On Saturday, the 21st of the month, the Pacific Northwest Railroad Prototype Modelers are holding their annual meet in Monroe, WA. It’s officially called the 2016 Rails by the Bay meet. A RPM meet is different than say a train show, or a NMRA gathering. At a train show, you typically see vendors, layouts, and maybe a modeling section, but the overall focus is drawing the public in. At a NMRA gathering the focus is on “contests” to see who builds the best.
What’s really neat about a RPM meet is that it is neither of these! The RPM history is rooted in both, but the focus is different. The focus at an RPM meet is to simply show off your models, both completed and in progress. The RPM meets also have clinics where presenters share a variety of techniques so it becomes a learning process. Think of the RPM as a “drag n brag” on steroids that covers all scales.
Pacific Northwest Prototype Modelers
So in my attempt to draw attention to the large scale side of the hobby, I’m bringing a couple of projects to display. So far I’m planning on bringing my #9 turnout build to P:29 standards, and my BN Snow Dozer that is under construction. I may also bring my GP30 project, but I haven’t done much on other than try and figure out how to convert the USAT loco to P:29 standards, but it might generate some interesting discussions about 45mm gauge and scale…
I also know that Devon is bringing his Mogul to display, and maybe he can convince Steve F. to bring something to ‘share’ as well! 
I’m hoping that by bringing some large scale models into a typically small scale setting we can drive some modelers to think of large scale as serious modeling. I’ll try to take some photo’s and share them with the group.
The two big RPM meets that are held every year are in Cocoa Beach, Fl, and Naperville, Il. Check out the link for more details about other RPM meets.