The Assiniboine Park Railroad makes the cover of the Winnipeg Free Press business section

Our good friend Tim Buzunis of the Assiniboine Park Railroad made the front page of the business section of the Winnipeg Free Press last week! 

The beloved train missed a few days in May due to the extremely dry conditions when they weren't allowed to run due to the fire hazard. But now the Crown Metal made, 61 year old American 4-4-0, the only live ride-on steam train operating in a city park in Canada, is running every day, all summer long from noon to six. Come on down to the park and take a ride today!

 

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is now the Manitoba Train and Family Expo

 The Manitoba Mega Train Show has now become the Manitoba Train and Family Expo. There still will be plenty of trains to see, and there will be lots of other hobbies on display too!

The ride-on mega train is gone and has been replaced by a wide variety of hobbies, including slot car racing, hot wheels, and a display from the Manitoba Doll Club. The Manitoba Lego Users Group (MBLUG) will return with their great Lego exhibit and a play area for the children. Visitors will get a chance to fly a simulator of a model plane.

Join the Lego building competition for a chance to win a prize, and don’t forget to put your name in for the door prize of a ready to run Thomas the Tank Engine HO train set! There will be face painting and many vendors selling all sort of model railroad equipment in all gauges.

This great fun family event takes place on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 at Red River Exhibition Place, 3977 Portage Avenue. General admission is $12.00. Youths ages 4 to 12 get in for $6.00. Kids three years of age and under get in for free! Hours are from 9 to 5 on Saturday and from 9 to 4 on Sunday. 

 

Dunnotar Station Museum opens on Saturday, June 7th

The summer rail fanning season in Manitoba is starting up with the opening of the  Dunnottar Station Museum this Saturday, June 7th.

This restored CPR railway station is located at 27 Central Avenue in Dunnotar. This historic area was developed in 1903 when the Canadian Pacific Railway extended its line from Selkirk to Winnipeg Beach, passing through Matlock, Whytewold, and Ponemah. 

The museum contains a rich collection of memorabilia, including vintage photographs, railway tools, and a velocipede, local favourite speeder named “Big Stan”.

The museum is run by two of our beloved WMRC alumni, Bruce Smith and Betty Jackson, along with a small team of volunteers. They’re always looking for volunteers to help keep this special place running. If you’ve got a passion for history and want to be a part of this close-knit community of rail fans, contact them at https://dunnottarstation.org/.

Admission to the museum is free. It is open on weekends only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Come and see "Big Stan" (that's the velocipede, not the fellow sitting on it) at the Dunnottar Station Museum this weekend, and every weekend all summer through!

 

Portage Model Railroad Club holds open house on Saturday, June 7

Late breaking news! The Portage Model Railroad Club is holding their summer open house this Saturday, June 7th, from 10AM to 3PM. This club is not open to the public often, so don't miss this great opportunity to explore their renovated CP station and view all of their great layouts in action!

Admission is only five bucks. Children under 12 get in for free! The CP station is located at 301 3rd. St NE in Portage la Prairie.

Murray Brown wins WMRC's Robert Weaver memorial award for the second year in a row.

Murray Brown (L) is shown receiving the Robert Weaver memorial award for his contributions to The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC, from Lantern editor Larry Leavens.

Murray Brown has won the WMRC’s Robert Weaver memorial award for the second year in a row. Murray has been a prolific contributor to The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC, this season. 

Among the numerous articles he wrote was a well researched three part series on the history of rail buses in Manitoba. He also authored an very informative article on the building of the Hudson Bay Railway which included the involvement of WMRC member Bart Hasselfield’s two family members in its construction. Congratulations, Murray!

 

Murray Brown awarded the WMRC's President's Shield

Murray Brown (L) is seen being awarded the  President's Shield by WMRC President John Bate at the club's AGM and annual banquet, held on May 9, 2025 at the Canad Inns Polo Park.

