Tag: convention

From the Desk of the Superintendent

Robert “Bob” Johnson, Superintendent (2022-24)

It is almost hard to believe that spring is only three weeks away. That means that there are only two more SMD meetings, plus the Mini Con remaining in this program year.

I want to thank Richard Benjamin for hosting the February meeting.

Speaking of meetings, come July our new Superintendent will be busy scheduling these for the 2025 – 2026 program year. They will be looking for SMD members to host. If you have not hosted in the past year (or have never hosted) start giving some thought to volunteering. We are always looking for new layouts to visit.

The SMD did not have a summer activity last year, but I would like to try to get something lined up for 2025. I am asking all of you to give some thought as to a possible rail-related activity we could schedule some time in July.

March Meeting:

The March meeting of the South Mountain Division (SMD) will be held on Sunday, 09 March at Jane and Pete Clarke’s home in Damascus, MD. The event officially starts at 2:00 PM with the business meeting starting around 2:45 PM.

Don’t forget that the 9th is the first day of Daylight Savings Time for 2025 so be sure to set your clock ahead an hour Saturday night.

Please email southmountaindiv@gmail.com to obtain the street address.

Upcoming Meetings:

The meeting schedule for the balance of the year is as follows.

  • 05 April (1st Saturday) – Annual Mini Con, Blue Ridge Summit, PA
  • 18 May  (3rd Sunday, to avoid conflict w/Mother’s Day) – Dan Mulhearn has arranged for us to meet at the Quincy Village model railroad layout room.
2025 Mini-Con:

REMINDER: The 2025 SMD Mini Con is just a little over a month away.

The 2025 SMD Mini-Con will be held on Saturday, 05 April at the Blue Ridge Summit fire hall (across from Mainline Hobby Supply).

As always, Grant will need help with registration, event set-up and of course clinicians. Start thinking now about what sort of table clinic you could present at the event and let Grant know so he can add you to the schedule.

Please email southmountaindiv@gmail.com and we will put you in contact with Grant.

2027 MER Convention:

I now have a couple of volunteers to start a search for a location to hold the 2027 MER convention. I am awaiting a status update.

Model Railroad Equipment Sale:

SMD member Don Florwick will be moving in the near future. As a result he will be dismantling his large HO scale layout. He will be holding a sale at his house on Saturday, 15 March. If you are interested in acquiring anything please email southmountaindiv@gmail.com and we will put you in touch with Don.

New Officer Elections:

We will holding our new officer elections for the 2025 – 2026 program year at the March meeting. Current candidates include:

  • Superintendent – Dan Mulhearn
  • Clerk / Paymaster – Ray Price

We are in need of a volunteer to assume the position of Clerk. If you want to volunteer please let me know as soon as you can.

In addition, the new Super will need a number of volunteers to serve in appointed positions (especially a Wheel Report editor). A listing of the primary positions, along with a description of the associated duties, was published in this Wheel Report and on our web site.

Thanks go out to Alex Polimeni for developing this information.

Mini-Con Update

Grant Berry is making good progress with the planning for the 2024 (10th annual) SMD Mini-Con. As usual it will be held at the Blue Ridge Mountain Fire Company’s hall and is co-sponsored by Mainline Hobby Supply. The date for this year’s event is 6 April. It will follow the same format as last year with informal table clinics in the morning followed by a short lunch break (food available on site) and a modeler’s round table session. We will then return for one more round of table clinics before calling it a day. This worked well last year with less drop-off in attendance than we previously experienced when we had formal clinics after lunch. The emphasis on the round table this year will be layout design and operations. We are planning on having individuals from the layout design, operations, and industries SIG’s participating in the round table. In addition, we will have a representative from the NMRA to address the benefits of NMRA membership to the group. We are making a greater effort this year to use the Mini-Con as a vehicle for promoting the SMD and the NMRA in general. Don Florwick is working to place promotional information in the commercial hobby press and on various NMRA sites. There will be a large banner at the Mini-Con promoting the SMD and the NMRA will have a promotional table. Finally, we have updated the SMD brochure and have had 400 copies printed. This will allow  us to give a copy to every individual that registers for the Mini-Con.

Mini Convention; Saturday, 8 April @ Blue Ridge Summit, PA

The 2023 Mini Con is a joint effort of the NMRA South Mountain Division 10 and Mainline Hobby Supply. This annual “clinics day” will be held in the Blue Ridge Mountain Fire Co., 13063 Monterey Ln., Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214, across the road from Mainline Hobby Supply between 9 AM and 3 PM.

