Mid- Eastern Region of the NMRA
| DATE |
TOPIC |
CLINICIAN |
| February
21, 2026 |
"Environmental
Sound Modules" |
Jeff
Jordan |
| March
14, 2026 - Note
this clinic will be held at Bryan Kidds home |
"Operational
Signal Usage" |
Bryan
Kidd |
| April
25, 2026
- Note this clinic will be held at Bryan Kidds home |
"Setting
up a signalling system" |
Brian
Kidd |
| DATE |
TOPIC |
CLINICIAN |
| March 15, 2026 |
"History of Narrow Gauge
Railroads Part 5 -Grande Western Railroad from
1940 to the end of Narrow Gauge - East Broad
Top" |
Ed
Koehler |
| April
12, 2026 |
Introduction
to the NMRA Achievement Program |
Alex
Belida, MMR |
| May 17, 2026 | "Golden Spike and AP paperwork" | Greg Cassidy and Martin Brechbiel, MMR |
Did you know that the NMRA has a partnership program where NMRA members can receive discounts as an NMRA member? See the information below:
POTOMAC DIVISION NEWS
MARCH,
2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The
next Board of Directors meeting
will be Tuesday, March 17, 2026,
at 7:30 P.M. The meeting will be
held using the Zoom virtual
platform and can be accessed by clicking here.
THE
POTOMAC DIVISION IS NOW A
CORPORATION IN THE COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA AND HAS BECOME A
501(C)(3) NON PROFIT
ORGANIZATION.
The
Division became a
Virginia state
corporation as of
September 25, 2025 and
has just received news
that it has been
approved as a
501(c)(3) nonprofit by
the IRS. This final
step of a Board of
Director initiative to
becoming a non-profit
organization. The
adhoc committee
consisting of Division
Senior Assistant
Superintendent Greg
Cassidy, Division
Clerk Lee Stoermer,
and Division member
Gary Mason have have
done a significant
amount of work to make
this important status
take place and the
Board of Directors
thanks them for their
efforts and follow
through.
2026
POTOMAC DIVISION ELECTIONS
In accordance with the Division bylaws the 2026 Potomac Division Board of Director positions of Paymaster and Assistant Superintendent are up for election. The nominations committee is Mark Gionet (Chairman), Brian Sheron, and Paul Hutchins. An email from Division will go out on April 1st with information on candidates running for the open BOD positions. Voting will commence on April 12th using eVoting for members with email addresses on file with the Division and mailed ballots to those members who do not have an email on file with the Division. More information on the 2026 Election process can be found by clicking here.
Please
hold the date for our
annual meeting and
meet which will be
held on Saturday,
May 23, 2026.
Tentatively it will be
held at the
Dranesville Community
Center in McLean,
Virginia and will
start at 9:00 AM
(EDT). At this time we
are awaiting
confirmation of the
venue and will post
more information
concerning the meeting
and meet here when it
becomes available.
Due to the Division becoming an corporation and a nonprofit organization our current bylaws need to be updated to align them with article of incorporation. The proposed amendments can be viewed by clicking here. Please review the proposed changes and be prepared to vote on their adoption at our annual meeting on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The 2025 - 2026 Marshall Abrams Award recipient(s) have been determined and will be announced at the Division's Annual meeting and meet on May 23rd. This award was created by the Board of Directors in the Spring of 2021 in honor of the late Marshall Abrams who served the Division in several positions. For more information on the awards process click here.
The
Potomac and James River
Divisions held a joint
meet on Saturday, November
1, 2025 at the Battlefield
Baptist Church. The meet
featured modeler's clinics
and demonstrations, a
modeling contest, and four
open houses. To view a
report on the Joint Meet click
here.
COMING
2026 CONVENTIONS OF INTEREST
The
2026 NMRA National Convention will
be held at the Chattanooga, TN
Convention Center from July
27 to August 2, 2026. Early bird
registration is now open and more
information can be found on this
event by clicking here.
"Tracks
to Tidewater", the 2026 MER
Convention will be held at the
Holiday Inn Virginia Beach -
Norfolk from October 15 to October
18, 2026. Click here for
details.
NMRA ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM REQUIREMENT CLINICS
The
Division is going to provide a
series of both virtual and
in-person clinics on the
requirements of the NMRA
Achievement Program
certificates. This effort is
aimed at providing accurate
information on the requirements
and to provide members an
opportunity to be able to ask
questions they have on the
requirements.
The schedule of these clinics
can be seen by clicking here.
Watch the Flyer and the website
for more information on this
upcoming activity.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS OF THE DIVISION
Please
join the Board of Directors in welcoming new
members to the Potomac Division by reaching
out to them and helping them settle in to
their new Division.
| OCTOBER - 2025 | |
| Nicholas Bulgarino - Dunkirk, MD | |
| NOVEMBER - 2025 | |
| William Hume -
Manassas, VA |
Douglas Noble - Vienna,
VA |
| Robert Gallagher -
Fairfax, VA |
Sandra Gallagher -
Fairfax, VA |
| Ed Loose - Colonial
Beach, VA |
Joseph Rittierodt -
Burke, VA |
| DECEMBER
- 2025 |
|
| Timothy Alder, JR -
Huntington, MD |
Jim Allen - Luray, VA |
| Roy Gabriel -
Gaithersburg, MD |
Clay Hatcher - Round
Hill, VA |
| Robin Roddewig -
Leesburg, VA |
Steve Jackson -
Fairfax, VA |
The
Challenge for the April - May 2026
Flyer will be for INDUSTRIES. These can be as
big as a steel plant or meatpacking
enterprise or as small as a rural
dairy, sawmill, or mine. Submit
anything you consider to be n
industry. Get out your
camera and send along photo or two with a
short description. Send your submissions
to: Potomac-Flyer@potomac-nmra.org.
The deadline for entries
is March 5, 2026.
The
staff of the Potomac Flyer thanks everyone
who submitted "Flatcar" entries for our
previous Challenge.
PRIOR POTOMAC DIVISION CHALLENGES
To see the prior Potomac Division Challenges Click here to see the submissions.
