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Welcome to DixieRail ‘26 in Atlanta, Georgia!
DixieRail is the premier biannual model railroad operations event, lasting three days and showcasing some of the best layouts in the greater Atlanta area. This event welcomes out-of-town model railroaders who appreciate realistic operations and wish to operate on layouts beyond their hometowns. Each layout is specifically designed to keep crews engaged and busy throughout the event.
DixieRail ‘26 will be held from Thursday, July 23, 2026 to Saturday, July 25, 2026.
These dates are immediately prior to the NMRA National Convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is about a two-hour drive from metro Atlanta.
DixieRail is free to attend, but participants must register by emailing Dixierail26@gmail.com with their full name, home city, email address, and phone number. To preview the layouts, please click the links on the left side of this page. In early April you will receive a form asking you to rank your top ten layout choices. Please note that space is limited to the total number of operator slots available across all layouts, so early registration is strongly encouraged. Attendees are responsible for their own travel, hotel, food, and beverages.
● The DixieRail schedule for all three days will be:
10:00am to noon - First Session
Noon to 1:30pm - Lunch break to socialize with other attendees or travel between two different layouts
1:30pm to 3:30pm - Second Session
● Thursday evening
Eli Stancel will present a clinic titled "History, Stories, and a few Lies: The History of the Norfolk Southern Railway and Atlanta."
Eli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Piedmont College and a Master of Arts degree from Arkansas State University. He has published numerous articles on a variety of topics, including 1812 forts, slave ship technology, and sports history. With 24 years of experience at Norfolk Southern Railway, Eli has lived and worked in several cities, including Baltimore, Hershey, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Norfolk. He currently resides on his farm in Bostwick with his wife, Stephanie, and their four children. When he is not working on the farm, Eli leads music at Remembrance Community Church.
● Friday evening event dinner
Please join attendees, layout owners and their crews at our event dinner while exploring the Southeastern Railway Museum, complete with a steamed-up locomotive, vintage equipment, historic artifacts and even a restored and working 1957 amusement park train that you can ride. Dinner will be catered by Dreamland BBQ and the cost to attendees is estimated to be $45-$50, which includes the price of admission to the Museum.
This event dinner will require up-front payment to secure a reservation as space is limited. This will be paid when you make your layout choices in early April. You will be notified by email when and how to do this.
More information about the Museum is available here: https://www.train-museum.org/
Event hotel:
Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia
4355 Ashford Dunwoody Rd., Atlanta, GA 30346
770-551-6111
The hotel is located in the popular Perimeter Mall area where there are lots of restaurants, retail and other activities. This is also a convenient starting location for driving to all of the participating layouts for ops sessions and visiting open houses on Sunday.
We have reserved a block of rooms at the event hotel for a promotional discounted rate that includes breakfast for 2, complimentary wifi, and discounted covered parking. This rate is good for 2 days before and after DixieRail if you want to arrive early or stay Saturday night to visit the Atlanta-area open houses on Sunday, before heading to the National Convention. Sunday's open houses will be a great opportunity to see some of the layouts on which you weren't able to formally operate. This promotional rate is good until 5:00 PM, July 1, 2026.
Please use this exclusive link to receive the discounted rate when booking the hotel: https://book.passkey.com/event/51215499/owner/55306/home
You may also call the hotel and ask for the DixieRail26 promotional code when booking your reservation.
Several of the layouts participating in DixieRail will also host open houses on Sunday, July 26, 2026 for NMRA Convention attendees arriving early. You can find details here: borail.net/NMRA
The information contained on this web site will be periodically updated, so check back often. We are continuously adding layout descriptions, photos, and other assorted goodies to these pages as they become available.
We look forward to seeing you at DixieRail ‘26!
Site last updated April 28, 2026
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