Convention General Information

Convention Staff

Convention staff will be wearing red polo shirts with the convention logo. Volunteers will be wearing stone (i.e., tan) T-shirts with the convention logo. If you have a question, look for a committee member or volunteer and we will do our best to help you or steer you toward someone who can answer your question. Please remember that volunteers may not be familiar with all aspects of the convention. However, without their efforts, this convention would not be possible. Give them your thanks when you have a chance.

Convention Volunteers

Without the support of hundreds of volunteers, a convention like this would be impossible. Thank you all! Volunteers are always needed during the convention. If you would like to volunteer, please check in at the Information Desk.

Convention Badges and Security

Every convention registrant will receive a badge. Your badge must be worn to attend any convention activity including clinics, tours, the contest room, etc. Lost badges must be replaced by the purchase of a new one. A special thank you to Digitrax for providing the badge holders and lanyards.

Convention Hotel

Millennium Hotel St. Louis
200 South 4th Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63102-1896
Phone: 314-241-9500
Fax: 314-241-9977
http://www.millennium-hotels.com/pages/index.cfm?page=home&hotel=stlouis

Facilities

All convention activities except the NMRA Banquet and the National Train Show® will be held in the Millennium Hotel (formerly the Regal Riverfront Hotel). The NMRA Banquet will be held at the Grand Hall of the Hyatt Hotel in Union Station. The National Train Show® will be held at the America’s Center in the TWA Dome.

Food service will be located in the Tour Departure area for your convenience.

A map of the general layout of the hotel convention floor is included on the last page of your Timetable.

Smoking Policy

Smoking is prohibited in all public areas of the hotel, all restaurants and bars, taxicabs and buses, and the Convention Center. If you plan to smoke while attending the convention, you must go outside, preferably beyond the front doors of the hotel. Please refrain from smoking while in private homes during layout tours and while on tour buses.

Age Limits

Except for the Junior College Program, children ages 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times during all convention activities. Any child on a tour will be charged full fare. Teens (ages 13 to 17) can participate in convention activities without adult supervision provided they have written parental permission, which should be submitted when name badges are picked up. Teen badges will be marked to designate those with permission letters.

Registration Desk and Information Area

The Registration and Information Desks are located on the lower level in the central assembly area.

Hours:

One-Day Registrations

One-day registration badges may only be purchased on the day for which they are valid and not in advance. One-day badges will be marked with the date they are valid. No discounts are available for half day or hourly rates.

Shuttle Service

(Expected shuttle continuous service frequency is 20 minutes or less.)

Inter-hotel shuttle service will be provided between the Millennium Hotel (the convention hotel), the Adam’s Mark, Holiday Inn Select, the Marriott Pavilion, Raddison Downtown, and the MetroLink stop at 6th and Washington. The service loop will be expanded to include the Train Show at the Convention Center on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Evening tours will drop off at all convention hotels.

Tour Desk

Ask questions about tours and purchase tickets.

Hours:

St. Louis Area Weather

Last year the San Jose Convention Committee gave attendees a summary of their area’s wide-ranging temperatures and quoted Mark Twain as saying, "The coldest summer I ever spent was one August in San Francisco." Well, Twain grew up just north of St. Louis and spent some time on the Mississippi before cutting out to California, New York and a lot of places in between. He would predict that it will be hot and probably humid. These days we can promise that most inside activities will be air-conditioned, and indoor temperatures may vary from temperate to down-right chilly. For the current forecast, click here.

Schedule Changes and Daily Updates

Activity cancellations and changes can and will occur due to circumstances beyond the control of the Convention Committee. New opportunities may also be added. Watch for schedule changes, additions, and other important announcements in the Convention Daily Updates posted on the Information Kiosk adjacent to the Registration Desk and in other convenient locations. Changes in clinic schedules will also be posted directly adjacent to the clinic rooms.

Message Board

A message board is located near the Registration Desk. It can be used to request or offer rides for self-guided layout tours, leave messages for other registrants, etc. The Convention Committee reserves the right to limit or remove notices posted on the board. No commercial postings will be allowed. Please remove your out-of-date postings. Please do not post messages on the Information Kiosk.

A table will be provided in the general registration area for free information on future events, historical societies, and other items of interest to convention attendees.

Lost and Found

Please take any lost item you find to the Convention Office.

