WMRC members old and new reunite at the CPKC Final Spike steam tour event

Seen at the CPKC Final Spike steam tour stop in Winnipeg from right to left are WMRC President John Bate, his wife Karen Bate, Karen's sister, Larry Leavens, and Luca Maytas.

What a party CPKC threw in Winnipeg on July 6! And nothing brings model railroaders and rail fans together like a classic steam engine like the 2816 Hudson, which was displayed in Manitoba for the first time in 17 years. 

It was a model railroaders and rail fans homecoming day, as members old and new flocked to the CPKC rail yards to view this magnificent engine and its consist, which included and SD70 in heritage fleet colors, an F7 AA lash-up and a fleet of classic passenger cars painted in CP maroon and black livery.

It was truly the railroad lovers event of the year, or any other year, as thousands of people stopped by to view the train for the four hours it was on display.

 

 

Cliff Davidson, John Morris and Brian Schuff chat with a CPKC rail worker who was part of the staff of the final spike steam tour.

 

 

Tommy and James South, former youth members of the WMRC, are all grown up! Tommy is living the dream working as a conductor with CN Rail.

 

 

Long time members Gary Stempnick and Norm Leathers also attended the event. Norm is recovering from a hip injury, but nothing was going to stop him from seeing The Empress!

 

 

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

   John Morris demonstrates his decal skills to Ron Einarson and Larry Ziffle. Yes, that's John's sign.

   The WMRC's annual Klinic Karnival was well attended, and everyone had a great time soaking up model railroading knowledge from the 10 clinics that were held.

   Our good friend John Morris once again held his popular decal clinic. John is a model railroad detailing professional who has many clients across the country. For anyone who has struggled applying a stubborn decal to a model, this clinic was a must!

   To make the evening even more memorable, we held out annual "Christmas Dinner" of hot dogs, pop and chips, so there was plenty of good food for the members and guests to eat while they viewed the clinics.

    There were so many interesting clinics going on that it would be impossible to fit them into all one post. During the rest of December (and perhaps into January) we'll be dedicating a post to every clinic held.

Steve Boyko and John Morris visit the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's open house

We were pleased and honoured to be graced with some very special guests at our last open house. Steve Boyko, author of the excellent blog, Confessions of a Train Geek, came by and bought a whole bunch of model railroad magazines from our own Bob Shawcross. Steve runs an excellent blog, with some really good reporting. By all means check it out!

Our old friend John Morris also paid us a visit. John is not to be confused with the Olympian of the same name, but his modelling skills are truly Olympic! John keeps busy running John R. Morris Railway Model Service, and his services are always in great demand! John also ran an excellent clinic on decal application at our last Klinic Karnival. Always good to see you, John!

What? Who let those two guys in? Maybe we should hire a bouncer for our next open house!

John Morris at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's Klinic Karnival

 
 The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's December Klinic Karnival was graced by the presence of one of Winnipeg's all time great modellers, big John Morris himself!  Mister "life on the edge" presented an excellent clinic on applying decals. John is the Fred Astaire of decal application. He makes it look so easy. There isn't a single member of the club who hasn't ruined a perfectly good model at least once by messing up the crucial final touch of applying the decals. Watching the master himself doing it so effortlessly (while hobnobbing with all sorts of visitors to his table) was a real treat!

    Interestingly enough, John only uses one of the half dozen or so Micro Scale products - Micro Sol! After loosening the decal in a tray of lukewarm water (he doesn't even time how long it needs to soak), he takes it out, slips it onto the model with a brush, eyeballs it into place, and dabs a bit of micro-sol on top of it while it's still wet. He produced a perfect model every time!

    John's reputation as a model railroader goes well past Winnipeg's city limits. When the TLR's 2010 "Steam on the Prairies" convention clinics were being organized, Railroad Model Craftsman Contributing Editor Ken Goslett asked specifically that his clinic not be placed at the same time as John's! Perhaps he didn't want the competition, or perhaps he just wanted to go to John's clinic. All the same, the message was clear - when John speaks, everyone listens!

   Except for perhaps his wife.