Murray Brown's "Auto With You" auto transport car showcased at WMRC's February 2026 meeting

Murray Brown brought in this unique model of a CN “Auto With You” car to the WMRC’s monthly model display at February’s meeting. The prototype was introduced by CN in the 70’s, along with Daynighter coaches and Red, White and Blue fares as an attempt by government owned CN Rail to grow passenger traffic and recoup some of the cost of the service by generating additional revenue.

The service allowed a passenger's car to travel with them on the Super Continental, trains between Toronto and Edmonton.  Reservations were required for passengers and their cars. Passengers delivered their cars four hours prior to departure, with the cars made available soon after arrival in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, or Vancouver.  

There were six autos per car. Enclosed auto transporters were painted in CN's passenger colours and were positioned on the rear of the Super Continental.  Ramp facilities in Winnipeg were in the east yard at the southwest corner of the Provencher Bridge. The cars were too high to pass through Union Station. 

The first year’s services in 1972 were peak summer only, three times per week. In 1973, the service was boosted to daily service.  In 1974 it became a year-round service. The cars were fitted with BARCO steam lines. The service ended in 1976 due to lack of patronage.

Murray fitted his model with Walthers Proto trucks, Kadee scale head couplers, Utah Pacific marker lights, Custom Finishing Models BARCO steam heat hoses, Cal Scale UC passenger air brake fitting, Hi-Tech Details air and signal line hoses, He hand fabricated the uncoupling rods, self designed and 3D printed the coupler fit bar brackets and ink jet printed end of car decals. 

Trucks were weathered with Tamiya X-21 Flat Base, Vallejo IDF Sand Grey. Vallejo Special FX Rust and Orange Rust were applied to the coupler knuckles and  the wheelsets. Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color was used to heighten certain details.  AK Terrains concrete acrylic was used to simulate tracks 1 through 6 at Winnipeg’s Union Station.

 

Luca Maytas builds an auxiliary water tender

Luca Maytas submitted a model of an auxiliary water tender at last month’s model display. He made it from an old coal tender from a broken Tyco 4-6-2 locomotive. Luca wanted to have an extra tender to go along with his model of a tourist train, for when steam locomotives ran on the mainline they typically had one or two extra tenders carrying water.

Luca took the shell off and cut out the coal load. Then he cut a piece of plastic card to fit over where the coal load was. Once he had that in place he used a piece of sprue to act as the water hatch. He cut off the draw bar and truck mounted couplers and added a Kadee coupler and coupler box at each end. He painted the tender in glossy black and added some tender decals.

 

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club’s first clinic carnival in two years was a success

Tyler Fedoroshyn displayed his collection of models, structures and dioramas at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's Clinic Carnival held on December 10 at the Charleswood Legion.  

It was a long time coming, but it was well worth it! The WMRC’s first clinic carnival in two years had some terrific clinics and a very good turnout. Much thanks to Program Director Dave Downie for organizing this great event!

  Tyler Fedoroshyn wowed the club with his spectacular display of modelling he did by making custom parts with his 3D printer. He also displayed several of his scratch built structures, which had detailed interiors.

Long time WMRC member Marcel Blair showed off his expert skills as he resurrected a 40 year old brass diesel engine. WMRC Past President Larry Leavens showed us how to “tune up” an inexpensive freight car to NMRA standards with weights, Kadee couplers and metal wheel sets.

WMRC treasurer John Bate couldn’t make it to the meeting, but he still was able to give a great presentation via Zoom about building turnouts using Fast Tracks jigs and using servo motors to operate them.

The club also held their annual Christmas hot dog banquet. Much thanks to our gourmet chefs, Dave Downie and Arlene Fetch, for cooking up all of those delicious tube steaks!

 Larry Leavens (right) shows WMRC President Bob Harrison how to upgrade rolling stock.

 

Marcel Blair shows Gary Stempnick how to revive brass diesel engines.

 

John Bate did his clinic about building turnouts using Fast Tracks jigs virtually via Zoom.

 

Some more examples of Tyler Fedoroshyn's models and structures.
 

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club holds first Clinic Carnival in two years

 Come one, come all to the WMRC’s first clinic carnival in two years! The fun begins on Friday, December 10, at 7:00 PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The starting time of our meetings has been permanently changed from 7:30 to 7:00.
   We will also be holding our Christmas Hot Dog Banquet, so bring your appetites! We have a great line up of Winnipeg’s finest model railroaders who will demonstrate their skills.
        
