A Carolinas Conclave

The 37th annual convention of the Railroad Station Historical Society will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, from June 16 through June 19 and will cover structures in central and western North and South Carolina. With you in mind, Richard Shulby and Art Peterson have been working with their committee, organizing a convention that promises to be most enjoyable.

There will be, for those interested in participating, a pre-convention tour that will cover, on June 14 and 15, structures in northeastern North Carolina that were either not included in our 2001 convention because they were not known, did not fit our tours or have been restored since then. There are, potentially, 47 structures to be visited. Among these will be an ACL. Norfolk Southern, Suffolk & Carolina, Aberdeen & Asheboro, Atlantic & Yadkin, East Carolina, Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley, Winston-Salem South-Bound and High Point, Thomasville & Denton structures. These tours will be headquartered in Rocky Mount. There is a separate section in the registration form for these tours.

The four days of regular tours will begin with a caravan on Wednesday, June 16, followed by three days of bus tours. A detailed list of structures on all tours will be sent to all registrants with confirmation of your registration. We hope to visit up to 121 structures on thes tours. In these tours we'll cover a wide variety of structures from lines as diverse as the Piedmont & Northern; Lawndale, Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio; Southern; Seaboard Air Line; Atlantic Coast Line; Lamcaster & Chester; Maxton, Alma & Southbound; Rockingham RR; Asheville Traction; Laurinburg & Southern; Carolina Central; Charleston & West Carolina; and Blue Ridge RR. As is always the case, we'll have great fellowship throughout the convention, with fellowhip and fun on the bus as we run our auction of rail books and other material on one day and distribute door prizes on another day.

Our headquarters hotel will be the Ramada Airport South, 212 West Woodlawn Road, at Exit 6A, I-77. A free shuttleto the hotel is available to those flying to and from the convention. Rooms with one or two beds may be reserved at the convention rate of $59.00 plus taxes until June 2, 2010. Call the hotel at 1-800-847-7829 to make your reservations; mention that you are with the Railroad Station Historical Society convention to be assured of this rate.Registering for the convention will not assure you of a room; you must make your own hotel reservation. Do make it as early as possible to be certain of having a room.

Please note that you will make life easier for your hosts and will save money for yourself if you register early. This is reflected on the registration form. NOTE: Each registration includes one banquet ticket and one door prize ticket. Each registrant will receive a tour book with maps, timetables, details on the structures we will visit and historical information on the railroads of the Carolinas.

Nonalcoholic drinks for each day of the tours are also covered by your registration. There is a place on the registration for you to indicate your choices.

If you are flying to the convention and wish to participate in the pre-convention tour, you should fly into Charlotte and rent a vehicle there. We can provide driving directions if you need them; note this on the registration form. You may want to coordinate with others to share costs with you, or we will work with you to achieve that. Alternately, you can take a train to Rocky Mount. Volunteers should be available to pick up those arriving at a reasonable hour. If you are arriving on a late-night train, there are cabs at the station, and the hotel is only 3.7 miles away.We will need to know by May 20, 2010 if you are arriving in Rocky Mount by train. If you want details on the pre-convention tour to help you decide whether you want to participate, send an e-mail to stationarchives@aol.com or a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Art Peterson, 3200 Gordon Drive, Greenville, NC 27834-4926.

In consideration of the varying preferences voiced in the 2009 survey, we are trying a new approach for our caravan tours, asking you what your preference is regarding the coverage of structures. We'll assign attendees with a similar preference to make all of you as happy as possible.

Please note that you should fill out all sections of the registration form.

2010 REGISTRATION FORM

Name(s) ________________________________________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________________________________________

City, State/Province, Zip __________________________________________________________________________

Phone number w/area code ________________________________________________________________________

e-mail address __________________________________________________________________________________

Name(s) for badge(s) ____________________________________________________________________________

On the caravan tours my preference is the following: (Please check one.)

[ ] I want to cover as many structures as possible.

[ ] I want to take time to cover quality structures without being rushed.

[ ] I'm flexible and will go with whatever others in my vehicle want.

I plan on participating in the June 14-15 pre-convention tour. [ ] Yes [ ] No (Please check one.)

I will be flying into Charlotte and want to participate in the pre-convention tour. Please contact me regarding others whom I can share a vehicle [ ] Yes [ ] No (Please check one.)

Please send me driving directions from the airport to the Rocky Mount Days Inn. [ ] Yes [ ] No (Please check one.)

I will be arriving in Rocky Mount on Amtrak Train# ______ on _______________________(date)

I will be driving to Rocky Mount [ ] Yes [ ] No (Please check one.)

I will be able to accommodate ______ additional passengers on the pre-convention tour.

I will be arriving in Charlotte on ____________________(date) via auto ____, Amtrak #__________, Air Flight # ________________

I will participate in and have a vehicle available for the Wednesday tour [ ] Yes [ ] No and can accommodate ____ additional passengers.

I will bring a cell phone [ ] Yes [ ] No Phone number __________________________________________

Our accommodations on Sunday and Monday nights will be at the Days Inn, 1340 North Wesleyan Blvd. (US-301 Bypass) Rocky Mount, NC. You may make your reservation by calling 1-252-977-7766. Rates are 47.95 plus tax for one or two beds. This rate is good until May 25, 2010.

Maps with driving directions will be provided for each vehicle in the pre-convention caravan.

Pre-convention registrations ____X $10.00 (until 5/10/10)= ____________________.______

Pre-convention registrations ____X $15.00 (after 5/10/10)=_____________________._______

Member registrations for convention ____X $160.00 (until 5/10/10)= _____________._______

Member registrations for convention____X $175.00 (after 5/10/10)=______________._______

Non-member registrations for convention____X $172.00 (until 5/10/10)=__________._______

Non-member registrations for convention____X $187.00 (after 5/10/10)=__________._______

Banquet tickets (for spouse not attending convention) $30.00=____________________._______

Banquet tickets (for those not attending convention) ___X $35.00=________________._______

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL__________________._______

Make check out to Railroad Station Historical Society.

Our banquet will be a buffet meal and will include salad, beverage, and dessert.

Non-alcoholic drink choices for the tours (You make make more than one choice.)

__Water __Cola __Diet Cola __Lemon-Lime__Diet Lemon-Lime __ Root Beer __ Diet Root Beer __Diet Green Tea

__ other, what kind?__________________________________

Send your completed form with payment to : Art Peterson, 3200 Gordon Drive, Greenville, NC 27834-4926

Railroad Station Historical Society Conventions

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