Donations requested to complete a rail monument in the birthplace of the Canadian Northern Railway.

Manitoba’s last Canadian Northern Railway turntable bridge was removed in Dauphin, Manitoba at the site of the original 15 stall roundhouse, in August 2025. Funding is needed at a project estimate of $75,000 to help commemorate the community members who initially preserved the turntable in 1993 and the history of rail employees of Dauphin over the past 130 years with a monument to this structure.

The City of Dauphin will accept donations by cheque, cash or debit and provide a subsequent tax receipt for your donation.  Their mailing address is 100 Main St. S, Dauphin, MB  R7N 1K3.  You must provide a return address and write “turntable” in memo if paying by cheque.  They have also agreed to match funds up to $10,000 for this project.  Donations of over $250 will have recognition on a donor wall which will accompany the structure.

The original structure, dating back to 1906, was an 84 foot, approximately 40 ton steel structure that originally moved steam locomotives into the roundhouse for daily repair and storage and later acted as a means of rotating and changing the direction of diesel locomotives in a limited space.  In 1997 this site was purchased by the Town of Dauphin from CN with the financial help of 17 community members .

Prior to the removal the Dauphin Rail Museum requested an approximate 23 foot portion of the bridge and driving motor be preserved to allow for the design and installation of a memorial to this structure in CN Park, just adjacent to CNR Place.  The Dauphin railway station is a Manitoba Historic Site and an historic railway station of Canada, originally built in 1912 by Canadian Northern Railway and is known as Manitoba’s most beautiful rail Station.

With a financial contribution from the City of Dauphin, the Dauphin Rail Museum consulted with Stantec Architecture Ltd. in Winnipeg to develop a visual rendition of the monument.  This structure will create a distinct interactive and interpretive historic structure not seen in Manitoba which will be more accessible to the public than its previous location.

Dauphin’s rail history dates back to 1896 where the first train arrived on the Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company that was owned and operated by Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann.  This event sparked a moment that changed the landscape of immigration, settlement, agriculture and commerce.  Their efforts would culminate in a 9,500 mile transcontinental system called Canadian Northern Railway.  Dauphin is the birthplace of that railway.

The Dauphin Rail Museum exists to preserve, interpret and present the rich railway history of Dauphin and the Parkland area.

 

Murray Brown's "Auto With You" auto transport car showcased at WMRC's February 2026 meeting

Murray Brown brought in this unique model of a CN “Auto With You” car to the WMRC’s monthly model display at February’s meeting. The prototype was introduced by CN in the 70’s, along with Daynighter coaches and Red, White and Blue fares as an attempt by government owned CN Rail to grow passenger traffic and recoup some of the cost of the service by generating additional revenue.

The service allowed a passenger's car to travel with them on the Super Continental, trains between Toronto and Edmonton.  Reservations were required for passengers and their cars. Passengers delivered their cars four hours prior to departure, with the cars made available soon after arrival in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, or Vancouver.  

There were six autos per car. Enclosed auto transporters were painted in CN's passenger colours and were positioned on the rear of the Super Continental.  Ramp facilities in Winnipeg were in the east yard at the southwest corner of the Provencher Bridge. The cars were too high to pass through Union Station. 

The first year’s services in 1972 were peak summer only, three times per week. In 1973, the service was boosted to daily service.  In 1974 it became a year-round service. The cars were fitted with BARCO steam lines. The service ended in 1976 due to lack of patronage.

Murray fitted his model with Walthers Proto trucks, Kadee scale head couplers, Utah Pacific marker lights, Custom Finishing Models BARCO steam heat hoses, Cal Scale UC passenger air brake fitting, Hi-Tech Details air and signal line hoses, He hand fabricated the uncoupling rods, self designed and 3D printed the coupler fit bar brackets and ink jet printed end of car decals. 

Trucks were weathered with Tamiya X-21 Flat Base, Vallejo IDF Sand Grey. Vallejo Special FX Rust and Orange Rust were applied to the coupler knuckles and  the wheelsets. Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color was used to heighten certain details.  AK Terrains concrete acrylic was used to simulate tracks 1 through 6 at Winnipeg’s Union Station.

 

Public meeting on rail relocation held at the Norwood Community Club

  Former Liberal MP and cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy is seen addressing the audience concerning rail          relocation at the Norwood Community Club on November 18, 2025.

This article was originally published in the January 2026 issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club.

By Neil Carleton

The province of Manitoba has started a consultation process on how and when rail right of way and yards can be moved.

Lloyd Axworthy, a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister has been hired to head the study. As minister of transport he was involved with the relocation of the rail yard that became The Forks. 

