Master Model Railroader Stafford Swain has passed away

Stafford Swain is seen to the right of Frank Gerry and Paul Ullrich at his home in Winnipeg in 2010 during the TLR regional convention. This was the last public display of his layout, which was taken down shortly after the convention.

We are very saddened to report that long time WMRC member and legendary model railroader Stafford Swain passed away on April 11. He was 73 years old.

Stafford was a Master Model Railroader (MMR #98),  former President of the WMRC, and past Chairman of the 1983 NMRA National convention held in Winnipeg. At the time, the 1983 convention was the most profitable in the history of the NMRA.

He's had over 80 articles published in magazines such as Model Railroader, Mainline Modeller and Railroad Model Craftsman.

Stafford had a huge impact on bringing down the cost of model railroading to all Canadians by working to eliminate the Federal Duty levied on imported model railroad supplies. Until Stafford won his argument with the Customs Canada, there was a 20% duty levied on all imported model railroad supplies.

Stafford was a loyal CN fan and a devoted member and co-founder of the Canadian National Railways Historical Association (formerly CN Lines SIG). Stafford did just about everything for the organization, including stuffing envelopes on a regular basis at Nick Andrusiak's place whenever another issue of CN Lines was fresh from the printers and ready to ship.

 A glowing tribute to Stafford and his many accomplishments has been published in Canadian Railway Modeller, Train 17, Track 3. You can also read about Stafford at WMRC member John Longhurst's Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision blog at http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.com/

Stafford Swain: A true Master Model Railroader

Some of you might've noticed that we now have an image from a model railroad on our site's masthead.  We surely needed a visual presence there. After all, this is a blog about the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club!

When it came to selecting an image, the choice was obvious - it had to be from Stafford Swain's layout!
Stafford was a true model railroading pioneer. His layout of the CNR Whiteshell Division was a museum quality creation of the real thing. He started building his layout in 1975, when prototype modelling was a rarity, and scenery techniques were pretty basic.

He's had over 80 articles published in magazines such as Model Railroader, Mainline Modeller and Railroad Model Craftsman. He's MMR #98. He helped found the CN Lines SIG (now the Canadian National Railway Historical Association), was president of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club and the TLR, and was the Convention Director for the 1983 NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg.

Sadly, his layout is no more. The layout was dismantled shortly after it's last public showing in 2010 for the TLR's Steam on the Prairies convention in Winnipeg. A glowing tribute to Stafford and his many accomplishments has been published in Canadian railway Modeller, Train 17, Track 3. Besides this site, you can also read about Stafford at WMRC member John Longhurst's Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision blog at http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.com/ 

This site will continue to post further images of Stafford's layout in the future.

Left to right: Former NMRA Canada President Frank Gerry, 2010 TLR Convention Director and WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich, and Stafford Swain, MMR at the last public showing of his CNR Whiteshell Subdivision layout at the Steam on the Prairies convention in 2010.