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Last Call for 4D Spring Meet, Saturday May 31, 2025

If you haven’t registered yet for the 4D NMRA Spring Meet, this is your last chance. Register by downloading and filling out the PDF file below and send to bkenworthy4@comcast.net.

Cost:  $40 per person, payable at the Snoqualmie Depot on May 31st.  Includes train rides to/from the Snoqualmie Depot to the museum, lunch and museum admission.

Attendees must be NMRA members.  You may attend the 4D PNR Annual Meeting in person during the Spring Meet.

Parking at the Northwest Railway Museum is extremely limited and will not be available to Spring Meet attendees.  Please plan to park near the Snoqualmie Depot.  There is a significant amount of parking available near the depot and interesting train exhibits to view.  If you need accessibility assistance, please contact Bob Kenworthy at bkenworthy4@comcast.net.

TIMETABLE

7:30 to 8:15 am       Check-in at the Snoqualmie Depot.
8:30 to 9:00 am       Train ride from Snoqualmie Depot to Northwest Railway Museum (NRM).

9:10 to 9:55 am       Clinic Session 1
1A – Shop Tour – Meet at the Yellow Bollards at the Railroad Crossing – Presented by NRM staff and volunteers.
1B – Clinic in Conference Room in Railway History Center – “Layout Design with CAD:  How?  Why?” – Presented by Robin Peel.
1C – Clinic in Train Shed Foyer in Train Shed Exhibit Hall – “Building Bench Work with Extruded Aluminum” – Presented by Magnus Christerson.

10:05 to 10:50 am    Clinic Session 2
2A – Shop Tour – Meet at the Yellow Bollards at the Railroad Crossing – Presented by NRM staff and volunteers.
2B – Clinic in Conference Room in Railway History Center – “Operating Sessions for Beginners” – Presented by Bob Stafford.  Attendees are invited to sign up for a First Timers Operating Session at the Boeing Engineers MRC layout on Sat., June 14th.
2C – Clinic in Train Shed Foyer in Train Shed Exhibit Hall – “Using AI in Model Railroading – An Example” – Presented by Kurt Laidlaw.
2D – Clinic in Trains Shed Exhibit Hall – “O Scale Layout Progress Report” – Presented by NRM staff and volunteers.

11:00 to 11:45 pm   Clinic Session 3
3A – Shop Tour – Meet at the Yellow Bollards at the Railroad Crossing – Presented by NRM staff and volunteers.
3B – Clinic in Conference Room in Railway History Center – “Using JMRI for Operations on an On30 Modular Club Layout” – Presented by Rich Blake.
3C – Clinic in Train Shed Foyer in Train Shed Exhibit Hall – “I’d Build an Open Pit Mine If I Only Had More Room – a Mirror and Woodland Scenics to the Rescue” – Presented by Greg Wright.

11:45 to 12:40 pm   Lunch and Annual Meeting.
12:40 to 1:00 pm     Roundhouse Exhibit Gallery Presentation – NRM staff.
1:00 to 1:20 pm       2027 NMRA National Convention in Tacoma Presentation.
1:30 to 2:00 pm       Train ride from NRM to Snoqualmie Depot.
2:00 to 3:00 pm       Travel Time to Layout Open Houses.

3:00 to 5:00 pm       Layout Open Houses.
Greg Amer’s BNSF The Industrial Lead (modern era, HO)
Russ Segner’s Coal Creek Lumber Company (1930, Sn3)
3:30 to 5:00 pm       Larry Sloan’s South Olympic Branch (1970’s, HO)

2025 Spring Meet Details

By Bob Kenworthy

Cost:  $40 per person, payable at the North Bend Depot on May 31st.  Includes train rides to/from the North Bend Depot to the museum, lunch and museum admission.

Attendees must be NMRA members.  You may attend the 4D PNR Annual Meeting in person during the Spring Meet or by Zoom.  A Zoom link will be sent prior to the annual meeting.

Please Note:  Parking at the Northwest Railway Museum is extremely limited and will not be available to Spring Meet attendees.  Please plan to park near the North Bend Depot.  There is a significant amount of parking available on the south side of the depot and some parking available on the north side of the depot.  If you need accessibility assistance, please contact Bob Kenworthy at bkenworthy4@comcast.net.

Mark your calendar now and plan to attend. Get the registration form here.

