By now, we imagine that most of you are aware that the South Mountain Division 10 has been tasked with hosting the 2027 Mid Eastern Region (MER) convention. The first problem we faced was finding a suitable venue to stage the convention. The MER provides some fairly specific guidelines for suitable facilities. Unfortunately, for various reasons, none of the venues that we have used in the past are currently available.
After a fairly long search we have decided to utilize the Hilton Garden Inn located in Martinsburg, WV. This facility is very nice but marginal in terms of convention space. It is literally the only suitable location that we have found. The primary issue with the Hilton is the number of convention breakout rooms available. It meets the MER’s minimum requirements but could present challenges.
Dates
Tentative, 2nd or 3rd week of October, 2027 (MER will finalize date)
Schedule
- Thursday, afternoon & evening
- Friday and Saturday, all day
- Sunday, morning plus going home layout tours in afternoon
A complete draft schedule to be drawn up within the coming weeks.
Leadership
Going forward we will need a number of additional volunteers for various positions & committees. As we firm up the draft schedule we will send e-mails detailing open positions.
Immediate Needs
Volunteers (tentative) to host layout tours (schedule, TBD); specially in the Winchester, Martinsburg, and Hagerstown corridor.
In addition, we are asking for the names of non-NMRA members and model railroad clubs who might be willing to be open (schedules are flexible).
Volunteers to host operating sessions (probably Thursday or Friday evening). Again, we will welcome non NMRA members to participate.
Prototype Tours (Friday morning & afternoon)
We have already secured a tour of the East Broad Top. This tour will accommodate approximately 40 individuals. Based on the projected attendance figures from the MER, we will require several additional tour locations within the Winchester, Martinsburg, and Hagerstown corridor that utilize significant rail service and may be amenable to hosting a tour of their facilities. We have identified the following potential locations.
- Carmease Quarry, Clear Brook (Winchester), VA
- Argos Martinsburg (quarry), Martinsburg, WV
- Martin’s Elevator, Inc, Hagerstown, MD
- U.S. Silica (glass sand quarry), Berkley Springs, WV
If you know of any other locations that would amenable to host a rail-oriented tour or you have a contact at one of the locations listed above, please let us know.
We will provide you with regular updates regarding the convention’s progress and actively seek volunteers throughout the summer.
Kindly direct all responses at this time to the convention manager, Bob Johnson, at rcyrilj@aol.com. He will compile the received information and disseminate it to the designated committee chair.
