Rail fanning the Prairie Dog Central Railway

The Prairie Dog Central Railway is truly a Manitoba rail fan's most precious resource.  We don't post most of their events, because they're usually sold out! But if you can't ride on it, you can always watch it and get some great pictures, especially if the venerable #3 steam engine is operating.

The grounds are open, the ticket office is open from 9:30AM to 3:00PM Monday to Friday, and you can look - but don't touch! There are "No Trespassing" signs on those two CP G5 locomotives they got from Virginia last year.

If you're going during the weekends just to look around, please go early and leave well before 11:00AM, when the paying customers board the train. The only have so much parking space! Be sure to check out their gift shop at the station before you leave!

Rail fans have been shooting pictures along the trackside of the PDC's route since it started running decades ago. You can get some great pictures, but use some common sense as to where you chose to take those pictures. Stay well away from the track! If you're following the train along the road, choose a level crossing on a side road, and not on highway 6, which is one of the province's most dangerous roads.

Two great places to view the train are their two main stops at Grosse Isle and Warren, but make sure to check their ticket schedule, as the train doesn't always go to Warren.

It's a little tricky getting to their Inkster Junction location since they moved the highway, but all you need to do if follow the directions to the station by clicking here.  Happy railroading!

Selling model trains at a yard sale? Let us know!

Last month a woman contacted us who wanted to sell her late husband's collection of model railroad equipment. When she mentioned that she was going to have a yard sale which included this equipment, we posted notice of the sale on this site, and on our Facebook page. We are pleased to report that as a result of our posts, she managed to sell off most of the late husband's collection.

Thanks to the success of those posts, we're going to offer the same service to anyone in the Winnipeg area who plans to sell any model railroad equipment at a public yard sale, and at a public yard sale only. For privacy and security reasons, we will not accept notices for private sales. That's what Kijiji is for.

So, if you're holding a yard sale, and have some model railroad equipment to sell, let us know by posting a reply on this site or on our Facebook page. We'll post it for free, and you don't have to be a member of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club!

Assiniboine Valley Railway holds their second July open house this weekend

It's time to take another ride on the trains at the Assiniboine Valley Railway's second July open house! Their hours are from 11:00AM to 5:00PM on Saturday, July 23, and from 1:00PM to 5:00PM on Sunday, July 24. There will be two more open houses in August as well! They're located at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park. It's just two bucks a ride, and kids under two years of age ride for free. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. A 12 ride pass is only twenty bucks!

Tuesday Nights are still Gateway Western Nights all summer long!

This handsome fellow is happily stapling some landscape material (and hopefully not his fingers) to the Gateway Western layout in the Winnipeg Railway Museum. Photo by Christopher Robinson.

Just a friendly reminder that although we're in the throes of summer, construction and operation of the Gateway Western will continue throughout the season. Tuesday nights are still Gateway nights, come rain or shine, and you're welcome to join in on the fun! Progress has been impressive on the largest group owned layout in the city, and it has been proven to be a solid attraction at the Winnipeg Railway Museum!

The Gateway Western Railway is located at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, which is on the second level of the Via Rail Station, 123 Main Street. The gang meets at 7:00PM every Tuesday.

A sleek Burlington Zephyr runs through a snow tunnel on the Gateway Western.

The WMRC section crew gang is keeping everything running smoothly at the Gateway!

Where was everyone at the TLR regional convention in Fargo?

The Thousand Lakes Region of the NMRA held a great regional convention in Fargo, North Dakota in May. Although many members of the WMRC are also NMRA members, only three of our members attended, despite it being just a four hour drive. But Model Railroader Magazine's Cody Grivno thought it was a great convention, and he posted a video all about it on the MR website, which he and Gerry Leone hosted.

So here's what you missed:

http://mrr.trains.com/series/mr-insider/2016/07/mr-insider-nmra-thousand-lakes-region-convention--fargo-nd-2016

Take a ride on the Assiniboine Valley Railway this weekend

Our good friend Joe Krolik sits on the AVR's steam powered Royal Hudson locomotive. 

But they didn't let him run it!

It's that time of the month again for the first Assiniboine Valley Railway open house in July! Yes, that's right - they're having two open houses this month - one this weekend, and another on the weekend of July 23rd and 24th!

And have we got a treat for you on this post! If distance prevents you from riding on the AVR, or if you were just wondering what it would be like to take a ride on it (but were afraid to ask), you can watch a nifty video about it!

WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich and Joe Krolik took a ride on the AVR two years ago, and while they were riding, Joe shot and narrated a video from the back end of the train! It's a unique and enjoyable ride on real time (less, the ride takes almost ten minutes) through the beautiful forested grounds of the AVR. You can watch it by clicking here.  

Now that we've whetted your appetite for a ride, you should know that their hours are from 11:00AM to 5:00PM on Saturday, July 9, and from 1:00PM to 5:00PM on Sunday, July 10. They're located at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park. It's two bucks a ride, and kids under two years of age ride for free. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. a 12 ride pass is only twenty bucks!

Morgan's model grain elevators are for the birds!

WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney has built these unique bird houses modelled after grain elevators. They're for sale, and he'll custom paint them for you in any colour you want, including ketchup red and mustard yellow!

By Morgan Turney 

I rebuilt a portion of my property fence in the spring and wondered what to do with the 'good'  old fence boards that were replaced. Our street was having a street garage sale and I needed something to sell. I'm a bird house builder and thought, "Why not recycle those fence boards into bird houses?”

I made a grain elevator birdhouse about 3 years ago and decided to make a few more using the boards. As I was cutting the patten, the thought occurred to me to make enough of them to create a bird house version of the Inglis grain elevators preserved at Inglis, Manitoba. My neighbour was having his roof re-shingled and had some scrap shingles left over which he gave me to make the roofs. 

They were made as a production run of five in about 20 hours. I cut the pieces for all five as I went along. There were quite a few angle cuts to make (all 30 degrees). The blue one has already been sold. I left two of them unpainted (spar varnished) and they are rustic looking. 

And so, there they are! Should you want one, they’re only $30.00 each, first come, first choice on the colour! Each bird house comes with instructions on where to place them and how to care for them.