Eyes on the NER will be Picture Perfect!

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"Eyes on the NER" will be Picture Perfect

Greetings!,

Welcome to the next installment of the "Eyes on the NER" email update. October in New England always promises great color and we will be a short distance from Palmer, Massachusetts, known as the town of seven railroads. Join Mike Tylick on Thursday for an afternoon of railfan photography. While there are no longer seven railroads in Palmer, it is home to the busy CSX Boston Line and two regional carriers, the New England Central and the Mass Central. Keep reading to learn more.

Clinics, clinics, and more clinics

Clinics are always a highlight of every NER Convention and this one will be no different. We will continue our photography theme by learning about how to take better photos of our models and process those raw images into works of art. See below for more details!

Layouts

Layouts are another draw for convention goers. Whether it is visiting a local modeler and seeing what they have done in their basements, or going to a large club layout, we have something for you. See more details below on some of the many layouts that will be open for tours and operating sessions.

Visit the convention website to learn more!

Join us October 15th through 18th as we gather with friends old and new to experience all of the great things the Northeastern Region has to offer.

Our combo packages allow you to get the full convention experience while saving money. Enjoy the Thursday Welcome Reception / Tailgate Party, the Saturday Evening Banquet, the Sunday Morning Awards Breakfast, and full Convention Registration priced at $195 for NMRA members.

The registration price without meals is $95 for NMRA members and food options can be added based on your needs and interest.

Register online by credit card via the Convention Website by clicking here or you can pay by mailing in a check (see the registration page for more details). Register today!

The convention facility in Southbridge is easy to get to, affordable and comfortable. The Wellsworth Hotel and Conference Center offers complimentary parking, an on-site fitness center, an indoor swimming pool, a hot tub, and a business center. The hotel restaurant, Shades Lounge, is a full service restaurant and bar that is open in the evenings. We have a room waiting for you at the convention hotel so be sure to reserve your room today!

Neil Schoefield, Rich Godfrey, Mark Herrick, and Tom Lavalle's operating sessions have been filled, but there are still plenty of opportunities remaining. Register today to make sure you get your top choice before other sessions have left the station.

You can operate on home layouts or some of the largest and best club layouts in the area. Below we are featuring the club layouts that you can operate on. Be sure to see the full lineup on the operating sessions page of our website.

Located in nearby Webster, Massachusetts, the Worcester Model Railroad Club has been building in this 3000 square foot space since 2017. The club, founded in 1946 is one of the oldest on the East Coast. The Worcester Central Lines is a 30' x 45' HO scale layout representing the railroads of Central New England.

Operations originate in the P&W Worcester yard and follows the main line to the port of Providence, Rhode Island, with a secondary branch to Norwich, CT.

Conrail trackage between Worcester and the Palmer interchange is also modeled along with the Central Vermont and Mass Central railroads.

The Nashua Valley Model Railroad Association models the Boston and Maine's Fitchburg Division between Ayer, MA and Mechanicville, NY. The layout is located in Shirley, MA and measures 50' x 50'. You will find many prototype scenes on this layout from the Erving Paper Mill to the famous Hoosac Tunnel. You will also see the recently completed 14.5' model of the B&M's Hudson River Bridge.

The Southern New England Model Railroad Club, located in Gardner, MA features a 40' x 65' O-Scale 2 Rail mushroom style layout.

If you have never operated on an O Scale layout then you will not want to miss this opportunity. Experience the size and power of these 1:48 scale models up close and personal!

The Providence Northern Model Railroad club features a 3600 square foot HO Scale layout with a fully operational CTC signaling system controlled by a dispatcher.

There are numerous through trains and plenty of switching jobs to satisfy all skill levels of operators. This gem of a layout is located in Warwick, RI.

Don't miss your chance to see Chris Adams' Valley Local in person! Chris's layout was featured on this year's NERx Layout tour but nothing beats seeing this masterpiece in person.

Keep reading to see more about Chris' layout and a sampling of other layouts that will be open this year. You will not be disappointed. To see the full list, check out the layout tour page.

Located in Sturbridge, MA, Kyle Leblanc's Boston and Maine / Blackstone Valley layout is a 21' x 14' double-decked layout. Busy city scenes with interchange traffic are nicely off-set by picturesque rural scenes set in the Fall of 1952

The Palmer Railroad is one of two layouts in the home of Dwight Sturtevant. The main layout is a 16' x 24' N scale layout that occupies 3 rooms of the basement and features a complete circus train. The second layout, the New Middletown and Stony Point, is a modular N scale layout that you might have seen at Springfield or other train shows in the area. These layouts are located in Three Rivers, MA, not far from Palmer.

Chris Adams' Valley Line HO scale railroad has recently been featured on the cover of Tony Koester's latest book, Guide to Modeling Branch Lines. This HO scale layout, set in the 1940's models the New Haven's CT Valley Line and includes a section of the busy New Haven Shore Route in Chris' hometown of Old Saybrook, CT. Be sure to check out this layout and many more at this year's Eyes on the NER Convention!

We teased this one at the beginning of the email, but join Mike Tylick, MMR for an afternoon of Railfan Photography in Palmer, MA. Mike will be at the Steaming Tender Restaurant in downtown Palmer from 1:30 pm until 4:30pm on Thursday, October 15th. He has some of his favorite spots lined up to catch the action on the CSX Boston Mainline and the New England Central Railroad Palmer operations. You can stop by anytime and get some tips on how to improve your railroad photography or just hang out track side with friends.

You might also catch an early dinner at the Steaming Tender Restaurant, but don't be late for our opening Welcome Reception / Tailgate Party at the Convention Hotel, starting at 7:30 pm. Palmer is a short 30 minute drive from the hotel.

Click to see the full lineup of clinics for the 2026 NER Convention "Eyes on the NER". There is something that will certainly enhance your modeling experience.

Fay Chin is an N scale T-Trak modeler and will be presenting a clinic on Model Railroad Animation. Fay frequently attends shows throughout New England with his highly detailed and very interesting modules. Learn how he creates all of these interesting animations and maybe add some to your own T-Trak module!

Bill Brown, MMR will be presenting a clinic called Intro to Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements is an inexpensive alternative to Adobe Photoshop that will allow you to enhance your images. Come learn how Bill uses this tool in model railroading applications.

No convention is complete without a train ride and there is nothing better than riding behind Steam! Join your fellow convention goers on this excursion along the Connecticut River on the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat Tour. Essex Steam Train & Riverboat’s 2 1/2-hour train and riverboat journey begins at the historic 1892 Essex Station for a 12-mile, narrated round-trip into the heart of the unspoiled Connecticut River Valley. The steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches through the quintessential New England towns of Deep River and Chester. A natural highlight is the undeveloped Selden Neck State Park, accessible only by boat.

Check out the full list of things to do on the convention website. We are sure there will be something for everyone.

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That's all there is to it!