Winnipeg Model Railroad Club members show off their modelling talents

Three of the club's most talented modellers displayed their latest works at the WMRC's February meeting's monthly model display. Morgan Turney brought his model of a bulkhead flat car with a rebar load (featured above).   Morgan made the rebar out of .007 inch steel wire, and tied them together using a twisted double strand of electrical braided wire from a piece of electrical cord.

Suzanne Lemon created this abandoned Ukrainian pioneer log home using balsa and basswood which she cut and shaped to give the appearance of rough-cut timbers. She notched each piece to fit in a tongue and groove fashion. The wood was distressed with an X-acto knife and a wire brush, and weathered with sweet and sour wood stain and a dark grey wash.

Aaron Woloshyn scratch built this speed swing out of scrap pieces of styrene and wire. He "harvested" a set of spare wheels from the WMRC's Gateway Western Railway, and used spare decals from various sets that he had left over.

At October's WMRC meeting, Suzanne Lemon will give us a short program on "What Makes a Good Photo" to enter into the Club's photo contest. After a short break, Christopher Robinson will present "Railfanning Adventures in Southern Manitoba" which includes a look at Central Manitoba Railway operations down Hwy 3 in the Brunkild area.

And to all WMRC members: Feel free to bring a modelling project to work on as a table clinic during the meeting!

The meeting starts at 7:30PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard, on Friday, October 14, 2016. The canteen will be open, and we'll be holding our usual modelling display and the 50/50 draw. Hope to see you all there!

Suzanne Lemon's photos of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 2016 spring open house

Who says the younger set aren't interested in model railroading? Tommy, Frances and James South take over the Kildonan Short Lines modular railway while WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney takes a well deserved break.

WMRC spring open house coordinator Suzanne Lemon sent in these great candid photos of our last open house, Held on April 2 and 3 at the Charleswood Legion. Suzanne is a professionally trained, award winning photographer who was also the editor of Railfan Canada magazine. Enjoy!

Jane and Godfrey South on duty at the canteen, serving hot dogs, donuts, coffee, pop and chips to our many hungry guests. 

What are John Sinclair discussing? The meaning life? Einstein's theory of relativity? What to order at Santa Lucia's next Friday? The club was very pleased to have John display some of his marvellous collection of G gauge trains for the first time in 23 years.

Tardis spotted on the Kildonan Short Lines! This was one of two Tardises displayed on layouts by the Doctor Who fans of the club.

More memories of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 2016 spring open house

 We proudly accept all types and gauges of model railroads in our club, even Lego! Tommy South, one of our youngest members, built this fine Lego MOW inspection vehicle, which is displayed on WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich's O gauge Lionel portable layout.

 Long time WMRC member and retired CN engineer Marcel Blair displayed some G scale trains at the show. They're bigger than most model railroad gauges, but still small than the ones he was used to handling when he was at work!

 One of the most popular displays at the show was the Women of Model Railroading exhibit, showcasing the amazing talents of our club's female modellers.

Right behind Marcel Blair's massive G scale display was Suzanne Lemon's Z scale layout, which is by far the smallest model railroad gauge commercially available. 

Suzanne Lemon wins Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's February photo contest

Former WMRC President Suzanne Lemon was the winner of the club's February photo contest. The theme was "Prairie Sentinels". Nine entries were submitted.

Suzanne received a cash prize and her image was posted on the cover of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC. Next month's theme is a photograph of a model in any scale from their layout (or from anyone else's layout). Entry deadline is midnight March 1, 2016. Send all entries to Robert Weaver at weaverflowers@gmail.com.

Some more new images of the Gateway Western Railway

 Suzanne Lemon's 'Northlander' approaches the future snow shed area of the mountain scene

We still have some more images to share of the remarkable progress the team at the Gateway Western has made in the past few months. Even WMRC President Larry Leavens, who had been away for a few weeks, was amazed at how much work had been accomplished lately.

More photos will be coming in shortly, and we'll post them as soon as we get them. For those who want to join in on the fun, Tuesday nights are Gateway nights! The gang meets at 7:00 PM at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located at the Via Rail Station at 123 Main Street. No experience necessary! All that's required is a willingness to participate.

