The Baltimore Chapter, National Railway Historical Society is planning an event on June 28th, 2014 at the Strasburg Rail Road to mark the 55th anniversary of the Strasburg's acquisition of Maryland & Pennsylvania coach 20 from the Chapter (which had acquired the car directly from the Ma & Pa in October 1955, along with baggage-mail car 35, now in the B&O Railroad Museum).

To that end, members of the Baltimore Chapter, including two members of this forum, will be showing up at the Railroad Museum of Pa. and the Strasburg. The tentative plans include a second shop tour to be held at 11 AM to make room for others to take the regular noon shop tour, a ride on Ma & Pa 20 on either the 1:00 or 1:30 trip (depending on which train set the 20 is assigned to), and a possible tour of the Museum's Library and Archives earlier in the day at 10 a.m. (this is problematic, as a staffer is reportedly getting married that day and some regular folks may therefore not be available!).

Baltimore Chapter NRHS members only will be getting a group tour rate and a courtesy ride on #20 during the "ceremonial" trip. As 2nd VP of the Baltimore Chapter, I would like to invite any RyPN'ers to join us that day, and possibly heap appropriate abuse upon me as they see fit. Non-Chapter members will have to make appropriate reservations or purchases through the Strasburg RR website (there's a joint Museum/ride package and a joint Museum/all-day-RR-pass package, as well as lunches and dinners on the dining car, etc.), but if enough readers contact me via PM or e-mail in advance, I may see about arranging yet another group tour, at a small discount from the usual $18 fee, at 1 p.m. if railroad personnel are cooperative and willing. If I have enough response, I may try for another tour of sorts at the Museum, possibly something like a look at the in-progress restoration of PRR Atlantic 460.

I may be driving at least one other Chapter member and/or my wife to Strasburg, so my ability to partake in a microbrew afterwards may be hampered somewhat, but I'll do my best. (The closest "brewpub," Rumspringa in Bird-in-Hand, closes at 6 PM Saturdays.)