Learn everything you wanted to know about DCC but were afraid to ask at the WMRC's March meeting

At our March meeting John Bate will tell you everything you wanted to know about DCC but were afraid to ask.  And John knows his stuff! He is a retired professor of computer science at the U of M. He monitors the DCC Working Group, the NMRA committee that develops, enhances, and modernizes the DCC standards.

His clinic will touch on a number of topics, including  how DCC works, the basic Control Variables (CVs), how to use JMRI's Decoder Pro to work with CVs, and a review of techniques for speed matching. If you have any questions bout DCC (and we’re sure you do) they will be welcomed!

The fun starts at 7:00PM on Friday, March 10 at the Charleswood legion, 6003 Roblin boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we will be holding our monthly model and photo displays.

 

Two great programs scheduled for the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's first virtual meeting in December

The WMRC's very first virtual meeting is going to have two great programs for your viewing pleasure. First on tap is John Bate, who will present a short introduction and demonstration of LCC, or layout command control system. LCC is intended to operate items on a model railroad such as panels, turnouts, signals, as much as DCC runs the locomotives. John will give a short demonstration of a few simple
actions using switches and LEDs.

Next Dave Downie will present the elements of layout design. The design for a model railroad can make or break the layout. Dave will discuss some of the points that you should consider before starting to build a layout. He'll show you photos illustrating examples of what he's talked about and show you where you can see how a professional layout builder designs layouts for a living. Dave will also show how you can build a model railroad in a small area.

The meeting is scheduled for Friday, December 11, at 7:30 PM on Zoom. There will be a short business meeting prior to the clinics. We will also be holding an informal test meeting on Friday, December 4, at 7:30PM. This meeting will give you a chance to practice with Zoom if you haven't used it before. There will be no business meeting or clinics, but if you have something you've been working on, please give us a look!

Those whose names are on our members e-mail lists have already been informed about these meetings. All members on the e-mail list for the past season have been invited. You have until December 31, 2020 to pay your dues if you haven't done so already.  

If you are not a member and wish to join us in our virtual meetings please contact us at wmrc.trainclub@gmail.com and we'll see if we can fit you in.

 

Learn how to use 3D printing software at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's next event

We have 2 great clinics for the February meeting! First Larry Leavens will talk about track. To the novice some of the terminology can be confusing. What does DCC friendly really mean? He will discuss some of the common and uncommon topics that is associated with model train track, set a few things straight and show us a few tricks along the way.

   Then John Bate will present part one of a clinic about 3D printing. John will show how to create and print a 3D model using the free SketchUp program. He will do a demonstration of the software and talk about some of the fundamental rules and principles while creating a simple 3D model of a small yard office building. The completed file will be sent to a 3D printing site. All the steps of the process from beginning to end will be shown. The finished building will be brought to a future meeting so that the result can be seen.

The fun starts on Friday, February 14 at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll have our monthly model and photo display, as well as our 50/50 draw. Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed.

Two great presentations at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's September meeting

We have two great presentations to kick off the fall model railroading season! First, WMRC Treasurer John Bate will discuss DCC consisting and speed matching. He will explore three techniques for running multiple locomotives in a consist and give a live demonstration.

Next, WMRC program director Dave Downie will present the evolution of the Delaware and Rutland, one of Canada's largest and oldest model railroad clubs. It began in 1948 and continues today as its members use modern model railroad techniques to build and operate a layout with a 1100 foot mainline.

The fun starts at 7:30PM on September 13 at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll be holding our monthly model display. Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed!

Five great model railroading events on tap for September

September’s model railroad season opens with five great events to mark on your calendar!

First on tap is the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club’s meeting on Friday, September 13 at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. John Bate will demonstrate DCC techniques for running multiple locomotives in a consist. Then Dave Downie will make a presentation about the Delaware and Rutland, one of Canada’s oldest and largest model railroad clubs.

On September 14 and 15 the Assiniboine Valley Railway will hold an open house. They’re open from 11AM to 4PM on Saturday, and from 1PM to 4PM on Sunday at 3001 Roblin Boulevard.