The group includes Barry Prentice, professor of Supply Chain Management a University of Manitoba and Director of the Transport Institute; Jino Distasio, professor in the department of geography at the University of Winnipeg and director of the Institute of Urban Studies.

The group also includes lawyer Mary-Jane Bennett, who was on the Canadian Transportation Agency and recently involved in relocation of the BNSF cross boarder rail relocation in the Vancouver area, Jennifer Moore Rattray, Chief Executive Officer of Marymound. In the past she has worked with the Southern Chiefs organization and was a CBC journalist.

There will be six meetings in the city, held in areas that are affected by rail trackage.

The outline for the study is available online at;

https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/proactive/20252026/rail-study-report-2026.pdf

The report can also be found by searching Government of Manitoba and look for Winnipeg Rail Relocation Study. 

When relocation is mentioned the first thing people think of is the Canadian Pacific yards that isolate the north end of Winnipeg. While a significant project Winnipeg also has two other class one railways that slice through the city.

Relocation also applies to the CN mainline, BNSF lines and the smaller Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway. The CN Symington yards are also in consideration, as the residential sprawl moves in that direction.

I attended the presentation held at the Norwood Community Club at which the St. Boniface area was considered.

Interesting to note that one third of St. Boniface is the “Mission Industrial area”. This includes the former stockyards, a tank farm and dismantled oil refinery, the busy automobile delivery yard and some rail served industries. The area is crisscrossed by the CPKC, CN and GWWD. Marion Street traffic is regularly stopped at any of three or four crossings.

When you look at the map of the area it there is a spaghetti of tracks and crossings.

It was interesting to hear concerns from some of the over 40 people at the meeting.

One woman wondered if the hump yard at Symington could be closed, ‘it makes a lot of noise’. Symington is not included in the outline for the consultation. At over 700 acres it would be a formidable project to move. By comparison the CPKC yard in the north end is less than 300 acres.

An engineer attending said he had a part in closing the Arlington Bridge. His observation was removing he CPKC yard would open up significant real estate but wondered if the city has the water and sewage capacity for so much new housing? He also pointed out that rerouting the mainlines would still require bridges to cross rivers and the floodway. There would continue to be many crossings of main and rural highways.

Drs. Axworthy, Distasio and Prentice listened closely to all the comments and responded as best they could.

While relocating tracks and yards is the starting point, the final goal is the development that would follow.

An example given is the 4 kilometres of abandoned track in the Brooklands area; as an example of a recreational conversion. The possibility of commuter rail to the Interlake on the exisiting underused line was discussed, as was rail transit south on the Emerson sub right-of-way to open that area for commuter rail traffic.

Repurposed rail lines crossing Winnipeg could also be considered for Light Rail transit, recreation or housing.

There will be a large relocation symposium in the early spring, with a final report published shortly after.

This graphic depicts current railway lines in the St. Boniface area.

Bob Harrison wins two awards at WMRC's annual model contest

WMRC past president Bob Harrison walked away with two awards at the club's annual model contest, held at our spring train show and open house. Bob won third place in the structures category for his model of an oil rig. He also won second place in the display category for his model of a CN billboard. Bob is a prolific modeller and has won many awards for his efforts in the past. Congratulations, Bob!

Murray Brown sweeps awards at WMRC banquet

Murray Brown is one of our newest members. Although he joined the club just last year, he has become one of our most enthusiastic members. For the club’s special event model contest, he placed second for his accurate and well researched diorama of a level crossing at Meadows, Manitoba. He won third place in the annual photo contest for his photo of the CN Symington yards repair shop.

He won the Robert Weaver memorial award for an article he wrote that was published in The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC. Murray also found the time to rewrite a draft of the club’s constitution. We need more members like Murray Brown!

 

 

Murray travelled to Meadows, Manitoba to take on-site photos and measurement of the level crossing at mile 22.4 on the CPKC Carberry subdivision to help him create this accurate diorama.

 

 

Murray's striking, almost monochromatic image of these wheel sets at the CN Symington yard won third place in the WMRC's annual photo contest.
 

 

WMRC members partied hearty at the CN campus during the club's AGM

WMRC past President Bob Harrison looks like he's having a blast operating the railroad simulator at the CN Campus during the club's AGM. Photo by Neil Carleton.

What a party! The WMRC's 2024 AGM was held at the CN campus last night, and everyone had a wonderful time! After a great meal courtesy of CN and catered by The Olive Garden, we went on a two hour tour of the campus, which included a visit to their 60' x 8' HO layout. The highlight for everyone was when we got a turn working the train simulator, and got to pretend that we were engineers in training!  

