Winnipeg Model Railroad Club mourns the passing of MMR Ron Einarson

Ron Einarson is seen receiving his Master Model Railroader certification from fellow MMR Moe Smith at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual general meeting and banquet in 2017.

Ron Einarson MMR died suddenly on November 18, 2022 at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg after contacting Covid and undergoing hip surgery.

Ron was born in Winnipeg on September 25, 1949. He attended Grant Park High School and graduated Grade 12 from United College. He worked 43 years for the Federal Government in Winnipeg. 

Ron was a member of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club since 1983, and was a member of the NMRA for almost as long. He also served as superintendent of the No.1 Northern Division and as the President of NMRA Canada. He served on the board of the WMRC as recording secretary. Ron achieved a a lifelong dream when he was designated Master Model Railroader (MMR) #593 in 2017.

Before the reorganization of the #1 Northern Division in 2008, he was the President, chief cook and bottle washer and tub thumper for the NMRA. Ron single-handedly kept the NMRA alive in Manitoba when no one else wanted the job. Every month he set up the NMRA display at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's meetings and held clinics. One of his popular features was the "tool of the month”. 

Ron was the heart and soul of the WMRC and the No.1 Northern Division. He was front and centre at every WMRC open house and TLR regional convention held in Winnipeg, giving his time and talents to help make them a success. Ron organized the layout hop for the 2010 TLR convention held in Winnipeg.

Ron's love of life and enthusiasm for the hobby was truly infectious. He was a blood donor with  over 50 donations. He was a tireless volunteer, a highly skilled model railroader and a great friend.

Ron had been suffering from dementia for several years and was unable to attend meetings of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club. He had been residing at the West Park Manor Personal Care Home shortly before his death.

He is survived by his wife Yvonne of 49 years, son Neal and daughter Louise, his grandchildren Amber, Eddie, Zoe and Link, his brother John, his sister-in-law Marilyn and numerous nieces and nephews. Ron was predeceased by his parents Helen and John Einarson, in-laws Elsie and Eddie Attwater, Grandmother Olivia Einarson, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins.
 

 

Ron Einarson becomes a Master Model Railroader

Ron Einarson, seen here displaying at the No. 1 Northern Division's annual train meet in 2015, has just been named Master Model Railroader by the NMRA.

It is with great pride that we announce that our own Ron Einarson has been designated a Master Model Railroader (MMR) by the NMRA. Ron has been a member of the WMRC since 1983, and has been a member of the NMRA for almost as many years. He has also served as superintendent of the No.1 Northern Division  and as the President of NMRA Canada.

Ron is MMR #593. The title of MMR will follow after his name at all NMRA functions and any written material about him. The NMRA presently has over 18,000 members, and in it's entire history there has been only 593 MMR certificates awarded, so this is a rare honour indeed!

The MMR is an achievement program, and each applicant must earn a series of seven certificates for their work before they receive the title. Ron has worked very hard to earn this title, and his modelling work has always spoken for itself. Way to go, Ron!

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.

Ron Einarson: The WMRC Klinic Karnival's jack of all trades!

   One the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's most talented and skilled modellers is Ron Einarson. Is there anything he can't do? Give him some steel wool and he'll knit you a Volkswagen. He'll even make the seats out of scrap pieces of sheet styrene and ground foam! If there's any steel wool left over from that project, he'll use it to make some wood stain!
 
   Holding just one clinic at the club's annual Klinic Karnival wasn't enough for Ron. He held four at the same time: Working with wood, weathering wood, building wood On30 freight cars, and making telephone poles from bamboo skewers! He must've gotten some mighty good grade in woodworking shop in high school!

    Ron is the holder of a plethora of awards from the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club and the NMRA which are too numerous to mention. But the one he's proudest of was the WMRC President's shield, which was awarded to him for his tireless volunteer service. He's served on the board, was the editor of The Lantern, held a staggering number of clinics and had his hand in every model railroad convention that came to town for many decades!

     Ron is also a loyal and steadfast member of the NMRA. He served as President of NMRA Canada,  and he will always be remembered for keeping the No. 1 Northern Division alive for so many years until it was reorganized in 2008.

    Ron never fails to greet you with a smile and a handshake, and dispensing good advice about the hobby that he loves is part of his nature.  Now that he's retired, this grandfather-to-be has a bit more spare time to earn his MMR!

The NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's ballast crew hard at work

The most popular workshop at the No. 1 Northern Division's third annual train meet was the ballast workshop. Just about everyone tried their hand at ballasting a section of track mounted on a board. Michael Leader, the youngest member of the No. 1 Northern Division, got some expert advice on how to do it right. It was Michael's first effort at ballasting, and he did a great job!

 Ian Plett, Roger Kiendl, Morgan Turney and Suzanne Lemon begin to work on their track section.

 Morgan Turney shows Michael Leader how to properly adhere ballast to the track as No. 1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze look on. Behind Michael is Ian Plett hard at work ballasting his track. 

Michael seems to be getting the hang of it! 

 Ian Plett tamps ballast with his finger while Michael Leader watches Morgan Turney work on his track section.

Welcome to the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club!

A brief history

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club was founded in 1955 by a group of about 50 charter members. The original clubroom was located at the CPR station on Higgins Avenue in the company's old Rules Room. From there, the club moved to the Manitoba Clinic for a few years until around 1968 when it moved to the Veterans Room at the CNR station on Main Street. The WMRC met there until 1995 when VIA Rail Canada took over the CN station and the Veterans Room became unavailable. The Club shifted to several different locations until 2004 when it moved to its present location at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard.

