This registration level applies to attendees regardless of NMRA membership. It includes admission to National Train Show on Saturday and Sunday with special early entrance Saturday morning.

An adult attending with principle attendee already registered using Standard Registration. Must register principle attendee first. It includes admission to National Train Show on Saturday and Sunday with special early entrance Saturday morning.

Must be accompanied by a person registered under a Standard Registration. This registration level includes admission to National Train Show on Saturday and Sunday with special early entrance Saturday morning.

Must be accompanied by a person registered under a Standard Registration. This registration level includes admission to National Train Show on Saturday and Sunday with special early entrance Saturday morning.

Includes admission to convention activities on Saturday, July 19th, plus a ticket to the National Train Show on Saturday, July 19th. Pick up your ticket Saturday morning.

Includes admission to convention activities on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th, plus a ticket to the National Train Show on Saturday, July 19th. Pick up your ticket Friday morning.

Visit the Dearborn Truck Plant at Ford Motor Company's historic River Rouge facility. Cost includes bus transportation to/from the venue.

Spend a day at the The Henry Ford, an internationally recognized cultural destination that immerses visitors in the stories of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation that helped shape America. A National Historic Landmark with an unparalleled collection of artifacts from 300 years of American history. Cost includes bus transportation to/from the venue.

Experience Detroit's rich history and impressive skyline with a sightseeing tour, narrated by a local guide knowledgeable of the riverside railroad and industrial facilities past and present. The cruise starts near the Renaissance Center and travels downriver under the Ambassador and Gordie Howe bridges and continues to the area where the Rouge River meets the Detroit River. Depending on conditions it may proceed up the Rouge to the Ford facilities. Cost includes lunch and bus transportation to/from the venue.

Experience firsthand the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s fascinating formation, where over 80 acres brim with resourcefulness and ingenuity. Here, 300 years of American perseverance serve as a living reminder that anything is possible. Step foot in the lab where Thomas Edison had his lightbulb moment or the workshop where the Wright brothers taught us to reach for the sky. Take a ride in a real Model T, or a walk through four working farms. Rub shoulders with world-class artisans, and explore the place where America’s can-do spirit inspires you to go out and get it done. Cost includes bus transportation to/from the venue and a ticket to ride the train pulled by a working steam engine.

The Michigan Central Station was the historic main intercity passenger rail station in Detroit from 1914 until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988. It was the tallest rail station in the world at the time of its construction. After years of deterioration, Ford Motor Company purchased the station in 2018 for redevelopment. After years of extensive renovation the station reopened in June of 2024. Rounding out the day's tour is a visit to the Hitsville USA studio that launched the legendary Motown sound and made household names out of The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and many others. Cost includes bus transportation to/from the venues.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Jim Gore, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Peter Youngblood, and Clark Kooning. Jim will take you through the creation of two foreground trees: one deciduous tree (like cottonwood or oak or elm) and one conifer tree (pine, fir, spruce, or larch). You will learn about simple techniques that help make the tree appear more realistic as a stand-alone scenery item. We will also talk about the size, shape and height of the trees. Participants are required to bring their own tools; failure to do so will hinder your ability to take part in these hands-on clinics. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Clark Kooning, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Peter Youngblood, and Jim Gore. Looking at trying to add life to your layout? Clark will show you how to add signs and lettering to structures. We will provide a couple DPM building fronts to practice with. We will show you how to make your own signs, application of paper signs, metal looking signs, a hanging sign and using stencils for signs. If you’re in another scale don’t pass on it because it's HO only, this clinic presents the techniques to apply to any scale. Participants are required to bring their own tools; failure to do so will hinder your ability to take part in these hands-on clinics. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Clark Kooning, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by Jim Gore, MMR, and Peter Youngblood, MMR. Clark will lead you through the process of building a rock wall and using various commercially available materials to color the rocks achieving a rock feature used in scenery. The session will include techniques for painting the rock feature to look like real rock. You will leave the session with your completed rock feature. Participants are required to bring their own tools; failure to do so will hinder your ability to take part in these hands-on clinics. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Peter Youngblood, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Jim Gore, and Clark Kooning. At one time in rural America, branchline livestock pens were commonplace for smaller local ranches to facilitate shipping cattle, sheep, even pigs to market by rail. Today they're mostly relics, livestock shipping taken over by the trucking industry. Peter Youngblood, MMR, will teach you how to scratch build this small livestock pen from a supplied scale plan and pre-stained wood. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Jim Gore, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Peter Youngblood, and Clark Kooning. Jim will discuss various ways to add some “life” to your layouts. Making your scenery look like it is actively populated is an important reminder to operators and modelers that your model railroad has a purpose. You will be provided with some primed HO figures to paint and detail as well as learning some tips on how to improve pre-painted or detailed figures. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR).Clark Kooning, MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Peter Youngblood, and Jim Gore MMR. Clark will take you on an amazing journey into building a kit made from Hydrocal plaster, walking you through the steps to build a great starter kit called First Timer Bar. We will explore sealing plaster, basic assembly, learn to paint brick and other masonry items. There is no time like the first time for anything and that includes building your first hydrocal kit! Designed with rank beginners in mind, this kit features simple construction, but amazing detail. Try one, you’ll like it! 1 1/2? x 4? in HO scale. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

