NMRA Mid-Eastern Region Convention Discount registration extended

October 4-7, in Rockville, Maryland, is the Mid-Eastern Region NMRA 2018 Co nvention, Crossroads of the MER.

Breaking News If you haven?t reserved your seat yet here is why you should. We ar e extending the deadline for early registration. Sign up by September 13th and you will get the discounted early bird registration fee of only $55. Cl ick here to jump to convention registration. In addition, you can still get a great hotel room rate of $114 a night at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville.

Room rates at 4 star hotels around the area average $200 a night for the same weekend . Our negotiated rate is far below the market price and includes free parki ng in their garage.

Clinics Clinics chairman Marty McGuirk, a former Model Railroader editor has lined up three tracks of clinics. Visit

Clinics.html to review the updated clinic schedule.

Civil War Railroads - Noted model railroad author Bernard Kempinski builds displays for museums and models Civil War trains. He will explain how to us e modern techniques like laser cutting and 3D printing to build his railroa d set in the 1860?s.

Model Railroading as Art - Lance Mindheim is a custom layout builder that h as shared his ?unbelievably? realistic CSX Downtown Miami s pur in many Model Railroader articles. He will surprise you as he describes model railroading as a form of ?art?. Each enhancement tha t he discusses will further improve the masterpiece that each of us is buil ding.

Changing Prototypes - Local modeler and long time MR contributor Paul Dolko s was well known for his New England railroad. Then he declared the railroa d done, found a buyer and changed his prototype to Baltimore urban. Paul wi ll explain how he made the transition, including all the trials and tribula tions.

Lehigh Valley RR?s First Steel Auto Boxcars - Prototype modeler Chu ck Davis details the history of 1,000 boxcars ordered by the LV and the man y modifications. He has published more than 20 articles in MRC and was feat ured in Great Model Railroads 2015.

And more clinics - Speed ballasting, C/MRI, Background sounds, Small Space Model Railroading, Large backdrops, Layout Design and so many more . . .

Home Layout Visits Need some new ideas for your layout? There are over 30 great model railroad layout tours scheduled in the DC/Maryland/Virginia region that you can vis it and learn some new techniques from the owners. See

to check out the layouts. The home layouts have been grouped to minimize your drive time.

Friday morning, Monroe Stewart will open his Hooch Junction, one of the lar gest N scale home railroads in the country. His modeling of a large mine, t ree covered hills and the huge port is something to be seen.

Friday afternoon, Jane and Pete Clarke welcome convention registrants to th eir East Broad Top RR, featured in 2016 Great Model Railroads. This realist ic prototype railroad models actual towns along the EBT, a must see.

Banquet Want to meet and greet other model railroaders? Then the Saturday evening b anquet at the host Hilton hotel is just the ticket! See

for banquet information. Here is a chance f or you have a great meal and socialize with fellow model railroaders from a round the region.

Our keynote banquet speaker is Lou Sassi, a professional model railroad pho tographer. You have seen his images in many publications. He has been build ing his On30 Sandy River and Rangeley RR for ten years. Lou speaks on the E volution of Photography from 1978 to today?s best digital technique s. We can all learn something from Lou. In addition, he will be presenting two clinics during the convention.

Model Contests Do you have a car, locomotive or structure that you want to have judged? Br ing your models to the model contest and find out where you are in you mode ling skills. For contest information see

formation/Contests.html. There will be a large modular railroad layout, com prised of modules from three different local railroad clubs, on display for your view and enjoyment. While you are visiting the modular layout, you co uld try your skill at solving the Timesaver switching module puzzle and see how your operating skills stack up against other railroaders in attendance .

Chance to win a cab ride On Saturday, October 6, you can take a guided tour of the Walkersville Sout hern Scenic Railroad (WSRR) a ex-Pennsylvania RR branch line in Walkersvill e, Maryland. Information,

tml. There you can see restored vintage freight cars, cabooses, diesel swit chers and passenger cars, along with some in the restoration process. After visiting the yard, you will be able to take a 70-minute train ride in cla ssic P-54 passenger cars and (weather permitting) open air flatcars with se ating. And if that's not enough, two lucky tour MER participants, selected at random, will have the opportunity to ride in the cab with the engineer!

The MER Local for September/October 2018 will have more details, but you ca n go to the convention website

to register , sign up for operating sessions, and access a link to our $114 rates at th e Rockville Hilton, our convention venue. Make sure to select the WSRR tou r extra if you want to be eligible for the cab ride!

Four Fun Packed Days in October ? More than 30 model railroad home layouts to visit ? Three concurrent clinic presentations over the four days ? Socializing at the banquet and learning from Lou Sassi about mode l railroad photography ? Modular railroads, model contests, great door prizes and a white elephant room ? Op sessions still available at two local model railroads until so ld out ? Great chance to visit DC sites with the Metro running right behin d our hotel ? Easy to use on line registration at Click here ? And four star Rockville Hilton rooms at a low $114 a night click here

BOOK BY SEPTEMBER 13 to get the special rate!

There's plenty of room for you, but the convention is just a few weeks away . Take advantage of the extended deadline to get the early registration ra te. We'd love to have you on board!