On September 21 and 22 The Winnipeg Railway Museum will be holding their annual Railway Days celebration. Hours are from 10AM to 5PM on both days. The museum is located in the Via Rail Station at The Forks. While you’re there be sure to check out the CN 100 displays over at the Forks during that weekend.

On September 28 and 29 we have the Manitoba Mega Train Show, which will be held at Red River Exhibition Place, 3977 Portage Avenue (next to Assiniboia Downs) from 9AM to 5PM both days.

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club to hold their annual banuet on May 10

The WMRC is winding up another great season with our annual banquet! We'll also be holding our annual general meeting and presenting awards to the winners of our photo and model contests. It's being held on Friday, May 10, at the Canad Inns Polo Park in Alto's Restaurant, which is located at 1405 St. Matthews Avenue. The Hotel puts on a wonderful buffet with a large choice of foods. You can also order from a menu. 

Cocktails and dinner will start at 6:00PM, and the AGM will begin at 7:30PM. There will be a great many prizes  up for grabs again this year, not to mention the ever popular elimination draw for one HO Athearn Genesis CN GP38-2W complete with DCC and sound.  The second prize is an N scale  Atlas BNSF Dash 8-408W. Ticket sales are five bucks each, and they will be limited to 60. Buy an arms length of tickets for five bucks for a chance at winning one or more of over 40 prizes of HO and N scale rolling stock, buildings and scenery effects. Hope to see you all there!

Dave Downie presents "Rebirth of a Model Railroad" at November's Winnipeg Model Railroad Club meeting

At the WMRC's November meeting, long time member Dave Downie will present"The Rebirth of a Model Railroad". Dave will cover the history of his layout and its conversion to Digital Command Control (DCC) following an extended shut down.

Dave will also give a short demonstration on LED strip lighting with a 15' strip that he'll have operating, along with a sample of 3M suitcase connectors that he used to rewire his layout.

The meeting is on Friday, November 17 in the Tank Room on the west side of the Charleswood Legion at 6003 Roblin Boulevard and starts at 7:30PM.

All aboard for the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's first event of the season

It's our first event of the season, and it looks like it's going to be a good one! It's also time to renew memberships, and we're always delighted to accept new members! Guests are always warmly welcomed, and there's never any pressure to join, so why not come down to the club and see what it's all about? 

Our September program is a follow-up to last year’s “Computers in Model Railroading” presentation by John Bate. This time the focus is on tiny computers called Arduinos, which  are small embedded processors that can become an integral part of any electrical or electronic system - including a model railroad. You could control a level crossing, build a train speedometer, eavesdrop on your DCC system, or build a complete CTC system with a dispatcher’s console implemented in hardware, or on a computer screen. All of these things will be demonstrated. It requires a little bit of programming, but you will see that this is not nearly as scary as it sounds. 

The fun starts at 7:30PM on Friday, September 8 at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. We'll also have our monthly model display, so come and see what our members had been working on during the summer!

Learn all about digital command control at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's meeting on September 9

Welcome back, everyone! WinNtrak's Gerrit Vanderklok will give us a Digital Command Control primer on the Digitrax DCC control system. The basics of DCC will be discussed with demonstrations provided. If you want to bring a new engine and have it programmed, bring it along!

This year, we are bringing back side table modelling! Larry Leavens will have a DCC program track available for programming which will fit nicely into the evening's presentation by Gerrit. 

If any modeller wishes to do a side table clinic at the meeting, bring your modelling equipment with you and we'll provide you with a table (with a tablecloth!) for you to work.

The fun starts on Friday, September 9 at 7:30 PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll be having our popular monthly model display and the 50/50 draw. Guests are always warmly welcomed. Hope to see you all there!

Everyone had a great time at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual Klinic Karnival

 Ian Plett shows how to install DCC in an Athearn locomotive. It's not as easy as it looks!

