On Monday evening, May 18, 2026, Bruce Robinson MMR from the HUB Division and I represented the NMRA at a local event at the Marion Gerrish Community Center in Derry, NH. The purpose of this 90-minute event was for the 50 non-profit organizations that use the Center to set up a public display. Since the joint Seacoast/Hub Rail Fun event has been held at the Center for the past three years, we received an invitation.

The Seacoast Division usually supports at least eight train shows per year. Train shows are a great way for the Division to promote the NMRA and our local divisions. We have a lot of people stop by our table to check out our display and talk about modeling. In the process, we weave in the benefits of the NMRA and perhaps entice someone to join the organization. Our primary purpose at train shows is to educate—as quite a few people ask specific questions about the hobby—and, more importantly, to promote the organization. Having a display at train shows advertises to the modeling public that the NMRA is still an active and relevant part of the hobby.

Having a display at a non-modeling event like “What’s the Scoop?” is quite a different experience. At these community events, very few people are active modelers. Surprisingly, a lot of people filtered through that evening. We had a number of adults stop by to say that their dad used to have a layout. That conversation would usually shift into what scale, size, and features the layout had. We would always end by saying that model railroading is still a very active hobby and, depending on their interest, we might mention the benefits of becoming an NMRA member.

There were many families who wandered through. Most of the kids stopped by to look at the rolling stock we had on display. One youngster in particular pulled his mother over to see the cars. He was too shy to engage in conversation, but I could tell he was really interested. A while later, after he got his ice cream (a major benefit of this event), he returned to look at the cars. He still wouldn’t talk, but I explained the different scales, showed him the Alco RS-2 we had on display, and told him that trains are a lot of fun! Will the boy ask for a train set for Christmas? We won’t know, but he was introduced to the hobby, and maybe a seed was planted. Perhaps a spark was ignited in other kids as well.

A highlight of the evening was when a young dad stopped by with his family and mentioned he works in the MBTA repair shop. As we explained the scope of model railroading, he became very interested and said he would check out our website. Prior to this event, he had no idea that model trains could operate just like the prototype.

Community events are all about promoting the hobby and introducing it to folks with little to no prior knowledge about model trains. We understand that the hobby needs to constantly engage new people to remain healthy, which is why the NMRA Division Standards encourage divisions to attend a few of these events each year. If you know of other community events that would be suitable for the Seacoast Division, please contact me so we can look into attending.