Murray Brown swept the awards at the WMRC's AGM this month, but the most significant one that he was awarded was the President's Shield for his contributions to the club. Murray has been a member for less than two years, but he has made his presence known with his enthusiastic and tireless efforts working with the club and promoting its activities. 

Murray had won so many awards at the AGM that they are literally too numerous to list in a single post, so we will mention them in other posts in the near future. In an earlier post it was stated that we need more members like Murray Brown, and that still holds true.

 

An entire fully landscaped HO layout to be auctioned off in western Manitoba

 Is is not just a farm equipment auction. An entire fully landscaped HO layout, with all of its rolling stock, accessories and structures is also being put on the block. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy an entire layout and everything else you need to operate it.

Mark and Jill Humphries sent us many images of the layout and boxes of trains that will be auctioned off at the Westwood ranch in western Manitoba. Instructions on how to get there are on the poster. Please note that the auction begins at 10 AM, and it would be at least a three hour drive to get there. 

 

Everyone had great fun at the WMRC's 2024 AGM and banquet

We'd like to thank all of our members who attended our annual AGM and banquet, held at the Canad Inns Polo Park last Friday. Everyone had a great time, and there were awards galore to hand out! 

We had an abundance of prizes to be won by purchasing an "arm's length" row of tickets, plus two elimination draws for an HO scale and and N scale locomotive and two beautiful railway themed mounted prints which were auctioned off. 

The club is taking the summer off, but please come to our next meeting on September 12 at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard, at 7:30 PM. Have a great summer, and keep 'em on the rails!

Fred Headon (L) chats with Moe Smith and WMRC President John Bate just before the meeting.

We had a plethora of prizes to hand out at our raffle! Just about everyone who bought an "arm's legnth" row of tickets went home with a prize!

 

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club to hold their 2025 AGM and banquet on May 9

The WMRC will be celebrating another great model railroading season with our annual banquet. We'll be holding our AGM and presenting awards to the winners of our photo and model contests on Friday, May 9, at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park at 1405 St. Matthews Avenue in Aalto's Restaurant.

Doors open to our members and their guests at 5:00PM. Cocktails and dinner (buffet style or order from the menu) will start at 6:00PM, and the AGM will begin at 7:30PM. We’ll have plenty of our famous raffles featuring some great model railroad equipment, including our popular “arm's length” raffle ticket prizes, where you buy your arm’s length of tickets! Hope to see you all there!

 

Everyone had a great time at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 2025 train show and open house

The NMRA No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group layout was once again the largest display at the club's open house, and has always been a popular attraction.

What a party! The WMRC had one of its best and most successful open houses ever, thanks to all of our wonderful guests who attended the show. Even though there were record high temperatures on Saturday, that still didn't stop all of Winnipeg's model railroad lovers from coming. And Sunday's plummeting temperatures brought even more people to the show!

We had some great new displays from Manitoba T-Trak and Godfrey South's modular HO layout that proved to be very popular. Old favourites such as the NMRA No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group layout, Gary Stempnick's portable N gauge layout and the Giraffe Car Man's O gauge layout have people come back year after year to see them again. 

We'd also like to thank the folks at the Prairie Dog Central, the Assiniboine Valley Railway and St. Amant, our charity of choice, for their wonderful displays!

Gino Kost and Fred Headon conducted how-to model railroad clinics all through Saturday and Sunday.

The friendly folks at Manitoba T-Trak displayed for us for the first time, and were very popular.

Tommy South (centre) watches operations of his family's HO modular railway display.

Larry Leavens let everyone have a try operating the John Allen timesaver switching layout.

Cliff Davidson watches Gary Stempnick operate his portable N gauge layout.

This little tyke is having a lot of fun watching the trains go by inside the tunnel of the Giraffe Car Man's portable O gauge display.

 

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual train show and open house is next weekend!

