The closing of the Winnipeg Railway Museum puts the future of the Gateway Western Railway in jeopardy

On November 5 Via Rail served notice to the Winnipeg Railway Museum that the part of Union Station they use will no longer be available. Their last day of operation will be December 31, 2021.

Via states that tracks one and two need to be brought up to safety standards. The station is undergoing extensive renovations to its exterior wall. The museum occupies 37,500 square feet in the station. Via states that they will continue to house the museum’s artifacts and they will be working with the museum to find a new home.

Union Station is a national heritage site. Heritage Canada regulations require Via to keep it in a good state of repair. The west wall of the train shed has been slowly deteriorating for several years.

Construction of the new wall is scheduled to begin in January 2022, at which time the Museum space becomes a designated Construction Zone requiring suitable PPE for all personnel. Only construction personnel will be permitted on site during the construction.

After the new wall is complete, the current Building Code Occupancy Requirements will apply, and the space the museum occupies does not meet these requirements. When the museum was opened in the early 1990's it was in accordance with the occupancy requirements of the building code at that time.

The plywood partition between Tracks 2 & 3 needs to be replaced with metal/concrete/glass, the electrical plant and lighting must be upgraded, the sprinkler system must be replaced, to the tune of $3,000,000 in order to qualify for an occupancy permit.

The museum is home to the Gateway Western Railway, operated by the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club. The contents of the Gateway are the property of the club. The structure that contains the Gateway is owned by the museum. No notice has been given as to whether or when the club will have to remove their display.

It has been a very rough year for Winnipeg’s model railroad and rail fan community. Along with the closing of the museum, the Assiniboine Valley Railway and Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply have also closed this year.

For more information on the closing of the museum, please go to the following links:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/railway-museum-relocate-union-station-via-winnipeg-1.6245828

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-railway-museum-closing-at-end-of-december-1.5660148

https://globalnews.ca/news/8363527/winnipeg-railway-museum-to-close-doors-dec-31-seeks-new-home-for-2022/

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/winnipeg-railway-museum-to-shutter-at-end-of-year-575720112.html

 

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/

 

Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply will be closing soon

It is with great regret that we announce that Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply will be closing soon, due to the untimely death of Kerry Fingler, the son of the owner, Jerry Fingler.

Cellar Dweller has been serving the hobby for 49 years. Its closing leaves only two other shops, Toad Hall Toys and Warehouse Hobbies that still cater to model railroaders. No date has been set for the stores closing.

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club mourns passing of Kerry Fingler of Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply

Kerry Fingler of Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply Limited passed away on January 7, 2021 after a brief illness.

Kerry Fingler was the son of Cellar Dweller Supply owner Gerry Fingler, who founded the shop in 1972. He had been around the hobby of model building all his life. He worked at Cellar Dweller since 1976, first part-time while attending school and then full-time after attending Red River College.
 
Kerry’s hobbies and interests comprised almost everything they sold in the store, including scale modelling, R/C planes, cars, model rockets and stunt kites. His outgoing personality and enjoyment in dealing with people was an important part of Cellar Dweller.

He is survived by his wife Brenda, daughter Lauren and son-in-law Ken, grandson Logan, parents Gerry and Anita and his brother Randy. A private family service will take place at a later date.

Cellar Dweller Hobbies expands stock of Woodlands Scenics products

In the wake of the demise of Gooch's Hobbies, we've received notice from Cellar Dweller Hobbies that they're alive and well, and that they've expanded their stock of Woodlands Scenics products, including their line of scale model trees!

Jim Holland of Cellar Dweller said that if model railroaders begin coming into the store that they would begin to carry more model railroad products and accessories.

Modellers have been going to Cellar Dweller over the years for Styrene and strip wood supplies. They do have a very limited stock of low-end model railroad rolling stock  items and a few plastic building kits. Jim has said that the shop might begin to carry a better range of model railroad items if he thought that modellers might begin asking for such items. 

Now that most of the other model railroading shops in town are gone they might be willing to fill the model railroading niche to some degree in Winnipeg. So what are you waiting for? Contact them and start asking! Cal them at 204-589-2037 or toll free at 1-866-248-0352, or send them an email at cdhobby@mts.net