Purpose

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club is a non-profit incorporated club with a purpose to promote the interest, knowledge, operation and enjoyment of all scale railway modelling and related photography. It is a voluntary organization governed by an elected executive with members in good-standing holding voting privileges. Elections occur during the April meeting. The club welcomes guests interested in model railroading and associated interests to its meetings with the aim of helping them enjoy themselves so much that they'll want to come back. Regardless of your skill level or area of interest, there is something for everybody. The club emphasizes education and entertainment, so you'll learn a great deal, meet new friends and have fun!

Club Newsletter

The club publishes an informative monthly digital newsletter called The Lantern. A limited number of printed copies are available at our monthly meetings.

Website

Visit our website at https://www.wmrctrainclub.ca/

Facebook

Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WinnipegModelRailroadClub

Club Meetings

Club meetings are held on the second Friday evening of each month beginning at 7:30PM from September to May. Meetings begin with a short business session followed by one or two programs as set out by the Program Director. Programs can range from a presentation about prototype railways, to clinics given by members to show how different aspects of the hobby can be accomplished through certain techniques and skills.

Monthly model and photo display

The club offers a model display at each meeting where members can bring in a model they are working on and display it for others to see. This is a display, and not a competition. Members can also submit digitally a railway related photo, model or prototype for our monthly photo display.  A $20 prize is awarded at random for both the model and the photo display.

50-50 prize draw

The Club offers a 50-50 prize draw during each meeting where members and guests can purchase tickets to win half of the collection.

Canteen

A club canteen is available at each meeting where coffee, soft drinks and donuts are available for purchase.

The Harvey Walker Memorial Library

The Club has an extensive video library where members in good-standing can borrow train DVDs from the many hundreds on file.

Clinic Carnival and annual Christmas hot dog banquet

At our December meeting the club conducts a series of modelling clinics where those attending the meeting can roam from table-to-table and see other fellow modellers performing different aspects of the hobby. Each clinic is meant as a teaching tool to show others how to perform many of the skills used in the hobby. At this meeting we also hold our annual hot dog banquet where everyone can buy hotdogs, chips, donuts, cookies and pop.

Home layout hops

Arrangements are made for WMRC members to visit some of the many home basement layouts of other members.

NMRA Canada 

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club is 100% NMRA. When you become a member of the WMRC you automatically join NMRA Canada, part the largest model railroad association in the world. Benefits of an NMRA member include access to NMRA Magazine, their monthly digital publication, available insurance for your model railroad equipment and access to all regional and national conventions throughout the world. Winnipeg is in the Thousand Lakes Region (TLR) of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) and operates within the No.1 Northern Division of the TLR. Winnipeg has hosted the TLR's annual regionalconvention several times, including 1998, 2000 and 2010. Winnipeg has also hosted the NMRA's national convention in 1983.

For more information about the NMRA, go to: http://www.nmra.org/

For more information about NMRA Canada, go to: http://nmracanada.ca/

For more information about the TLR, go to: http://www.thousandlakesregion.org/

For more information about the No. 1 Northern Division, go to: http://pullrich.wix.com/numberonenorthern

Annual open house

In April, the Club hosts its Annual WMRC Open House which features a model and photo contest that is open to members who wish to enter their models and photos. Several model and photo categories are available to enter and trophies and model certificates are awarded to each class.

Annual banquet and AGM

In May, the Club hosts its Annual Banquet and Annual General Meeting where model and photo contest winners are honoured for their achievements in the contests. This is also the meeting where next years' club officers and directors are installed for the following years' activities. There are always several raffles and door prizes to be given out.

Operating Groups

Over the years, several operating groups sprung up from the WMRC including the Gateway Western Railroad (about 1957) and  the Winnipeg Modular Railway (circa 1986). The modular railway was active in many shopping malls around the city, finally ending up near the entrance to Eaton Centre in downtown Winnipeg. In 2002 the club was disbanded for lack of a new home when  Eaton's was closed and demolished to make room for the Canada Life Centre.

The  Gateway Western Railroad began operations around 1957 when construction began in the CNR Union Station on Main Street. It was located just off the north rotunda area behind a large glass window where thousands of rail travellers passed by and viewed it on their way to catch the train. In 1996, the Gateway was evicted to make room for a public washroom area to be built in the space.

From there, construction began on a modular Gateway Western that became operational in 1998 for the Spring WMRC Open House, held at the Winnipeg Children's Museum at The Forks. The Gateway modules were owned by individual members who built it to a high degree of finish and displayed it at train shows and exhibitions.

In 2000, the group disbanded and sold the layout to a WMRC member who stored it in his basement. In 2004, Gooch's Bicycles and Hobbies offered the WMRC space in their store to set up a model railroad. The club bought back The Gateway and erected it in the basement of Gooch's where it attracted many new members to the WMRC. In 2010 Gooch's moved their store and The Gateway Western Railroad was put into storage. In partnership with the Winnipeg Railway Museum, The Gateway Western was resurrected in the museum in its own heated structure in 2013. You must be a member of both the WMRC and the Midwest Rail Association (the proprietors of the Winnipeg Railway Museum) to gain access to the layout. 

Presently there has been limited access to The Gateway since Via Rail began extensive renovations to the platform where the museum is located. Until renovations are complete, members must set up an appointment with one of the board members of the WMRC or the Midwest Rail Association to gain access to the layout.