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Greetings!

▲ The New York Society of Model Engineers are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and their HO and O scale layouts will be featured during NERx.

Photo: Dennis Colucci

Final Night of NERx Tonight: Thursday, March 19

Join us for the last night of NERx, our annual virtual convention, tonight, from 6:30–10:30 PM Eastern Time.

Tonight's program is sponsored by Iowa Scaled Engineering and Scale Sound Systems. Look for the link in the YouTube LIVE feed description to enter the drawing for four $50 gift certificates, two from each of our sponsors.

Also tonight, we have not two, but three great layouts: Chris Adams' HO-scale Valley Local and celebrating their 100th Anniversary in 2026, we will have both the HO and O scale layouts of the New York Society of Model Engineers.

Don't miss the Roundtable Discussion on Immersive Technology.

And, there are two interesting clinics: "Coal, Cod and Cash" by Steve Erickson and "Barcodes for the Chaotic Modeler" by Jeff Faust.

Sprinkled in between all of these fun activities will be Tips 'n Tricks and the Model Showcase.

The schedule, information on all of the activities and our sponsors, how to enter the drawings, and where to watch NERx tonight are included in the email below.

So find a cozy spot in front of your screen, pour yourself a beverage, set some munchies beside you, and watch NERx!

And don't forget to ask your questions in the YouTube chat!

Enter the Nightly Drawings for Gift Vouchers during NERx!

This year, each night of NERx is being generously sponsored by different hobby companies. Each of our sponsors have donated two $50USD gift vouchers, for use in a nightly drawing. Most nights have two sponsor, too!

During NERx, review the description of the LIVE feed on the YouTube channel. The description will contain a link for that evening's drawing. Click on the link to enter the drawing. Each night will have a different link, so you must enter each night's drawing separately.

Entries for the drawing will be open during the NERx live stream until 9:30 PM Eastern. Each night, the drawing will be held at 10 PM, when the winners will be announced.

Tonight's sponsors are:

Founded by two engineers with an interest in electronics and railroading (model and the real thing), Iowa Scaled Engineering designs and manufactures a variety of "useful widgets", focusing on both the makers and tinkerers of the world as well as model railroaders.

Innovative products such as the ProtoThrottle, Squealer, Motorman and much more have revolutionized the immersive nature of technology in model railroading.

See their full line of products by visiting iascaled.com

Scale Sound Systems is a leading provider of drop in speaker systems that emit unparalleled, realistic sounds for your locomotives from early steam to modern diesels regardless decoder used.

They also offer a wide range of LED Conversion Kits, Decoders and 3D Printed Detail Parts to enhance your model train realism.

Learn why are quickly becoming a leader in immersive technology and soundly visiting their website at scalesoundsystems.com

Subscribe to the NER Coupler for a Chance to Win a Bar Mills Gift Card

During NERx, subscribe or resubscribe to the NER Coupler, the NMRA Northeastern Region's magazine, and be automatically entered into a drawing for your chance to win a $100 gift card from Bar Mills. Just scan the QR code in the advertisement above or click on:

https://nernmra.knack.com/coupler-store

Chris Adams' Valley Local

Chris Adams' HO scale Valley Local is based on the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad line that ran along the Connecticut River from Old Saybrook CT to Wethersfield CT. Set in the late 1940's, steam power is still prominent on this line.

The Layout is roughly 23' by 26' with an extension for Old Saybrook / New London (staging). It has appeared in Model Railroad Planning 2026 and you can visit his website, thevalleylocal.net.

We wish you could see Chris' gorgeous layout in person, but we are doing the next best thing by featuring it during NERx.

New York Society of Model Engineers

The New York Society of Model Engineers is celebrating their 100th Anniversary in 2026. The group is considered the oldest model railroad focused group in the United States.

The group started in the earliest days of the hobby, 1926 on the 3rd floor of the Knickerbocker Building in Times Square, Manhattan. The group was so early they helped establish O scale standards in the United States. After relocating to several locations the group bought their current building in Carlstadt, NJ in 1956 to prevent yet another forced move.

