Schedule of Presentations

Registration Form and Map of Venue

Drury Inn & Suites, Marion, Il

2025 Joint MPHS, BRHS, and CEIHS Convention in Marion, Illinois

Mark your calendars for our 2025 Joint Convention with the Burlington Route Historical Society (BRHS) and Chicago & Eastern Illinois Historical Socieyt (CEIHS) in Marion, Illinois, October 9-11 at the Drury Inn & Suites.

The latest information may be found on the BRHS site by clicking the button below.

We will update this event as more details become available.

Convention Hotel reservations may be made by clicking the button below.

Visit us at our pop-up sale!

Visit us at our pop-up sale!

Visit us at out pop-up sale!

You are invited !!

To What? The 1st Missouri Pacific Mini-meet

Where? Abilene, Texas

When? April 26,27

Why Abilene? The Grace Museum is located across the street from the Texas and Pacific Depot and houses the Don Watson Texas and Pacific collection. Mr. Watson published the book From Ox teams to Eagles in 1978 on the history of the T&P. His collection contains a multitude of items and a wonderful collection of steam engine photos. The Grace Museum has meeting space for us to use and we will hear from 10 speakers over Friday afternoon and Saturday morning on Texas and Pacific and Missouri Pacific topics. We have also arranged to have two model railroad layout tours on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

The Grace Museum has free parking on the west side which is great since the streets around are metered.

Hotel Information

The hotels that are listed have blocked off 10 rooms at each location. Important to note—— these rooms will only be held until March 26th which is 30 days before we have meet. Yes that is only 7 days from now. If you have already books at these locations and want these rates please call and have them change the rate before the 27th. Please tell them you are with the Missouri Pacific Historical Society.

  • The Doubletree by Hilton $169.00 base rate plus taxes etc. this is the closest to the Grace Museum.
  • The Courtyard by Marriott $121.00 base rate plus taxes etc. This one is close to the Abilene mall and about 10 minutes away.

We will try to begin at 12:00 Friday so it would be nice to be little early to register and pay your $5 dollars.

Currently lined up for Friday starting at noon

  • Grace museum presentation- Erica Parker
  • Tom Stamey : Tom will talk on the stepladder of change from steam to diesel on the T&P
  • Tom Stephens: Tom will talk on the change from steam to diesel on the MoPac
    NOTE: The T&P most of time saw things a little different than the MoPac. The T&P thought steam could last and be just as efficient as diesel.
  • Corrender Taylor: Corrender will give a presentation on Abilene and Southern engine #20 (2-8-2)
  • Ed Chapman: Ed will present a presentation on the MoPac in the Brazos Valley area. This will be his slides from the 1970’s in south central Texas.
  • Dusty Garrison: Dusty will present “Heaven on Wheels” . The history of railroad Chapel cars.

Evening on your own or as groups to dine out. The Abilene Model Railroad Club and Ken Riediger will open their layouts to us.

  • Saturday morning starting at 8:30
  • Jerry Michaels: Jerry will give a presentation on new caboose material found after the publication of his Missouri Pacific Cabooses
  • Jim Ogden: Jim will give a presentation on Mail Trains ofTexas (T&P and MP mail trains)
  • Steve Goen: Steve will present on The Cisco and Northwestern. Steve will also present on T&P freight and passenger operations at Gordon Texas.
  • Bill Sims: Bill will give a presentation on Hallmark’s Texas and Pacific brass steam engines imported by Bobby Halls hobby shop in Dallas.

Please tell me more

In addition to the T&P depot two T&P freight houses are with-in two blocks which we will visit. Downtown Abilene is very nice with the many hotels nearby. Bring a lawn chair and we will try to time the parade of freight trains going thru town 200 feet from the museum in a nice grassed unfenced area. If weather cooperates it is real nice.

Cost: $5 dollars.

Who is invited? Invitations are going out to the current listing of MPHS members living in Texas but bring your friends as everyone is welcome!

Questions: Patrick Pritchett, email JPP999321@gmail.com, phone 806-777-1549

We have a variety of presentations with encouraged question and answers so we all can learn and maybe find out new pieces of knowledge. In addition to these presentations I am sure you will enjoy meeting some special people I have invited to attend. Much of this knowledge is being lost every year and it is my hope we can all share a little of what we know.

