NMRA to hold another virtual convention on Saturday, May 30

The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) is holding another virtual convention this Saturday, May 30. The complete schedule of events is listed below.

A total of twelve hours of live content begins at 6:00PM EST. Please adjust the times according to your time zone. More virtual conventions have been scheduled for June 13 and June 27.

You may use the NMRA Facebook page or the NMRA Facebook group to view the convention. You do not need a Facebook account in order to view the event. Simply click on the first link below to the Facebook page and you're all set! While you cannot comment, you can still watch and learn. Ignore all prompts to create an account or sign in.

The NMRA Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/NMRA.org/
The NMRA group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nmragroup/

If you missed any of the previous events, all of the videos have been saved on the NMRA You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/NMRAORGModelRailroading

 

Operations Special Interest Group holds weekly virtual train meets

Due to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on model railroading, the Operations Special Interest Group (OPSIG) have been hosting virtual train meets on Sunday afternoons. Their next meet is on Sunday, May 31 from 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM EDT. Replays will be posted on YouTube.

The meet starts with five minutes of announcements, followed by a 20 minute presentation and a five minute question period. A second presentation with a five minute question period follows. After the two presentations, the virtual meeting is open for discussion.

The meetings are hosted on Zoom and they can accommodate up to 500 participants. In June, the board will determine if the interest is high enough to continue the meetings for another month. Without the “large meeting” add-on, they are limited to 100 participants.

For more information about these meetings, go to: https://www.opsig.org/Virtual

The 7th Division PNR holds virtual railway modellers meet

The 7th Division Pacific Northwest Region of the NMRA is holding a free virtual railway modellers meet. It will feature interactive clinics where audience members can ask questions and participate.


There will be two clinics each session with a 30 minute break between clinics. Sessions will run Thursday evenings until June 11, 2020. Each session with start at 7:00pm Pacific Time and end by 9:30 pm at the latest. The Zoom meeting room will open 15 minutes in advance. Please join before 7:00 pm in case you have any computer issues.


Register here by providing your name and email address. All registrants will receive a link to the Zoom meeting page that you can use to log into the clinic presentations once a week, two days in advance of each session. 

You can attend the meeting using the Zoom website.  While you don’t need to download Zoom, it is recommended that you use the Zoom app and are familiar with it before attending.


There will also be a two hour Virtual Display Room and “Meet the Modeller” event using Zoom on Thursday, June 4. Modellers will be asked to submit a short information form and photographs of their model to the Display Room coordinator by May 29.



An online slide show of the submissions will be created, and a moderator will walk through the photos in a real-time question and answer session with each participant.  Each modeller will be invited to say a few words about the project.


For more information about the virtual railway modellers meet, please go to the following links:
https://mailchi.mp/806bf3599fe5/announcing-the-virtual-railway-modellers-meet-of-british-columbia
http://railwaymodellersmeetofbc.ca/

Winnipeg Railway Museum reopens

Great news! The Winnipeg Railway Museum has reopened! They're open every day from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you do plan on visiting the museum you must follow the rules that are in place to visit both Union Station and the museum and you must follow safe distance rules.

The Winnipeg Railway Museum is located on the second level of the Via Rail Station, 123 Main Street, in Winnipeg. Adult admission is $7.00, seniors (65+) is $6.00, students (16+ with ID) is $6.00, children (5+) is $6.00. Family admission (two adults and up to three children) is $20.00. Infants under three years of age accompanied by an adult are admitted for free.

NMRA-X clinics have been posted on-line on Facebook

Did you miss any part of the NMRA-X virtual convention last Saturday, or the virtual convention that was held on April 24th and 25th? Fear not, because they’re on-line, and anyone, including those who are not NMRA members, can view them!

All you have to do is go to https://www.facebook.com/pg/NMRA.org/videos/ to watch these great model railroading clinics anytime, anywhere, or anyplace with your cell phone, tablet or computer.
You don't need a Facebook account to view them.

You can also catch many NMRA videos on their You Tube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/c/NMRAORGModelRailroading

The next NMRA-X virtual convention will be held on Saturday, May 30. Other NMRA-X virtual conventions are slated for Saturday, June 13th and Saturday, June 27th.

NMRA to hold another virtual model railroad convention tomorrow

The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) is holding another virtual convention this Saturday, May 16. The convention, titled NMRA-X, will bring another session of clinics and layout tours right to your computer. The complete schedule of events is listed below.

A total of twelve hours of live content begins at 6:00PM EST. Please adjust the times according to your own time zone. Another virtual convention has been scheduled for Saturday, May 30.

You may use either the NMRA Facebook page or the NMRA Facebook group to view the convention. You do not need a Facebook account in order to view the event. Simply click on the first link below to the Facebook page and you're all set! While you cannot comment, you can still watch and learn. Ignore all prompts to create an account or sign in.

The NMRA Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/NMRA.org/
The NMRA group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nmragroup/

Jack Carr, owner of Carr's Hobbies in Duluth, has passed away

 Jack Carr (left) is seen with Frank Gerry of Thunder Bay at Carr's Hobbies just before the store closed for good in the fall of 2019. Frank is a long time NMRA member and had been a customer of Carr's Hobbies for over 40 years. Photo by Paul Gerry.

Jack Carr, owner of Carr’s Hobbies in Duluth, Minnesota, has passed away at the age of 79. Carr’s Hobbies closed in October 2019. Nearly 500 lots of items were sold off at auction.

Carr’s hobbies was a Mecca for model railroaders for almost a half century. Model railroaders from Winnipeg and other Canadian locations within driving distance to Duluth made it a point to visit Carr’s whenever they were traveling in Minnesota. Carr estimated that 70% of his trade came from outside of the Duluth area.

His store was one of the most fully stocked hobby shop in the upper mid-west. Hundreds of items were stocked from floor to ceiling in the shop. The store was well known for its collection of antiques and railroad memorabilia that he kept in glass display cases, which gave the shop a museum quality. Rail fans who visited his store will always remember the impressive assortment of railroad lanterns that he had hanging from the ceiling.

John Longhurst invites you to take a virtual layout hop

It has been a tradition at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club to have a spring layout hop, where members were invited to tour some of the layouts around town. Unfortunately, this was not going to happen this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But long time WMRC member John Longhurst has come up with a unique alternative. He's put together a virtual layout hop using posts he selected from his blog, the CP Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision. 

John's blog, which has had well over one million views, has dutifully posted features about the finest layouts in Winnipeg for many years. Some of these layouts have been torn down, and some of the owners of the layouts have passed away, but they have been preserved online thanks to John's diligence. With a virtual layout hop, there is no driving between layouts, or trying to choose which ones to see based on time available. 

You'll see some great layouts by Arnie Walker, Stafford Swain, Ken Epp, George Meyer, Ron Loewen, and take a virtual ride on the Assiniboine Valley Railway! All you have to do is click here.