Hello Friends,

Here’s an update on the upcoming RPM Chicagoland Conference, which is will be held on Friday, 27 October and Saturday, 28 October, 2023 at the beautiful Northern Illinois University Conference Center on the NIU campus in suburban Naperville, Illinois (1120 E. Diehl Road, Suite 150, Naperville, IL 60563).

The center is booked and the event is on! The NIU center will open at 8:00 on both days. Events run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Clinics
The 2023 RPM Conference returns to Martin Loftin’s original vision, with up to five clinic tracks, running morning into the early evening, available for meeting, learning and discussion. If you’re interested in presenting a clinic, contact Steve Hile at shile@mindspring.com for more information. There’s still a few slots available.

Model Display
Models are our inspiration! Bring your models for display and discussion. We have two large rooms available for your models. All scales, eras, gauges and sizes are welcome. There are no contests. Bring your best and latest work to explain, teach and inspire your fellow modelers. The Resinators will meet on Friday evening, so bring your resin for show-and-tell. Of course, there is no additional fee for displaying models.

Layouts
Naperville RPM will host the Modutrak group’s large, highly-prototypical layouts in house, one in HO an done in N, and we’re working on adding a few more. In addition, Bill Darnaby’s HO scale Maumee Route layout will be open for tour, and Ted Scnepf’s O scale Milwaukee Road layout will be open for an operating session. More details on the home layout tours/ops sessions will be published on the website soon.

Vendors
A few of the vendors lined up so far include Rapido, Oak Hill Model Railroad Track Supply, Mainline Photos, Bob’s Photos, Rocket Express, Resin Car Works, Funaro & Camerlengo, the CB&Q Historical Society, and more coming in every day. At least one new model is scheduled for release at the event. If you’re interested in joining us as a vendor, contact John Golden at Golden1014@yahoo.com and I’ll mark you up.

RPM Conference Social
Stay at the NIU Center for our Friday evening social. Meet and greet old friends, fellow modelers, vendors and manufacturers. Enjoy time at the model display and looking over the layouts and buying from our exclusive vendors. Open beer and wine bar, heavy hors d‘oeuvers and snacks, all you can eat and enjoy for $42.00. You’ll be able to register on the website soon.

Hotels
We’re still working on hotel options. The nearby Naperville Embassy Suites is beautiful with room rates running around $200 for single or double occupancy with free breakfast and heavy evening heavy hors d‘oeuvers. The Naperville Fairfield Inn is nearby with rates starting at $123.night with free breakfast. The Hilton Garden Inn is also available at around $120 per night. We’ll follow up with options soon.

Registration
Advance Registration will be open online soon. Advance Registration is $50.00. Registration at the door for both Friday and Saturday is $60.00. Saturday-only Registration is $35.00. We’re pleased to cut the traditional price of RPM Chicagoland by over half this year. In the finest Naperville RPM tradition, a free gift/mini-kit will be provided by Resin Car Works to the first 100 registered guests.

If you have any questions please contact me at Golden1014@yahoo.com, or text to 618-671-8659. We’re looking forward to seeing you in Naperville!

Signed,

RPM Conference Team
Frank Hodina
Mike Skibbe
Steve Hile
Eric Hansmann
John Golden