Venue – Our meeting was held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel which is a Hilton affiliate.

The address is:

1820 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63103

 

SCHEDULE 

Click the links below to view PDF files for the event

Basic Schedule

Ladies Program

Registration Flyer 

Train Ride Route Map

CONVENTION SHIRTS
 Limited Edition T-Shirt All Sizes – $25.00 (Ordering closed)

ACTIVITIES
 

Thursday, October 7
Attendance limited to 24 people! All Day Bus Tour

Metro East Industries, Inc. – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Metro East Industries is an industry leader company that provides railcar and locomotive repair and maintenance, both in the shop and on the rail, for many class 1 railroads and regional carriers. They have been in existence over three decades. Their state-of-the-art facilities span more than 100 acres of land. We will tour the shops under actual working conditions. A safety meeting will be scheduled before tour starts, usually 5-10 minutes.

Required: Safety goggles – if you have them, bring them. Wear good pair of walking shoes. The facility is NOT ADA accessible in the shop areas. Breaking into smaller groups, tours will visit many interesting areas of the site.

General Rules: No high heels, open toe shoes, no sandals or flip-flops, no weapons, no strollers, no back packs, duffel bags, or cases. Photography allowed outside the shops BUT NO videotaping. Shirts are required. The tour is conducted in a shops’ environment where dust, dirt and noise will be encountered. Dress appropriately.

The bus will stop for lunch at a local restaurant.
Lunch is not included in the cost of the trip.

Gateway Rail Services, Inc. – 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Gateway Rail Services Inc. (GRS) facility encompasses over twenty acres and has more than 29 years experience providing high quality workmanship throughout the North American rail industry. GRS is a full service facility specialized in heavy overhaul and rehabilitation of passenger rail cars, private rail cars, excursion railroads equipment and specialty rail test cars for the FRA and class one railroads. We will tour the rebuild, fabrication and wheel shops under actual working conditions. The company has about 140 retired passenger and baggage cars, with a few from the 1920’s, on its 10 tracks. Most railcars stored are cores for rebuilding. After our shops’ tour, we will be allowed to walk around the cars and take pictures. Attendance limited to 25 people. A safety meeting will be scheduled before tour starts, usually 5-10 minutes.

Required: A Waiver of Liability form will need to be signed. An adult must accompany any minor child. Safety goggles – if you have them, bring them. Use good pair of walking shoes. The facility has limited ADA accessibility with some assistance. It is NOT wheel chair friendly due to gravel and rough ground. Fair amount of walking involved.

General Rules: No high heels, open toe shoes, no sandals or flip-flops, no weapons, no strollers, no back packs, duffel bags, or cases. Photography and videotaping allowed but may be limited in propriety situations. Shirts are required. The tour is conducted in a shops’ environment where dust, dirt and noise will be encountered. Dress appropriately.

Friday October 8
The National Museum of Transportation – 9:00-12:00 AM
The Smithsonian Institution recognizes the National Museum of Transportation as having one of the “largest and best collection of transportation vehicles in the world.” With more than 70 locomotives, automobiles, trucks, a C47-A Transport, operating streetcars. The Museum sits on the former Missouri Pacific right of way, and on the grounds is the historic Barrett tunnel, the first tunnel west of the Mississippi built by the Pacific Railroad in 1851.
The bus tour will include special access to areas not open to the general public, including the Missouri Pacific Eagle Observation car 750, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy “Aleutian”, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #482 “Dubuque” Sleeping Car, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #192 – “Silver Spoon” Dining Car, the Missouri Pacific Barrett Station depot building. A streetcar and the miniature train will be operating.

General Rules: Good walking shoes are recommended. The museum grounds are ADA compliant but the streetcar is NOT. Self-guided tour will visit many interesting areas of the museum. Photography is allowed on the museum grounds, but please do not climb on or pose on the displayed equipment. No weapons. Do not enter closed or barricaded areas. This trip will include a box lunch on the Museum grounds.

TRRA Excursion – 2:00-4:00 PM (Notes on equipment) (Route map)
This rare mileage excursion will depart St. Louis Union Station and travel over a circle route on the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) system using Union Station’s heritage passenger cars. The train will cross the Mississippi River on the MacArthur Bridge, then travel north over TRRA trackage on the Illinois side of the river. The planned route is via the Wiggins Line along the river front. After passing Madison Yard it will cross the Merchants Bridge back to the Missouri side. Enroute it will pass the sites of several former railroad yards, freight houses, produce row, and other interesting railroad sites, as well as many St. Louis landmarks including the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, and the Eads Bridge.

