The Blue Ridge Chapter of the NRHS was established in 1958 by a small group of members. Today, we have more than 50 members from all over the Central Virginia Region, representing a variety of railroad-related interests, including History, Preservation, Modeling, and Photography. Regardless of our interests, we all share a common love of railroading.
The Blue Ridge Chapter is the local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the nation’s largest railroad historical society with over 17,000 members in 170 chapters.
Our group holds official chapter meetings once a month where our members present a wide variety of programs highlighting their railroad interests. Special guests offer lectures and presentations on interesting historical and regional aspects of railroading. Our group also runs additional special events throughout the year.
We publish a monthly newsletter, the Blue Ridge Dispatcher. Each edition features timely information about upcoming meetings, communications from our offices, railroad news, articles by chapter members, and recent prototype sightings in the region. Our newsletter is a great benefit of being a BRC member.
The Blue Ridge Chapter is proud to be a Rail Heritage Region Partner, working to promote interest in and awareness of the significant impact railroads have had on our region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Other partners include the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the O. Winston Link Museum, and the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, all based in Roanoke. The C&O Historical Society and its C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge are also key partners in this effort.