Blue Ridge Chapter NRHS Overview   

  • Our chapter was established in 1958 with a handful of members. Today we have more than 75 members from all over the central Virginia region, representing a variety of railroad related interests: history, preservation, modeling, and photography.  What we all share in common is a love of railroading!
     

  • We are a local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the nation's largest railroad historical society with over 17,000 members in 170 chapters.  Read more about the NRHS here.
     
  • We hold official chapter meetings once a month and "fun" meetings every other month.  Our members present a wide variety of programs highlighting their personal railroad interests.  Special guests offer lectures and presentations on interesting historical and regional aspects of railroading. Many additional special events happen throughout the year. See the Train Departure Board.
     
  • We publish a monthly newsletter, the Blue Ridge Dispatcher.  Each edition features timely information about upcoming meetings, communications from our officers, railroad news, articles by chapter members, recent prototype sightings in the region, and much more!  Our newsletter is a great benefit of being a BRC member. Download recent Dispatcher issues here.
     
  • The Blue Ridge Chapter is also a Rail Heritage Region Partner. These partners are concerned with promoting interest and awareness of the role railroads have had on our region of the Virginia Commonwealth. It also inlcudes Virginia Museum of Transportation , the O. Winston Link Museum, and the Roanoke Chapter of the National Raiway Historical Society, all of Roanoke. Also the C&O Historical Society and its C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge is a partner.
     
  • For more information on becoming a member of the Blue Ridge Chapter NRHS, see our New Membership page and contact a chapter officer with your questions.