NMRA - National Model Railroad Association

10/02/2026

A message from our friends in the NMRA Sunshine Region:

The Sunshine Region’s Iron Horse Convention will take place in Ocala, FL from October 15th to 18th. Two important deadlines are approaching quickly!

If you plan to attend the convention banquet, you must complete your registration by October 5th.

The deadline for standard convention registration is October 10th.

The banquet will include a meal with friends, awards, a raffle, and a featured speaker from the Amtrak Police Department discussing the role and history of railroad police departments.

The Sunshine Region has lined up an excellent schedule of clinics and events. The convention will also feature operating model railroads, including Orlando NTRAK and T-TRAK.

Check out the Sunshine Region’s website for more information or to register:

NMRA Sunshine Region is the Florida organization that delivers model railroading information, clinics and fellowship to all model railroading fans regardless of scale

09/29/2026

Congratulations to our friends at White River Productions, Railfan & Railroad Magazine, and Railroad Model Craftsman Magazine on expanding their monthly page counts.

It's great to see continued investment in publishing for the railfan and model railroad communities.

As a hobby, we're fortunate to have so many great publishers producing excellent journalism each month.

EXTRA! EXTRA! White River Productions adds pages to its two flagship publications, Railfan & Railroad Magazine and Railroad Model Craftsman!

Thanks to growing support from subscribers and advertisers, White River Productions has announced two of the hobby’s leading monthly magazines are getting even bigger. Beginning with the June issue, Railroad Model Craftsman increased to 108 pages on a permanent basis. For the November, December, and January issues, RMC will grow to 116 pages to make room for even more modeling content during the busy winter holiday season. Sister publication Railfan & Railroad will increase to 92 pages beginning with the January 2027 issue. Best of all, these added pages come with no increase in cover price.

The additional pages will allow both magazines to present more of the in-depth features, outstanding photography, timely news, and regular departments readers look forward to each month. The larger issues provide greater flexibility to showcase new contributors, broaden subject coverage, and give deserving stories the space they need. The expansion also reflects strong support from across the railroad enthusiast and model railroad industries. Advertisers increasingly recognize RMC and R&R as trusted places to reach active, engaged audiences, while readers are responding to the depth, variety, and quality of the content in each issue. Together, that growing support is helping both magazines deliver even more value each month.

White River Productions continues its investment in high-quality print magazines and the communities they serve. Strong reader loyalty, growing subscriptions, and increased advertiser participation have made it possible to deliver more content while maintaining current cover prices and subscription rates. Get on board and enjoy these great publications delivered to your door each month! https://shop.whiteriverproductions.com/pages/magazines

09/29/2026

We're under 40 days to Trainfest - we can't wait to see you in Milwaukee for layouts, vendors, manufacturers, and most importantly - fellowship.

Mark your calendars for Trainfest 2026!

We’re heading back to Milwaukee on November 7 and 8 for a full weekend of model railroading, incredible layouts, industry-leading manufacturers, exhibitors, great deals and plenty of fun for the whole family.

Trainfest will take over more than 170,000 square feet at the newly renovated Baird Center, giving you plenty of room to explore everything the show has to offer.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration, adding to your collection, checking out new products or just love trains, make plans to join us!

Trainfest 2026
November 7 & 8
9 AM to 4 PM
Baird Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Get your tickets and start planning your visit:
https://www.eventcreate.com/e/trainfest-2026-reg

We’ll see you at Trainfest!

09/24/2026

We’re excited to announce that the October issue of the NMRA Magazine is now available for our members!

In this issue, Master Model Railroader John Campbell, MD, walks through his process of scratchbuilding a McKeen Motor Car, a unique gas-powered rail car first built in 1905. A predecessor to the RDCs many of us recognize from the transition era, the McKeen cars had a distinct pointed “bow” and streamlined appearance.

Even if the McKeen car is outside your modeling era or interest, John’s step-by-step approach of scratchbuilding the car is a fascinating look at what’s possible in the hobby.

Follow along as John builds the car from the ground up with styrene, basswood, brass parts, and an NWSL motor, then brings it to life with modern electronics and sound.

It’s the kind of article that makes you want to get back to the workbench and build something.