With around 50 members, the group has two layouts. The O scale layout is named the "Union Connecting". Though much altered over time, it was designed in the 1950's and was once outside third rail and today is 2 rail DC block controlled from a central control center. Recently, the group has started using the Blunami control system to avoid rewiring the entire layout.

The HO scale layout is the "Union, Hoboken, and Overland". This layout has a two track fully signaled mainline with a diverting branchline with many industries. It has a full mainline run of 5 scale miles, has a working hump yard and is DCC controlled and relies on a central dispatcher using radios and signals.

An early NMRA supporter, NYSME is in the Garden State Division and has a website you can visit.

Every year, NERx hosts Roundtable Discussions covering a wide range of topics. These conversations have become a popular part of the NERx program, giving viewers the opportunity to join the discussion and share their thoughts.

Want to participate?

Post your questions in the YouTube chat during the LIVE feed!

Thursday: Immersive Technology

JT Burke of Scale Sound Systems will lead a panel of folks that use technology in various ways to realistically immerse and stimulate both operators and spectators in our model worlds.

This panel made up of JT Burke, Nathan Holmes, David Hyde and Bill Rutherford will discuss realistic deployment of on-board sound, how the ProtoThrottle changes the way we operate out trains and setting moods with layout lighting via JMRI and LCC control. This should prove to be a fascinating discussion in a growing segment of the hobby.

Email Questions for the panel prior to the NERx event to info@nerx.org

Coal, Cod and Cash: Steve Erickson

This clinic tells the story of a railroad that ran from the Gilded Age resort of Newport to Spindle City - Fall River - once home to more than one hundred textile mills. Coal, Cod and Cash explores the Old Colony & Newport Railroad as it followed the shoreline of Aquidneck Island, linking steamships, maritime industries, improbable Rhode Island coal mines, and eventually the United States Navy.

Beginning at Newport's intermodal waterfront terminal - where passengers once boarded trains for Boston - the line served steamship connections, waterfront industries and navel facilities. It was a cash cow for its promoters and financiers, if not always for the railroad itself.

The clinic examines the railroad's history, the industries served and the remarkable structures along the line, including Newport's bizarre station, an ocean-facing roundhouse and there massive coal mine complex at Portsmouth. The railroad still exists - and remains one of New England's strangest success stories.

Steve Erickson is in the Little Rhody Division

Barcodes for the Chaotic Modeler: Jeff Faust

Has your hobby gotten out of control? Having trouble finding that unbuilt kit you bought five years ago, or the car you want to take to the next run night? Maybe barcodes can help!

Jeff Faust talks about how he is using barcodes and spreadsheets to organize his rolling stock collection. In this clinic, he will discuss encoding standards, readers, labels and how to set up an inventory spreadsheet for your model railroad items.

Jeff Faust is a member of the Lakeshores Division

There is only one option for watching NERx live on the internet: YouTube. Use the link below to go to the NMRA YouTube channel and keep refreshing the page until you see the LIVE stream. Just as the train is sometimes late to the station, if you do not see that the live stream has started, please hit refresh until the train arrives.

NMRA YouTube channel

There is no cost to attend the virtual event. Instead, we are asking for donations to support NER programs such as the NERx Virtual Convention.

To make a donation of $10, $20, $50 or any other amount, please click on the "Donate" button. As a non-profit, any financial assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Visit the NERx Website!

NERx has its own website that will be updated as information becomes available with the schedule, descriptions, and photos of clinics, layout tours, and models. The website also has links to the videos of the prior NERx events and will have links to the live streams on the days of the event.

What is the website? NERx.org, of course! The website will keep changing as details become finalized. So, bookmark it today!

What a great way to show your friends the exciting things occurring in the NMRA.

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If they see what they have been missing in the NMRA and enjoy it, they might join the NMRA!

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