Six of Winnipeg's best model railroaders were on hand at the WMRC's meeting on December 11 to share their skills at the club's annual Klinic Karnival. Ian Plett demonstrated how to install DCC in an Athearn locomotive. WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney showed how to make realistic trees out of common plants and weeds.

Ron Einarson showed off his exceptional talents of modelling with wood, Aaron Woloshyn held a clinic on making hydro poles, and Richard Mikolayenko showed how to scratchbuild styrene models using photo references. Virginia Braun held a clinic on building station kits. She gave some great modelling hints on how to model realistic looking stucco using Elmer's Glue, toilet paper, and an egg beater!

And it was hot dog night! Every December, the club holds their "Christmas banquet" of hot dogs, chips and pop at their monthly meeting. Much thanks to our canteen staff - Jean and Godfrey South, and their children, Frances and Tommy, for cooking and serving up such a great meal!

 Richard Mikolayenko shows the photo references he uses for modelling structures.

 Aaron Woloshyn uses a few basic tools to make realistic hydro poles.

 Virginia Braun has a truly remarkable talent for building miniature structures!

With just a pinch of this, a dash of that, Morgan Turney has made another great looking tree!

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club holds annual Klinic Karnival

December is Klinic Karnival Month at the WMRC! Come on down to the Charleswood Legion on December 11 and learn from other members how to improve your model railroading skills. We'll have several table clinics set up and you can visit each one at your leisure and learn how they 'do their thing'.

Program director Morgan Turney has arranged for several clinic presentations. Ron Einarson will be modelling with wood, Aaron Woloshyn will be making hydro poles, Ian Plett will show you how to install DCC on Athearn 'blue box' locomotives. Morgan will also pitch in, and he'll be holding two clinics! The first will be a clinic on making trees from common plants and weeds, and the second will be on how to put an Athearn blue box kit together.

And don't forget that......

We're having our Annual 'Christmas Dinner'. Enjoy a delicious hot dog prepared by the South Family canteen crew. And please bring a non-perishable food item for the Christmas Cheer Board. The fun starts at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. There's plenty of free parking, and visitors are always warmly welcomed! See you at the meeting!

Gateway Western Railway a big hit at Doors Open Winnipeg

By Morgan Turney, WMRC Program Director

   The weekend of May 30 and 31 saw Doors Open Winnipeg,  which included the Winnipeg Railway Museum, along with the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club layout, the Gateway Western Railway.
The trains ran well all day for the two Open House days and at one point on the Sunday, there were seven complete trains running on the layout. Had there been more Digital Command Control (DCC) throttles, we'd have had even more running!

   As can be seen from the photos, fun was had by all. Many thanks to Larry Leavens for trouble shooting the DCC system on Saturday and to those running trains and meeting the public during the two days - thanks for your participation!

Layout in a crawl space - Part 2

  This is the second part of Dennis Rietze's article about his model railroad, the Silver Springs Railway and transportation Company, which was written for Canadian Railway Modeller magazine. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher. 

 Another aspect of DCC is the option available through a stationary decoder which will allow the remote control of turnouts. With limitations in moving around in the layout room, the remote control option is a big bonus. At present I am still in the connection and wiring stage and once they are all installed, throwing switches will be done from the throttle.

  The layout scenes are that of basic flat prairie due to the low ceiling, with yards and industries for switching. Most all of the structures are Walthers kits along with others that I have kitbashed to my liking.

As I proceeded with construction and operating trains I discovered that there needed to be more double track sections to allow for better operation and interest; I therefore added extra sidings and plan on adding more as needed. The track is code 100 Atlas with Peco switches.

  The most recent work on the layout was the completion of the backdrops. After looking at different methods and ready made products, I chose to use backdrops from SceniKing. The company produces backdrops in a variety of scenes which match up with each other and can form a continuous scene with no duplication. One can choose the scenes that suit an era, too. Each backdrop is 16 x 72 inches and they piece together nicely. It takes two

people to install the backdrops and my wife kindly helped me hang the nine sections I needed to complete the backdrop. I am extremely pleased with the effect of the product – the layout has come alive with the use of this type of backdrop product.

