Winnipeg Model Railroad Clubmourns passing of former member Fred Shannon

This image of Fred Shannon is from the Rails MRSK page on Facebook.

Former WMRC member Fred Shannon passed away this week. Fred was an active member of the club until he moved to rural Manitoba, but he remained a very enthusiastic model railroader and rail fan all of his life.  Fred was a life long employee of the CPR. He had recently bought his retirement home near Emerson, Manitoba, and regularly posted his rail fanning pictures from that location on RailsMBSK onFacebook . Fred will be remembered for opening his impressive HO layout to hundreds of NMRA members for viewing during Railway Jamboree, the 1983 NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg. 

The WMRC photo contest special event for 2025 will be the Empress

WMRC photo contest chair Larry Leavens has announced that the special photo event for the 2025 spring open house will be “The Empress”, CPKC’s steam locomotive 2816.  It will be in Winnipeg on display on July 6 from 12PM to 4PM at 949 Jarvis Ave. The train will arrive at 9:00AM on July 6. On July 4 it is moving from Thief River Falls, Minnesota to Winnipeg. On July 7 it will travel from Winnipeg to Brandon. On July 8 it will go from Brandon to Moose Jaw.

CPKC limits the speed of their heritage passenger fleet to 50MPH, but other than the mainline they might not be going that fast. The roadbed on the Emerson sub is not up to the standards for carrying passenger cars, so 40MPH might be a better estimate.

For those wishing to follow the train across the border, the CPKC line closely parallels highway 59 in Minnesota from Thief River Falls to Lancaster. There is no information available as to when it is running on July 4.

The Emerson sub doesn’t parallel any roads after it closes the border into Canada, but there are many level crossings available for photo shoots on highways 201, 205, 23, 305, 311 in Niverville and 210.

There are many photo opportunities after it leaves Winnipeg, especially along highway 221 to Marquette, along highway 26 by Poplar Point and High Bluff, in Portage La Prairie and Town along the Trans Canada such as MacGregor, Austin and Carberry.
   
CPKC strongly cautions that everyone should keep clear of railway property and the right of way, which extends 15 metres (50 feet) from the centre of the tracks on either side. It is unsafe and illegal to be on railway property. Please keep in mind that if you’re rail fanning in places other than level crossings you might be trespassing on private property belonging to others.
 

The CPKC 2816 Empress steam train is coming to Winnipeg

It has been 17 years since the 2816 Empress steam train has been in Manitoba. But on Saturday, July 6, it will arrive in Winnipeg its way back from a historic journey from Calgary to Mexico to celebrate the merger of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern.

Please note that he date has been changed from its previous arrival date of June 30. The date was pushed back to accommodate changes to required locomotive maintenance and inspections. The train will arrive at the Weston shops, 949 Jarvis Avenue at 9:00AM on July 6.

A celebration open to the public will be held from noon to 4PM. Visitors will be able to tour a mobile museum exhibit highlighting the history and the future of the CPKC. The Puffer Belly Express, a miniature version of the 2816, will be on site offering free train rides. Admission is free.

The train will be entering Canada through the Emerson subdivision. It will continue its journey back to Calgary on the CPKC mainline. It will be in Brandon on July 7. Winnipeg is the last event stop of the tour.

CPKC strongly cautions that rail fans should keep clear of railway property and the right of way, which extends 15 metres (50 feet) from the centre of the tracks on either side. It is unsafe and illegal to be on railway property.

For more information about this event, click here.