Thank you for a great 2026 RPM Naperville!

by | Oct 18, 2026 | RPM Chicagoland, RPM Conference | 1 comment

Thank you to everyone who came out to the 30th RPM Naperville on October 16 and 17 at the Northern Illinois University Conference Center in Naperville. Two days of clinics, models, and good conversation with fellow prototype modelers is exactly what this event is about, and you made it happen.

Clinics, like this one, were going on 6 at a time for two days!

Long tables of photo binders with attendees browsing
Michael Gruber returned with Mainline Photos and a large selection of photos.

A big thank you to our presenters. Thirty-three presentations were on the schedule this year. Thanks also to everyone who brought models to share, to our vendors and historical societies, to the Fox Valley Division NMRA, and to the RPM Naperville team: Frank Hodina, Steve Hile, Jerry Hamsmith, Tom Madden, and Eric Hansmann.

Atlantic Great Eastern locomotives and boxcars with clinic sign
Craig Wilson of Cadillac, Michigan paired his clinic with a display of AGE models.
Red O-scale Lehigh Valley boxcar on display track
Dick Scott’s O-scale Lehigh Valley boxcar, built from a Rails Unlimited flat resin kit.

We’re already planning next year. RPM Chicagoland plans to return October 14-16, 2027 at NIU Naperville. Watch this site for dates and details, and start on those models now. We hope to see you there!

Group of HO wood cabooses with model card
Seth Lakin’s HO New York Central (ex-Michigan Central) cabooses.

– Mike Skibbe, for the RPM Naperville team

More from the display tables

O-scale Erie gondola on display track with model card
Dick Scott’s O-scale Erie gondola, an extensively reworked International Model Products brass car body.
Erie Gondola Project display sheet
Dick Scott’s Erie Gondola Project display.
Two red passenger cars with display sheet
Models from Steve Hile.
HO gondolas with model card
Seth Lakin’s HO 52-foot War Emergency gondolas, built from Tichy models.
3D-printed mini-kit parts with NYCSHS sheet
A New York Central System Historical Society mini-kit under development.
Five small steam locomotives with handwritten cards
Light power on the Des Moines Valley RR: 1860–1870 locomotives modernized to 1900–1910 standards.
Orange covered hoppers with photos and drawings
Early wood boxcar models with prototype photos

1 Comment

  1. Mark Vaughan
    Mark Vaughan on October 18, 2026 at 5:47 pm

    I provided a QR code for my presentation. It does not seem to be working well. Can I have you add it so attendees can view it?

    Reply

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