 Morgan Turney's TH&B lash-up hauls high revenue lumber through the 'flats'

 Larry Leavens powers his SD40-2 DW&P locomotive around the lower level of the layout

Brent Tingey (left) and Larry Leavens pilot their trains on the Gateway Western layout

Two themes for Winnipeg Model Railroad club's photo contests announced

    Felix Lesiuk contributed this image of CN freight 8829, an SD70M-2 hauling a container freight, for the cover of The Lantern Extra, a special summer edition of the WMRC's official publication.

     Two themes have been announced for the WMRC's photo contests in The Lantern Extra, a special summer publication of the club's official newsletter.

     For the special event for the club's annual photo contest, WMRC photo contest chair Suzanne Lemon has announced that the theme will be "The sky's the limit". Even the immense size of a train can be dwarfed by the sky and seemingly endless landscape around it. Show us your best shot of a train or other railway-related subject with a big sky around it!
   
    It could be a beautiful summer day, with a perfectly clear blue sky, or even one with a few puffy white clouds. It could also be a dark and ominous stormy sky, or a beautiful evening sunset. The possibilities are endless and the summer is the perfect time to capture images like these, so get out there and give it your best shot!

    For The Lantern's photo contest, the theme for the September issue will be "green" (the interpretation of this theme is entirely up to you). The winning entry will have their image published on the cover of the September issue of The Lantern. Submissions are to be sent to Lantern Editor Robert Weaver no later then midnight Tuesday, September 2. You must supply a caption, and if possible, note the camera settings.

   

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's photo contest awards presented at their annual banquet

Paul Ullrich receives the WMRC's photo contest's Peter Abel Memorial Award - Photo Special Event  for his image, titled "Spreading Ballast", from WMRC President Larry Leavens.

The winners from the WMRC's annual photo contest are as follows:

Digital Prototype: 
1st: Suzanne Lemon - Autumn Glow
2nd: Paul Ullrich - CN at Portage La Prairie On A Wet Morning
3rd: Larry Leavens - CN 8961 at Quadra
Honourable Mention: Suzanne Lemon - Sky of Blue, Sea of Yellow

Special Event: 
1st: (Peter Abel Memorial Award) Paul Ullrich - Spreading Ballast Near Thief River Falls
2nd: Val Lemon - Laying New Track at Redditt
3rd: Suzanne Lemon - The Ties That Used to Bind
Honourable Mention: Paul Lemon - Herzog Track Equipment at Portage La Prairie
Honourable Mention: Larry Leavens - Pot of Fire

Film or Digital Print - Model: 
1st: Robert Weaver - Coal Sidings
2nd: Robert Weaver - Steel Works
Honourable Mention: Cliff Davidson - Western Pacific Revival

Best in Show:
Suzanne Lemon - Ready to Go

President's Choice Harvey and Sandy Walker Memorial Award for Best in Show:
Robert Weaver - Cocker Mouth Signal Tower

 Suzanne Lemon receives her award certificate from WMRC President Larry leavens for her photo, titled "Autumn Glow".

 Larry Leavens presents Val Lemon her certificate for her photo,"Laying New Track at Redditt".

Paul Lemon receives his certificate from Larry Leavens for his photo, titled "Herzog Track Equipment at Portage La Prairie".

Sepcial event awards presented at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual banquet

    Morgan Turney won first and second place in the special events model competition.

   The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club held its Annual Model Contest on March 28, 2015 marking their 60th Anniversary. A special 60th Anniversary decal was designed by WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich and printed by Black Cat Publishing of Winnipeg. It featured a special 60th Anniversary logo marking the 1955 - 2015 milestone in three scales - HO, N and O scale. The Special Event for the 2015 model contest was to use the decal to produce a 60th Anniversary model for the contest.

   Honourable Mention awards went to Margaret Ullrich for her HO scale mercantile building. An Honourable Mention also went to Paul Ullrich for his O scale BC Rail 907 box car. Larry Leavens also won an Honourable Mention for his HO scale WMRC 2015 Covered Hopper and his HO scale CN 377506 WMRC Commemorative Hopper.  Third Place was awarded to Suzanne Lemon for her HO scale WMRC 1955 40-Box Car. Second Place was awarded to Morgan Turney for his HO scale WMRC Baldwin VO 1000 463 locomotive. First Place went to Morgan Turney for his HO scale WMRC 195528 Hydrous-Ammonia Tank Car.

 Suzanne Lemon receives her second place award certificate for the special event competition from WMRC Model Contest Chair Morgan Turney.

Paul and Margaret Ullrich receive their honourable mention medallions for the special event model contest from Morgan Turney.