TIMETABLE

7:30 to 8:15 amCheck-in at the Snoqualmie Depot
8:30 to 9:00 amTrain ride from Depot to Northwest Railway Museum (NRM)
9:10 to 9:55 amClinic Session 1 – Shop Tour and 2 Clinics
10:05 to 10:50 amClinic Session 2 – Shop Tour, NRM Layout Presentation, and 2 Clinics
11:00 to 11:45 pmClinic Session 3 – Shop Tour and 2 Clinics
11:45 to 12:40 pmLunch and Annual Meeting
12:40 to 1:00 pmRoundhouse Exhibit Gallery Presentation
1:00 to 1:20 pm2027 NMRA National Convention Presentation
1:30 to 2:00 pmTrain ride from NRM to North Bend Depot
2:00 to 3:00 pmTravel Time to Layout Open Houses
3:00 to 5:00 pmLayout Open Houses

2024 Spring Meet Report

By Bill Messecar, Photos By John Thompson

Weeks of planning between two 4D Board members, Kurt Laidlaw and Bob Kenworthy and the staff at the NW Railroad Museum near Snoqualmie culminated in a day 4D attendees won’t forget. It started with a train ride from the old NP depot at North Bend to the museum in beautiful spring weather. We divided into groups to attend a clinic given by Greg Wright MMR, a tour of the museum Lionel and HO layouts and a behind the scenes visit to the museum restoration shop where we saw several engines/carts being restored. The museum staff also discussed their archives of equipment blueprints and drawings. There were two more opportunities for a layout or shop visit or attend Burr Stewart’s enjoyable clinics on videography of his layout and sage advice on achieving your goals in layout building. Burr has his own YouTube channel so you can check out those great videos.

At noon we then took a 30-minute lunch break to enjoy drinks and a delicious box lunch. Bill Messecar 4D Superintendent led the 4D Annual Meeting where he introduced the 4D Superintendent elect Mike Stepner as well as the current 4D BOD members. After the meeting we had a chance to explore the many museum exhibits and then boarded our train for the return journey to North Bend. To complete a great day of Model Railroading we had the opportunity to see four excellent layouts in the area.

If you were not able to make the spring meet this year—be sure to attend in 2025. It’s a great opportunity to meet local modelers and have a train filled day. This sort of event is one of the many benefits offered for your NMRA membership. Hope to see you next year.

Bill
4D Superintendent

Spring Meet Registrations Status Update

By Kurt Laidlaw

Confirmed registrations for the Spring Meet on Jun 8th:

Kurt Laidlaw
David Falconer
Michael Donnelly
GregPrice
Dennis Terpstra
EDwin Ives
David Yadock
William Messecar
Dave Enger
Thomas Keyes
Bob Rorabaugh
Russ Segner
Scott Buckley
Greg Wright
Nolan Deardorf
James Younkins
Gregg Arndt
Cole Van Gerpen
Dan Kellogg
Joel Scott
Kimberly Ford
Bob
Robin Peel
Byron Osborn
Bob Kenworthy
Dave Thompson
Lee Marsh
ROBERT BRUCE LOVE
Burr Stewart
George Chambers
scott wiesemann
syd Schofield
John Thompson
Mike stepner
Mark Malmkar
Paul Rising
Bob Staffolrd
Bud Thompson

If you think you have registered for the Spring Meet and don’t see your name, please re-register. There is still plenty of time to register, but most of the shop tour slots have been filled There are only 10 slots left. Now is the time to pull the trigger and register.

For the full schedule and registration details visit the Spring Meet page.

Kurt

Register Today For The June 8 Spring Meet

By Bob Kenworthy

There are still spots available for the 4th Division’s 2024 Spring Meet on June 8th, 2024.  Event Address:  North Bend Depot, 205 E McClellan St, North Bend, WA 98045. Register today!

There is NO parking available at the Northwest Railway Museum.  Registration begins 7:30 AM.  Our special train to the museum leaves at 8:30 AM.

The following link will connect you to the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfu2EpuEj0Te-YxzWX5KiT02uvC8uey41cSfjT7skO4rfPPTQ/viewform?embedded=true

For the full schedule and details visit the Spring Meet page.

Bob

Register Now For 2024 Spring Meet

By Bob Kenworthy

There are still spots available for the 4th Division’s 2024 Spring Meet on June 8th, 2024.  Event Address:  North Bend Depot, 205 E McClellan St, North Bend, WA 98045. Register today!

There is NO parking available at the Northwest Railway Museum.  Registration begins 7:30 AM.  Our special train to the museum leaves at 8:30 AM.

The following link will connect you to the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfu2EpuEj0Te-YxzWX5KiT02uvC8uey41cSfjT7skO4rfPPTQ/viewform?embedded=true

The schedule will be:
7:30 to 8:30 am – Registration at the North Bend Depot
8:30 to 9:00 am – Train Ride from North Bend to Museum
9:00 to 9:10 am – Gathering Time
9:10 to 10:00 am – Clinics:

  • 1A – Shop Tour (maximum 12 people)
  • 1B – Clinic in Conference Room, topic TBA
  • 1C – Clinic in Foyer, topic TBA

10:10 to 11:00 am – Clinics:

  • 2A – Shop Tour (maximum 12 people)
  • 2B – Clinic in Conference Room, topic TBA
  • 2C – Introduction to Museum Archives (maximum 10 people)
  • 2D  – New O27 Layout at Museum