The WMRC's annual open house is happening next weekend! New this year is Godfrey South's modular layout, which was the hit of last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show. We'll also have the NMRA No.1 Northern Division Free-Mo group's HO modular layout, Gary Stempnick's N gauge layout and the Giraffe Car Man's O gauge layout. Test your railroading skills hands on with the John Allen Timesaver! Improve your skills with our modelling clinics and find out what's happening with the Prairie Dog Central this year at their display. Vote for your favourites at our annual model and photo contests! The canteen will serving gourmet air fried hot dogs, chips, donuts and pop. Come on down to the Charleswood Legion on Saturday, April 26 between 10AM and 5PM, and on Sunday, April 28 between 10AM and 4PM. Admission by donation. Proceeds go to support St. Amant.

 

The WMRC's annual train show and open house is only two weeks away!

The WMRC's annual train show and open house is just two weeks away! Besides all the great exhibits you've come to see every year, we're also going to have an HO modular railway that has never exhibited at our open house before, plus the friendly gang from Manitoba T-Trak! Come on down to the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Robin Boulevard, between 10 and 5 on Saturday, April 26 and from 10 to 4 on Sunday, April 27. Admission by donation. Proceeds to support St. Amant.

 

Noted railroad author and blogger Steve Boyko to make a special presentation at WMRC's April Meeting

Our good friend Steve Boyko, noted railroading author and creator of the popular Confessions of a Train Geek website will make a special presentation at our April meeting. Steve hasn't made a presentation for our club for over ten years, and his presentations have always been a treat! 

The fun begins on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 PM in the Tank Room at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Robiln Boulevard. The canteen will be open and we will have our usual model and photo displays and out 50/50 draw. 

The WMRC's 2025 spring open house and train show is happening on April 26 and 27

All aboard for the WMRC’s annual open house and train show! It’s happening on April 26 and 27 at the Charleswood Legion at 6003 Roblin Boulevard, and it’s chock full of railroading fun! We’ll have several operating layouts in HO, O, N gauge and T Track, our annual model and photo contest and how-to demonstrations by our finest model railroaders. 

Test your model railroad switching skills with the John Allen time saver! Our canteen will be serving gourmet air fried hot dogs, donuts, chips, coffee and pop. Hours are from 10AM to 5PM on Saturday and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday. Admission by donation. Proceeds go to support St. Amant.

 

Joh Bate builds an N scale mine

WMRC president John Bate brought in this N scale model of a mine to the club's monthly model display at our last meeting, which was held at the Charleswood Legion on March 14. The structure, which John says is a work in progress, was a Walthers kit which he painted a flat aluminum with an airbrush. 

Memorial service for Norm Leathers scheduled for March 25

 A memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of our dear friend Norm Leathers will take place at St. Mary’s Road United Church, 613 St. Mary’s Road, on Tuesday, March 25 at 11:00AM. The service will also be streamed live on You Tube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nKu-WotNLA

Is Felix Lesiuk going to eat a T-Scale passenger car?

Don't try this at home, folks! Felix Lesiuk is pretending to eat a T-Scale car to show how small they are.

Felix Lesiuk surprised us at the WMRC's March meeting by bringing in a complete T-Scale layout, complete with tracks, a power pack, a locomotive and a passenger car. He also brought in some accessory packs. The houses were so small they they looked like dice! 

T-Scale is the smallest commercial model railway in the world. Its scale is 1:450, making it ten times smaller than O scale. Its track gauge is just 3mm, or 0.118". The name T-Scale is derived from "three millimeter scale" and "Third of N scale". They were introduced in 2006, and they're powered by 4.5 volt micro motors. 

If space is at a premium, then this scale might be for you. But don't expect a realistic sound system at this size. When it runs, it sounds like there's a  mosquito in the house!

Here's the entire layout that Felix brought in, which is just a bit larger than a dish.

 

Take a rail fanning tour with Tommy Kucera of the northern UK at the WMRC's March meeting

At our next meeting Tommy Kucera will take us on a tour of five heritage railways, a few transportation museums and an occasional pub in the UK. Tommy spent almost three weeks in the northern UK last summer. He will give brief overviews of each railway, with pictures of the rail lines, the scenery, and of course the equipment along with a few diversions along the way. Tommy will also offer up an articulated, narrow-gauge steam locomotive as well as some peculiarities from the transportation museums he visited. 