Copy work of maps created by Richard Lind for use by the South Mountain Division NMRA.
      • prototype and model presentations
      • formal and informal clinics
      • modular displays
      • interaction with fellow hobbyists
      • 10% discount at Mainline Hobby Supply

There is no admission charge. The venue is wheelchair accessible.

This educational event is open to the public for promotion of the hobby of model railroading.

MER Convention Seeks Clinicians

Greetings,

I am the Convention Clinic Chair for the 2023 Around the Curve to Altoona Convention 2023 Around the Curve to Altoona Convention hosted by our Susquehanna Division 11. I’d like to extend a warm welcome and invitation to each of you and any of your Division members who would like to present a clinic at our 18-22 October Convention. As you know, Altoona was the heart of the Pennsylvania Railroad during the heyday of American railroading. The Convention will provide visits to historic railroad facilities, sites, attractions, and provide educational experiences for all attendees.

For those who have never presented at a regional convention they can earn 4 points toward the Author Achievement Program. This could be their first step in the path to achieving MMR status. We welcome any topic associated with model railroading or prototype railroading that is related to our model railroading hobby.

As currently structured, our clinic program will offer 50+ clinic slots over the four-day convention. A clinic slot is based on a 45-50 minute clinic, 10-15 minutes for Q&A, and 30-minutes for setup, tear down, and break time between clinics. Each of our 3 clinic rooms will have a full audio/visual setup, tables for model displays or other support material, and a convention clinic team member who will introduce the clinician and provide any assistance needed during the presentation.

We sincerely look forward to welcoming you and many of your members to Altoona in October.

Best Regards,

Barry Schmitt

[To contact Barry or others on the Convention committee please visit https://www.mer2023.org/lcc.html, or email the SMD at southmountaindiv@gmail.com, and we will put you in touch. -ed]

Carolina Special, 2022 MER Convention Update

Be sure to register soon as the registration cost goes up on September 1st!  Here are highlights of the latest Convention information.

The website has been updated several times since the last email I sent about this fun event. The 2022 MER convention website is http://www.carolinasouthern.org/MER2022.htmlwhere all the information you need can be found.

The Banquet will be a great meal with an exciting guest speaker, Shane Wilson, President of Scale Trains. Be sure to sign up.

There are Layout Operating Sessions and information on these can be found at:  http://www.carolinasouthern.org/MER2022tours.html

A full clinic schedule, with a broad range of exciting topics, with 4 Make-and-Take clinics of which three of these clinics are conducted in 2 sessions and information can be found at: http://www.carolinasouthern.org/MER2022clinics.html

We have three special tours before and during the convention.

Tour #201 is a pre-convention backstage tour being held at the North Carolina Transportation Museum at 1 Samuel Spencer Drive, Spencer NC.  Don’t worry about checking into the convention hotel until after the museum tour.  The private tour takes place on Thursday, October 20, 2022 starting at 12:30 pm.  Try to be in place at noon.  Information can be found at: http://www.carolinasouthern.org/2022%20Convention/NCTM%20Tour%20Notice-V3.pdf

And a map of the Museum grounds can be found at: http://www.carolinasouthern.org/2022%20Convention/NCTM%20Tour%20Map-r.jpg

After the tour you can visit The Little Choo Choo Shop, the largest model railroad hobby shop in NC across the street from the museum.

Tour #202: The second special tour is the UNIFOUR SPECIAL which includes the Southeast Narrow Gauge and Shortline Museum in Newton, NC and six very nice layouts in the Hickory, NC Metro Area. This is a Friday all-day mini-bus tour and will leave the convention hotel on Friday morning and return about dinnertime. Information on this tour can be found at: http://www.carolinasouthern.org/MER2022unifour.html

Tour #203:  The third special tour is of Lionel Corporation Headquarters. This will be a self-drive tour on Friday, October 21, 2022 starting at 9:30 am at 6301 Performance Drive, Concord, NC.  The Lionel Headquarters is approximately 5 miles from the convention hotel. 

 A Carolina Special Look South in 2022 convention shirt is now available to purchase during early registration.

One Day Registration is now an option.

We will have hand sanitizer in the clinic rooms and masks are welcome if someone feels safer wearing one.

For our friends in the Southeastern Region, a home layout in Greenville SC will be open on Sunday Oct 23 for our SER visitors returning home!