The Tidewater Division is proud to be part of the Mid-Eastern Region (MER) of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). We operate in accordance with their governing documents and regulations, and we’re incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia as a public foundation under Section 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3).
At our core, our mission is simple: bringing people together to share, promote, and preserve the educational, historical, and social aspects of model railroading and rail transportation. Whether you’re a seasoned modeler or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming place here.
Over the years, the Tidewater Division has supported a wide range of railroad-themed projects throughout the Hampton Roads community. We actively support the Children’s Museum of Portsmouth, and our members designed and built the working 1930s-era HO scale layout at the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum in Suffolk. In 2021, at the request of the Lee Hall Depot Historical Society, division members recreated a 1920s-era diorama depicting the area surrounding the depot during that time period. Our crowning achievement, however, is the creation of the Model Railroad Museum of Hampton Roads.
We’re based in the City of Virginia Beach, right in the heart of the Tidewater Region. We take great pride in our railroad heritage, and one of the best ways we share that story is online. Be sure to visit our division website for a pictorial history of the division and its members.
“Tracks to Tidewater – 2026” marks an exciting return, coming fourteen years after our last MER convention, Milepost 40.