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

The convention has concluded, but photos from the event may be viewed by clicking the button below.

Mark your calendars for our 2025 Joint Convention with the Burlington Route Historical Society (BRHS) and Chicago & Eastern Illinois Historical Society (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.

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

Our 40th Annual Convention was held in Branson, MO on October 8-11, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention was different from past conventions. But, all in attendance had a great time.

This was another meeting held jointly with the Frisco enthusiasts represented by Frisco.org.

Venue – Our meetings were held in the Branson Convention Center located near the former MP depot (now Branson Scenic) in downtown Branson.

Activities – Presentations and the member business meeting were held in the Branson Convention Center which is directly connected to the Hilton Convention Center Hotel. Check out the shedule below for a list of activities.

Schedule – Click here.

Our 39th Annual Convention was held in Fort Smith, AR

October 10-13, 2019

Since Ft. Smith was served by the Frisco as well as the MoPac, we invited Frisco enthusiasts to join with us. There was content appropriate for both roads.

Be sure and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page in order to view all available information.

Convention Hotel

The convention hotel will be the Marriott Courtyard Fort Smith Downtown. We have negotiated a special room rate for attendees which includes a breakfast buffet in the hotel bistro area. It is strongly recommended that you make your hotel reservations as early as possible. Remember that using the convention hotel facility for your lodging helps keep the convention costs low. As a token of our appreciation for using the convention hotel for your lodging, every attendee that rents a room for at least two nights will be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate from the MPHS Company Store.

Hotel Event Summary:

Missouri Pacific Historical Society

Start Date: Thursday, October 10, 2019

End Date: Sunday, October 13, 2019

Last Day to Book: Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Hotel(s) offering your special group rate: Courtyard Fort Smith Downtown for $99 per night

For a PDF version of this map – Click Here

Activities & Schedule

Some of the activities are still in the planning stage. As soon as everything is finalized, a complete schedule will be published. There will be the usual activities including the BOD meeting, membership business meeting, presentations and the swap meet along with some activities specific to Ft. Smith.

Schedule – Click Here for a PDF copy of the current schedule which is subject to change.
Ft. Smith Trolley Musuem – We will visit the trolley museum on Friday morning. There is a trolley stop within two blocks of our hotel. Registered attendees will be able to ride the trolley, without additional cost, to and from the museum. The Ft. Smith Trolley Museum website can be viewed HERE.
Arkansas & Missouri Excursion Train – We have secured a group rate for a trip on the train from Van Buren to Winslow and return on Friday. Lunch will be included. We will depart from and return to the depot in Van Buren. This is a change from the initial posting due to flood damage in the Ft. Smith area. Group transportation from the hotel to the depot and return has been arranged for an additional cost ($15 or less, per person) which will be collected at the event. The A&M has reserved one or more coaches for our group depending on the number of participants. For more information and to purchase tickets – Click Here. To visit the A&M passenger train website – Click Here.
Swap Meet – A limited number of tables will be available for the Saturday afternoon swap meet. the reservation link can be found HERE.
Presentations – Our keynote speaker on Saturday evening will be Mike Sypult. Mike’s presentation will center around the history of the MP and Frisco in Ft. Smith. Other presenters are being lined up. If you are interested in making a presentation, please contact us at this email address: [email protected].
Saturday Evening Banquet – Details can be found on the Company Store listing – Click Here.
Golf – This year, we are offering the opportunity to play a round or two of golf. Contact Curt Whiteamire for more information; phone number (956) 763-9674, email address [email protected].

There are lots of areas of interest within walking distance of the hotel in downtown Ft. Smith. We are working on a lineup of non-rail activities for spouses and other family members. Some will be group activities and others will be “on your own.” Some locations of interest are shown on this map.

For a PDF version of this map – Click Here

Commemorative T-Shirt.

Our vendor created the following images for our shirts. A special thanks goes to Keith Robinson for suggesting the basic design.

Our 38th annual convention was held inAustin, TX on October 4-7, 2018.

The convention hotel was the Drury Inn & Suites Austin North.