Here's what Bob got to see as he took the controls of the engine. Photo by Neil Carleton.

 

Here's a view of CN's massive HO layout that they use for training purposes. It's so big that we couldn't fit it all in the frame!

WMRC Past President and current Lantern Editor Larry Leavens watches as a new CN employee gets a lesson on how to operate a switch. Photo by Neil Carleton.

 

Members were divided up into groups and assigned a tour guide to take them through the CN campus facilities. This group is watching a demonstration on how CN employees learn how to operate couplers.

The CN guide holds a plastic latch form a coupler, which is used in training new CN employees how to operate couplers in various conditions.

 

 

 
 

WMRC to hold 2024 AGM at CN campus

The WMRC will beholding its 2024 AGM and annual banquet at the CN Claude Mongeau National Training Centre. CN has graciously offered to host and cater the event for the WMRC at no cost to the club or its members.

The date has been moved from its usual Friday date to Thursday, May 9. The doors will open at 5:30PM. Dinner will be served at 6:00PM. The CN Claude Mongeau National Training Centre, also known as the CN Campus, is located at 650 Pandora Avenue East in Transcona. 

CN will provide the members attending a tour of the facility. The WMRC will be presenting its awards and holding their usual raffles at the AGM. Please note that this is a members only event. As this is a catered event, members have already been contacted in advance about their intentions to attend.
 

Luca Matyas builds a Prairie Dog Central Railway caboose

Luca Maytas submitted this model of the Prairie Dog Central caboose for the model display at the WMRC’s March meeting. The caboose model was originally CPR and didn't really fit in on Luca’s CN layout, but it looked close enough to the Prairie Dog Central Railways caboose number 109.

Other than making the wire handrails, the kit was pretty easy to put together. He mixed a few different colours until he got close enough to the darker green that PDCR uses. Luca hand painted the entire model, and then printed off two PDCR logos for the sides.

Pictured below is the prototype as it appears today. What a great job Luca did on modelling it! 

 

Doug Ritter models Bridgewater, Nova Scotia CN station

At our January meeting Doug Ritter brought in a scratch built model of the CN station in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia to our monthly model display. Using just photos over 40 years old as a reference, he modelled the exterior and the interior with painstaking precision.

He cut the walls and roof out of Styrene using a Cricut machine. Doors and windows were Tichy 3D printed. Stone cladding is from Chooch Express. Interior details were 3D printed. 

Come one, come all to the Portage Model Railway Club’s December open house

The Portage Model Railway Club holds only two open houses per year, and the next one is coming up on Saturday, December 16! It’s definitely worth the trip to see all of their layouts and displays in the renovated CP Rail station. If you haven’t been there lately, you’re going to be surprised and delighted at what they’ve done.

The hours of the open house are from 10AM to 3PM. Admission is five dollars. Kids under 12 are admitted for free! The station is located at 251 3rd. street NE in Portage La Prairie.

Portage is a great place for rail fanning, and its been listed as one of the top rail fanning sites by Trains magazine. The CN and CPKC mainlines run closer to each other than almost anywhere in the country, so bring your camera! Please remember that crossing tracks other than at designated road crossings is illegal and dangerous.
 

Larry Leavens presents the second part of his presentation on modelling the Oak River bridge at the WMRC's November meeting

In the second part of his presentation on modelling the CN Bridge over Oak River, Larry Leavens will show his progress on this section of his layout. It's rather small as railway bridges go, it does have some interesting aspects. 

In the 1980’s the Government of Canada said that CN would double track its mainline from Winnipeg to Edmonton. Some roadbed grading was done along with some short sections that were double tracked, but the bulk of the line remained single tracked. The bridge at Oak River was part of this project.

A new bridge was built on the alignment of the new track and the old bridge was dismantled with the track curving to swing the track over to this new alignment. Larry did not intend to build an exact copy or a contest quality model of the bridge, but he did want to capture the flavour of it. The scenery had been roughed in and the basic bridge built in Part one. Now it's time to finish the scenery and bridge. Along the way he changed his mind on some of the details. See what he did differently from his original idea.

Please note that the WMRC's November meeting will be held a week earlier than usual, on Friday, November 3, at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we will also be holding our monthly model and photo displays.
 

 

WMRC will hold its October meeting at the CP rail station in Portage La Prairie on Saturday, October 14

And now for something completely different! We're holding our October meeting in Portage La Prairie with the Portage Model Railway Club at the Portage CP station! Come see their great renovated station with all of their layouts and displays, and get in some rail fanning with the beautiful fall foliage! It's worth the trip! 

