We are a diverse group of people with a common interest in rail transportation and its rich and storied history.  Membership in our Chapter is fun and is open to all with our  common interest.  We invite you to join our organization.

Over the course of the year, we conduct a wide variety of activities, including public excursions, train trips, tours, as well as private railroad car journeys aboard the DOVER HARBOR, and monthly meetings. 

Our Classic Pullman DOVER HARBOR "Once there were thousands, now there is one.."  - Private Varnish Magazine

We also have a wide variety of programs, community service projects, and activities with something to interest everyone, including rail equipment restoration and operation, excursion train operations,  community service activities, historical research, photography contests, and railfan outings. With great monuments to railroading such as Washington Union Station, great railfan locations, tourist railroads, museums, Amtrak, and commuter rail, and lots of rail history right here in the local area, the possibilities for Chapter events and informal get together's are endless. One of our major projects is the restoration and operation of the DOVER HARBOR, our classic heavy weight Pullman passenger car.  Built in 1923 and reconfigured in 1934 as a sleeper-buffet-lounge, the car operated in main line passenger service for 43 years and now is the only example of a Pullman Company heavy weight revenue car roaming the main lines of America unrestricted.  We operate the car, often in Amtrak trains, as a living experience of travel during railroading's Golden Age. Belonging to the Washington, D.C. Chapter NRHS is a  fantastic way to meet, socialize, and network with other people in the railfan and railroad community.  Members  receive our monthly newsletter, The TimeTable, as well as the National Railway Bulletin, which is published by our National organization, in addition to many other benefits and discounts.  If you are interested in membership, contact the Chapter or come to one of our activities, such as our monthly meetings, which are free and open to the public.

The Chapter also operates the Martin F. O'Rourke Memorial Railroad Library. The Library is a free reference Library.

If you are a first-time visitor, please use this opportunity to get know us.  Check the highlights of our site by taking our Web Site Tour, which departs below. Review the Departures Board to see the latest Chapter happenings. And, don't forget to check out the DOVER HARBOR.  Of course, you may use the buttons on the page to navigate the main topics of the site. 

Lastly, we invite you to bookmark our site as one of your favorites and come back often and to join our Yahoo New group and share common interest with your fellow railroad fans.

Click to join Washington_DC_NRHS

This news group is to facilitate communications among the members and friends of the Washington, D.C. Chapter, Inc., National Railway Historical Society. The Washington, D.C. Chapter, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)3 educational organization. Postings to this news group must not concern partisan political campaigning for individuals. Also prohibited are commercial advertising, or "recommendations" for commercial entities of any kind. Postings may concern any activities of the Chapter, the NRHS, or the railroads in general.

Safety Rule of the Month February “When riding inside of caboose be prepared for sudden starting, stopping, or slack action by facing direction it is moving, by being braced and holding or prepared to do so instantly and by moving about only when necessary in the performance of duty.” GT Safety Rules: Train, Engine, Yard & Other Employees, effective July 1, 1973, rule #1502.