2024 Convention - Everett, WA
Saturday, September 14 through Wednesday, September 18
The Everett convention is September 14-19, 2024 and will focus on the history of the Great Northern in Everett, WA and surroundings, with tours and presentations. The banquet, raffle and the Model Display are also part of the great line-up we will have this year. Details will be provided in the March Goat and on this site in March.
Convention Hotel Reservations
The Delta Hotel, located at 3105 Pine Street Everett, WA 98201 is the hosting hotel for our 2024 convention. The Nightly Room Rate for this convention is $152 + tax. King and Double Queen Rooms are available. This rate is good Friday September 13 through Thursday, September 19 ONLY (Thursday morning checkout). YOU MUST RESERVE YOUR ROOM BY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024. Rooms not reserved by that date will be dropped from the GNRHS convention room block and will not be available at the group rate thereafter.
Book your hotel room on-line by clicking here. Be sure to "EDIT" your desired dates before selecting a room.
Or call +1 425-339-2000 and mention the “Great Northern Railway Historical Society” to get your group rate.
If you encounter any difficulties in making hotel reservations, please contact Mary McGlothlin, National Convention Officer, at convention@gnrhs.org
Preliminary Agenda
The convention agenda is still under construction, here is the current plan but it may be revised before the JUNE GOAT:
There are several changes this year:
- It all starts off with a Joint GN-NP Railfair on Saturday. The NP meets in the same hotel the week prior to the GNRHS so we will have a joint Railfair with 100 tables available; the public will also be invited.
- Layouts are everywhere in the Puget Sound area; these tours will be by private vehicle, with maps and directions made available.
- Sunday will be a full day “Rail Tour” to the Northwest Railroad Museum in Snoqualmie WA. The tour will include GN locomotive 1246 and Caboose X101, as well as 50 other pieces of rolling stock available for inspection. We will ride a 12-mile run behind a steam locomotive. After our ride we can inspect the 30,000 square foot Train Shed, the Conservation Shop and the Education Center. We will have lunch on-site. This is the ONLY organized rail tour for this year.
- The GNRHS Board meeting and Annual Membership Meeting will be held Tuesday morning; we will not overlap these with presentations, to encourage members to participate in these organizational discussions.
- Non-rail tours will NOT be organized this year; instead, we will provide information about local sites in the Seattle and Everett area. You can make your OWN decisions about your areas of interest and plan your own destinations.
- Speakers and presentations will include sessions on Railroad Art, Northwest GN History, GN Modeling and an open photos night on Sunday, so bring your thumb drives!
Getting There
- Drive: the hotel is easily accessible off Interstate 5. Parking is free at the hotel.
- Fly: SEATAC airport is located approximately 45 miles south of Everett; you can rent a car and drive to Everett north on Interstate 5. Bus, taxi, and Uber services are available but may be costly. Train service from SEATAC is available but is not direct to Everett; you would need to make taxi or Uber transfers and the time using the train is approximately 2.5 hours or more depending on connections.
- Amtrak: Amtrak’s Empire Builder has a scheduled stop in Everett each day at 10 AM; the hotel is approximately two blocks from the train station. You can travel from Oregon or California via the Coast Starlight or Amtrak Cascades arriving Seattle. Car Rental is available. If you are planning to travel by Amtrak, we encourage early reservations.
Registration
Watch for the “Pre-Convention Raffle" info, full convention details, and the Registration Form both here and in the JUNE GOAT. We are really looking forward to seeing you at the convention!
Updated 1/29/2024