Larry Leavens receives his special event honourable mention certificate from Morgan Turney.

Presenting the entries in the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's 60th anniversary model contest

    This year being our 60th anniversary year, WMRC model contest chair Morgan Turney came up with a truly novel idea for the special event - to make a model incorporating the club's 60th anniversary logo! A special logo was made by WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich for this event, and was made into a decal by Black Cat Decals. We had so many entries for this event that we're going to split them into several different post during the week! Here are the first three:

 First place went to Morgan Turney for his hydrous-ammonia tank car.

Second place went to Morgan Turney for his Baldwin VO 1000 463 diesel locomotive.

Third place went to Suzanne Lemon for her 40' boxcar.

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club celebrates their 60th anniversary with a group shot

 The gang's all here! WMRC President Emeritus Suzanne Lemon took this great group shot of all of our members who showed up for the club's 60th. anniversary bash, which was held on Friday, April 10 at the Charleswood Legion.  It was truly a night to remember, and everyone had a great time reminiscing, eating anniversary cake, and viewing photo images of the WMRC's past!

   (Above) WMRC Vice President Dave Downie serves out the Anniversary cake to all of the members.

(Below) James South can't wait to dig in and enjoy that big piece of cake!

Suzanne Lemon is the winner of March's Winnipeg Model Railroad Club photo contest

   WMRC Past President Suzanne Lemon won the club's March photo contest with her image of an eastbound CP intermodal streaking  through Gull Lake, Saskatchewan on the eve of April 23, 2012. AC4400 9654 leads the train.

   The artistic image was captured with a combination of a slow shutter speed at 1/6 of a second and use of the flash in Rear Curtain Sync Mode. The flash fires at the end of the exposure, rather than at the beginning, therefore capturing some sharp detail in the subject, while the rest of the locomotive and its train is a blur of motion.

   Suzanne won a cash prize for her image, and the image was published on the cover of the March issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC. For next month’s contest, the theme is anything to do with RUSTY equipment.

WinNtrak runs their N gauge modular railway at Kildonan Place Shopping Centre this weekend

   The crew of WinNtrak, seen here at the Manitoba Mega Train Show, will be displaying their N gauge modular railway at Kildonan Place Shopping Centre this weekend. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

     Christmas is over, and the cold winds of January are upon us, but there's still plenty of good model railroading to see in Winnipeg! Our good friends at WinNtrak have set up their magnificent N gauge modular railway at Kildonan Place Shopping Centre this weekend! The hours are from 9:30 to 6:00 on Saturday, January 10 and from 11:00 to 6:00 on Sunday, January 11.

    Kildonan Place is located at 1555 Regent Avenue West in Transcona.  It's worth the trip!

NMRA No. 1 Northern Division Free-Mo group displays at WMRC open house

Neil Carlton runs a freight train on the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group layout at the WMRC's open house. Photo by Paul Ullrich

   The NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group displayed once again at the WMRC's annual open house. The layout was a bit smaller than last year's, mostly because there were so many other displays, and only so much space to go around! Still, there was enough room to have some really long trains do some really long runs.

    The two loops the group constructed were funded by a grant from the NMRA's Thousand lakes Region (TLR). The No. 1 Northern Division thanks the TLR for their generosity in helping complete this project.

A BN freight rolls down the straightaway, heading for the next loop which will bring it back. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

Dr. Who comes to the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club

   The WMRC was delighted to have Matt Smith (the 11th Doctor Who) as a guest at our last meeting. Matt is an avid model railroader, and he's also Suzanne Lemon's second cousin twice removed on her mother's side! Once Suzanne told him that we were going to have a track ballasting clinic the meeting, he jumped in his Tardis and came right over.

    "Ballasting track is cool!" said Smith. "Even cooler than fezzes!"

    Before he left, he presented everyone at the meeting with a complimentary fez. Morgan's been wearing his every day!

    In case you're wondering about the veracity of this event, check today's date.

Winners of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual model contest

By Morgan Turney

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's annual model contest was held on March 15 - 16, 2014 at the club's open house at Westworth United Church. There were 23 model entries from seven WMRC members.

