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:

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: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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.