Ron Einarson goes for his Master Model Railroader certification

Long time WMRC member Ron Einarson has just completed his layout in preparation for qualifying for a Master Model Railroader certificate (MMR) from the NMRA. Ron has been a WMRC member since 1983, but Norm Leathers still refers to him as "that new fella".

Ron’s layout is unique due to the fact that the structures take priority over the railroad. His layout is a simple point to point design with a small freight yard, but the buildings are in the foreground, and the track is in the background. This is very appropriate for an extremely talented structure modeller such as Ron, and it also makes his layout all the more realistic. 

Let’s face it - At one time or another, we’ve all been guilty of showcasing a lot more railroad than structure and scenery on our layouts, which is not prototypically correct. But Ron has achieved a perfect balance between structure, scenery and railroads. 

Once all the paperwork has been filed, Ron will join the handful of model railroaders in the entire world who have achieved the vaunted status of Master Model Railroader. Congratulations, Ron!

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club mourns passing of Bill "Tiny" Summers

We are saddened to announce that former WMRC member William "Tiny” Summers passed away last week. Tiny served as the club’s annual spring show chairman in 1994. He was also a member of the Vintage Locomotive Society. 

Tiny was proud to have fired CPR steam locomotives during the 1950s. He served his country in Korea and drove countless miles as a truck driver for Canada Safeway. Tiny hauled produce from California and Texas and visited hobby stores on the way back to Winnipeg. He was a regular at the Thursday night get togethers at Golden Spike and at Ware House Hobbies. 

Tiny also assisted the Winnipeg Police Service in the 1960's, as he was a qualified diver, recovering bodies from the Red River. He survived a serious truck accident with on the Winnipeg to Thompson run. He survived necrotising fasciitis, also known as the flesh eating disease, and was kidded that he survived was that there was so much of him. 

He’s been described as a jolly giant, although he could be pretty gruff at times. He was a huge man, standing about 6’ 6”, and weighing well over 300 pounds.  At the WMRC spring train show in 1995, he sat on a flimsy plastic chair that couldn’t hold his weight, and he and the chair went crashing down onto the floor! Ed Mulholland, who was club president at the time, salvaged a piece of the broken chair, mounted it, and presented it to Tiny at the annual banquet as the “first annual chairman award”.

Tiny is survived by his wife Barbara, daughters Debbie, Wendy, Kathy, Donna, and Maureen, his stepchildren Brenda and Ron, 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. By Bill's request there will be no service. 

Kumaran Reddy posts video of Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 2017 open house

We received a wonderful Easter surprise from Kumaran Reddy, who follows the WMRC on Facebook. He recorded, produced and posted a nine minute video of our 2017 open house on You Tube! Not only does it showcase all the highlights of the show, it even has an original soundtrack, with Kumaran on guitar! The club wishes to thank Kumaran for his efforts in promoting the WMRC and model railroading. You can view this video by clicking here.

More images from Felix Lesiuk's visit to Winnipeg's CN campus

We still have a bundle of images to post from Felix Lesiuk's visit to Winnipeg's CN campus training centre, which he took with members of the Winnipeg Railway Museum as part of their annual banquet celebrations. The campus is not open to the public, and this visit gives a rare opportunity to see how real railroading and model railroading can interact, and how model railroading can be used as a teaching tool!

Felix Lesiuk visits the CN Campus with the Winnipeg Railway Museum

Our intrepid roving reporter Felix Lesiuk went to The Winnipeg Railway Museum's annual AGM and banquet,  which was held at the CN Campus on March 24. They had a great tour of their modern, state of the art facilities on Pandora Avenue. But the best part of the tour was their giant HO model railroad, which is used as a training device for CN employees. Who could ask for anything more! Felix took so many great photos that we're going to split them into several posts. Enjoy!

WinNtrak to display at Clearspring Centre in Steinbach this weekend

It's worth the trip to Steinbach this weekend, especially if you're a model railroader! WinNtrak will be displaying their wonderful N gauge modular layout on April 7 and 8 at Steinbach's Clearspring Centre, the largest shopping centre in the area. The mall is open from 9:30AM to 9:00PM on April 7, and from 9:30Am to 6:00PM on April 8. While you're there, you can also check out the Steinbach Toy and Tractor show that's also going on in the mall. Happy railroading, everyone!

Dave Downie to present clinic on prototype railroading for your layout

Our meeting is being held on Friday, April 7th, which is a week earlier than usual, as the second Friday in April this year is Good Friday. 

For our final program of the year, Dave Downie presents a look at how prototype railroads operate, and how you can create a plan to operate any model railroad like the prototype and make it enjoyable. 

Dave will cover some basic concepts such as the history of model railroad operation. He'll help you identify what you want to do on your model railroad and to consider how the prototype operates with industries on your layout, which creates switching traffic. This leads to the development of a schedule to coordinate train movements and to develop a method of directing the movement of cars and equipment using car cards, car tabs and switch lists. 

The meeting starts at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll also have our monthly mode display and a 50-50 draw. Hope to see you all there!

Thanks to all who came to the Winnipeg Model railroad Club's 2017 open house

The WMRC's 2017 annual open house and train show was very well attended.

The WMRC wishes to thank the hundreds of happy people who attended our 2017 annual train show and open house, which was held last weekend at the Charleswood Legion on 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The event was very well attended, and we raised a lot of money, of which a portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant. Everyone loved the complimentary "I Love Trains" buttons that the club had made for the show. Hope to see you all next year!

James South shows off the South family model railroad, which the built with his brother Tommy and his sister Frances. The layout's design was taken from an Atlas layout book from the 1960's. 

Everyone loved the complimentary "I love trains" buttons which were handed out at the show.

This youngster was having a lot of fun loading the cylinders into the car on the giraffe train layout!