The foundation for Run Extra St. Louis was first laid in the mid 1990s in the basement of a small home next to the Union Pacific railroad tracks, 60 miles west of St. Louis in Washington, Missouri. It was there that a retired railroader named Frank W. Bryan gathered a small group of frustrated model railroaders who were tired of running trains in circles at various club and home layouts, and introduced them to operating his N-scale Missouri Midland Railroad following prototype practices and rules. More than just running trains, Frank's operating sessions emphasized proper train handling, switching movements and radio etiquette. If someone made a mistake (and there were many in those early days) Frank was quick with a stern correction, explaining where the offender went wrong, and making sure everyone understood. Frank was willing to teach, and as a group, we were both eager and willing to learn.

   It wasn't long afterwards that our group came to the attention of Kansas City transplant, Patrick Pope, who was building a large basement layout and looking for operators. Soon the group was expanding rapidly as more layouts came on line. Patrick also reached out to his friends in Kansas City and arranged weekend operating sessions on a number of different layouts for our group. These trips became invaluable lessons in layout construction and operating practices that we were able to bring home and apply on our own layouts. We were also able to return the favor by hosting some of the Kansas City layout hosts for weekend sessions in St. Louis. We also have hosted groups from other cities as well as individual operators from across the country, Gradually, we began to receive invitations for weekend events not only from Kansas City, but from other cities as well. St. Louis has been represented at Prairie Rail, Railgroup, Minn-Rail and other events, including ProRail, for a number of years now.

   All of these invitations and experiences have left a longstanding desire to be able to give back to those who have been so generous to us. It has long been the wish of our group to host a Prairie Rail or Railgroup style event here in St. Louis. That desire has led to a renewed effort to organize and foster operations in the St. Louis area, and to bring the various splinter groups under a single umbrella, culminating in the first ever operations event in our area, Run Extra St. Louis. We only hope that our hard work pays off, and that our guests will enjoy the weekend as much as we've enjoyed the generosity of others.

   Our only regret is not being able to offer the layout that started it all, Frank Bryan's Missouri Midland, which was dismantled in 2004 preceeding a move by Frank to a new home in Washington, then ultimately relocating to the Tulsa area. Without his generosity, patience and experience, Run Extra St. Louis would not have been possible.

~ Run Extra St. Louis ~