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In This Issue
September Calendar
Amherst Open House - September 27
ARS Member Picnic - September 13
Belt Lines @ Boxboro - October 4&5
Kids ON TRACK - recap
Train Day - on the Graham Central Railroad
Amherst 2025 Grant Awards
Railroad Hobby Show update - Hotels
Upcoming Shows & Events
| | Amherst Open House - September 27 | | |
On Saturday, September 27, we are inviting everyone to visit the Amherst Railway Society. Come see all the things we are doing - from garden railroad to basement railroad to the Kids ON TRACK program.
Live Steam Northeast will be running G-scale live steam trains outside and there will be special presentations on the Railroad Hobby Show, the Amherst Bell Lines, and the Kids ON TRACK program.
The Amherst Railway Society is located at:
1130 South Main Street
Palmer, Massachusetts 01069
| | Amherst Member Picnic - September 13 | | |
The annual picnic for Amherst members and families will be held on Saturday, September 13 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on our property in Palmer, Massachusetts. We often say we work together, we play together. Well, this is a day to play together.
The picnic is a great opportunity to see the progress we’ve made on our garden railroad and our HO-scale basement railroad. G-scale trains will be running in the garden railroad, the HO-scale Kids ON TRACK modular railroad will be running, and we will have plenty of picnic foods and drinks.
The picnic is also a big Thank You to everyone in the organization that contributes time and effort to our success. The Amherst Railway Society is recognized throughout the country as one of the premier railroad hobby organizations. And that recognition is the direct result of the skills, experience, and energy of our members.
The Amherst picnic is open to all active Amherst Railway Society members and their immediate family members.
| | Belt Lines @ Boxboro - October 4&5 | | |
The Amherst Belt Lines kicks off the 2025-2026 show season at RailFair 2025 in Boxborough, Massachusetts on October 4 & 5. This is a fun show with some good sized model railroads and many model railroad vendors.
The Belt Lines crew will set up the railroad on Friday, October 3.
If you would like to participate in this show, contact the Belt Lines coordinators at: AmherstBeltLines@amherstrail.org.
RailFair 2025 is sponsored by the Nashua Valley Railroad Association.
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WOW - What a weekend!!
Kids ON TRACK returned to Springfield Union Station on August 2 & 3 with operating model railroads in the main concourse and CTrail roundtrip train rides between Springfield and Hartford both days.
180 kids, parents, and grandparents rode the train on Saturday. Then, Channel 22 ran coverage of the event on the Saturday eventing news and again on Sunday morning. 255 more riders showed up for the Sunday train ride.
| | Train Day - on the Graham Central | | |
And another WOW train day.
Amherst and Graham Central Railroad teamed up to provide a fun train day on Saturday, August 9 - 7 ¼ inch (gauge) train rides, Maggie the Railroad Clown, live music, and a Farmer’s Market.
All at the completely refurbished New Haven station in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
| | Amherst 2025 Grant Awards | | |
The Amherst Railway Society’s Grant Program is funded with proceeds from the annual Railroad Hobby Show. Since 1991, Amherst has donated $845,052 to protect and maintain historic railroad artifacts. For 2025, $15,800 was awarded to the following organizations:
- New Tracks Mentoring
- Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
- Midwest Railway Preservation Society
- New Hampshire Garden Railway Society
- Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum
- Manchester Model Railroad Association
- The Raymond Historical Society
- Contoocook Railway Museum
- Hawkeye Model Railroad
- The Danbury Railway Museum
- New England Electric Railway Historical Society
| | Railroad Hobby Show - update - Hotels | | |
Once again we are getting calls from exhibitors with questions about hotel rates for the 2026 Railroad Hobby Show. The calls are the result of promotions exhibitors are receiving promising discounted hotel pricing.
While most of these promotions are from legitimate organizations, the hotel rates they are offering are NOT the lower discounted rates that Amherst has negotiated with Springfield area hotels. The only place to find the lowest hotel rates for the January show is on the Railroad Hobby Show website - HERE.
If you have questions about hotel accommodations for the 2026 show, please contact John Sacerdote at: showdirector@amherstrail.org.
We will help you.
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September 5 – 7, 2025
New Haven Railroad Convention
New London, CT
nhrhta.org
September 10 – 13, 2025
Great Falls at the Oxford County Fair
Oxford, ME
greatfallsmodelrrclub.org
September 11 – 14, 2025
NMRA Northeastern Region Convention
Courtyard Marriott, Concord, NH
conventions.nernmra.org/home/home-2025
September 13, 2025
Central Vermont Railway Historical
Stafford Springs, CT
cvrhs.com
September 21, 2025
Old Colony Train Show
Taunton, Massachusetts
https://www.oldcolonyrailroadclub.com
September 21 – 27, 2025
Great Falls at the Cumberland Fair
Cumberland, ME
greatfallsmodelrrclub.org
More Shows and Events
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September 21 – 27, 2025
Maine 3Railers at the Cumberland Fair
Cumberland, ME
cumberlandfair.com
September 21 – 27, 2025
470 Railroad Club at the Cumberland Fair
Cumberland, ME
cumberlandfair.com
September 26-28, and October 3-5, 2025
Pumpkin Patch Trolley
Kennebunkport, ME
trolleymuseum.org
September 27, 2025
Southern New England Model Railroad Show
Gardner, Massachusetts
nagjr@comcast.net
September 28, 2025
Wilcox High School Railroad Hobby Show
Meriden, CT
wilcox.studentcouncil@cttech.org, 203-848-9683
| | Bachman Trains is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society | | Rapido is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society | | Scale Trains is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society | | |
Spring Creek Model Trains is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society
| | Trainz.com is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society | | Virtual Railfan is an Allied Member of the Amherst Railway Society | | The Eight & Sand newsletter is a regular publication of the Amherst Railway Society. To submit information for publication, contact Gregory Maas at: webmaster@amherstrail.org. | | |
Amherst Railway Society
1130 South Main Street
Palmer, Massachusetts 01069
The Amherst Railway Society is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation
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