Tag: MER

MER 2027 Convention

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
Convention Chair – Alex Polimeni
Convention Manager –Bob Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

From the Desk of the Superintendent; May 2026

Daniel Mulhearn NMRA, MER, South Mountain Division Superintendent 2025-2027

Our April Division meeting was quite productive as to getting prepared to host the 2027 Mid East Region annual convention.  Alex will be our Convention Chair dealing with liaison to the Region and the world at large as well as assisting The Convention Manager.  Convention Manager will be the nuts and bolts guy and Bob Johnson has stepped up to assume that role.

Division members who can be available for staffing at the convention, host open house sessions and perhaps op sessions at their home layouts and potential clinic presenters need to be identified.  Steve King has volunteered to help with that.  Layout open houses will be spreads over several days.

Pete and Jane Clarke are working with their fellows at the East Broad Top to provide an event at the EBT during the convention.  That event will be a self drive or carpool event.

Andrew Dodge MMR has volunteered to work on our presentation to be given at this fall’s MER Convention promoting our event.  The Regional Convention Committee does a lot of the work involved in planning for the convention, but there is plenty for us to do.

As was mentioned at the April meeting, I am facing some medical issues.  I’ve consulted with caregivers at Penn State Neurology and will probably undergo their recommended Deep Brain Stimulus (DBS) surgery.  This entails two day surgeries and one involving at least an overnight stay.  I’m told the chances of complications or extended “down” time is minimal.  So I am hoping to be an active participant in our Division activities and especially our hosting of the 2027 convention.

2026 / 2027 Officers Election

The only elected positions on the SMD management staff are the Superintendent (president), Clerk (secretary) and Paymaster (treasurer). The officers elected at the April meeting are as follows.

  • Superintendent – Dan Mulhearn
  • Clerk – Jeff Adams
  • Paymaster – Ray Price

Chesapeake Division OpSIG Zoom Clinic

The Chesapeake Division has invited Paul Weis, VP for the Operations Special Interest Group, to discuss the OpSIG’s Achievement Program. It is aimed at recognizing facets of operations important to layouts, and operators looking to improve and develop their skills in the area of operations. He will cover the subject of just what is ‘operations’ as well as what does it take to model them.

Paul’s railroad modeling background includes organizing the building of the Central Vermont, in Northern California layout.  An article about the layout was published in the January 2021 issue of the NMRA Magazine.

Paul’s presentation will be held on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM EST via Zoom. The Chesapeake Division will share the Zoom link, meeting number and passcode as the meeting gets closer.  Please tune in with them, as they welcome Paul to the Mid-Atlantic and learn about the OpSIG operations achievement program.

Topic: OpSIG Achievement Program
Time: Feb 6, 2026 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://jhuapl.zoomgov.com/j/1612841850?pwd=0fMTAkmrpFg59BM9fFsg3LMN6ZTY2P.1
Meeting ID: 161 284 1850
Password: 252702

Travers Stavac, Director, Chesapeake Division
Kirk Bateman, Superintendent, Chesapeake Division

 

From the Desk of the Superintendent, NOV 2025

By Dan Mulhearn

Greetings, fellow model railroad enthusiasts. We are gearing up for the holiday season; and remember November is Model Railroad Month! It’s a good time to recruit new folks, if not to the NMRA, at least to our hobby.

Thank you to Bob Johnson for hosting our October meeting, and the opportunity to inspect his outstanding West Virginia Midland. The meeting was well attended, and there were a couple of questions raised which might be discussed in the newsletter.

First, a home layout is not required in order to host a Division meeting. The only thing you need is the space and the willingness to host. This brings us to the topic of clinics at our meetings. Clinics need not be limited to topics related to model railroading. Most, if not all, of us have at least a passing interest in the prototype we model. Clinics on any of the many facets of the prototype would be fine. This could be history, development of a particular car, locomotive, operation, or your visit to a place of interest.

I was able to attend the recent MER regional convention in King of Prussia, PA. The Philly Division did a wonderful job hosting this convention; more on this later.

I was able to attend clinics on Layout Command Control, a subject which fascinates me. There were also “You can do this” clinics on attaining the AP Certificates for cars and locomotives; at least one of which is required to join the ranks of Master Model Railroader.

To repeat, the Philly Division presented a great convention. It bears mention that the New Jersey Division had committed to hosting the 2025 convention, then determined they were unable to host. This resulted in the Philly Division having only one year to pull the convention together.

Our Division has volunteered to host the 2027 MER Convention. It’s time to get serious about preparing for that event. The Region does a lot of the work involved, but there is plenty of responsibility for us. The Region VP plans on visiting one of our upcoming meetings, and the 2027 Regional is high on his agenda.

See you at the November meeting.

From the Desk of the Superintendent, OCT 2025

By Dan Mulhearn

I was reading recently of some politician, I believe it may have been a vice president who said, “This job is just one dxxx thing after another.” I know the feeling. Thanks to the wonderful physical therapy and occupational therapy staffs here at Quincy Village; I was off the walker and even driving again. Subsequently, on September 11th, myself and two other gentlemen seated at my table tested positive for COVID-19. My apologies for not being able to attend our September gathering. As this is written my quarantine ends tomorrow. Barring some other dxxx thing I look forward to our October meeting as well as the annual MER Convention at King of Prussia, 16-19 October.

Have you downloaded the latest MER newsletter? It updates us on National and Regional happenings. There are also well done articles on such things as decals, structure building and other items of interest. It is well worth your time.

Our Division needs volunteers willing to host a Division Meeting at their home. If that volunteer is you, please reach out to Division staff to put that in motion. We are always interested in what you’ve been up to and enjoying the progress on your model railroad.