Everyone had a great time at Railway Day at the Via Vail Station

WMRC President John Bate hands out stickers and brochures in the lobby of the Via Rail station at Railway Day last Sunday. 

Last Sunday's Railway Day in the lobby of the Via Rail station was well attended, and everyone had great time! The WMRC was in full force at the event. President John Bate and past president Larry Leavens manned the John Allen Timesaver switching layout. Past WMRC treasurer and current Winnipeg Railway Museum President Gary Stempnick brought along his portable N Gauge layout. 

WMRC secretary Brent Karr and Vice President Marvin Fetch displayed tour newest attraction, the Thomas the Tank Engine interactive layout, WMRC secretary Brent Karr and Vice president Marvin Fetch displayed our newest attraction, the Thomas the Tank Engine interactive layout, which was Brent's idea, and built by Brent, Gino Kost and Larry Leavens. WMRC spring program chair and webmaster Murray Brown brought along his Z scale layout in a steamer trunk and took pictures of everything!

 

All aboard for Railway Day at the Via Rail station!

Our good friends at the Winnipeg Railway Museum are putting on a real fun show on Sunday, May 3, at the Via Rail station. Come learn about Manitoba's train museums, model railroad clubs, train enthusiast societies and their activities. Find out where to view trains, ride trains and build model trains. 

The WMRC will be there with two of their most popular interactive displays from their recent open house, the  Thomas the Tank Engine layout and the John Allen Timesaver. Admission is free! Come on down to the Via Rail station lobby at 123 Main Street on Sunday, May 3 between 10AM and 4PM.

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual train show and open house is next weekend!

The WMRC's annual open house is happening next weekend! New this year is Godfrey South's modular layout, which was the hit of last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show. We'll also have the NMRA No.1 Northern Division Free-Mo group's HO modular layout, Gary Stempnick's N gauge layout and the Giraffe Car Man's O gauge layout. Test your railroading skills hands on with the John Allen Timesaver! Improve your skills with our modelling clinics and find out what's happening with the Prairie Dog Central this year at their display. Vote for your favourites at our annual model and photo contests! The canteen will serving gourmet air fried hot dogs, chips, donuts and pop. Come on down to the Charleswood Legion on Saturday, April 26 between 10AM and 5PM, and on Sunday, April 28 between 10AM and 4PM. Admission by donation. Proceeds go to support St. Amant.

 

The Gateway Western Railway and the John Allen Timesaver were big hits at Doors Open Winnipeg

There was no stopping this little tyke from seeing the trains at the Gateway Western Railway!

The Winnipeg Railway Museum had a very good turnout during Doors Open Winnipeg this past weekend.  Dedicated WMRC volunteers ran the Gateway Western Railway while WMRC Program Director Dave Downie operated the club's John Allen Timesaver modular switch yard.

The Timesaver's power pack burnt out on Saturday, but Gateway Western Superintendent Gino Kost supplied another power pack that carried it through the weekend. Much appreciated, Gino!

Many of the kids did a great job running the Timesaver (both boys and girls). The club printed out completion certificates which were to be given to the kids for successfully operating the Timesaver layout. Unfortunately, most of the kids weren't interested in them, and neither were their parents.

Dave spoke to many people who expressed an interest in the WMRC and The Manitoba Mega Train Show and many brochures were handed out for both. The Winnipeg Railway Museum did a great job supplying a table and an electrical hookup. Thanks to everyone who helped out!

 WMRC Program Director Dave Downie (left) is seen working the John Allen Timesaver modular switching layout with Gatweay Western Railway Superintendent Gino Kost during the club's open house in April. The Timesaver was a big hit at the Winnipeg Railway Museum during Doors Open Winnipeg this past weekend.

Join the fun at the Gateway Western Railway at Doors Open Winnipeg this weekend

It's time again for Doors Open Winnipeg! The Winnipeg Railway Museum will be participating again, and the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club will have the Gateway Western Railway up and running! The Gateway is open to the general public only twice a year, so make sure to grab this opportunity to view Manitoba's largest operating model railway in action!

As a special bonus this year, WMRC program director Dave Downie will have the club's John Allen Timesaver running as well! The time saver is a portable interactive switch yard that you can operate! See how fast you can shunt freight cars to their destination! The Timesaver was such a big hit at our open house in April, and we're bringing it back by popular demand!

