WPRRHS 2008 Convention -
Sacramento, California
The
Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society (WPRRHS) and the Feather
River Rail Society (FRRS) invite you to attend our TWELFTH ANNUAL
historical and modeling convention in Sacramento, California, Friday
April 11th and Saturday April 12th 2008. You do NOT have to be a member to attend so if you have any interest in the WP, we invite you to register and join us for a fun weekend of WP related activities.
Location
Clarion Hotel Mansion Inn
700 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-444-8000
Click
for Map
Additional
Information
Registration, clinics/slide shows, sales room, model display and contest, memorabilia display. All the above events with a noon and dinner break. Time will be allocated on Friday and Saturday for guests to visit the Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society's club to see the construction of their new layout, much of which is based on the Western Pacific in California.
Event Schedule
| Friday April 11, 2008 |
| 12:00PM Noon |
Registration Opens |
|
| 12:30PM |
Introduction |
Tom Campbell & Scott McAllister |
| 1:00PM |
Sacramento's Streetcar Suburbs (SN) |
Bill Burg |
| 2:00PM |
Painting WP Diesel Models - 1941 to 1981 |
Bill Gilbert |
| 3:00PM |
Last 4 Fs Plus 1 - includes details of the renovation of one of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum's F units |
Larry Hanlon |
| 4:00PM |
The Design of the Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society's New Layout |
Bob Rohwer |
| 5:00PM |
Dinner Break
SMRHS Club Layout open until 7:00PM |
|
| 7:00PM |
WP Covered Hoppers - plus additional information on the WP shorty gondola |
John Ryczkowski |
| 8:00PM |
Sacramento Northern's Belt Line |
Bill Burg |
| 9:00PM |
Photography and the Collector |
Allan Lamb |
| |
|
|
| Saturday April 12, 2008 |
| 8:00AM |
Registration Opens |
|
| 9:00AM |
Foreign Cars on the CZ |
Bob Webber |
| 10:00AM |
WP Brass Locomotives in HO Scale: Upgrading, Painting & Weathering |
Bill Gilbert |
| 11:00AM |
WP-SP Detours, Including Use of the R Street and
Haggin Interchanges |
Randall Cape |
| 12:00PM Noon |
Lunch Break |
|
| 1:00PM |
Bringing home the Keddie Wye |
Jim Pendley & Scott Brons |
| 2:00PM |
Western Pacific 426 Series Steel Cabooses |
Mike Mucklin |
| 3:00PM |
Clear out presentation room for banquet set-up
SMRHS layout open until 6:30PM
Main bar open
|
|
| 6:30PM |
Banquet begins |
|
| 7:30PM |
Keynote Speaker |
Andy Kinicki |
| 8:30PM |
Auction |
|
| 10:00PM |
Event concludes - doors closed |
|
Special guest keynote speaker for Saturday evening banquet is Andy Kinicki |
|
Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society
The Sacramento Model Railroad Historical Society's club layout, the Sierra Central Railroad, will be open to WPRRHS attendees during the hours shown below. The standard and narrow gauge HO scale layout is presently under construction and the club plans to run mostly WP equipment during visiting hours. The standard gauge portion is based on the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific railroads between Oakland and Portola, California.
Times:
Friday from 5:00 to 7:00PM
Saturday from 3:00 to 6:30PM
Address:
1990 Grand Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95838
Copies of a driving map from the hotel to the club will be available at the sign-in table or you can print one in advance by clicking here.
Modeling Displays and Vendors
There will be vendors, modeling displays, photo displays and the Sacramento Modular RR club will have a setup. There won't be a modeling contest, but we are trying an experiment this year. We're asking folks to bring HO scale equipment for what we are calling 'the interchange train' to be displayed on the Sacramento Modular Club's modules. In addition to WP rolling stock, bring cars from other lines that could have conceivably been in included in a WP train. For boxcars that's just about anything. The train will be led by a GP20 (#2008 for the convention year) - so if you want to be time specific you could key in on that locomotive (Zephyr colors). We're not going to get too hung up on the time frame.
Fares
| Deluxe Fare Ticket (includes banquet): |
$65.00 per person (not available day of) |
| Convention
only: |
$35.00 |
| Banquet
only: |
$30.00 |
| Convention only (on-site registration) |
$35.00 (banquet not available day of) |
| Pre-registration is closed as of April 5, 2008. On-site convention-only registration will be available for $35.00 per person. Banquet is sold out. |
There
is no charge for non-rail spouses to attend except for the banquet.
Saturday Banquet and Keynote Speaker
Banquet guests have a choice of either a chicken or a beef entree. The chicken entree includes a stuffed chicken breast with prosciutto ham and mozarella cheese, accented with Marsala wine sauce and accompanied by angel hair pasta. The beef entree is roasted tri-tip topped with black bean and corn salsa and served with grilled polenta and red pepper coulis.
All entrees include salad, chef's choice of vegetables, silver dollar rolls, brewed Starbuck's coffees and a selection of Tazo teas.
Our keynote speaker at the Saturday night banquet will be Andy Kinicki, a 30 year veteran railroader (most of it with the WP) who retired in 1983 as Director of Safety and Rules. He held a variety of jobs but was mostly a dispatcher. He was instrumental in dispatching the bicentennial units to arrive for the Keddie Wye photo op and this story will make up at least part of his presentation.
All
profits from the convention go directly to the Arthur Walter Keddie Railroad Library at the Portola Railroad Museum.
Registration
Pre-registration is closed as of April 5, 2008. On-site convention-only registration will be available for $35.00 per person. Banquet is sold out.
Lodging
We have a convention room rate at the Clarion Hotel Mansion Inn of $89 per night and $99 per night at the adjacent Holiday Inn Express (same management, same parking lot). The Holiday Inn Express provides a small self-service breakfast area. There are a number of restaurants nearby (especially for lunch and dinner) and the Clarion has a restaurant as well.
Convention attendees must call the local hotel number and mention that they are part of the "Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society" to get this group rate. This rate is not available through the national reservation number or on the web.
For the Clarion Hotel Mansion Inn, please call (916) 444-8000
For the adjacent Holiday Inn Express, please call (916) 444-4436
This room rates will only be guaranteed until March 20, 2008 , after which it will be available subject to room availability.
Additional Activities
In addition to the convention we are trying to organize some unofficial 'bookend' events.
Thursday WP 913 Display at CSRM
On Thursday April 10th at the California State Railroad Museum Western Pacific F7A 913 will be outside on the museum's turntable for scheduled monthly battery maintenance. If you want to swing by for photos, we've been advised that the 913 should be outside until about 3:30PM.
Thursday Dinner at the Sacramento Spaghetti Factory
On the Thursday before the meet we'll get together at the Spaghetti Factory that now inhabits the former WP Passenger Depot. The restaurant is pretty close to the convention hotel. We have two nearby layouts that will be open after dinner- Bill Burg's Sacramento SN themed layout and the 26th Street Model Railroad club. Maps to the layouts will be available at dinner. Please contact Tom Campbell if you are interested in attending this informal gathering so he can get a head-count.
Sunday Sacramento River Train - CANCELLED
Due to a lack of interest in the Sacramento River Train trip out of Woodland it has been cancelled.
Other Woodland Activities
Woodland is also home to a recently restored Southern Pacific depot as well as a replica of the Northern Electric/Sacramento Northern depot on the corner of Main and 2nd Street.
Please
make plans now to join us on this milestone 12th annual convention on April 11th and 12th for a fun filled weekend in WP/SN country!
For
more information please contact 2008 WPRRHS Convention Chairman Tom Campbell:
