2025 Western Pacific – Rio Grande Railroad Historical Convention Joint Convention Sacramento, CA

Featuring…

• Historic and Modeling Clinics
• Vendors and Special Guests
• Archive and Photo Exhibits
• Fundraising Prize Raffle
• Buffet Banquet Saturday Nigh
• Saturday night Banquet Speakers: RGMHS President Jeff Pierce and FRRS President Greg Elems

Convention schedule is available as a downloadable PDF file (rev. F 8/20/25): HERE!

Can’t attend in person?
The 2025 Convention presentations will be available in an online virtual format presented by TSG Multimedia.
Virtual convention registration cost is $25 per person.

Detailed information and mail-in registration HERE!

Update 7/30/25: Delta King fully booked for Saturday, Sept 13

Update 8/27/25: CSRM Shop Tour is fully booked. If interested, please check at the registration desk in the Stanford Building when you arrive to see if there has been a cancellation and if you can get on the tour.

Convention update 8/31/25 – The banquet deadline has been extended. The banquet and pre-registration reduced fare of $70 convention registration is extended until midnight Sept 7. Then the banquet registration will be closed and convention price goes up.

Online registration HERE!

The RGMHS convention information page is HERE!

2025 Layout Tours

Dave Houston
Southern Pacific Rocklin Sub
The "Rocklin Subdivision" layout features a double deck design with reverse loop staging yards at both ends. Soundtraxx Tsunami sound decoders fill the room with realistic prime movers and SP light packages. The layout was designed both for operations and long passenger trains. The impressive passenger terminal is home to many western name trains. Focuses on the transition era. Dave's layout was featured in NMRA Magazine December 2010.

Tom Weissgerber
Union Pacific Columbia River Gorge
Operations designed layout that models the Union Pacific between Portland Oregon and Nampa Idaho in the 1950’s during the steam to diesel transition. Western and Eastern destinations are represented by staging yards. The railroad mostly has Union Pacific branded equipment with the exception of some Southern Pacific and Great Northern interchange traffic.

Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society
Club Layout
Large model railroad display that depicts the 1950’s Sacramento area from the Oakland Bay Area up to Keddie and Crescent Mills in the Feather River Canyon. Western Pacific and Southern Pacific, plus an HOn3 layout.

Roseville Roundhouse Model Railroad Association
Club Layout
Our Club moved to new premises in 2019 and starting building 2 new layouts, one HO and one N scale. The HO layout is 50ft by 25ft and is based on Northern California. It has 2 main lines (in a loop) and the tracks go up and down 4 peninsulas. The scenery extends from a city scene, a railroad yard to a country central valley area where there are industries. The layout is in the process of being completed and current work is being focused on a lumber town, lumber area and deep sided valley based on the Sierra foothills. A further industry area is based on a town higher in the Sierras and the final peninsular has a mining area projected using HOn3 track. All track has been laid and we are currently doing monthly Ops sessions. The time era for the layout is mid 50s through 1970. The N layout is 15ft by 12ft and is again based on Northern California. The era is mid 70s and is in a U shaped configuration with 2 levels, the upper one is accessed by a complex mountain line that hangs to the side of a mountain. The layout encompasses a harbor area, a yard, the mountain area and, on the upper level, a lumber processing area. Both layouts are under DCC control with the N layout being switchable to DC. In addition, the club has a switching layout 12ft by 1 ft. All will be operating for the convention layout tour. Both layouts have a home road name of Western Sierra.

Bill Burg
Sacramento Northern Beltline
The "Belt Line" models Sacramento Northern, and, to a limited extent, Central California Traction, operations in Sacramento, CA, circa 1940-1950 on an industrial belt line with yards, interchanges, and industries. Scale: HO. Control: DCC. Motive power: Electric traction, freight and passenger, and some small diesel-electrics. Dimensions: 9'6"x23', U-shaped around-the-room shelf layout, main line is approx 55 feet. Minimum radius 15" main line, 12" industries. Operation is by wheel report and switch list, emphasizing industrial switching and interchange with steam railroads (Southern Pacific and Western Pacific). Layout is about 2/3 completed, with 1/3 under construction or planned for future expansion. For those who have toured this layout at its old location prior to 2020, it has been moved to a new location and reconfigured for the space.

Richard Pashley
Donner Pass
Models the Southern Pacific Railroad from Roseville to Sparks. A large purpose built building houses dual mainline with current of traffic right hand running over the Sierra mountains via Donner pass. Hidden stage represents Ogden/Oakland east beyond Sparks and west of Roseville. Many large and finely detailed bridges set in finished mountain scenery. A large arch bridge is a walk-under to the center area of the layout. The backside of the layout has an elevated walkway to allow operators to visit the “high line” towns of Emigrant Gap, Blue Canyon, and the Norden interchange. Mainline traffic is intense and fully signaled.

Bill Gilbert
Western Pacific Railroad’s Third Subdivision
The layout models the Feather River Canyon from Oroville to Portola, as well as the High Line from Keddie to Bieber. Branches include the Feather River Railway and the Quincy Railroad. All eras of the Western Pacific are modeled, from steam to diesel. The layout is a mushroom design on three levels, occupying 900 square feet. Benchwork, track, wiring, and lighting are complete, and trains are running under Digital Command Control. Scenery is under construction.