The 2003 NRHS Convention was kicked off on July 1, 2003 with a trip to the Wilmington & Western Railroad in the Historic Red Clay Valley of Delaware.

The Wilmington & Western Railroad was opened on October 19, 1872 for freight and passenger service. The primary purpose was to ship good from the mills on the Red Clay Creek to the Port of Wilmington for distribution by ship. When the line first opened, three passenger trains and a fixed freight train operated daily. The W&W's nearly 20 miles of track connected Landenburg, Pa. with Wilmington, Del. The line fell into bankruptcy by 1877 due to excessive construction debt and poor management. It was then reorganized into the Delaware Western Railroad which grew into a highly profitable railroad moving a variety of materials including vulcanized fiber materials, snuff, iron and coal to and from the mills along the Red Clay Creek.

In 1883, the Baltimore & Philadelphia Railroad, purchased the line. Since the B&P was owned by the Baltimore & Ohio, the B&P now had its much needed access route to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad for passengers and freight for points between Washington and New York City. The B&P was the longest branch route on the B&O Royal Blue Route and was refeered to as the Landenburg Branch. By late 1950s the line had been truncated to Hockessin, Del., shortening the railroad to about 10.2 miles. In 1966, Historic Red Clay Valley, Inc. (HRCV) leased the branch from the B&O with the intention of operating a steam powered tourist railroad between Greenbank and Mt. Cuba. In the late 1970's the B&O applied for abandonment of the line and by 1982, the line was sold to the HRCV Inc. The Wilimington & Western became a subsidary of the HRCV and was charged with the operation of the tourist railroad.

Wilmington & Western Railroad No. 58 is caught as it passes the photo line on the second runby of the day.

Buses left the convention hotel around 6:30 a.m. for the the Wilmington & Western arriving around 8 a.m. The group was splilt into two smaller groups, one to ride the steam locomotive and one to ride the "doodlebug." For the return trip, the group switched trains so all riders had the opportunity to ride behind both locomotives. W&W 0-6-0 No. 58, is an ex-Alabama, Birmingham & Atlantic switcher. The 58 was acquired from the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad in 1973 where it was dedicated as the Vetran's Locomotive in commemoration of our military veterans. Since then, it has seen regular service on the W&W. The consist included two ex-Delaware, Lackawanna & Western passenger coaches, No. 410 and No. 581; and caboose C2042. The second train featured ex-Pennsylvania Railroad "Doodlebug" No. 4662. The 4662 was built by Pullman Standard in April 1929 and rebuilt in 1943 with two Cummins HBIS-6 175 HP diesel engines. In April 1959, the "doodlebug" was retired from active commuter server on the Parkton line. In the 1960's it was purchased by the HRCV and by 1980 was restored to service. The two excursion trains followed each other down the W&W right-of-way providing numerious photo runby's in route.

Wilmington & Western Railroad No. 92 sits in the shop yard awaiting major restoration. Constructed by the Canadian Locomotive Company, No. 92 was the W&W's first steam locomotive. It is a 2-6-0 "Mogul" and is sister to No. 89 at the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania.

On the return trip, passengers were taken past the Greenbank Station to Marshallton where the W&W shops are located. A final runby was performed in the yard. Passengers also had the opportunity to view rail equipment in the yard including 2-6-0 No. 92, SW-1 No. 114 and 4-4-0 No. 98 in the shop for a class 1 overhaul. After about 45 minutes touring the shops, passengers were taken back to the Greenbank station for departure by bus to the Amtrak shops in Wilmington, Del. for a tour of their facility.

Ex-RDG FP-7 No. 902 and No. 903 were at the W&W Greenbank Station for display and touring by convention attendees. Visitors were permited to go into cab of the F-units and view the recent electrical work being done. The 902 and 903 are owned and operated by the Philadelphia Chapter NRHS and the Lancaster Chapter NRHS.

Ex-Pennsylvania "doodlebug" No. 4662 performs a runby for photographers. The 4662 has 77 seats and room for a modest amount of baggage.	The inside of ex-DL&W passenger coach No. 410. Passengers can be seen relaxing in the ex-Reading coach and enjoying the scenery of the Red Clay Valley.