We hope you enjoy the entire October issue!

The NMRA Magazine is included with membership. To read the magazine, visit: https://www.nmra.org/nmra-digital-magazine

09/14/2026

There are fewer than 60 days until Trainfest, and we cannot wait to see so many of you in Milwaukee.

Trainfest is a destination train show: a gathering of retailers, manufacturers, and our NMRA partners from around the country.

Every year, it's full of new announcements from manufacturers - the excitement is palpable!

Be sure to follow National Train Show for updates as the event gets closer.

For more information or to buy tickets, check out the event page:
https://www.eventcreate.com/e/trainfest-2026-reg

We can't wait to see you in November!

Trainfest 2026 is coming to Milwaukee!

We’re excited to share the current list of vendors who have signed up to be part of Trainfest 2026!

From model train manufacturers and retailers to specialty companies, historical societies, scenery, electronics, custom models, and more, there will be plenty to explore.

And this is just the beginning. More vendors will be added as Trainfest approaches.

The Baird Center | Milwaukee, WI
November 7–8, 2026
9 AM–4 PM

Take a look at the flyer to see who will be joining us so far, and start planning your Trainfest weekend!

Who are you looking forward to seeing?

09/02/2026

Fall is coming, and that means train show season is around the corner.

Did you know that the NMRA maintains a calendar of model railroading events?

September: 11 events
October: 20 events
November: 22 events

You can check out the calendar here:
https://www.nmra.org/calendar

Do you have an event to promote? Email [email protected] to submit your events for the calendar.

08/31/2026

Earlier this month, the NMRA’s National Convention welcomed 1,430 attendees for a week of clinics, layout tours, operating sessions, and fellowship.

The week concluded with the 2026 National Train Show, which brought over 10,000 visitors through the doors of the Chattanooga Convention Center to see operating layouts, manufacturers and their new products, and buy locomotives, rolling stock, and equipment in all scales.

Several vendors even told us that sales at the National Train Show rivaled a busy Saturday at Springfield!

A sincere thank you to the friends, volunteers, exhibitors, manufacturers, presenters, members, and visitors for coming together to create a special moment for the hobby.

At the NMRA, we’re proud to help bring the model railroading community together - and as train show season approaches, we’re already looking forward to what comes next.

08/30/2026

Have y'all seen the new America 250 Collection recently announced by ScaleTrains? HO and N-scale locomotives, and they even have ornaments for some of the locomotives to grace your Christmas tree! Click through the attached post for the Cincinnati Scenic Railway's No. 1776 (EMD GP30)

👇VIEW ALL THEIR PATRIOTIC LOCOMOTIVES AT THIS LINK 👇
https://bit.ly/America250collection

Next up, we're happy to announce that Cincinnati Scenic Railway GP30 No. 1776 is coming to the Rivet Counter lineup in both HO and N Scale!

Decorated in its real-world red, white, and blue America250® paint scheme, this patriotic GP30 is the perfect way to bring the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary right to your layout.

Click the following links to preorder your models of CSR 1776 No. today!
HO Scale: https://ow.ly/C86950ZGnYB
N Scale: https://ow.ly/yyoT50ZGnYC

©2026 USSC. The America250® word mark and logo are trademarks of the USSC.

08/07/2026

NMRA President Gordy Robinson MMR is currently a guest at the Japanese High School Model Rail Contest, and today August 7th addressed the young people and their teachers.

"​You already know how incredible real trains are. What we do at the NMRA is take that passion for railways and bring it to life in miniature!

​The NMRA is a global community of model rail enthusiasts, creators, and builders. We teach our members how to construct hyper-realistic scale railroad layouts & models complete with scenery, track, electronics, and working signals.

Beyond building models, the NMRA sets the technical standards used around the world so that model trains made by different manufacturers can run seamlessly on the exact same tracks.

​Model railways are a fantastic way to learn about real-world technology and design skills while sharing a hobby with people across the globe. Thank you for having me as your guest!"

08/02/2026

A Big Thank you to the sponsors of our record breaking T-Trak layout Kato USA, Inc. Midwest Model Railroad and ScaleTrains. The National Train Show T-Trak Breakfast