View WinNtrak's wonderful miniature world up close

Our roving correspondent Felix "scoop" Lesiuk took these great close up images of WinNtrak's layout which is housed beside the Prairie Dog Central's freight house. The detail is absolutely extraordinary!

Keep in mind that these images are from an N scale layout, which is about half the size of HO. You couldn't see this layout with the naked eye as close as you could with these images.

Felix, who is a long time WMRC member, is the past president of WinNtrak. He is currently their facility manager and also is in charge of their newsletter.

Jason Shron returns to the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club in August

Rapido's Jason Shron will be returning to the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club in August! Jason, who gave us a terrific presentation last year, will be making another exclusive presentation for the club at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park at 1405 St. Matthews Avenue at 7:00PM on Wednesday, August 14. Admission is free, and everyone is invited! Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed.

See the Union Pacific Big Boy in Duluth this Friday

The closest the Union Pacific Big Boy #4014 will get to Winnipeg is at its stop in Duluth, Minnesota this Friday, July 19. The legendary steam engine will make a stop at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.

The locomotive will arrive at the Duluth depot on July 19 at 5:00 PM as part of its tour in celebration of the Union Pacific railroad system's 150th anniversary. The Lake Superior Railroad Museum will be holding a Festival of Steam from July 19 to 21 alongside its arrival. There will be many activities at the depot on Friday evening, but access to the Big Boy or the festival site will not be available on Friday.  The Big Boy will remain at the depot until Sunday morning.

The Big Boy will be on display only, but visitors can ride in the North Shore Scenic Railroad's historic DM&IR 2-8-0 steam engine No. 332 for a 75-minute trip with the purchase of a ticket. 

For more information on the Festival of Steam, go to https://duluthtrains.com/event/festivalofsteam/ 

Ride the Assiniboine Valley Railway this weekend

It's time to take a ride on the Assiniboine Valley Railway again, as they're holding their second open house of the year this weekend! They're open from 11:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturday, July 13, and from 1:00PM to 4:00PM on Sunday, June 14. A ride costs three dollars. You can buy two rides for just five bucks. You can also get a 10 ride pass for only $20! Kids two years of age and under ride for free. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. The AVR is located at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park.

Exclusive images of CN's 100th anniversary coin

Our intrepid and resourceful Felix Lesiuk went to the Royal Canadian Mint unveiling for CN's 100 anniversary coin, which was held at CN's training centre on Panet road. They unveiled two new collector coins. The larger images are cardboard cutouts of the actual coin, but Felix managed to get a pretty good shot of one side of the actual coin, which features a color image of a CN locomotive.

Come to Portage La Prairie to Railway Days this weekend

Forget about Paris, or Rome, London, Athens, Winnipeg or Brandon. Portage La Prairie is the place to be this weekend! First and foremost, there's the annual Railway Days celebration, held by the Portage Model Railroad Club at the CP station, located at 251 3rd. street in Portage.

Their annual Train Day & Open House will be held on Saturday, July 6, 2019, from 10am to 4pm. They will have layouts with various sized trains operating throughout the day, tours and restoration details of the historic station building, a fundraising BBQ from 11am to 2pm, and a 50/50 raffle prize draw at 4pm. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

While you're in Portage, check out the Portage Ex at Island Park! There' will be 4-H achievements, horse and cattle shows, familyentertainment, a petting zoo, midway rides, games of chance, displays of various nature, as well as food prepared by local non profit organizations.