General Tour Information

Planning: A basic tenet of tours is Sign Up Early! Several tours have been sold out, and others required advance reservations to meet provider requirements such as meals or train seats. Check at the Tour Desk for availability. Some seats on full tours may become available if the original purchaser returns a ticket. Check the Bulletin Board in the Tour Departure Area. Please understand it is always possible a tour could be canceled at any time due to circumstances beyond the control of the Convention Committee.

Tickets: All participants on tours must have a valid ticket in possession and must wear a valid convention registration name badge. The tickets are coded by day and show the tour number, name, time, and price. Tickets have been punched at the top and we suggest you use the Gateway 2001 pin you received in your registration packet to affix your ticket to the bottom of your name badge while you are on a tour. Tour guides and hosts will ask to see your ticket whenever you are boarding buses or entering sites or locations. Having it plainly visible will make this much easier on you and others.

Tour Duration: We have done our very best to estimate the start and return times for tours. However, tie-ups on bridges and main arteries are often unpredictable and may delay our buses. For this reason, we recommend you allow at least one hour between the published return from one tour and your departure on the next.

Access: Many of the tour sites have limited handicap access. Most home tours are not wheelchair accessible and the tour buses will not have wheelchair lifts. However, buses can accommodate folding wheelchairs if you can climb on and off the bus.

Restrictions: Please check tours you have selected to be sure they do not contain restrictions you cannot meet. Also, plan to wear appropriate clothing and shoes to fit the nature of the tour you are taking. Some prototype tours will refuse admittance to anyone not meeting clothing restrictions.

Use of Photo, Video, or Recording Devices: Tour hosts can limit the use of recording devices at their discretion. Where we are aware of this limitation, we have included it in the description.

Tour Refund and Exchange Policy

Tickets for most tours may be exchanged or returned for cash until departure time. No refunds or exchanges will be made after June 15, 2001 for tours with meal orders or guarantees. See tour descriptions for details. After that time, the Tour Desk will hold tickets on consignment. If we are unable to sell the ticket, there will be no refund. Departure times are listed for each tour, if you miss the tour bus, there are no refunds.

Tour Payments: Payments for tours can be made by cash, check, travelers check, Convention Voucher or credit card (MC, VISA, or Amex). Your Convention Badge with your registration number will be required at the time of purchase or exchange.

Canceled Tours: If a tour is canceled by the Convention Committee for any reason, a full cash refund will be provided free of any service fee.

Company Store

Location: Jefferson B/C (Sunday through Thursday; Convention Center Friday through Sunday)

Store Hours:

The Company Store will have a wide variety of Convention and NMRA merchandise, including convention cars in five scales, shirts in many styles and sizes, caps, cups and mugs, pins and patches, plus consignment items from NMRA Regions and Divisions, historical societies, and other conventions. Shop early and often!

Convention Cars

Commemorative Convention Cars are transition era reefers. They may be purchased at the Company Store.

The Gateway Division NMRA is also offering a limited run custom HO Scale car for Gary Hoover’s Missouri, Kansas & Quincy. This Accurail single plug door transition-era (1956) 50-foot boxcar is available in two numbers, MKQ 6348 & MKQ 6355. Santa Fe oxide red with yellow plug door. $12 each while supplies last. You can order with our new online order form.

Convention Tote Bags

A special thank you is extended to KAM Industries who supplied the canvas tote bags. Data sheets and CD-ROMs from KAM have been placed in your bag.

Wrap and Ship Services

Mailboxes, Etc. will provide shipping services from the Millennium Hotel during Company Store hours and at the National Train Show on Friday. This is a convenient way to ship your store, auction, and Train Show purchases home.

Door Prizes

Door Prize winners’ numbers will be posted on the Information Kiosk throughout the week. Watch for your registration number and information on how to claim your prize!

On behalf of the Gateway Division and the National Model Railroad Association, the Convention Committee wishes to thank the following for their generous donations of door prizes.

