Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Last year I learned that the 2026 National Convention was to be held in Chattanooga, TN. That was within driving distance from my house, so I registered early and made plans to go.
This was the first time I've been able to attend this week-long event. I had been to the National Train Show once years ago, but the Train Show should not be confused with the National Convention.
The expenses for a trip like this can easily add up, due to being 7 full days of activities. Every dollar spent on hotel and food was a dollar less I could spend on extra-fare events and train show purchases.
For that reason, I chose to stay at a 3-star budget hotel on the edge of town and commute in each day. While there was an upscale hotel attached to the convention center, even with the convention rate it was significantly more.
I arrived first thing Monday August 27th, promptly checked-in and got my attendee badge, and starting learning. I spent pretty every day with the same routine. Breakfast, railfanning, convention clinics, home layout visits, tours, snack for lunch, a hot meal at a local restaurant, a little more railfanning, then back to the hotel.
Friday night was the early entrance to the train show only for registered attendees. My interest in attending train shows is to enjoy the various layouts on display, dig through deals on the tables of used vendors, and see the latest offerings from model manufacturers.
I did return to the show for a few hours on Saturday. Sunday morning, I didn't feel there was anything else I needed to see at the show, so I started my trek toward home.
nmra.org
ridetheincline.com
Music Atributes:
Back To The Wood by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Aces High - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Last year I learned that the 2026 National Convention was to be held in Chattanooga, TN. That was within driving distance from my house, so I registered early and made plans to go.
This was the first time I've been able to attend this week-long event. I had been to the National Train Show once years ago, but the Train Show should not be confused with the National Convention.
The expenses for a trip like this can easily add up, due to being 7 full days of activities. Every dollar spent on hotel and food was a dollar less I could spend on extra-fare events and train show purchases.
For that reason, I chose to stay at a 3-star budget hotel on the edge of town and commute in each day. While there was an upscale hotel attached to the convention center, even with the convention rate it was significantly more.
I arrived first thing Monday August 27th, promptly checked-in and got my attendee badge, and starting learning. I spent pretty every day with the same routine. Breakfast, railfanning, convention clinics, home layout visits, tours, snack for lunch, a hot meal at a local restaurant, a little more railfanning, then back to the hotel.
Friday night was the early entrance to the train show only for registered attendees. My interest in attending train shows is to enjoy the various layouts on display, dig through deals on the tables of used vendors, and see the latest offerings from model manufacturers.
I did return to the show for a few hours on Saturday. Sunday morning, I didn't feel there was anything else I needed to see at the show, so I started my trek toward home.
nmra.org
ridetheincline.com
Music Atributes:
Back To The Wood by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Aces High - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
