The CP Holiday Train is coming to town!

You better not shout, you better not cry! 

You better not pout, I’m telling you why:

The CP holiday Train is coming to town!

So you better be good, or else your parents (or your wife) won’t let you go see it!

The train pulls into Manitoba on Friday, December 2. Performing on the train this year is Juno award winning country star Dallas Smith. 

The train first arrives in Whitemouth, on Railway Ave. across from Whitemouth Hotel at 6:45 PM. The show lasts from 7:00 PM to  7:30 PM.  Then it barrels down to Winnipeg, arriving at Molson St. (Panet Road and Munroe Avenue) at 9:00PM. The show starts at 9:15PM and ends at 9:45 PM. 

It arrives on Saturday, December 3 at Portage la Prairie, Opposite the Centennial Arena, 390-1st St. NW at 3:45 PM. The show goes from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Next stop is Brandon, by Assiniboine Ave, west of the 8th street overpass at 6:45 PM, with the show going from 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM

The last Manitoba stop is at Virden at 10:15AM on Sunday, December 4, at the north side of tracks on 5th ave S between Lyons Street & Ashburton Street. The show goes from 10:30AM to 11:00AM.

Since its launch in 1999, the CP Holiday Train has raised more than C$12 million and 3.9 million pounds of food for communities in Canada and the northern U.S. Everything raised stays with the local food bank. Please bring heart healthy donations. Heart health education and awareness is a tenet of CP's community program, CP Has Heart. 

Follow its journey over social media, and post images. Capture the spirit of the train, holiday entertainment and the spirit of giving and enter the Capture the Spirit photo contest to win a ride on next year’s train. #CPHolidayTrain & #HealthyDonations

Please give yourself extra time getting to the event to compensate for crowds and traffic. Also make sure to keep a safe distance of 15 feet away from the train. For information, photos, and a route map visit www.cpr.ca/holiday-train

Brandon Hills Model Railway Club holds open house on November 26

It's time to head for the hills this coming Saturday! Brandon Hills, that is! The Brandon Hills Model Railway Club is holding an open house in conjunction with the Brandon General Museum and Archives, where they're housed. 

The club has been in existence for over 30 years. Besides having a great HO layout with a beautiful hand painted backdrop, they also have an N gauge layout and G scale trains on display.

The museum is located in the former Manitoba Telephone Service Building at 19-9th Street in Brandon. It will also be holding a special exhibition, titled "The remarkable women of Brandon and area", so be sure to check that out as well when you're there!

The hours are from 10AM to 4PM, and admission is free!

This month WMRC member John Bate will give us a presentation on “Computers and Model Railroading”. Learn how you can run your railroad using computer technology! The meeting this month is has been moved to November 18th, as Remembrance Day has fallen on the second Friday of November. 

Here is an open invitation to all WMRC members: Feel free to bring a modelling project you're working on as a table clinic during the meeting. 

The canteen will be open, and we will have our monthly model display and a 50-50 draw. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. Guests are always warmly welcomed. Hope to see you all there!

Come see Santa at the NMRA Christmas train show this Saturday!

The National Model Railroad Association presents their first annual Christmas Train Show! Bring the kids to meet Santa Claus, and stay for all the layouts and displays in a Christmas setting!

Santa Claus is going to have some very good company at the show! Joining jolly St. Nick will be the No. 1 Northern Division’s Free-Mo HO gauge modular layout, WinNtak’s N gauge modular layout and the Lionel train O gauge “Giraffe Car” layout. 

Multiple award winning modeller Ron Einarson will be holding a modelling workshop. Fred Headon of Warehouse Hobbies will be on hand to offer all sorts of model railroading and modelling advice. Fred is the Canadian Director of the National Model Railroad Association and is a certified Master Model Railroader (MMR). 

There will also be a model railroad flea market, featuring a variety of model railroad equipment in various gauges for sale.

This is the last train show of the year, and it looks like it's going to be a good one! The show is being held on Saturday, November 12 at Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, 201 Scurfield Boulevard. Hours are from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Handicap accessible. Admission by silver collection. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant.

Britain's Necropolis Railway: A train for the dead

A reader sent us in this very unusual article from the BBC about Britain's Necropolis Railway, a 23 mile short line that transported the dead (in coffins, of course) and their families from London to the Brookwood Cemetery near Surrey. 

It was considered an essential service, created in the mid 19th century when London's cemeteries were hopelessly overcrowded. The Brookwood Cemetery was built to solve this problem, and  transporting the dead by train was the only means of getting to there. It existed for 87 years, closing in 1941.

To read the full article, please click here.