A.C. Kalmbach Publishing
Abracadata
Accurail
Athearn
Atlas Model Railroad Company
Aztec Manufacturing Company
Bachmann Industries Inc.
Berkshire Junction
Blair Line Signs
Bob’s Model Railroad Supplies
C.L.A.M.S.
Caboose Hobbies
Caboose Industries
Champion Decal Company
Chooch Enterprises
The Coach Yard – Thinfilm
D & D Trains Div. Of Arkins Drug Store
Deluxe Innovations
Design Preservation Models
Digitrax, Inc.
Bobbye Hall Hobbies
Hallmark Models, Inc.
Heartland Hobby
Hobby Station
Intermountain Railway Company
J L Innovative Design Scale Models
KAM Industries
Kato Precision Railroad Models USA, Inc.
Life-Like Products, Inc.
Logic Rail Technologies
Marklin, Inc.
Micro Engineering Company
Model Railroad News
National Association of S Gaugers
Pfingst & Company, Inc.
The Private Car Limited Railroad Memorabilia
S Helper Service
Steward Hobbies, Inc.
Tinker Town
Tony’s Train Exchange
U.S.A. Trains
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc.
Woodland Scenics


Metrolink

St. Louis’ rapid transit MetroLink runs from the Lambert Airport to downtown St. Louis and across the Mississippi River over historic Eads Bridge into Illinois. On May 4, MetroLink opened its extension further east to Belleville, Illinois. The stop closest to the Millennium convention hotel is Busch Stadium, a walk around the stadium and around or through the hotel’s parking garage. It also stops at Forest Park, Union Station, Kiel Center, Eighth and Pine, the Convention Center, and Laclede’s Landing, as well as the casino and its trailer park on the Illinois side. Fare purchased at the airport is $3; everywhere else, a single ticket ride is $1.25. A weekly pass, good from Monday through Sunday, may be purchased for $13, or a 10-ride ticket for $11. Reduced fares, approximately ˝ the regular cost, are available for children 5-12 and those over 65, with proper ID. Weekly passes may also be used on public buses.


Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Special Interest Groups (or SIGs) will be set up in the Meramec Room throughout the week. Check their tables for information on membership and special activities planned during the week.

Layout Design Special Interest Group and
Operations Special Interest Group

The LD-SIG and OP-SIG offer assistance and informal discussion groups on a variety of topics related to layout planning and operations. Check the bulletin board in the SIG room for any scheduled discussions. In addition, the SIGs will be conducting the following special activities for its members.

Sunday: Meet your hosts (6:00 pm). A casual get- together in the SIG room where layout hosts will be on hand to answer questions about their layouts.

Monday: The OP-SIG will conduct a business meeting at 7:00 pm in Atrium C.

Wednesday: LD-SIG Self-Guided Layout Tour and Picnic (12:30 - 9:30 pm). LD-SIG members will tour a number of home layouts. Between 4:30 and 6:30 pm there will be a picnic at the home of Randy Meyer where his John Armstrong-designed Sn3 Canyon and Rocky Mountain Railroad will also be available for viewing. Other Layouts will include those by Brad Joseph, Richard and Venita Lake, Richard Schumacher, Dave Lotz, John Hardy and Eric Brooman and Mike Peters.

Thursday: The LD-SIG will conduct a business meeting at 2:00 pm in Atrium C.

Friday: LD-SIG members will gather for an informal dinner. See the help desk in the SIG room for additional information.

The OPSIG has a number of operating sessions planned for its members during the week. Those who have signed up for an op session may pick up information and maps at the help desk.

The Railroad Prototype Modelers

RPM is a loose-knit group who concentrate on building scale replicas of 1:1 railroads and rolling stock. All scales are welcome. The only requirement is that the model should be based on an actual prototype (not freelanced). There is no minimum detail standard. RPM has an informal peer-vote contest for those who wish to participate, but the majority of models are brought just for display, and for the modelers themselves to get together to share their experience and techniques in a casual, no-pressure atmosphere.

The RPM display will be open on Tuesday from noon to midnight, Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 am to midnight, and Friday model pickup 9:00 am to noon. Models may be entered at any time during open hours. All models must be picked up by noon on Friday.


Special Meetings

NMRA Annual Business Meeting:
Friday, July 13, 1:00 pm, TWA Dome meeting room 143

DCC Working Group Meeting:
Thursday, July 12, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, Convention Center

Mid-Continent Region Board Meeting:
Sunday, July 8, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Atrium C

Canadian NMRA:
Monday, July 9, 8:30 am, Atrium C

Convention Committee Chairs:
Monday, 2:00 – 5:00 pm, Atrium C

Walther’s Special Consumer Survey:
Friday, multiple sessions, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm, Atrium C