Winnipeg Model railraod Club announces the winner of their open house draw

WMRC treasurer John Bate holds the Bachmann Rail Chief HO train set with the wife of Rej Davis, the winner of the club's open house draw.

We are pleased to announce that Rej Davis is the winner of the draw for the Bachmann Rail Chief HO train set. The draw was held at the club's annual open house, which was held at the Charleswood Legion on April 9 and 10. John's wife Karen picked the winner from the "official salad bowl" at the Bate residence. Rej couldn't make it, so his wife picked up his prize for him. Congratulations, Rej!
 

Norm Leathers is alive and well and is still a very active model railroader

 Norm Leathers is the WMRC’s longest standing member. He joined the club shortly after it was formed in 1955, and has held many positions in the club, including President. He turned 86 this month. He still attends meetings on a regular basis and he is still a very active model railroader.

He recently brought in a model he has been working on for the club’s monthly model display. Norm, who exclusively models the Pennsylvania Railroad, displayed a Pennsylvania E-44 electric engine. It consisted of a Hallmark unpaired brass body and a chassis whose running qualities he didn’t like.

Bachmann had marketed an E-33 locomotive which was a much better runner.  Norm modified the body of the Hallmark model and the chassis of the Bachmann model so that they could be joined together to make a much better running locomotive. He installed a Digitrax decoder and had former WMRC member John Morris paint and decal it.

Long may your E-44 run, and long may your run, Norm!

Our readers respond with sugggestions of many other places to buy model railroad supplies

Kelly's Kaboose in Savona, B.C. is one of the many stores where you can order model railroad equipment.

Since our last posting about the closing of Cellar Dweller Hobbies, we’ve received from our readers several other places in Winnipeg and Canada that either carry model railroad equipment, or can order it in for you.

Presently, Warehouse Hobbies at 265 Rouge Road is only place in town that deals exclusively in model railroad equipment. They have a small stock, but they can order anything you want in any gauge, and their service is excellent. They don’t have a web site, but you can contact them by phoning 204-837-7887.

Prairie Shadows Model Railway Co. is an online model railroad shop operating out of Winnipeg. They carry HO and N gauge. Their web site is https://www.prairieshadows.com/

Eliminator RC specializes in R/C cars and planes, but they do carry some train sets and Woodland Scenic items, and they can also order in for you. Check out their web site at https://eliminator-rc.com/.

Hobby Sense is a Brick and Mortar store located near the St. Vital Centre. They carry plastic model kits, puzzles, paints, tools and supplies, but they can order in Bachmann and Atlas.

If you’re into European trains you can mail order from Eurorail Hobbies in British Columbia at https://www.eurorailhobbies.com/. Kelly’s Kaboose in Savona, B.C. carries all gauges from G to N. You can contact them at https://kellyskaboose.ca/

 

Neil Carleton is keeping busy creating a new Free-Mo module

WMRC vice president and NMRA No. 1 Northern Division Superintendent Ian Plett recently emailed members, asking them how they  “spent their summer vacation”. Long time member Neil Carleton sent some images of the excellent module he’s created.

Neil had originally planned his module for display at a train show in Regina, which was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s built to the original NMRA specs but using code 83 rail and with his existing two foot adapter modules, it will fit in with other free-mo modules.

The streetcar tracks are girder type to allow a clear groove for the wheels. They are soldered to copper pc board ties and the tinted spackling is troweled on using home made tools, to leave the rail heads a bit proud of the road to allow for cleaning. He painted and weathered the road.

The overhead wire works. The Bachman streetcar is switchable from two rail to one rail and overhead. The poles are brass and connected to the wiring bus. The power goes to the span wires attached to the poles and are soldered to the running wire using lost wax brass castings. The span wires are not soldered to the poles to allow slight adjustments.

He used a special tool to bend the girder track and some turnouts, so the next modules will have loops to allow continuous running. He used information online at East Penn Traction Club and Trolleyville School as well as a multipart article he downloaded from Model Railroader.

The poles and small brass parts were sourced from a fellow in Ohio. The track is from Custom Traxx. A few other pieces came from Micromark. The sanding tower is a Kanamodel kit as is the water tower. The oil tanks are ABS plumbing pipes with added details. The lunch stand is a Bar Mills kit.

Winner of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's HO starter set draw announced

We are pleased to announce that the winner for our Bachmann HO starter set draw, held at our annual open house, was Jim Ksiowzyk, who came to our show because he saw the sign on the street!

We had a very successful show with a record attendance, and we raised more money on Saturday than we did during the entire weekend last year!

 Thanks to everyone who attended, as well as our many hard working volunteers and club members,  that made our show such a success! We're looking forward to seeing you all next spring!

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club to give away an HO starter set at their annual open house

How cool is this! We're having a draw for a Bachmann HO starter set at our annual open house and train show this coming weekend! The set, which we bought from our good friends at Toad Hall Toys, comes complete with a Santa Fe F-unit, three cars, a loop of E-Z track and a power pack!

This is the first time we've ever had a draw, and we're hoping it will inspire more young people to get into the hobby. There is no purchase necessary. All you have to do is fill out a draw ticket.

Our show starts on Saturday, April 7, in the Tank Room at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin boulevard. Hours are from 10AM to 5PM on Saturday, April 7, and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, April 8. Admission by donation. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant. Hope to see you all there!

Model Power going out of business

    Model Power, one of the oldest and largest model railroad and hobby manufacturers in North America, has announced that they are going out of business. As of April 24, they have stopped accepting new retail orders and customer service requests. The corporations stated that they will do their best to resolve all existing issues, returns and repairs that are currently in house.

     Their closing is a reflection of the sad state of the hobby industry, which has been gradually losing its client base over the past decades. As fewer and fewer people have taken up model railroading as a hobby, the once strong base of customers companies like Model Power depended on to sustain their business has been steadily eroding away.  As hobby shops continue to close, their distribution base has crumbled.

    Many model railroaders think of manufacturers of model railroad equipment as big businesses, but they are no more than cottage industries. As the actual manufacturing is now done overseas, companies like Model Power have been reduced to being small staffed distributors with extremely small profit margins.

     If Model Power can go out of business, who's next? Atlas? Athearn? Bachmann? Lionel?

     For more information on the closing of Model Power, please go to their link by clicking here.