Potomac Chapter NRHS

Upcoming events

Since COVID-19 our meetings are a mixture of Zoom, in-person, and hybrid. Keep an eye on the schedule below.

Programs — Check out our YouTube channel for recent programs.

Renew — You can renew your membership online, using a credit card or PayPal account.

March 2024 program: ALCO Shortlines & Regionals
Available on YouTube. Alex Mayes took us on a tour of shortline and regional railroads in the Eastern U.S., including several all-ALCO lines.

February 2024 program: Railroading in the Columbia River gorge
Available on YouTube. Bob Kaplan's program featured images from his visits to the gorge extends between 1978 and 2012. Included are freights in the Deschutes River Canyon and a couple of steam excursions.

January 2024 program: 40 years of Canadian Railfanning
Available on YouTube. Jim Kleeman's program includes Toronto yards, Kicking Horse and Yellowhead Pass, Thompson and Fraser River Canyons. Images from: CP, CN, VIA and the Rocky Mountaineer.

Newsletter — We're very proud of our newsletter, Potomac Rail News.
– See last month's issue.
– Read the issue from two months ago.
– See the issue from three months ago.

Meetings — We meet the third Tuesday of every month at 8:00 p.m. Sometimes on Zoom. Sometimes in person in downtown Rockville. Check the calendar.

Chapter Information — Learn more about our chapter and how to become a member.

Parking — There are many parking alternatives for the membership meeting. See a map with alternatives.

Visiting our area? — As railfans, we can offer sightseeing suggestions for visitors to the Washington, D.C. area. Sample our collective wisdom.

Just for Fun: Wayne Sherwin uses his digital editing skills to create some interesting images.

A thank you for our donors
Aberdeen B&O station
Many thanks to our members who donated to our fund-raising drive to help preserve the B&O Railroad’s only existing station on the Philadelphia Subdivision. We sent $4,400 to the Friends of the Aberdeen B&O Train Station, Inc.

Golden Spike 150th anniversary celebration
Member Jay Creswell captured these two images at the May 10, 2019 event marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad 150 years earlier. (Click to enlarge.)

Potomac Chapter is a group of railfans based in the National Capital Area. We are chartered as a branch of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). We seek to increase public awareness of railroads and their history.

Contact us: For more information, you can call Vice President John Sery at (301) 431-0088 or Director Bob Dixon-Gumm at (301) 762-5073. You can write to us at:

    Potomac Chapter NRHS
    P.O. Box 235
    Kensington, MD 20895-0235