The Convention Committee has made special arrangements with Tweetsie Railroad, a narrow gauge tourist railroad one hour from the Hickory Convention Center, for a private event on Thursday September 2^nd, for registered convention attendees only. Tweetsie Railroad is home to 4-6-0 No. 12, the last surviving locomotive from the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad. Also online is 2-8-2 Mikado No. 190, the first of an order of locomotives built for the US Army for use on the White Pass & Yukon Route in 1943. The railroad will be running two special runs, using all of their narrow gauge equipment. Photo runbys, a shop tour, and other photographic events will be part of this special narrow gauge experience. The first train will pull out at 1:30 PM, with a second run at 3:30.

The best part about this event is that it is FREE to Paid Convention Attendees (including vendors). There will be a $15 charge for spouses and other non-paid convention attendees. There is a limit of 340 tickets for each special train and tickets will reserved on a first registered first paid basis.

For those who do not want to do the special event, Tweetsie Railroad will be holding their annual Railfan Weekend during the weekend prior to the convention. Information about the public railfan weekend is available at www.TweetsieRailroad.com