Winterail Brings Rail Enthusiasts from Across the Country to Linn-Benton

            ALBANY – Winterail, an event for railroad photographers and other railfans, took place March 28 in the Russell Tripp Performance Center at LBCC.

            The Commuter previously sat down with Vic and Annie Neves for a Q&A about Winterail, which was first held in Sacramento, California in 1978. At the time it was the first railroad-related photography exposition and railroad memorabilia show. 

            In 2016, the event was moved to the auditorium at Corvallis High School, before moving to the Russell Tripp Performance Center for this year’s 48th show.

            Often described as “Social Media for Railfans,” Winterail was created by Dave Stanley, who was the producer from 1978-1993, followed by Vic and Annie Neves and their team of “roadies.”
            About 240 people gathered for the first presentation at last month’s event, including attendees at the swap meet. “This was the most attended show in awhile,” Annie Neves recalled.

            Every Winterail features a lineup of digital presentations from rail photographers around the world, along with showing railroad collectibles and photographs.
            The collectibles included anything from old passenger train time tables to old digital slides, models, even books for people that are new in the hobby, or even want to brush up on their research of a specific railroad.

Photos by Skylar Wilkerson