  As my father had worked for the CPR, it made the choice of roads to operate on the layout easy. Initially I ran with Union Pacific and CPR but have changed to CPR as my main road with some SSR&T “clones.” I began with just DCC with no sound on my locomotives but as sound has become more common and the quality of the decoders has improved, I have begun to change more of my locomotives to sound equipped. I favour new locos with Soundtraxx Tsunami Systems decoders.

  Prior to dealing with other aspects of the layout, it is my intention this year to complete the ballasting of all the track. Then I want to proceed with planning and building a staging yard and additional industries that will require sidings and switching opportunities. Future plans on the SSR&T also include the installation of the remaining stationary decoders to permit remote control of turnouts – maneuvering in a crawl space to change turnouts is not quick and easy, even on a wheeled mechanic’s stool! 

  

  Signalling on the layout is not really in the plans at this point but, with my somewhat fascination for the electronics end of operation, I’m sure it will happen once all other aspects of the layout are complete. Yes, the SSR&T is a fun work in progress!

    Using his laptop, Dennis programs a locomotive on his isolated program track.

Layout in a crawl space - The Silver Springs Railway and Transportation Co.

This is the first part of an article written by WMRC member Dennis Rietze for Canadian Railway Modeller. It is reprinted with the permission of the publisher.

My HO scale Silver Springs Railway & Transportation Company has been a work in progress for the past 30 years. Like a lot of us, I’ve gone through several moves to different homes – the layout gets torn down and redone in the next “basement.” But when we moved to our current residence, I neglected to really check out the basement to ensure there was a spot for my layout. Turned out there was a spot alright – the crawl space under the living room and kitchen! The ceiling height at the highest point was 52 inches with areas where the ductwork ran across the room being more like 42 inches. I could work with that!

   My crawl space layout began as a 11 x 22 foot duck under entrance layout. The bench work height would be determined by the ceiling height. I discovered I needed a way of moving around in the crawl space and found some nifty mechanic’s stools on wheels at Canadian Tire which proved to be the solution. In addition, the tray on the bottom of the stool was a good place for tools and supplies to transport around while working. 

  Sitting on the mechanic’s stool dictated the layout height to be 24 inches as that felt like a comfortable level to work from while sitting on the stool. It also allowed my knees to fit under the bench work.

  During the early stages of construction, a problem occurred in entering the layout room. I had designed the layout to be a single track main line which would loop back onto itself forming a long oval shape with a swing bridge at the room entrance. But with the low ceiling and bench work height, I needed to come up with an easier way to enter the room. While reviewing layout plans in some of my books, I came across a track plan which I could modify slightly to give me continuous running capability and eliminate the track crossing the doorway entrance. 

  I expropriated more crawl space which allowed me to modify the existing plan, thus removing the obstruction. The expansion increased the layout size to the 22 x 22 foot size it is today. I decided on which control system I would use to operate the layout before I began construction – this would dictate the way the layout would eventually be wired. At the time, the change from the traditional DC block wiring system was being challenged by the then newer, DCC system. 

   After some consideration, I decided to go with the DCC Digitrax system as my research indicated they were one of the key players in the field of DCC technology at the time. I purchased a used Empire Builder II system as it would allow me to operate a sufficient number of locomotives, keeping me and any other operators busy during operating sessions. To minimize the problem of short circuits shutting down the whole layout, I installed a circuit board which allowed me to divide the layout into four power districts thus keeping a short circuit in one area from shutting down everything.

  To program DCC locomotives, I built a separate program track off to the side in one area of the layout. The track is covered with a piece of scenery when not in use. I use a laptop computer to run the software program, Decoder Pro. I find it a very useful program to perform some of the more difficult functions rather than doing it through a throttle.

  Part two of this article will be posted on this blog on Tuesday, May 6

    Don't stand up too quickly! Dennis' crawl space is only 42" high!