Former Great Northern depot, Bellingham, WA.

Having previously visited in 1996, GNRHS once more held its convention in Bellingham, Washington. Highlights included tours of the Bellingham area and an all-day venture into Canada where we visited the ex-GN depot at White Rock, the Cloverdale interurban museum and the Burnaby Central miniature railway in Confederation Park.

There was a wide range of presentations for attendees to enjoy such as: Pacific Coast Railroad by Dave Sprau, Shipping Planes On Trains by Andrew Klamka, Dispatching West Coast Lines by Mark Meyer & Dave Sprau and Early Bellingham Railroads by Don Pavia to name just a few.

Sunday’s Rail Fair featured an enormous modular On30 layout (the Moose Creek Logging Company) as well as the usual GN-related paraphernalia available for purchase.

Capping off the convention was the Wednesday night banquet. Society Awards were presented, and then the famous raffle featuring GN prizes galore.

We hope to see you again next year in Fargo – July 20-24!

UPDATE:  with permission from the presenters, 5 excellent presentations are now available to you here. These cover GN brass models, GN in Vancouver, Coast Line dispatching, early Bellingham railroads, and an update on the GNRHS archives. Caution: some files are quite large.

Don Pavia and Bob Kelly interpret the GN in Fairhaven.

Southbound BNSF oil train at Taylor Street dock, Fairhaven.

Ben having way too much fun.

Tom, Chris and Pete at Bellingham GN depot.

Watching the Rocky Mountaineer from the bus at Blanchard.

Blanchard GN depot.

Lunch stop at Sedro-Woolley.

Former NP-GN diamond at Sedro-Woolley.

GN caboose X-87 at Sedro Woolley.

Boarding "Chinook" for evening dinner cruise.

Northbound BNSF coal train from the "Chinook".

Evening dinner cruise crowd shot.

The Tanners and Chinquists on board the "Chinook".

The Moose Creek Logging Company layout at Rail Fair.

Lindsay is taking our picture again!

Andrew Klamka presentation.

Watching a presentation.

Richard Yaremko and Dale Sanders presentation.

Watching a presentation.

Dave Sprau and Mark Meyer presentation.

Southbound BNSF freight at White Rock depot.

Crowd shot at Cloverdale museum.

Riding BC Electric #1304 "Connaught".

BC Electric #1304 "Connaught" suns itself among the wildflowers.

BC Electric #1207 "Steveston".

Cloverdale Museum car barn.

 

Riding the Burnaby Central.

Riding the Burnaby Central.

Steve Eckman holds forth at table.

Banquet table of GNRHS members.

Ken Middleton lifetime membership award.

Webmaster Ben Ringnalda is presented with the Hustle Muscle award.

Bev Tracy with Scott and Jan Tanner.

Steve, Bob & Mary draw raffle prize tickets.

North Bank Line donated a brass HO GN O-1 class 2-8-2 locomotive as one of the raffle prizes.

Trainfest GN Display

It already has become a tradition that Trainfest honors the contribution railroads have made to history. This year the Celebrate-a-Railroad program features the Great Northern Railway.

In cooperation with volunteers from the Great Northern Railway Historical Society, Trainfest offers special issue collectibles and has created a high-quality historical exhibit with plenty of photos highlighting the history of the Great Northern Railway.

Representatives of the Great Northern Railway Historical Society will be present at Trainfest – America’s Largest Operating Model Railroad Show – in Milwaukee, WI with a booth representing the GNRHS. Our volunteers will be ready to answer your questions about the GNRHS, benefits and membership. Stop by and say hello!

More information on the Great Northern Celebrate-a-Railroad program can be found on the Trainfest website.

Trainfest is held in Milwaukee, WI – November 10 – 11, 9:00AM to 5:00PM

Wisconsin Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park
8200 W. Greenfield Avenue
West Allis, WI

To Volunteer!

The GNRHS is looking for volunteers to fill several open officer positions, as well as help on various committees and help at our archives. If you are interested in volunteering for any of the following positions, please go to: https://gnrhs.org/volunteers for more detailed information on the position.

President – position will be open at the close of the GNRHS Fargo Convention in Summer 2019.

Goat Managing Editor – position will be open after the June 2019 Goat publication date.

Marketing Officer – Manage the Company Store, source new products, provide customer service. Position open December 2018.

National Convention Officer – Will need to start initial planning of the 2021 Convention soon (in 2018).

Assistant Webmaster – Help maintain the GNRHS website and GNRHS Store software.

Co-Membership Officer – Design and manage recruitment initiatives including train show presence.

Volunteer Coordinator – welcome aspiring volunteers and match them up with the correct department within the GNRHS.

Modeling Committee Member – Help run the Modelers’ Pages and new modeling products for the Company Store.

Archive Volunteers – Jackson Street Roundhouse Archives – St. Paul, MN and PNRA Archives, Burien WA – Help in cataloging our large GN Archive holdings.

More detailed information on these positions is available at: https://gnrhs.org/volunteers

Your Society runs with the assistance of volunteers and we REALLY need your help. If you are a member in good standing and would like to assist, we would like to have you.

Contact the GNRHS President, Don McGlothln, to volunteer or if you have questions about any of these positions.