More memories of the Manitoba Mega Train Show

James South hams it up for the camera at the Kildonan Short Lines HO scale modular group display.

We still have a ton of images from last month's Manitoba Mega Train Show to share with you! These images were taken by our Program Director, Morgan Turney, who covered as much of the huge show as he could, in between helping run the Kildonan Short Lines HO scale modular group. Enjoy!

 Seated is Dan Kollesavich, Winnipeg's own "Morse code guy", with his Morse code display. 

A miniature model of the Countess of Dufferin was also on display at the show.

What's this? Boats at a model train show? Well, why not? A model is a model, and these guys are definitely superb model builders!

WinNtrak President Felix Lesiuk, who is also a WMRC member, commands the raffle table for his club. WinNtrak has raffled off many of these painstakingly hand-built N gauge layouts.

Val Lemon volunteers at the WMRC table at the show. We sold a lot of train magazines that weekend!

The 2015 Manitoba Mega Train Show was a resounding success!

A wonderful G gauge modular layout was one of the many displays featured at the 2015 Manitoba Mega Train Show.

3,000 happy people attended the Manitoba Mega Train Show last weekend, with is a record breaking number for any train show held in the city for the past 30 years! The last time any train show in Winnipeg had numbers like that was for the legendary 1983 NMRA national  convention, Railway Jamboree.

Everyone loved our new venue!  The Red River Exhibition Park building was over three times the size of our previous venue. There was over 17,000 square feet of space!

Remember last year when the entire show was kept within the perimeter of the mega-train oval of track? Well, not this time! The mega-train took up just a third of the space this year. But the space inside of the track oval was still put to good use as the "kiddie section", which included two Lionel layouts, the Lego club display, Dan Kollesavich's Morse code demonstration, the face painter, and a balloon animal creator.

There was also another loop of track within the mega-train loop which featured a steam engine just smaller than the mega train. Most of the vendors were placed in one section, and the displays and modular groups were placed in another, which worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

Vendors reported some very impressive sales as well. Gerry Shaw from the Choo Choo Shop came all the way from Chilliwack to sell Lionel trains!!

The show also had out of town displays from the Portage La Prairie model railroad club and the Moose Jaw Thunder Creek Model Railway Club. 

We have plenty of pictures to show you, but they can't fit all in one post, so we're going to stagger them throughout this week, and the next. Enjoy!

Our good friends over at WinNtrak also set up their ever popular modular layout.

Godfrey South and his son Tommy get ready to run the Kildonan Short Lines modular railway.

Morse code at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club

Suzanne Lemon watches Dan Kollesavich demonstrating how to telegraph a message. 

   CP veteran Dan Kollesavich gave an excellent presentation on the history and usage of the telegraph at the Winnipeg Model Railroad club's meeting on November 8. Dan started working for the railroad in the 50's, when the telegraph was still in use. Both CN and CP Rail finally stopped using the telegraph in 1970. By then, it was only used for communication with rural stations. Dan also gave a demonstration on how it worked by clicking out "Winnipeg Model Railroad Club" in lightning speed!

   Before Dan's presentation, Suzanne Lemon demonstrated how to dry brush a laser cut wooden kit.

    There were also some very fine models shown for our monthly display run by the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division. WMRC members Ron Einarson, Ron Lundy, Morgan Turney, Larry Leavens and Suzanne Lemon all exhibited their latest creations.

Suzanne Lemon dry brushes a laser cut wooden kit.

Larry Leaven's model of a tank car.

 Morgan Turney's working model of an oil rig.

 Ron Einarson's structure entry.

 Ron Einarson also entered some trucks that he was modelling.

 Ron Lundy's unique engine model was displayed.

Suzanne Lemon displayed a finished laser cut wood kit.