The fun starts on Friday, March 14 at 7:30PM in the Tank Room at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we will have our usual model and photo display and a 50/50 draw. Guests are always welcome!

 

Two great model railroaders, Gary Peters and Alf Goodall, have passed away

Gary Peters was a fan of the Soo Line.

We are saddened to report the deaths of yet another two veteran model railroaders and former WMRC members, Gary Peters and Alf Goodall. Gary was an enthusiastic model railroader whose passion was for the Soo Line. Alf was past president of the WMRC in the 70's and remained an active member until the early 2000's when he moved to Winnipeg Beach and spent his time between there and Arizona, where he was also an active member in a local model railroad club. The Winnipeg model railroading community has lost four model railroaders in just a few weeks, and we hope and pray that we don't lose any more for some time to come.

 

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club mourns passing of Norm Leathers

Norm Leathers is seen receiving the WMRC's President's shield award from President Larry Leavens. Norm won the award for his work in bringing the Gateway Western Railway to its permanent home at the Winnipeg Railway Museum.

Norm Leathers passed away at 5:00 AM today. On February 11 he suffered a cardiac episode and never recovered. 

Norm was a member of the club since its second meeting in October 1955 when he was still la teenager. Norm, being a stickler for accuracy in all things, always maintained that because he joined a month after the club’s first meeting that he was not a founding member. 

Norm served several positions during his nearly 70 years with the club, including secretary and one year as President in the early 2000’s. He was also a long term member of the Midwestern Rail Association, proprietors of the Winnipeg Railway Museum. In 2014 he was awarded the President’s shield, the WMRC’s highest award, for his work in bringing the Gateway Western to the Winnipeg Railway Museum.

Norm had a long and rewarding career as a science teacher, and he also served as a high school  audio technician. While earning his teaching degree he met fellow model railroader Nick Andrusiak, and they became lifelong friends.

Norm also was a jet fighter pilot for the RCAF. He was fond of telling the tale of when his commanding officer brought his young son to see a real jet fighter pilot, expecting some like John Wayne, and being so disappointed upon meeting Norm.

In his younger days, Norm was an avid cyclist. In the 70’s he took his sons Graham and Gord on a bike hike through the Rockies.

Norm’s model railroading passion was the Pennsylvania Railroad, and he constructed a beautiful, work class railroad that was the highlight of many layout hops for many conventions, including the NMRA’s national convention held in Winnipeg in 1983. 

If there ever was a person who epitomized the heart and soul of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, it would’ve been Norm. It can be truly said without the slightest doubt that everybody loved Norm. He had a gentle way about him, and he was also very clever, with a mischievous sense of humour. His puns were the stuff of legend, and he could create them at a moments notice in a dizzying rapid fire succession. 

Norm loved model railroading, and he loved the WMRC. No one has been a member longer than him. He contributed to the club’s monthly model display well into his eighties, bringing models he was working on in 2019 and 2022. Even though his health was failing, he still came to a many meetings as he could, his last one being November of 2024. He was an enduring presence, a person whom we alway looked forward to seeing at every meeting, and he will be sorely missed.

Norm is seen cutting the cake for the club's 60th anniversary with Moe Smith, Dave Downey, and Roger Kiendl.

Although incapacitated with a recent hip injury, Norm, accompanied by Gary Stempnick, still managed to view the Canadian Pacific 2018 when it came to Winnipeg last summer. 

 

Larry Leavens models a load for a bulkhead flat car

For our model display at our February meeting, Larry Leavens brought in a Walthers bulkhead flat car that he customized by adding a lumber load. Wood blocks were cut to size to fit the car and painted to seal the wood. A Tolko logo was found by Larry on their website. 

