Lumber Bridge. After a few greetings, both groups went on their ways in opposite directions. There's nothing like a real meet...

  Some of the members left midafternoon. The rest stayed to enjoy dinner at the recently remodeled Gore's seafood restaurant.

  Watch here for a few photos.