Event Calendar

Closed Easter Sunday, March 23rd

Monday, March 31, 2008, 7:30 p.m. 
Annual Meeting open to the public
After a brief business meeting and election of directors, our guest speaker, Donise Stevens, actress and Civil War re-enactor, will perform a first person impersonation of Elizabeth Thomas, aka “Aunt Betty”. As a freed African-American she pleads with the Union Army not to destroy her home on Georgia Avenue as the Confederates approach to attack Washington. The Army wanted to build a fort on her property to defend the approaches to Washington. Her home was destroyed to make way for the fort. Ms Stevens gives an emotionally strong and appealing presentation of “Aunt Betty”. The audience will be moved and sympathetic to “Aunt Betty” as she loses her home.

Sunday, April 20, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Saturday and Sunday, May 3 & 4, 2008  
Model Train Weekend  HO and N scale and Lego trains will be on display Saturday, 12 – 5 and Sunday 12 – 4

Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Forum Speaker Ron Beavers
Ron Beavers, a local Civil War railroad and logistics enthusiast, will discuss Civil War Logistics and how this was the key to victory for the Union Army.  It has been stated that amateurs study battles but professionals study logistics.  The North had manpower, manufacturing, and financial advantages over the South.  The Confederacy failed to support its armies because of mismanagement, the lack of control, and long term planning.  The Union, on the other hand, skillfully mastered the art of logistics, thereby increasing its war capabilities.  Actual case studies with period photos illustrate essential logistical concepts learned or ignored during the war. 

Sunday, May 18, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Sunday, June 15, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Sunday, July 20, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Forum speaker John Carter
Author, historian and educator, John will discuss the letters of his great-great-grandfather, PVT William C. McClellan, who served in the 9th Alabama during the Civil War.  This unit participated in many battles in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, traversing the local Northern Virginia area many times. Pvt. McClellan was a soldier and a prisoner of war who died shortly after the war. His letters reveal his true feelings about life in the Army of Northern Virginia.  He held very strong opinions about the generals and his fellow soldiers. The letters speak freely of events during that time and the war itself. Mr. Carter has assembled the letters into a book and adds enriching historical context. The book will be available for purchase and author signing.

Sunday, August 17, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

August 31 & September 1, 2008, Labor Day Weekend
HO and N scale and Lego trains will be on display
Sunday, 12 – 5 and Monday 12 – 5

Sunday, September 21, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Sunday, October 19, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Forum speaker to be announced

Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1 – 4 p.m.
N scale model train display provided by NVNTRAK

Saturday and Sunday December 6 & 7, 2008
Saturday 10 – 5, Sunday 12 to 4
The 19th Annual Model Train Display
Come and join us at our largest train show of the year.  This is the REALLY BIG ONE that everyone in the area looks forward to each year.  Almost all scales are represented by our model train clubs: Lionel, HO, O, N, Standard, Z and Lego inside the museum and caboose, and the Garden scale outside encircling the museum.  Santa will be there, and if the weather cooperates, we also will have numerous antique cars on display.  Adults $4 and children $1.  Bring your kids and/or grandkids, but especially yourself!

Sunday, January 18, 2009, 1 – 4 p.m.
Garden scale train display, provided by the Washington Virginia & Maryland Garden Railway Society.