“Celebrating the Western Pacific Family”
September 16 - 18, 2021 - Thursday, Friday, Saturday
PLUS special Sunday events at the
Western Pacific Railroad Museum - Portola
Due to very low registration, and the COVID-19 issues and related public health conditions, the 2021 WP Convention scheduled for September 17,18 and 19, in Reno, NV. has been postponed. The FRRS Board of Directors has made the decision to postpone the 2021 convention and move it into 2022. Currently the plan is to use the same location in Reno for the convention in April 2022 (tentatively). The dates have not been set yet, as we need to discuss dates with the venue.

All payments for the convention will be refunded. We are currently working on getting those payments identified and PayPal payments will be refunded into the PayPal accounts. All other payments are being sent to the FRRS bookkeeper for a refund check.

People who have made reservations with the hotel MUST contact the hotel directly to cancel their room reservations.

Those of you that have volunteered to do presentations, we hope that you will be able to volunteer for the convention next year and help us with providing our members with your presentations. Others that have volunteered to help out with the convention, we hope that you will consider helping next year. We are in the process of rescheduling all of the events and tours that were scheduled for this year's convention.

Should you have any questions, please email them to: convention@wplives.org

This page will be updated as information becomes available.

Featuring…

• Historic and Modeling Clinics
• Archive and Photo Exhibits
• Rare Films from the Virgil Staff Collection
• Fundraising Prize Raffle
• Vendors and Special Guests
• Model Railroad Tours
• Saturday Night Banquet Speaker: former WP trainman Tom Hervey

Saturday Night Banquet Speaker: former WP trainman Tom Hervey

Our Saturday Night Banquet Speaker, Tom Hervey, plans to share his first week on the WP and the B & L Local. He will tell us about the Reno Local when it originated out of Portola and then some experiences leading up to the UP merger and aiding of the City of Portola in helping to secure the property for the FRRS in their early years.

Thomas K. Hervey began his railroad career in Los Angeles in 1964 when he hired on as a switchman for the Southern Pacific. In 1971, he came to Northern California and hired out for the Western Pacific as a conductor and trainman working out of Portola. He would remain through the merger and retire from the Union Pacific in 2007.

While living in Portola, he was elected to the city council as a write-in candidate in 1978, becoming Mayor Pro Tem in 1979. Following the city election in 1980, he became Mayor and served in that position until 1984. Mr. Hervey was Mayor when the FRRS was formed and he signed the initial lease for the Portola Diesel Facility on behalf of the city of Portola, allowing the creation of the Portola (now Western Pacific) Railroad Museum. The city held the lease on the property in those first few years until the FRRS had established itself.

From 2007 to 2017, he worked for the California PUC Rail Operations and Safety Branch, retiring as an Associate Transportation Operations Supervisor. From 1965 until 1967 he also served in the US Army and performed a tour of duty in South Vietnam.

Mr. Hervey is a long time member and supporter of the FRRS and we are honored that he has agreed to be our special guest speaker for the 2021 Convention.

Presentations include:

• Western Pacific MOW Equipment
• History of WP’s Plumas County Branches
• The WP in World War II
• UP Centennials on the WP
• Wrecks and Derailments
• and more!

More information will be posted here as it becomes confirmed.