New Jersey Division MER-NMRA
Welcome to the National Model Railroad Association’s New Jersey Division
Last Update: April 8, 2008
The New Jersey Division's purpose is to share the excitement of model railroading throughout central and southern New Jersey. For over 35 years, the New Jersey Division has promoted the hobby of model railroading through one day meets and other special events for NMRA members and guests.
We schedule meets in September, November, January, March and May. These meets feature clinics, items for sale, model displays and contests, home layout tours and general model railroading camaraderie. Clinics range from photo presentations on prototype railroading to how-to-do-it model railroad demonstrations. We also occasionally feature trips to see the prototype railroads, with train rides, shop tours and equipment inspections when possible.
We truly strive to offer something for everyone, from the beginner to the experienced and from the casual train enthusiast to the serious hobbyist.
Latest News
The NJ Division Board of Directors will be needing some new faces to help keep the NJ Division on track. We’ll be losing some current members soon and need others to step forward. If you are interested, contact any of the current Board members for more information.
The next NJ Division activity is our May Division Meet in Forked River on Saturday, May 3rd. The Meet will start at 9am and will be in the Knights of Columbus hall, located at 15 E. Lacey Road, Forked River NJ 08731. After the Saturday morning Meet, layouts will be open Saturday afternoon. Go to the Timetable page for more info and a map.
The contest May will be Detailed and Weathered Circus Cars. The Clinics will be “Researching, Designing and Building a Prototype Structure” with Fred Willis and “Detailing Urban Buildings” with John Gallagher.
Upcoming plans are to return to Deptford in September and conduct a joint Meet with the Philadelphia Division in Wilmington DE during March. For 2009 we expect to return to Haddon Twp. in January and Hamilton Twp. in March. Plans for May 2009 have not been started yet.
Don’t forget to make plans for this Fall by attending the MER Convention in Reston, VA and the NER convention in Syracuse, NY!
The MER still has a limited number of free 6 month NMRA Railpass memberships for those who want to “test drive” the NMRA. If you are interested, please come out to our January Meet and ask about this program at the registration desk. All active participants in NJ Division activities must be NMRA members to continue enjoying the benefits of the NJ Division.
More layouts have been added to our Layouts page. To get your layout listed, send in your photos and a brief layout description.
Next summer the NMRA National convention returns to the East coast with the Hartford National 2009 convention, July 5-11, 2009. This makes a national convention as close as a regional so you can drive to it. Keep up with all of the latest news at www.hn2009.org.
The New Jersey Division's goal is to not only serve the NMRA members in our geographical area, but to also introduce new people to the hobby model railroading and the benefits of the NMRA.
The New Jersey Division of the Mid-Eastern Region of the National Model Railroad Association, Inc. covers central and southern New Jersey including the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem (Shaded green in the map below). For information on other parts of the state and the country, see the NMRA's Regions and Divisions page.
Participation with the NJ Division will give you access to over 100 videotapes of past Division clinics and a subscription to our newsletter, Clinkers. The newsletter keeps you up-to-date on Division Meets, Division news and other railroad related information. Your NMRA membership card will also provide you with discounts at area hobby shops.
For more information on the NJ Division, use the links at the top of the page. And if your ready to join in on the fun, see the membership information page. If you have any questions whatsoever, please e-mail one of the Crew members (go to the Contacts page).
The New Jersey Division of the MER-NMRA, Inc. is a New Jersey Non-Profit Tax Exempt Organization
Photos on this page: At the March 2008 Meet, the NJ Division celebrated our 40th Anniversary. In addition to the regular Meet activities, we had lunch brought in and a birthday cake. The second photo shows the current Board members. Left to right: Mike McNamara, Carl Corsi, Bob Clegg, Chris Widmaeir, Ken O’Brien and Bob Liberman (not pictured is Board member John Dunn).
