ROC News
2001 January - June

• January 1, 2001:
  
  Five ROC members ran four motorcars on the RS&N on Monday, January 1st for the 2001 New Years' Run. Only one open car braved the beautiful clear cold weather. Areas further west and north had snow on the ground, but Red Springs luckily did not. Cars included:
  • Earl Barber's M-19
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Tom Stallings' MT-19
  • Pete Wenk and Jennifer Lang's MT-14
  We enjoyed meeting with several dignitaries from Parkton today: Bobby Joyner, Pete Monterio (police chief), and Mr. Parnell (mayor's father). We discussed the possibility of our participating in the Parkton centennial celebration on May 5. We didn't get to see any CSX trains rush through town, but we did get a tour of the Parkton depot which is about to be restored. Click here to see 27 great photos by Jennifer Lang.

• February 3, 2001:
  
  Five ROC members rode two motorcars on the RS&N on Saturday. The weather was fine, and it was an enjoyable, leisurely ride. Hugh Sterling rode with Earl Barber, and Carey Boney rode with Pete Wenk and Jennifer Lang. Rick Tufts and Hollis Batchelor also met the group at the set-on Saturday morning, but did not bring cars since they had not yet received their 2001 insurance cards. Cars:
  • Earl Barber's M-19
  • Pete Wenk and Jennifer Lang's MT-14
  Click here to see two great 'aerial' photos taken by Rick Tufts from a tower in Lumber Bridge.

• February 17, 2001:
  
  A large group of ROC members, friends and relatives rode at RS&N on Saturday. We had a great ride. The sky was blue and the sun warm although the temperature dropped steadily during the day. We had breakfast at Hardees, got in two runs and ended up at Gore's Seafood Restaurant. We had as riding guests, Ned Chilcotte's first cousin Bob and his grandson James. Scott and Tim Parnell met us in Parkton. Tom got to christen the new turntable on his A-6. Hugh Cain and Ed Rosenberger were most helpful in going over the track with us an pointing out opportunities for improvement. Cars included:
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Tom Stallings' A-6
  • Pete Wenk and Jennifer Lang's MT-14
  Click here to see a great set of photos by Jennifer Lang.

• March 3, 2001:

  Carey Boney, Carl Hyman, and Rick Tufts travelled to Red Springs on a miserable, rainy day. They had a long, leisurely breakfast at McDonald's restaurant and talked at length on a variety of subjects. After hanging around until 11am, they wisely decided it was not safe to ride in the rain with just one railcar among them. Better luck next time. Thanks to Rick Tufts for this report.

• March 31 - April 1, 2001:
  
  Several ROC members and friends took a trip to Parksley, Maryland this weekend and rode an excursion on the Eastern Shore Railroad. Tom Stallings brought his big A-6, and Carey Boney brought his open M19. Phil rode with Carey. Jennifer and Pete rode with Tom. Saturday was chilly and overcast. Sunday started out sunny but ended up cool and cloudy, but at least it did not rain. The folks in Parksley outdid themselves with great hospitality at the Eastern Shore RR Museum and the Fire House, where we had a wonderful spaghetti dinner on Saturday night. We all enjoyed ourselves and would do this trip again, given the opportunity and a little warmer weather. Cars included:
  • Carey Boney's open M-19, with Phil Gandy
  • Tom Stallings' A-6, with Pete Wenk and Jennifer Lang
  Click here to see a great set of photos thanks to Jennifer Lang.

• April 7-8, 2001:
  
  A large group of ROC members, friends, and family rode this gorgeous weekend at RS&N, on both Saturday and Sunday. It was a perfect weekend for open pop cars. Saturday's cars included:
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19, with Tim Parnell
  Sunday's cars included:
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19, with Jerry Dixon
  • Andy and Nanci Dingsor's open M-19
  • Phil Gandy's open M-19, with Don Weimann
  • Rick and Linda Tufts' impeccably restored open M-19, on a shakedown cruise
  • Tom Stallings' S-2
  Carey Boney met the group mid-afternoon at Lumber Bridge sans railcar, and we chatted for a while. Prospective hobbyists Eric Jolly and his father David, from Statesville, NC, met us at Parkton at lunchtime. They enjoyed riding with Tom and Hollis. We hope to see them again. Click here for some miscellaneous photos on Sunday.

• April 21, 2001:

  A large group of ROCers with five railcars enjoyed a beautiful day at RSN, and cut lots of brush and trees back along the right-of-way. Ed Kimball, Strawberry Plains, TN, enjoyed his first ride at RSN. Cars included:

  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • Hollis Batchelor's open M-19
  • Carey Boney's open M-19
  • Ed Kimball's M-19-AA (twin cylinder)
  • Phil Gandy's open M-19
  Riders and visitors included Tom Stallings, Tim Parnell, Bobby Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Will Weaver (Carey's nephew), Nancy Gandy and their dog Millie, and Pete Wenk. Thanks to Tom Stallings for this report.

  May 5th is the centennial celebration for the town of Parkton. It also is the next regularly scheduled ROC ride day. Watch for plans on how we may help contribute to and participate in the celebration.

• May 5, 2001:

  The town of Parkton, NC, celebrated its centennial anniversary today. Founded in 1901, the town owes much of its early growth to its location on mainline of the former Atlantic Coast Line, now CSX. To emphasize its railroad heritage, town fathers invited ROC members to participate in the celebration. Thanks to this invitation, we were able to introduce many individuals to the motorcar hobby. Most younger folks had never seen such vehicles, and we told their story many times throughout the day. Hopefully we recruited some new local members. Cars included:

  • Earl Barber's S-2
  • Hollis Batchelor's M-19
  • Hugh Cain's MT-14
  • Andy Dingsor's M-19
  • Tom Stallings' A-6
  Also present were ROCers Jennifer Lang and Pete Wenk, Nanci Dingsor, Nancy and Phil Gandy, and Linda and Rick Tufts.

• May 6, 2001:

  Hollis Batchelor, Tim Parnell, and another organizer of the centennial celebration rode on Hollis' M-19 today from Red Springs to Parkton.

• May 19, 2001:

  Today was a light day on the RSN, with just one car riding. Hollis Batchelor took his M-19 out, and carried Thomas Ammons and his grandson as guests. When they were in Parkton, they stopped in to see Tim Parnell painting his railcar.

• June 16, 2001:

  Today was another light day at the RSN, with just two cars running, Hollis Batchelor's M-19, and Andy Dingsor's M-19. Andy blew a head gasket halfway through the second lap and Hollis had to tow him back.