The meeting will be held on Saturday, October 14, at 1:00 PM. There will be no meeting on Friday, October 13. The station is located at 251 3rd. street NE in Portage La Prairie. Please bring a lawn chair, as there are a limited number of seats at the station.

October 14 is also the day of the partial eclipse. The weather report predicts a cloudy day, but if it's clear enough to view the eclipse, please bring proper eye protection. The eclipse begins about 10:30 AM and reaches its peak at about 11:42 AM, and will be over by meeting time.

Portage is a great place for rail fanning, and its even been listed as one of the top rail fanning sites by Trains magazine. The CN and CPKC mainlines run closer to each other than almost anywhere in the country, so come early and stay late for lots of fall rail action! Please remember that crossing tracks other than at designated road crossings is illegal and dangerous.

 

Exclusive photos from the 1983 Railway Jamboree NMRA national convention

Bill Taylor (left) and Moe Smith sell “arms length” raffle tickets at the 1983 Railway Jamboree NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg. Nick Andrusiak invented this gimmick, which is still being used at the WMRC’s annual AGM and banquet.

Frances Andrusiak, widow of longtime member Nick Andrusiak, sent us the great photos of Railway Jamboree, the 1983 NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg. Nick was one of the organizers of this convention, the only NMRA national convention ever to be held in Winnipeg.

Frances tells us that convention consumed the lives of the Andrusiak family for four years, starting from the time of the bid, which was held at the 1979 NMRA national convention in Calgary. The Andrusiak children had to have supper on a blanket on the kitchen floor many times when the executive planning committee was meeting at their home.

Winnipeg was one of the smallest cities to ask to hold an NMRA national convention. The WMRC, which had about 250 members at time, was one of the smallest clubs to organize a convention. They had an uphill battle to convince the NMRA executive to let them hold a convention.

Frances told us that the Winnipeg delegation had corned beef sandwiches flown in from Winnipeg and delivered to the convention just as their presentation was completing at lunch time. Small touches like that won the hearts and minds of the NMRA executive and helped the Winnipeg Delegation land the bid to hold the convention.

In 2008 Nick organized a reunion was a reunion on the 25th anniversary of the convention. It was planned as an informal lunch at the Winnipeg Convention Centre cafeteria but when the cafeteria staff heard they were coming they set up tables with white tablecloths and provided table service. The reunion was marred by the absence of Hilt Friesen, who while getting ready to attend the reunion, suffered a fatal stroke.

Francis has many more photos of the convention. We hope that she will share the rest of them with us soon!

Bill Norrie, Winnipeg’s mayor at the time, is seen getting pinned by convention chair Stafford Swain. Norrie was in crutches because he ran over his foot with a lawnmower.

Nick Andrusiak (left) and Bill Taylor are seen on a CN caboose. Convention attendees were given the opportunity to visit the CP yards and the CN Transcona shops during the convention. Due to security concerns this courtesy has long been abandoned by the railways. 

 

A photo montage ready for publication, possibly for The Lantern. Note that the photos were pasted on a grid sheet used for school publications. Nick Andrusiak was a High School Teacher. Hilt Friesen is shown on the photo on the lower left. Stafford Swain is shown on the photo next to him.

WMRC's first Robert Weaver memorial award given to Paul Ullrich (but they had to find him first)

WMRC past president Larry Leavens presents WMRC social media director Paul Ullrich with the first ever Robert Weaver memorial award at Harte grain elevator, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. 

WMRC social media director Paul Ullrich won the first ever Robert Weaver memorial award for his contributions to The Lantern, the official publication of the club. The award was announced at the club's AGM and banquet in May, but he was nowhere to be found.

Paul was gallivanting around southern Ontario on a Fehr-Way motor coach tour, which included stops at the Ottawa Tulip Festival, the 1000 Islands and Niagara Falls. After he returned, he went rail fanning with Larry and long time WMRC member Gary Stepnick, who is also the president of the Winnipeg Railway Museum.   

Larry, who is no stranger to gallivanting himself, brought the trophy and the plaque along with them. He hid it in the trunk in a CN reusable shopping bag. When they arrived at Harte, Larry surprised Paul by presenting him with the award. With the grain elevator in the background and a CN freight train underneath them while they stood on the overpass, it was the perfect place for a photo op!

The Robert Weaver award was created by the WMRC to honour the late Robert Weaver, former editor of The Lantern. Robert edited the publication for 13 years, the longest tenure of any Lantern editor. This award replaces The Lantern award. The award is given to one member each year for their contributions to The Lantern. 

Paul was also very happy that he got to keep the CN reusable shopping bag. 