Note: Actual route on the Illinois side of the river may vary due to TRRA traffic levels. Vintage equipment may not be ADA accessible.

Note2: If this trip is unable to run due to operational conditions on the TRRA, or problems with equipment availability at Union Station refunds will be made for the excursion only.

Saturday October 9
Morning and Afternoon

MPHS Business Meeting – Officer Elections
BRHS Business Meeting – Board of Director Elections
Swap Meet
BRHS & MPHS Company Stores will be open

Evening

Happy Hour – Cash Bar
Raffle
Banquet Dinner MPHS & BRHS Members and Spouses
Keynote Speaker – Nick Fry, Curator of the J.W. Barriger Library
Parting Comments – MPHS & BRHS Presidents

Other Weekend Options
Union Station Restaurants
– Station Grille (former Harvey House) Breakfast, Lunch Dinner
– The Grand Hall – drinks & appetizers
– Starbucks – adjacent to Grand Hall
– Soda Fountain – sandwiches/burgers/ice cream
– The Train Shed – lunch, dinner, drinks
– 1894 Café – lunch counter
– Landry’s Seafood House
– Maggie O’Briens – across street – Irish bar/restaurant
– Lombardo’s Trattoria – across street inside Drury

Union Station Attractions
Grand Hall Light Show – free
Fire & Light Show – under train shed – free
· Super Six Pass: $50 per adult / $40 per child (best deal – access to all attractions!)
· Aquarium & Wheel: $35 per adult / $25 per child
· Aquarium: $25 per adult / $18 per child
· Wheel: $15 per adult / $10 per child
· Ropes Course: $15 per adult / $5 per child (under 48 inches)
· Miniature Golf: $10 per adult / $10 per child
· Mirror Maze: $8 per adult / $8 per child
· Carousel: $5 per adult / $5 per child

Venue – Our meeting was held at the Comfort Suites Hotel.

Their address is:

301 Willow Creek Pkwy.
Palestine, TX 75801
Phone: (903) 723-0284
 
A note from the convention team

We hope that you were able to attend this year’s convention. It was a great event.

  • T-shirts – There are a few extras left over. They are listed in the Company Store.
  • Texas State Railroad Excursion – We had a great ride to Rusk and back. And, a good tour of the steam engine shop in Palestine.
  • Group Dinner – We had a good meal, but the restaurant was a little slow and it delayed our Saturday evening program.

SCHEDULE & REGISTRATION

Activity Schedule

Information & Registration Form

 

CONVENTION SHIRTS
You can order using this Link.

HIGHLIGHTED ACTIVITIES
 

Thursday, October 6

 MPHS BOD Meeting – Cancelled, to be held in advance virtually

Friday October 7

 Texas State Railroad Excursion

Saturday October 8

 Membership Meeting

 Swap Meet

2024 Joint MPHS and RGMHS Convention in Pueblo, Colorado

Mark your calendars for our 2024 Joint Convention with the Rio Grande Modeling and Historical Society (RGMHS) in Pueblo, Colorado, at the Pueblo Convention Center on October 10-13, 2024.

The latest information and schedule, as well as hotel and convention registration, may be found on the RGMHS site by clicking the button below.

The Pueblo Railway Museum has added an event for attendees to our joint Convention with the Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society . On Saturday afternoon our attendees can ride a caboose train over former MoPac right of way on a MoPac or Rio Grande caboose. This is an additional $20.00 fare, tickets will be available at the door only.
 

Venue – Our meeting was held at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita.

Their address is:

400 W. Douglas Ave.
Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: (316) 262-5000
 

SCHEDULE & REGISTRATION

Activity Schedule – Click Here

Information & Registration Form – Click Here

 

CONVENTION SHIRTS
The design has been finalized. Here is the link to the order page: T-shirt

HIGHLIGHTED ACTIVITIES
 

Thursday, October 5

 Evening Presentations

Friday October 6

Train ride – Abilene, KS

Evening Presentations

Saturday October 7

Membership Meeting

Swap Meet

Banquet

Keynote Speaker