Our 41st Annual Convention was held in St. Louis, MO on October 7-10, 2021
It was held jointly with the Burlington Route Historical Society
The timing of the meet coincided with Missouri’s bicentennial and focused on the first two railroads that crossed Missouri.
Venue - Our meeting was held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel which is a Hilton affiliate.
The address is:
SCHEDULE
Click the links below to view PDF files for the event
CONVENTION SHIRTS
Limited Edition T-Shirt All Sizes - $25.00 (Ordering closed)
Thursday, October 7
Attendance limited to 24 people! All Day Bus Tour
Metro East Industries, Inc. – 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Metro East Industries is an industry leader company that provides railcar and locomotive repair and maintenance, both in the shop and on the rail, for many class 1 railroads and regional carriers. They have been in existence over three decades. Their state-of-the-art facilities span more than 100 acres of land. We will tour the shops under actual working conditions. A safety meeting will be scheduled before tour starts, usually 5-10 minutes.
Required: Safety goggles – if you have them, bring them. Wear good pair of walking shoes. The facility is NOT ADA accessible in the shop areas. Breaking into smaller groups, tours will visit many interesting areas of the site.
General Rules: No high heels, open toe shoes, no sandals or flip-flops, no weapons, no strollers, no back packs, duffel bags, or cases. Photography allowed outside the shops BUT NO videotaping. Shirts are required. The tour is conducted in a shops’ environment where dust, dirt and noise will be encountered. Dress appropriately.
The bus will stop for lunch at a local restaurant.
Lunch is not included in the cost of the trip.
Gateway Rail Services, Inc. – 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Gateway Rail Services Inc. (GRS) facility encompasses over twenty acres and has more than 29 years experience providing high quality workmanship throughout the North American rail industry. GRS is a full service facility specialized in heavy overhaul and rehabilitation of passenger rail cars, private rail cars, excursion railroads equipment and specialty rail test cars for the FRA and class one railroads. We will tour the rebuild, fabrication and wheel shops under actual working conditions. The company has about 140 retired passenger and baggage cars, with a few from the 1920’s, on its 10 tracks. Most railcars stored are cores for rebuilding. After our shops’ tour, we will be allowed to walk around the cars and take pictures. Attendance limited to 25 people. A safety meeting will be scheduled before tour starts, usually 5-10 minutes.
Required: A Waiver of Liability form will need to be signed. An adult must accompany any minor child. Safety goggles – if you have them, bring them. Use good pair of walking shoes. The facility has limited ADA accessibility with some assistance. It is NOT wheel chair friendly due to gravel and rough ground. Fair amount of walking involved.
General Rules: No high heels, open toe shoes, no sandals or flip-flops, no weapons, no strollers, no back packs, duffel bags, or cases. Photography and videotaping allowed but may be limited in propriety situations. Shirts are required. The tour is conducted in a shops’ environment where dust, dirt and noise will be encountered. Dress appropriately.
The Smithsonian Institution recognizes the National Museum of Transportation as having one of the “largest and best collection of transportation vehicles in the world.” With more than 70 locomotives, automobiles, trucks, a C47-A Transport, operating streetcars. The Museum sits on the former Missouri Pacific right of way, and on the grounds is the historic Barrett tunnel, the first tunnel west of the Mississippi built by the Pacific Railroad in 1851.
The bus tour will include special access to areas not open to the general public, including the Missouri Pacific Eagle Observation car 750, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy "Aleutian", Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #482 "Dubuque" Sleeping Car, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #192 - "Silver Spoon" Dining Car, the Missouri Pacific Barrett Station depot building. A streetcar and the miniature train will be operating.
General Rules: Good walking shoes are recommended. The museum grounds are ADA compliant but the streetcar is NOT. Self-guided tour will visit many interesting areas of the museum. Photography is allowed on the museum grounds, but please do not climb on or pose on the displayed equipment. No weapons. Do not enter closed or barricaded areas. This trip will include a box lunch on the Museum grounds.
TRRA Excursion – 2:00-4:00 PM (Notes on equipment) (Route map)
This rare mileage excursion will depart St. Louis Union Station and travel over a circle route on the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) system using Union Station’s heritage passenger cars. The train will cross the Mississippi River on the MacArthur Bridge, then travel north over TRRA trackage on the Illinois side of the river. The planned route is via the Wiggins Line along the river front. After passing Madison Yard it will cross the Merchants Bridge back to the Missouri side. Enroute it will pass the sites of several former railroad yards, freight houses, produce row, and other interesting railroad sites, as well as many St. Louis landmarks including the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, and the Eads Bridge.
Note: Actual route on the Illinois side of the river may vary due to TRRA traffic levels. Vintage equipment may not be ADA accessible.
Note2: If this trip is unable to run due to operational conditions on the TRRA, or problems with equipment availability at Union Station refunds will be made for the excursion only.
MPHS Business Meeting - Officer Elections
BRHS Business Meeting - Board of Director Elections
Swap Meet
BRHS & MPHS Company Stores will be open
Evening
Happy Hour - Cash Bar
Raffle
Banquet Dinner MPHS & BRHS Members and Spouses
Keynote Speaker - Nick Fry, Curator of the J.W. Barriger Library
Parting Comments - MPHS & BRHS Presidents
Other Weekend Options
Union Station Restaurants
- Station Grille (former Harvey House) Breakfast, Lunch Dinner
- The Grand Hall – drinks & appetizers
- Starbucks – adjacent to Grand Hall
- Soda Fountain – sandwiches/burgers/ice cream
- The Train Shed – lunch, dinner, drinks
- 1894 Café – lunch counter
- Landry’s Seafood House
- Maggie O’Briens – across street – Irish bar/restaurant
- Lombardo’s Trattoria – across street inside Drury
Union Station Attractions
Grand Hall Light Show - free
Fire & Light Show – under train shed - free
· Super Six Pass: $50 per adult / $40 per child (best deal – access to all attractions!)
· Aquarium & Wheel: $35 per adult / $25 per child
· Aquarium: $25 per adult / $18 per child
· Wheel: $15 per adult / $10 per child
· Ropes Course: $15 per adult / $5 per child (under 48 inches)
· Miniature Golf: $10 per adult / $10 per child
· Mirror Maze: $8 per adult / $8 per child
· Carousel: $5 per adult / $5 per child
