Welcome to the Waterloo Railway Exposition! Please see below for important dates and times to make the most of your experience!
Friday, August 28, 2026
Vendor Registration and Set Up
10:00AM – 6:00PM
Located at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Waterloo St. Jacobs
Meet & Greet
6:00PM – 10:00PM
Located at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Waterloo St. Jacobs.
This event is open to vendors, clinicians, volunteers. General public will not be admitted.
Saturday, August 29, 2026
RMP Show
8:00AM – 6:00PM*
Located at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Waterloo St. Jacobs.
Visit the model display room showcasing model projects from many different modellers and visit various preservation groups. Show attendees are encouraged to bring a model (or models) to display. Any scale or prototype. Both finished and in-progress models showing techniques or modifications are encouraged.
*Walk-in/registration ends at 4:00PM
Shop Tour Shuttle
10:00AM – 3:00PM
Ride one of WCR’s heritage diesel trains from the St. Jacobs Market Station to visit WCR’s Restoration and Maintenance Facility. Tour through the shop and see first-hand railway preservation at it’s finest! Ride the train back to the the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market Station and continue your expo experience. Shuttles depart every hour on the hour between 10am and 3pm. The last return train will leave the shop at 4:00PM. Please note you must take the Shuttle to access this tour. There is no parking at the WCR Restoration and Maintenance Facility.
Clinics
9:00AM – 5:00PM
From modeling techniques to historical information, learn something new from knowledgeable presenters in our clinics throughout the day. Clinics will take place at both the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Waterloo St. Jacobs and the Homewood Suites by Hilton Waterloo/St. Jacobs.
Speeder Rides
11:00AM – 3:00PM
Take a ride on one of WCR’s vintage track maintenance vehicles! Located on the Waterloo Spur, starting at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market Station, and traveling down the Waterloo Spur towards Randall Drive. Be sure to purchase your speeder ride ticket online in advance.
Banquet
6:30PM Dinner is Served with panel discussion to follow.
Enjoy a banquet featuring a buffet dinner, cash bar, great conversation with fellow enthusiasts, and a discussion panel led by the WCR General Manager, Bob Fallowfield alongside industry experts.
The banquet will be held at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Waterloo/St. Jacobs in the Benjamin Room, with the panel discussion following in the Hearth Room. Tickets for the banquet are available to purchase until August 6, 2026 and there is a limited quantity, buy early so you don’t miss out!
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Vendor Tear Down
8:00AM – 4:00PM
Take your displays down at your leisure so you can still enjoy Steam Train Rides and all that the area has to offer.
Steam Train Rides
11:00AM
Step back in time with a heritage ride behind Steam Locomotive No. 9 (MLW 0-6-0), complete with a classic run-past for an unforgettable photo opportunity! Your Steam Train Ride will be approximatly two hours long, traveling toward the Town of Elmira and back. More details and tickets are available on the WCR Steam Train Rides ticketing webpage.
Waterloo Region Model Railroad Club Open House
10:00AM – 4:00PM
Visit the Waterloo Region Model Railroad Club in Maryhill to experience an HO-scale, prototype-based recreation of Canadian Pacific Railway’s Sudbury Division as it appeared in the 1970s.
The layout features:
- A multi-level (mushroom) design over 2 floors with tracks interconnected by helices
- Track arrangements of the modelled towns are duplicated closely to the prototype locations
- Locomotives and rolling stock match real equipment that operated in northern Ontario during the ’70s
- Long freight trains rolling smoothly over handlaid trackage powered by NCE Digital Command Control
The WRMRC is located at 1589 Maryhill Rd, Maryhill, ON, approximately 25 minutes from the Waterloo Railway Exposition. This tour is included with your general admission.