Our activities, this year, included a charter train trip on the property of the Austin Steam Train Association. During this event, we had an opportunity to inspect some former MoPac rolling stock which included passenger equipment and a caboose. Following the train trip, we will had an opportunity to tour the Georgetown Railroad faclities which are located nearby.

We had all of the usual events including presentations, business meeting, swap meet and model display.

Registration information: Click Here

Hotel information: Click Here

Convention Flyer: Click Here

Charter Train Ride: Click Here

Convention T-Shirt: Click Here

Activity Schedule: Click Here

Note from the President:

I made a “reconnaissance” trip to Austin during the second weekend of March. I am happy to report that all looks very good. The hotel facility is quite nice and has been recently renovated. I was quite pleased with the quality of my room. As we have pointed out, elsewhere, the free breakfast, and the evening drink and food offering (5:30 Kickback) are good values and help offset the cost of your room. Please use the reservation link above or ask for the MPHS rate when you call to make your reservation. The cost of our meeting space is significantly reduced if you reserve your room as part of the MPHS block of room nights. Due to traffic conditions and other factors, I highly recommend that you use the Drury Inn for your stay. You may find a different facility with a cheaper rate, but I think you will find the frustration of getting back and forth not to be worth the financial savings.

I visited the Austin Steam Train Site in Cedar Park and I was very impressed by their operation. Negotiations for the charter train trip should be completed by the end of April. Once finalized, additional details will be posted on this page. Our train will consist of seven to eight cars and will be pulled by a GP40 in a quasi MoPac paint scheme. I toured all of the cars and they are all nicely restored. Our trip will take us to Burnet and back with a stop at the depot in Bertram. This is on an active railroad that sees both freight and commuter operations with a maximum speed of 40 mph. This is about as close as you can get to real railroading on a tourist type operation. The trip will begin on Friday morning with a return to Cedar Park in the early afternoon. A box lunch will be offered as an extra fair amenity. This is a must do activity. Make your plans, now.

We are still seeking some individuals that are interested in making a presentation. This year’s schedule will have a reduced number of presentation slots due to the train trip and other activities. So, get your name in the hat real soon. If your are interested, contact me, ASAP, at [email protected].

For you T-Shirt fans, we will have a special shirt created for this event. It will feature a reference to the I-GN which was the predecessor road to MP’s operation in Austin. A listing will be posted just as soon as the design is finalized.

Austin is a very popular vacation and leisure destination. There will be plenty of activities for spouses in addition to the train ride. Additional information will be coming very soon. I strongly suggest that you get your work schedule adjusted and your hotel reservation made very soon.

I hope to see you at Austin in October.

Kevin

This was our 37th annual convention.

It was held in Mt. Vernon, IL on October 5-8, 2017.

Here are the original details.

Mount Vernon served as a southern Illinois center for manufacturing and agriculture. It was a connection point between four railroads, the C&EI’s Salem Subdivision, the MoPac’s Pinckneyville Subdivision, the Southern’s Louisville to St. Louis main line, and the L&N’s St. Louis to Evansville main line.

This event will be joint with the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Historical Society.

The MPHS invites the C&EIHS members to attend and celebrate our shared history and heritage. We hope to strengthen existing ties between our two societies and establish new friendships.

Check out these messages from MPHS officers and managers. – Click Here

Current Overview:

This years convention will continue the tradition of being a four-day event. Various admission packages will be offered. All members coming to this event are encouraged to attend Thursday through Sunday morning.

Check out the links below for details. Over the next couple of months we will post the details of the individual meeting days on this website and in The Eagle magazine. Check back often, as more information will be added as the date draws nearer.

The first activity is the Fall MPHS Board of Directors meeting on Thursday afternoon. This meeting is open to any interested member of the MPHS. Thursday evening’s activities include presentations and a “Meet & Greet” social event for all attendees. Refreshments will be provided.

Friday’s events include a driving tour to Marion, IL, the annual MPHS members meeting during the afternoon and various presentations during the late afternoon and evening.

Saturday starts with presentations in the morning and there will be the usual swap meet in the afternoon. There will be a catered banquet meal and key note speaker on Saturday evening. This year’s speaker is Woody Sutton, a former MoPac officer with ties to this portion of the railroad. The banquet is an extra fare item requiring an advance registration. Also, attending the banquet will be required in order to hear the key note speaker’s presentation. Get signed up, today.

