2023 March “O” Scale Meet Update
We’re less than a week from the March Meet in Chicago. The schedule has been finalized and our website updated accordingly.
Thursday March 16 is Ted Schnepf’s annual March Meet Operating Session. Please note, this has been moved from Friday to Thursday to allow for a longer operating session as well as to provide Ted with more time on Friday for his dealer set up. There is still room for more operators. Please see the Layout Tour section of our website for mark-up information.
Friday will be dealer set up from 1pm-9pm. For those without tables or those who do not need extended set up hours, there will be an addition to the schedule as soon as we can get it up. That is a combined self and guided tour of the Illinois Railway Museum Grounds on Friday. The Grounds will open to our group at 10:00 am. For those interested in a group lunch, check in at the Office prior to or at 12 noon. Following Lunch, at or shortly after 1:00 pm, there will be a guided tour of the Shops. Perhaps more if everybody is nice:-) Nick Kallas will be your guide. Enter through the normal entrance off the parking lot. Proceed to the Office on Central Ave (across from the refreshment stand) and check in there.
Saturday, dealer access begins at 8:00 am for final set up and at 9:00 am sharp, the doors open for trading etc. Trading ends at 5pm. Please leave the hall as soon as possible to allow the hotel to restage the Foyer for the O Scale Central sponsored Sociall from 6:00 pm - Midnight. A cash bar will be set up between 6 pm and 10 pm. For those who wish to have drinks after the cash bar closes, the hotel bar will still be serving and you can bring your beverages back to our area. The social is a new addition and we hope everybody considers stopping by once or twice, whether you’re staying in at the hotel or going out for dinner and or layout tours.
Sunday, the doors open at 8:30 am, a little bit earlier than usual and the meet ends at 12 noon. Due to a subsequent event, we ask everybody to pack up and depart the ballroom as soon as possible after 12 noon. No need to rush, just do the best you can. March Meet Staff will be available to assist with the load-out beginning with the east (or right side) of the ballroom. Our willingness to provide the hotel with a little flexibility with respect to our hours on Sunday weighed heavily on their decision to offer us a Contract for 2024. It has been signed by all parties, so we’re locked into having another meet in 2024.
Check the website for Layout tours starting Thursday and ending Sunday. Of special note that everybody should be aware of is the Rockford Club Open House on Thursday and Sunday instead of Saturday and Sunday. Again, there will be no open house on Saturday night. A previous communication included an error in the table at the end of the Layout Tour document.
AND LET'S NOT FORGET ABOUT THE MODEL CONTEST. Please bring your best to enter in the contest. If you're adamant about not entering a model contest, but still have something to show (complete or not); we will have tables available for display only.
With regards to the 2024 March O Scale Meet: The dates will be March 14-17, 2024. Same format as this year. We will have flyers at the Meet for attendees to pre-register at the 2023 pricing. Final 2024 pricing will be determined based on the final number of tables reserved this year along with attendance and pre-registrations. If we have enough in every category, there won’t be much of an increase. Hotel Room Rates will be $123 per night. For those who stay in hotels on a regular basis, comparably speaking, you’ll recognize how reasonable this is. We’ve worked hard to keep all costs as low as possible. We’ve done extremely well this year with hotel room reservations and wish to thank everyone staying at the Westin this year for helping us clear the tallest hurdle.
We’ll see everybody later in the week!
The March “O” Scale Meet Committee
ChicagoMeet@yahoo.com