        Robert Weaver – Photo Editing: Robert is amassing a collection of old photos, slides and negatives. He will show how he tackles the job to improve the quality of the images. Robert will explain the software that he uses.
        Marcel Blair – Resurrecting an Alco Models Brass Diesel: Marcel will show how he gets an old brass diesel model to run again. Replacement parts for a 40 year old model need to be found and adapted to fit. Here is your opportunity to learn how you can rebuild it!
        John Bate – Fast Tracks turnouts: John is a N Scale modeller who builds his turnouts using Fast Tracks jigs. Whether you model in N, HO or O Scale, if you want to build your own turnouts, the Fast Tracks system will work for you. A demonstration of using servo motors to control the turnouts will also be done.
        Larry Leavens - Freight Car Tune Up: What do you do with that $5 prize freight car you bought at Mega Train when it will not stay on the rails? A little tune up is needed. Couplers, correct weight and new wheel sets will greatly improve the performance of any rail car. Most ready to run cars are too light and might derail on curves or while being pushed through a turnout. The NMRA has a standard weight practice that will keep them on the rails. The Kadee coupler has become the standard coupler for HO today. For most cars it’s a simple swap, but for others it may take some work. Replacing plastic wheel sets with metal ones will greatly improve the operation.    
        Neil Carleton – Weathering: Neil will show how you can weather your rolling stock and structures using pan pastels and AK pencils. He'll have some models that he's working on so you can see his technique.
        Tyler Fedoroshyn – Model Building: Tyler will show samples of custom detailed and weathered locomotives along with 3D printed detail parts that he's created with his 3D Resin Printer. Tyler will also display an early winter scene in a freelanced village.
        
              The Legion requires proof of full vaccination for entry. Masks will be required at the meeting. Please bring a "tin for the bin" for Winnipeg Harvest. We will have a photo display, but there will be no model display.  If you can’t make it, please email us at wmrc.trainclub@gmail.com and we’ll send you a link. Only the business portion of the meeting will be broadcast on Zoom.
 

Larry Leavens showcases BC Rail bulkhead flatcar at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's monthly model display

Past WMRC president Larry Leavens brought in a BC Rail bulkhead flat car that he has been working on to the club's November meeting. It's a Roundhouse kit which Larry added Kadee couplers. He used a paint pen to weather the trucks.

The pipe load was made from plastic straws which were cut to a scale 42 feet. Larry sanded the straws before painting them to give them a "tooth" for the paint to stick. He also painted the inside ends a bit to remove the shiny plastic look.

4'x6' scale lumber was used to separate the pipe loads. ACC glue was used to glue the pipe to the wood. Chart tape was used to simulate the steel banding used to secure the load. The ends were secured with more ACC glue, as chart tape doesn't hold very well.

Large HO train garage sale to be held on Saturday, October 15

A large HO model railroad garage sale will be held on Saturday, October 15 from 9am to 3pm, 627 David St., which is about a half block north of Portage Ave. 

Sale includes: NCE Power Pro DCC system and accessories, several Walther's Cornerstone pre-built structures, several RTR structures, Fastraxx jigs and accessories, code 83 flex track, turnouts, acrylic RR paints, an air brush and compressor,
miscellaneous electronics, many MR tools, how-to books, construction wood and Styrene, Kadee couplers, Woodland Scenics scenery supplies, and much more. 

A complete 21x6-foot finished shelf layout will also be up for sale. For a complete list, e-mail Bruce at: va4bb@shaw.ca

Christopher Robinson displays Algoma Central boxcars at Winipeg Model Railroad Club's January meeting

   WMRC member Christopher Robinson presented six Algoma Central Railway 40 foot outside braced boxcars at the club's monthly model display at their January meeting. These were Accurail boxcar kits, which he assembled, applied dry transfer decals, and installed Kadee Couplers.

    This was his first attempt at weathering anything, and he did a terrific job! No two boxcars were weathered identically. The level of weathering suggests that the cars came out of the paint shop recently. He used a thin wash of grey paint to weather the cars. Some cars received more than one coat. 

     The monthly model display is open to all WMRC members. A cash prize is given every month, drawn at random. Show us what you've got! We always love to see what our members have been doing!

Larry Leaven's January model display entry

   Winnipeg Model Railroad Club President Larry Leavens also had an entry in the monthly model display. He built a Walthers Ontario Carbonate tank car and added a few extra finishing touches.

   To weight the model, he added lead shot in a white glue matrix, according to NMRA recommended practice. He replaced the horn hook couplers with Kadees and replaced the plastic wheels with metal ones from Intermountain Railway.

   Plastic stanchions were replaced with metal ones from an Athearn diesel. The end railings had a stand-off support added to the middle, as per the prototype.  The safety bar along the side had standoffs added mid-way between the end sill and the ladder. The safety rails were brush painted with stencil white.

   The faces of the wheels were painted a dirty rust colour and the side frames were painted with grimy black.

    The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's monthly model display is held at every meeting by the No. 1 Northern Division of the NMRA. To qualify for the monthly prize, you must show that you've done some assembly or weathering. Each entry must include a short write-up describing the work that has been finished to date.