Railroading Merit Badge
2010 Program Information

The Boy Scouts of America have recognized a Railroading Merit Badge since 1952. This is the fifth year of our Scouting program at the Niles Canyon Railway.

During 2010, the Pacific Locomotive Association will sponsor many half-day merit badge study sessions at the railroad's service facility (called 'Brightside') in the canyon, to sign-off some of their requirements, as well as few full-day* programs at Brightside, to help Scouts complete their Railroading Merit Badge or Council Badge.

• To be eligible for a full-day session*, scouts will need to sign off requirements 1c, 2a, 4, and their choice of 8a or 8b.
• These are best studied at home, and/or on the web, and can take longer to sign off.
• The NCRy program can help with Requirements 1-7 of the BSA Railroading Merit Badge, but Scouts will need to work on Requirements 8a or 8b on their own.
• On-line Study Guides for many of the requirements are available using the links in the left-hand column of this page.

Girl Scouts can attend our sessions as well! Juniors will be able to earn a Railroading Council Badge from the North Carolina Coastal Pines Council, because that council badge closely follows what we are teaching for the BSA Railroading merit badge. GSA leaders should contact us for more information.

All scouts interested in participating should sign up by emailinging their contact information and troop number. Schedule changes and reminders will be sent by email, and reminders will also be sent via twitter (follow @ncryrrmb for reminders and information). Scouts are strongly encouraged to review the current Railroading Merit Badge Requirements on the Internet (and explore the helpful links at the bottom of that web page). Scouts should also consider buying or borrowing a new (color) revision of the 2009 Railroading Merit Badge Handbook. This new rewrite hasn't changed the requirements, but it has added a LOT of good, useful information, making it a better resource for learning what a Scout will need to know for this merit badge.

The Merit Badge dot Org website also has a Railroading Merit Badge Worksheet avalable in PDF format. While it is not a requirement to use this form, using the worksheet is a great way for a scout to organize their notes to be prepared for their sign-off.

Did you know that California led all 50 states in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for the most fatalities from trespassing along the railroad right-of-way? Operation Lifesaver is trying to change that through Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. Part of their Mission is the reason that both BSA and GSA badge programs have a requirement to learn about this important organization.

The study sessions are a drop-in format, and we will work on one or two requirements during each session. Priority will be given for scouts to sign off other requirements on that day, if they come to the session prepared. The schedule for these sessions will be on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 PM, on the 4th Saturday of the month, February through May, and July through September:

Merit Badge Extravaganzas: I will also be at the LDS Church on Gatewood Street, Fremont, on FEB 13, MAY 8 and OCT 9, at the Mission Peak District's M.B.E..

We attended the Nor-Cal Jamboree on April 15-18, 2010 at the nearby Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. We hope you were able to participate in this magnificent event!

Meetings with a Railroad Merit Badge counselor may be scheduled (by email, in advance) to come to a troop meeting, or at the Sunol Depot during regular NCRy operating Sundays. (check the Schedule for operating dates).

Send email to RRMB at ncry.org to:

• Sign up for the program
• Ask questions about the requirements
• Arrange a sign-off meeting with a counselor

* Our day-long sessions are currently only open to scouts who have signed off at least 4 of the 17 requirement parts towards their Railroading merit badge (Requirements 1c, 2a, 4, and their choice of 8a or 8b). Scouts can get their requirements signed off at one of our study sessions, or Merit Badge Extravaganzas. The more requirements the scout has signed off before their visit, the higher their position will be on the waiting list. These sessions are meant to help a scout add depth to the learning they have already begun.

The all-day session begins with a safety briefing at the maintenance yard at Brightside. The morning is spent discussing the various requirements for the merit badge. After lunch, there is a walking tour of the yard to see the equipment, to visit some of the departments that make the railroad and museum work, and to observe some of the jobs that the Scouts have been studying. After the tour, we focus on sign-off of the requirements.

These full-day events last about 7 hours, and scouts who have already done some studying before they attend will benefit the most.