Welcome to the Magnolia Division of the National Model Railroad Association's Southeastern Region.  We serve central and south Mississippi, including the cities of Jackson, Gulfport, Vicksburg, and Meridian.

Coming in August 2016 will be a clinic on DCC and JMRI; this will be in conjunction with activities at the Meridian MRR Club.  They will be presented by Mr. Bill Burkhart from Fort Worth, proprietor of the Texas Train Exchange, who is a big Meridian fan and who has family in Laurel.  Bill is an absolute expert with Digitrax and all things regarding installation of DCC decoders.  Once we pin down a date, I’ll get you an update.

Right now, there are three active clubs in the division:  Meridian (about which you are familiar, through Gerald), Jackson (both the Jackson Society of Model Engineers and the Central Mississippi Model Railroaders Assn.), and Gulfport (Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Club).

Meridian meets every Saturday morning at the Meridian Railroad Museum, located at the old Southern Depot.  It is a beautiful facility, and well worth a trip over to visit.  The city has spent tons of money on the depot and its environs, and it is a gem in the Queen City’s crown.

The CMMRRA meets every Tuesday evening at the Mississippi Agriculture Museum, where they have a beautiful display layout depicting agricultural scenes from across the state.  Members also get together on Saturday mornings to run trains for the museum patrons.  The JSMR has a pair of very nice layouts in the same facility – one is O scale, the other Lionel.  I’ll have to get back to you on meeting times.  All of these layouts are available for visitation throughout the day during museum hours with trains running automatically on demand.

The Gulfport club operates the Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum (http://www.mcmrcm.org), which is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, and provides viewing of all kinds of model railroad layouts and equipment – with plenty of hands on experiences for kids of all ages.

Presently, we have 27 active NMRA members -including the newly minted Dr. Purdy.  We are going to be attempting to identify all the model railroaders in the division, with the goal of increasing membership and participation.

Things are going to be happening in Magnolia!  Can’t wait to get everyone involved!

For more information about the Magnolia Division, please contact Superintendent Pat McCarthy at maccars@gmx.com or 601-955-0510.

LINKS
Mississippi Gulf Coast Model RR Club http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piXYhaskH6w
Jackson Society of Model Engineers http://www.jsme.org/
Cliff Powers' Mississippi Alabama and Gulf http://magnoliaroute.com/magnolia_route_001.htm