I wish to thank all those who participated by entering their models in the contest.These are the contest results, including the medals earned, as determined by the scoring of the judges:

Diesel Locomotive
1st Place - Gino Kost - Silver - HO CB&Q SD30 564

Passenger Car
1st Place - Ron Einarson - Silver - HO L&N Pullman 8022

Freight Car
1st Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - On2-1/2 H&LB Flat Car 8
2nd Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - On2-1/2 H&LB Flat Car 7
Honourable Mention - Ian Plett - HO Burlington Gondola load

Non-Revenue
1st Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - On2-1/2 H&LB 9 MofW Car

Structures
1st Place - Suzanne Lemon - Gold - HO Don's Mower & Saw
2nd Place - Virginia Braun - Bronze - HO Hog House
3rd Place - Virginia Braun - Bronze - HO Hen House

Displays
1st Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO House & Garage Display
2nd Place - Val Lemon - Gold - HO Old Barn & Yard Display
3rd Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO Tree to Forest Display
Honourable Mention - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO JH Murray & Son Display
Honourable Mention - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO Cast Boiler Display

Special Event
1st Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO S. Madisonville Extension
2nd Place - Ron Einarson - Gold - HO L&N Coal Dock
3rd Place - Larry Leavens - Silver - HO PTEX 21878 Potash Car
Honourable Mention - Virginia Braun - Bronze - HO Stake Truck
Honourable Mention - Ian Plett - Bronze - HO 89' Flat Car Pipe Load

Clark Summers Award
Ian Plett - HO 89' Flat Car w. pipe load

Kit Award
Ron Einarson - HO House & Garage

Tyro Award
Virginia Braun - HO Stake Truck & Cattle

Best in Show
Ron Einarson - Gold - HO Saw Pit Store

Godfrey South displays miniature live steam at WMRC open house

 One of the big surprises we had at our 2014 open house was from one of our newest and most active members, Godfrey South, who displayed his collection of miniature live steam engines. A lot of model railroaders weren't aware that this genre even existed, and it was quite a thrill to see a live steam locomotive race around Godfrey's track with no electricity, no wires, and no power pack! Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

Morgan Turney, inspecting Godfrey's live miniature steam engine, looks like he's thinking, "How the heck does this thing work?" Photo by Paul Ullrich.

Highlights from the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's open house

We had a blast at our last open house, and we took oodles of photos, which we'll post until there are no more left. Pictured above is WMRC President Larry Leavens showing off the working of Winnipeg's newest HO gauge modular group, the Kildonan Short Lines. The group had their premiere showing at our open house, which took place on March 15 and 16 at Westworth United Church. Photo by Railfan Canada Editor Suzanne Lemon.

A CP freight comes out of a tunnel on the Kildonan Short Lines modular group layout. The layout depicts the Whiteshell region of the Canadian Shield as well as the prairies. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's open house was a resounding success!

   Wow, what a party! We all had a great time at our open house! We had tons of visitors, we sold a record number of hot dogs, and the canteen made a profit! CBWFT and the Winnipeg Free Press were there! There were also a few surprises to be had, such as Godfrey South's miniature live steam display, Jim Spiers multi - layered O gauge Lionel "1960's" display and Suzanne Lemon's Z scale layout - placed right in the middle of the Kildonan Short Lines modular railway's returning loop!

     Thanks to everyone who showed up, and thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make this event  at Westworth United Church  great success! Thanks to the volunteers at St.Amant, who displayed all weekend. A portion of the proceeds from our show will go to support  St.Amant.

NMRA No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group to exhibit at WMRC's open house

   No. 1 Northern Division Superintendent Dennis Rietze waves hello to a father and son watching the trains go by. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

    The NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division will once again be displaying their free-mo group's layout at the WMRC's annual open house this year.  Free-mo stands for free modular, which is a relatively new concept in model railroading. 

   According to Wikipedia, Free-mo's emphasis is on flexibility in track design and prototypical scenery and operations. Free-mo was developed with the idea that a set of standards focusing mainly on module end plates would enable faithful modeling of prototype track plans and operations in a modular environment. The length and track configuration of a Free-mo module or module set is up to the modeller. Free-mo modules may be long or short, straight or curved. Free-mo modules may even be composed of several sections, forming a module set.

   The No. 1 Northern Division's layout was the largest display at last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show, and it's always a treat to see them run!

    The NMRA will also have a display at the train meet. There will be application forms available for those who wish to join. The NMRA is an international model railroading association. Membership give access to regional and national conventions, several publications, and insurance for your model railroad equipment. For more information about the NMRA, click here. 

   The WMRC's open house will be held on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March16 at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Avenue.  Times are from 11:00AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, and from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Admission is by donation. A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to support St.Amant.