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2004 SIG Meet Buffalo
by James Torgeson
The 2004 RRISIG meet will be held in Buffalo,
NY, June 2-5. The meet will follow our usual format with registration and
evening clinics on Wednesday - Saturday, and industrial tours on Thursday -
Saturday. A banquet will be held Saturday night.
All industrial tours will be via chartered
motor coach (Coach USA). No private autos will be permitted. As this is written
(February 29) the exact tour schedule is still being formulated. The Buffalo
area is home to numerous automotive component plants, a busy waterfront that
caters to the grain and salt trade, as well as the former Bethlehem Steel
Lackawanna Plant (until the late 1970s
the plant employed 22,000).
Visits to American Axle & Manufacturing,
CSX Frontier Yard, Delphi Thermal & Interior Systems (the largest
automotive heat exchanger plant in the world), Ford Motor Company Woodlawn
Stamping Plant, General Mills, General Motors Tonawanda Engine Plant (the
largest engine plant in the world), Goodyear-Dunlop and Tonawanda Coke are in
the works. As always, the exact slate of site visits is subject to change.
Saturday June 5th, we will board the Miss
Buffalo for a narrated tour of the industrial sites along the Buffalo River
(grain elevators) and Lake Erie (the remains of the Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna
Plant and more grain elevators).
Formal clinics & presentations
will be held each night from 7:30 - 10:30PM, followed by an open forum for
slides/videos etc. We still need more
clinics & presentations for the meet
The SIG meet hotel is the Holiday Inn Buffalo
International Airport, 4600 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga, NY 14225. It is
adjacent to the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport which is reached by
taking Exit 51E of Interstate 90. The room rate of $85.00 plus tax is good for
reservations made until 5/2/04. Call the hotel directly at (716) 634-6969 and
mention that you are making reservations for the National Model Railroad
Association. You cannot get the discount rate with the toll free reservation system or via the
Internet. This is the start of the busy
summer tourist season in Western New York so MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY! Also
please stay at the Holiday Inn, as we have to guarantee a set number of
room nights. I know it may be a little cheaper elsewhere but your room helps
pay for the facilities we will be utilizing. The group rate is available from
May 30 - June 6. Any attendee not living in the Buffalo immediate area who does not stay
in the meet hotel will be assessed an additional $10 for the registration fee.
Full Registration is $115 and includes all evening
clinics, the Thursday and Friday tours via motor coach (including a box lunch),
and Saturday boat tour and banquet. Spouses
going on the tours will pay full registration fee. See the registration form below for other options.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE RRISIG IS REQUIRED TO
REGISTER except for spouses.
Buffalo 2004 will feature a number of heavy
industry site visits that are not normally available to the public and are not
designed for tours. Attendees will be required to be appropriately dressed with
long sleeve shirts, long pants, sturdy work
style boots or shoes (NO SNEAKERSOR SOFT SHOES) and hard hats and/or safety
glasses as required by each tour site.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE APPROPRIATE APPAREL
and/or SAFETY EQUIPMENT YOU WILL BE DENIED PERMISSION TO BOARD THE BUS!! You
may also be required to sign a liability release in order to visit certain
sites. No one under 18 will be
permitted on the tours.
Spouses need to register for any activities in
which they plan to participate. If the slate of planned
activities does not suit your spouse and/or family, Buffalo and Niagara Falls
offer a lot of family activities and sightseeing possibilities. Visit the web
site, http://www.buffalo.com/
for more information.
GETTING HERE
Buffalo is easy to get to as it is on the New
York State Thruway (I-90). Most major
airlines and four daily Amtrak trains also serve the city. The hotel offers
complimentary shuttle service to both the airport and the Amtrak station.
As the meet information is constantly being updated,
please refer to the RRISIG website frequently at If you have provided an e-mail
address on the registration form you will be automatically updated via that
route.
If you do not have web Internet access or
e-mail please check the appropriate area on the registration form and you will
be notified via US Mail.
I hope to see you all in June.
James S. Torgeson - Buffalo 2004 Coordinator
