Mild winter weather makes for some great rail fanning images

 Longtime WMRC members Felix Lesiuk and Louis Lenz took advantage of the mild winter weather this week and headed out west to do some rail fanning. The gloomy atmosphere and frosty conditions made for some very moody looking images!

Marcel Blair brings two frieght cars to the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's monthly model display

Long time WMRC member Marcel Blair showed off his excellent modelling skills when he brought two freight cars to the club's monthly model display at the club's January meeting. The CN stock car was entirely scratch built from plans by George Taylor. He used Northeastern Scale Lumber to build the model. Trucks, couplers and add-ons such as the brake wheel are commercial parts that he purchased. His second entry was a CN tank car that he kit bashed using a flatcar and a Varney model tank. Both models were painted, decaled and weathered by Marcel.

Exclusive photos taken by Felix Lesiuk of new CP MOW units

The WMRC's intrepid and prolific photographer Felix Lesiuk is outstanding in his field! As a matter of fact, that's where he was when he took these images. He was out standing in his field! All kidding aside, he caught these very cool shots of rarely seen CP MOW equipment in a very snazzy paint scheme outside of Meadows, Manitoba last month.

Neil Carelton displays Athearn Hustler at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's January meeting

WMRC member Neil Carleton brought this Athearn Hustler that he has been working on to the club's January monthly model display. He is using it to test the colors and making before repainting a larger, more expensive model.

He stripped the paint off by using a watered down lye solution. Then he painted it with Tamiya primer and masked and airbrushed it with Rapido acrylic Proto paint in classic CPR colors. He decorated it with Black Cat decals and sprayed it with Testors dull coat. Windows and headlight lenses were made with clear acetate and Testors clear part cement and window maker.  He finished the model by weathering it with pan pastels.

Two great programs at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's January event

The fabulous Frederick and Gerrit Braun, creators of Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland, pose wearing the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 60th anniversary T-shirts. The shirts were presented to the staff at Miniatur Wunderland by our own Dave Downie, who visited Hamburg a few years ago.

We have two great programs for our first meeting of 2020! First on tap is a trip to Chicago and Milwaukee in 1980. Highlights include a glimpse of the White Pines Model Railroad Club. See the Milwaukee Road's yard and shop after the railroad shut down.

Then it's off to Miniatur Wunderland! Learn how they started and watch the building and operating of the world's largest model railroad. See how creativity, model building and technology are all brought together. This is part one of a two part series.

The fun starts on Friday, January 10 at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll have our monthly model and photo display, as well as our 50/50 draw. Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed.

This weekend is your last chance to ride the Assiniboine Valley Railway until June

There's no better way to start the New Year than taking a ride on the Assiniboine Valley Railway this weekend! This is the last chance you'll get to ride on the AVR until June! They're open from 2PM to 5PM on both Saturday, January 4 and Sunday, January 5. A ride is only three bucks, and you can get two rides for $5.00. A ten ride pass is only $20, and kids under two years of age ride for free! The AVR is located at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park.