Sunday’s activities will include a trip to view the former C&EI/MP yard at Salem, IL which is currently operated by Union Pacific. The UP1982 should be aailable for viewing, also. Transportation will be provided and, as such, will be an extra fare item.

More Detail:

Presentations are always the core of our meetings. This year we have lined up some excellent presentations:

• Tom Austin (MPHS): Joppa Subdivision (C&EI Operations Post-MoPac)
• Brian Banna (MPHS): MP/C&EI GP35s
• George Bogatiuk (SoundTraxx): Customizing Tsu2 Decoders for MoPac Diesel Operations
• Ed Bridges (CO&E Railroad): The Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad
• David Forbes (C&EIHS): C&EI Equipment — Hopper Cars
• Blaine Hadfield (ExactRail): ExactRail MoPac/C&EI Equipment offerings
• Jerry Michels (MPHS): The Coal Belt Electric
• Craig Ross (Bluford Shops): “I’d buy five!” — How Model Manufacturers Decide What to Make
• Rick Schroder (C&EIHS): The MoPac Arrives in Danville on the C&EI
• Norbert Shacklette (MPHS): Working in Mt. Vernon Area, a Railroader’s Perspective

There will be a time for displaying your MoPac and C&EI-related models. This will be similar to RPM meets wherein modelers display their models, whether finished or not, and share with others the knowledge and skills learned while working on these models. Please bring your models and show others what you have been doing.

For those members bringing their spouses, we are working on several local attractions, such as Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, which they can attend during the convention. Please indicate when you make your reservation that you are bringing your spouse and include their name so that we have a good head count for tours, etc. There is no extra convention charge if you bring our spouse — your registration fee covers both of you.

At this years the annual membership meeting there will be elections for the following Board of Director positions; President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Directors 1 and 2. These positions are available to anyone who is a current MPHS member. If you are interested in becoming more involved with the MPHS or want more information on any of these roles, please contact [email protected].

Convention Flyer (PDF): Click Here

Venue: Drury Inn & Suites, 145 N 44th St, Mt Vernon, IL 62864

Keynote Speaker on Saturday evening: Woody Sutton – Read biography

Current Schedule

The 36th annual convention was held in Jefferson City, MO; October 6-9, 2016. A great time was had by all.

Convention T-Shirt

The shirts are still available. Follow this link for details: T-Shirt Details

Click Here for Current Schedule

Click Here for Layout Tour Information

Click Here for Spouse Activity Schedule

Sponsors

The following sponsors have contributed money or merchandise to help support our convention. Please show your appreciation by purchasing their products whenever possible.

Blair Line – www.blairline.com

InterMountain Railway Co. – www.intermountain-railway.com

Bluford Shops – www.bluford-shops.com

MicroScale Decals – www.microscale.com

Broadway Limited Imports – www.broadway-limited.com

Rix Products – www.rixproducts.com

Chooch Enterprises – www.choochenterprises.com

Micro-Trains Line – www.micro-trains.com

Kadee – www.kadee.com

ExactRail – www.exactrail.com

Xuron Corp. – www.xuron.com

ZONA Tool Company – www.zonatool.net

Micro Engineering Co. – www.microengineering.com

Monroe Models – www.monroemodels.us

Tru-Color Paint – www.trucolorpaint.com

Evergreen Scale Models – www.evergreenscalemodels.com

Details West – www.detailswest.com

Westerfield Models – www.westerfieldmodels.com

Tomar Industries – www.tomarindustries.com

Woodland Scenics – www.woodlandscenics.com

Bethlehem Car Works – www.bethlehemcarworks.com

2025 Joint Convention with BRHS and CEIHS

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

2021 Annual Convention

2022 Annual Convention

2024 Annual Convention

2024 Joint MPHS and RGMHS Convention in Pueblo, Colorado

2023 Annual Convention

2020 Annual Convention

Our 40th Annual Convention was held in Branson, MO on October 8-11, 2020

2019 Annual Convention

Our 39th Annual Convention was held in Fort Smith, AR

October 10-13, 2019

2018 Annual Convention

2017 Annual Convention

2016 Annual Convention

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