 

Portage La Prairie Model Railway Club to hold their summer open house this weekend

The Portage Model Railway Club summer open house is taking place this Saturday, June 10, from 10 AM to 3 PM vat the CP station on 251 3rd. street in Portage La Prairie. They will have outdoor activities such as trainspotting the CP and CN lines and a small ride-on barrel train for the kids to enjoy a ride around the lot. 

Inside the renovated historic Canadian Pacific Railway heritage station they will have every layout from Z to O gauge running, with staff on hand to provide demos and interaction. Drinks and snacks will be available to purchase on site. Come enjoy a day at the Station! Admission is $5, kids under 12 free.

 

 

Larry Leavens shows how to model an unusual prototype scene at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's April meeting

 

 

Larry Leavens will show us how to model this prototype scene at our next meeting.

At our April meeting WMRC past president Larry Leavens shows us his modelling efforts in recreating an unusual scene on the CN mainline west of Rivers, Manitoba, where a new bridge was built over the Oak River. 

It is suspected that the bridge was built as part of the plan to double track the mainline, which never happened. When the old bridge was torn down, the mainline was shifted to the new bridge, then back to its original route, creating what looks like an elongated letter N on an otherwise straight mainline, but makes for a great modelling project. 

Larry has a very long straight track from one siding to the next on his layout. This is very typical for CN to have dead straight track but Larry thought that it was a little boring. Installing this scene would add more interest to the scene. Like most modelling, some sort of selective compression was needed.

The fun starts at 7:00 PM on Friday, April 14, 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 displays and our 50/50 draw. 

 This is an image of the bridge over the Oak River outside of Rivers, Manitoba. Larry will show us how he modelled it at our April meeting.
 

Exclusive images of CN's executive train

Three WMRC members really lucked out on a rail fanning excursion last week! Past president Larry Leavens, Social Media Director Paul Ullrich and Winnipeg Railway Museum President Gary Stempnick spotted a CN freight pulling seven executive passenger cars. Not only that, but they spotted this rare sight four times in four different locations on the same day!

They first witnessed this eastbound train barreling through Grant's Cut, just outside of Rivers. Then they spotted it just outside of Justice, Manitoba. It showed up for a third time by the Hart grain elevator, then for the last time at Portage La Prairie. 

All of these photos were taken on bridges, but Gary was on ground level at Portage when he saw them pass by. He reported that all of the passenger cars were empty, so it was assumed that they were being taken to CN headquarters in Montreal.
 

All aboard for the Portage la Prairie Model Railroad Club's annual open house!

The friendly folks at the Portage la Prairie Model Railroad Club are holding their annual summer house on Saturday, June 11 There will be several operating layouts, model railroad equipment for sale, snacks and prizes! Admission is only five bucks, kids under 12 get in for free. Hours are from 10AM to 3 PM at the CP station in Portage la Prairie, 231 3rd. street NE. Be sure to do some rail fanning while you're there! It's one of the few places in Canada where the CP and CN mainlines are only a few meters away from each other. What a great place to spend a lovely Saturday in Manitoba!

 

You can now view the video of the 1983 Railway Jamboree NMRA national convention on You Tube!

 

At our March 2022 meeting we screened a rarely seen video of the 1983 Railway Jamboree NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg. The response was so enthusiastic that we've decided to post it on You Tube for everyone else to see!

The late Roger Kiendl shot this video using a heavy, bulky video camera with a separate battery pack in a canvas bag slung over his shoulder. We estimate that he was lugging around about 40 pounds of equipment during that very hot week in July. This was state of the art equipment back then! 

The video contains great footage of first and second generation diesel power at the CP Weston Shops and the CN Transcona Yards. Roger also took his camera into the convention's public train show,  held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Check out the awesome N scale iron ore loading dock!

You can vie the video by clicking the link here: https://youtu.be/jvIJ39zLzGs
 

These are not kits! Tyler Fedoroshyn designed and printed these Jordan Spreaders!

These are not model kits! These Jordan Spreaders are entirely 3D designed and printed by WMRC member Tyler Fedoroshyn! They began as 3D CAD drawings, broken down into about 60 pieces, and printed on his AnyCubic Photon 3D printer. They were then assembled, painted and scaled to match the prototype.

The one difference between Jordan spreaders is the size of the side wings. Tyler has designed four different wing styles to match the CP, CN, BN and ONR Jordan Spreaders. Tyler is offering the Jordan Spreader model as a kit.

Along with the Jordan Spreaders, the snow plow and the SD-40-2 are representative of modern CP snow fighting trains which Tyler modified or custom built after the equipment around the Lake Louise station.