Using the freeware graphics program Inkscape, the logo was added to blocks to represent eight foot long wrapped lumber bundles. The graphic pieces were copied and aligned to make the lumber load. Lines with squares at the ends were added to represent tie downs and clips at the top of the load. He printed it on an ink jet printer and cut it slightly oversized. He glued it to the wood block and the paper wrap was trimmed to size with a razor blade. A second was made for the other side. 

 

Warehouse Hobbies has closed

Warehouse Hobbies, one of Winnipeg’s oldest model railroad hobby shops, has shuttered its doors. It was founded by Ken Martin in 1983, after he closed his Ye Old Hobby Shop stores, which had locations in Polo Park, Garden City Shopping Centre, and at 365 Portage Avenue.  

Warehouse Hobbies first location was actually in a warehouse on Kensington St. in the block immediately east of the Winnipeg Transit garage on Route 90, near Polo Park. He later moved to a smaller location on Portage Avenue at Woodlands Crescent just west of Sturgeon Road. 

 

In 1995 Ken retired to Nanaimo and sold Warehouse Hobbies to Jim and Beverly Iredale. Jim was an accountant by profession and an avid model railroader who had always dreamed about owning his own hobby shop. Tragically, his dream was cut short when he suffered a fatal heart attack in at the age of 39 on July 31, 1997.

 

Bev continued to run the shop for 30 years. The store had two other locations. It first moved to the intersection of Ferry Road and Portage Avenue. When the rent was increased at that location, she moved the shop to its present location 265 Rouge Road. 

 

Bev has had three model railroaders assist her in running the shop through the years, the most significant being MMR Fred Headon. Fred joined Warehouse Hobbies in August 1997 shortly after retiring from a long career as a high school teacher. Fred worked there for 27 ½ years, and was there on the last weekend that the store was open. 

 

Warehouse Hobbies was a cherished institution in Winnipeg’s vibrant and thriving model railroad community. If offered personal service in these days of faceless on-line U.S. based mail order hobby shops, and it will be sorely missed. 

Canadian model railroad community mourns passing of WMRC past president Morgan Turney

Morgan Turney, seen at the WMRC's 60th anniversary celebration in 2015, passed away on February 6.

Former WMRC president and published of Canadian Railway Modeller Morgan Turney passed away on Thursday, February 6.

Morgan was a club member for 27 years, and served a varied array of positions.  He served for two terms as president, from 1995 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007. He was the club’s program director from 2009 to 2016, the annual contest chair from 2007 to 2016, ran the monthly model display from 2013 to 2016 and the 50/50 draw from 2013 to 2016.

Morgan was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. He worked for Maple Leaf Mills as a grocery store representative, and was transferred to Winnipeg in 1987. After Maple Leaf Mils closed, he decided to create a model railroading magazine for Canadians. 

He published the first issue of Canadian Railway Modeller in May of 1990 using the money he received from his severance pay as collateral after he sold 600 subscriptions at the Toronto Train Show. At the magazine’s peak, he had over 3,800 subscriptions. The magazine ran for 27 years. The last issue was published in 2017.

Morgan’s publishing company, titled North Kildonan Publications, also published Canadian railway themed Christmas cards, collector cards, the Canadian Railway Heritage Guide, art prints, lapel pins, HO scale Canadian Railway Modeller boxcars and Railfan Canada, a prototype magazine that ran for 12 issues. 

Morgan’s contributions to the hobby left an indelible mark not only on the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, but on the entire Canadian model railroading community. He was an enthusiastic and tireless promoter of the club and of the hobby.

 

Buy Canadian! Buy from Canadian hobby shops and model railroad equipment manufacturers!

Our good friend Jason Schron of Canadian based Rapido Trains manufactures excellent model railroad equipment such as this Via Rail E-Unit.

In these troubled political times we urge you to BUY CANADIAN when it comes to model railroad equipment. Support our local hobby shops. Amazon and Train World doesn't need your money, but Warehouse Hobbies and the Frog and Diamond do. Bachmann and Atlas doesn't need your support, but our good friend Jason Schron of Rapido, who has made several presentations for the WMRC, does!