NMRA National Convention in St. Louis Cancelled

Too bad.  There is simply no choice.  

We should hear soon from TCA-TTOS-LCCA-LOTS.  I'm not looking forward to it.  

They made the right call, I think.

Frankly, I expect to hear all model train events being cancelled well into the summer and perhaps beyond...

That's too bad about the NMRA event but some other bad news that I read today is the the annual NRA annual 2020 meeting event in Nashville has been cancelled as well.  I expect Greenbergs spring /summer schedule to be affected as well.  As for York fans I cannot see the Oct event being cancelled and with all the show cancellations, attendance could experience an upward swing. I also believe that the Allentown First Frost Train Meet in Nov will go off as scheduled. We all can't stay in forever.

Unsaid in the NMRA cancellation announcement,  was that the 2020 O Scale National Convention which was to meet concurrently with NMRA National Convention (NMRA was handling the reservations for O Scale as well), is also cancelled.

Pending conditions as the year progresses,  the 2020 O Scale National is looking into possibly holding its convention with the Indianapolis O Scale Meet later this year.

S. Islander

I would expect that all of the O scale club conventions will be cancelled.  

Diok S posted:

I would expect that all of the O scale club conventions will be cancelled.  

I badly want to be wrong here, but I wouldn't bet much on any model train shows or events taking place in 2020. Even if the spread is curtailed and it becomes a far less pressing medical issue, that won't happen until early summer at the earliest. You want to risk large numbers of elderly model train people and when (not if) some die from exposure to COVID, you also want to deal with their survivors and their lawyers?

The perfect explanation of the situation.

I agree with p51.  I would like to go to York in October if this thing is gone.  But realistically,  I have no expectations of public gatherings (i.e., conventions, sports games, shows, etc) this year.  And York or most any toy train meeting would be a potential perfect storm.

I would very much like to be wrong.

Sadly, this is the most wise course of action. Any organization that held a convention or meet would open itself to liability litigation should a cluster of corona infections be traceable to the event. This year will become known as "the year with the big asterisk" in the history books.

I had planned to attend several major/national model railroading conventions and events this summer, and all have been cancelled or postponed until some still-to-be-determined future date. A wise move for all of them, even though I have non-refundable registration and/or hotel fees with some of them. Nothing is more important at the present time than getting this virus under control and properly dealt with. Planning for anything before mid-autumn, at the earliest, is kind of foolhardy in my opinion.