Modeling With The Masters® (MWTM) is a unique opportunity to participate in an immersive hands-on clinic where participants learn and use both basic and advanced modeling techniques taught by Master Model Railroaders® (MMR). Peter Youngblood MMR leads the instruction, assisted by MMRs Jim Gore, and Clark Kooning. Better telephone pole realism on our model railroads is most often overlooked because they're so commonplace we don’t easily notice they aren't always the same. Applicable to any scale, Peter will teach you the basics of how and why they differ and how simple it is to make your plastic telephone poles (supplied with clinic) more realistic. Make sure to consult the general guidelines for Modeling With The Masters® clinics for details on tool requirements.

The clinician hosting this make-and-take clinic has been designing and constructing prototypical buildings for his layout using Autodesk Fusion360 since 2016. He has repeatedly been asked to present a class that would teach model railroaders how to draw and use the 3D CAD package that he uses. This clinic is a cursory introduction to Autodesk Fusion360. It will take about four one-hours sessions, with plenty of break time between sessions, to learn the basics of the software tool. See the Make-and-Take Clinics page for more details.

Important: You will need to provide your own computer for this session. To determine if your computer is compatible with the hobbyist free version of Autodesk Fusion360, please visit the hardware requirements page.

Walthers is inviting a select group of passionate model railroaders — like you — to a free, in-person, roundtable session designed to explore one important question:

What products and innovations do model railroaders want to see in the next five years?

This is not a sales pitch; it’s a real conversation. Your experience, ideas, and honest input will help guide the next wave of products and improvements for the hobby we all love.

Why attend?

• Connect with fellow seasoned modelers.
• Share what you want to see built, fixed, or invented.
• Be part of shaping the future of the hobby.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided, and the conversation will be relaxed and informal. Your voice matters, and we’d love to have you at the table. A special gift will be delivered to each attendee! To ensure a great discussion, space is limited to 50 attendees.

The National Train Show (at the Suburban Showplace) is not within walking distance of the Convention venue (Sheraton Novi). If you have no transportation, then select this item for a ticket that allows unlimited rides on the shuttle bus. If you are staying at one of the other hotels, you will need to get to the Sheraton to use the shuttle bus. The shuttle only runs on Saturday, July 19th.

Enjoy a dinner with your fellow convention attendees. Several delicious meals will be available for your selection at the event.

Social hour: 6-7pm

Banquet starts: 8pm

With the last Amtrak train departing Michigan Central Station in 1988, the historic structure stood abandoned for 30 years before Ford Motor Company purchased the building in 2018. Preservation architect Angela Wyrembelski will discuss the Station's extraordinary transformation process and how adaptive reuse of the historic station connects Detroit's past to its promising future.

A fashionable shirt to show off the attended the Station No.VI NMRA National Convention.

This year, the Layout Design Special Interest Group (LDSIG) tour (see details) will be spread over the six days of layout tours open to all registrants. A purchase of the LD SIG Layout Tour will provide you with:

• A curated list of the best layouts on each day’s general layout tour.
• Admission to additional layouts in the day’s region that are open only to LD SIG Layout Tour registrants. 

After you check at the convention, visit Monday evening’s Meet ‘n Greet or the LDSIG Desk in the SIG room (Ballroom A) to pick up your 2025 LDSIG Tour Commemorative Shirt (included in the price). For admission to the exclusive LDSIG Tour layouts you'll need either your 2025 LDSIG Tour shirt, or the Bill of Lading on the back of your convention badge. Shirt monograms will be available to those purchasing the LDSIG Layout Tour by June 30th, 2025.

Thursday, July 17th. Open to members of all SIGs. This year's dinner will be held at Rocky's Steakhouse, about 2.5 miles (4 km) from the Sheraton Detroit Novi.

• 6-7 PM Social Hour
• 7-9 PM Dinner