The Winnipeg Railway Museum is located at the second level of the Via Rail Station at 123 Main Street. The museum is open during Doors Open Winnipeg from 11:00AM to 5:00PM on Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27. Hope to see you all there!

National Model railroad Association holds train show this Saturday

Heads up, everybody! This is the last train show for the year, and it's going to be a great one! Not only will there be several layouts running, but there will be interactive displays! Several clinics conducted by Winnipeg's finest modellers will be held. This is a rare treat, as no other train show in town holds clinics.

You can also test your railroading skills by operating a G scale John Allen Timesaver module, conducted by the NMRA's youngest member, Michael Leader. But don't let his age fool you - he's an expert at running a timesaver module!

There will also be a contest for the younger set. Each participant will receive a paper with multiple choice questions about the displays at the show. The papers will be drawn at the end of the show, and the three youngsters whose papers have been drawn who have the correct answers will receive a gift certificate from a local hobby shop!

The fun starts at 10:00AM at Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, 201 Scurfield Boulevard. Handicap accessible, admission by silver collection. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant.

NMRA Canada's first Winnipeg public train show was a resounding success

    A crowd of enthusiastic youngsters take turns trying their hand at operating an N scale layout at NMRA Canada's train show last Saturday.

Over 250 very happy people attended NMRA Canada's very first public train show last Saturday. Although the show was scheduled the day after Halloween and at the same time as one of the biggest comic book conventions in Western Canada, the event still managed to draw a surprisingly large crowd of train lovers, and raised a respectable amount of money to be donated to St. Amant.

The No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group, which had the largest display at last month's Manitoba Mega Train Show, had the largest display this time as well. The group (dubbed the "blue shirt guys" by the show's visitors) received many compliments not only for their layout, but their willingness to share all aspects of their hobby and answer any question the viewers had about their group, and of model railroading in general.

Veteran model railroaders Ron Einarson and Rob Gairns held popular clinics. WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich (using his alter ego as "The Giraffe Car Man") wowed the kiddies once again with his hands-on Lionel layout. There was also a hands-on N Scale layout, and a G scale display run by Manitoba Mega Train organizer Maurice Dorge. 13 year old Michael Leader, the group's youngest member,  was also on hand to run the John Allen Timesaver Module.

No. 1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze ran a demonstration on how to run a model railroad with a cell phone. He was also interviewed by CTV News Winnipeg, which ran the segment on their Saturday evening news program. Several NMRA members were also on hand to promote the organization and its many benefits to model railroaders.

It was also great to see a lot of old, new and familiar faces at the show, such as former Elmwood Hobby Works proprietor Vern Gibson. There were lots of families and plenty of kids , who stayed for many hours enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby!


    Ron Einarson held clinics all day, displaying many of his award winning models.


    Lookee here! Could that be our old friend Kent, the former WMRC Lantern Editor with his son, enjoying WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich's portable Lionel display? It sure is!

       Two of the "Blue Shirt Guys" (not to be confused with the Blue Man Group), Alan Graham (Centre) and No. 1 Northern Treasurer Sid Greenstone (L) promoting the many benefits of NMRA membership at  the show.

The National Model Railroad Association's Winnipeg train show is on tomorrow!

Saturday, November 1 is the big day! The NMRA is holding it's first ever train show in Winnipeg, and it's open to the public! You don't have to be an NMRA member to attend! They're going to have lots of layouts, including the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo layout, the Lionel 027 "Giraffe Car" layout, a portable N scale layout, and a G scale layout! There will be clinics and a demonstration on how to run a layout with a cell phone. Try your hand at runing a miniature switching yard with the John Allen Timesaver module!

The fun starts at 10:00 AM this Saturday at Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, 201 Scurfield Road! Admission by donation. Handicap accessible! Portions of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant.

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual Klinic Karnival: Part four

There were so many excellent clinics at December's Klinic Karnival that four posts had to be made on this site just to get everything in! This is the fourth and final post featuring all the things the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club does best: Educate, inform, share and have lots of fun doing it!

 Richard Mikolayenko shows Tommy Kucera what Z scale modelling is all about. 
Good thing Tommy is wearing his glasses!

 Michael Leader, the undisputed master of the John Allen Timesaver Module, 
demonstrates how to shunt those freight cars in record time to his sister Rebecca. 

Past WMRC President and Photo Contest Chair Suzanne Lemon held a clinic on how to 
create aged wood and peeling paint.