11:10 to 12:00 noon – Clinics:

  • 3A – Shop Tour (maximum 12 people)
  • 3B – Clinic in Conference Room, topic TBA
  • 3C – Introduction to Museum Archives (maximum 10 people)

12:00 to 1:00 pm – Lunch and Annual Meeting
1:00 to 1:30 pm – Free Time at the Museum
1:30 to 2:00 pm – Return Train Ride to North Bend
2:00 to 3:00 pm – Travel Time to Layout Open Houses
3:00 to 5:00 pm – Layout Open Houses

Attendance is limited to the first 80 people who register.  Attendees must be NMRA members.  You may attend the 4D PNR Annual Meeting in person during the Spring Meet or by Zoom.  A Zoom link will be sent prior to the annual meeting.

Please Note:  Parking at the Northwest Railway Museum is extremely limited and will not be available to Spring Meet attendees.  Please plan to park near the North Bend Depot.  There is a significant amount of parking available on the south side of the depot and some parking available on the north side of the depot.  The train ride and museum are ADA accessible.  If you need accessibility assistance, please mark the appropriate box when you register.

2024 Spring Meet Set For June 8th

By Bob Kenworthy

The 4th Division’s 2024 Spring Meet will be held June 8th, 2024.  The Spring Meet will be held at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, WA.

The schedule will be:
7:30 to 8:30 am – Registration at the North Bend Depot
8:30 to 9:00 am – Train Ride from North Bend to Museum
9:00 to 9:10 am – Gathering Time
9:10 to 10:00 am – Clinics 1 and 2
10:10 to 11:00 am – Clinics 3 and 4
11:10 to 12:00 noon – Clinics 5 and 6
12:00 to 1:00 pm – Lunch and Annual Meeting
1:00 to 1:30 pm – Free Time at the Museum
1:30 to 2:00 pm – Return Train Ride to North Bend
2:00 to 3:00 pm – Travel Time
3:00 to 5:00 pm – Layout Open Houses

Additional information will follow as plans are finalized.  Mark your calendar now and plan to attend.

PCR 2024 Convention Early Bird Registration

By Russ Segner

The great Early Bird convention rate will expire on January 15th, register now to not miss this offer. The 2024 PCR Convention will be hosted by the Coast Division at the Sonesta San Jose Hotel from April 24-28, 2024. The Sonesta is ideally located for great layout tours, prototype visits, and other activities. The hotel has great convention facilities, enabling a vendor and swap meet.

Register Now

To encourage members to register early, we are offering two prizes in a give-away drawing for all in-person attendees registered by January 15th. Register now so you do not miss out!

Early Bird Give-Away

All PCR 2024 attendees that have registered by midnight on January15th will be eligible for a drawing for two great prizes.
Prize 1 – Free Upgrade to a Sonesta Suite for up to 4 Nights
This prize will let the winner upgrade their room from the normal $139/night hotel room to a suite. This will be valid for up to four ($) nights during the convention. Win and you can not only sleep in style, but have a party with your friends in your suite!
Prize 2 – $50 Gift Certificate
This prize is a $50 gift certificate that can be used to purchase any item in in the Vendor, Swap Meet or PCR Consignment Depot. The prize will be in the form of 10 – $5 certificates that can be used with any of the vendors or swap meet sellers.

Russ

Call for Clinicians – Surrey Excursion 2024 PNR Convention

By Bill Messecar

Hello members of the 4th Division—my name is William Messecar the Superintendent of 4D, and I am planning to attend the 2024 PNR convention next year in Surrey, BC.

The PNR convention Surrey Excursion 2024 is the annual convention of the Pacific Northwest Region of the NMRA.  This year the 7th Division of the PNR is hosting the convention in lieu of the Railway Modelers Meet of BC.  The Convention will take place May 22nd to 26th, 2024 and will have clinics, layout tours, operating sessions, displays and much more.

2024 Surrey Excursion PNR Convention

The 7th Division is looking for clinicians as speakers at next year’s convention. Marc Simpson is the Clinic Coordinator for the upcoming 2024 Surrey Excursion PNR Regional Convention.  They have had an excellent response to their request for clinicians, however they wanted to spread the word that they are looking for clinicians for the program. They are looking for a broad range of topics that will appeal to convention attendees.  Whether you are an experienced presenter or a new clinician, it doesn’t matter.  All you need is an interesting topic that clinicians are interested in sharing with others.

In addition to the regular clinics, we are looking for people interested in presenting a tabletop clinic. This is a shorter time frame, more hands-on type of presentation for those who don’t want to prepare a full clinic presentation. Any assistance in making the Surrey Excursion clinic program a “can’t miss” event is greatly appreciated.  If you have any questions, please contact Marc Simpson, his contact information is listed below.  

Marc Simpson
surreyexcursionclinics@gmail.com
Surrey Excursion Clinic Coordinator

Bill