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.
 

These are not kits! Tyler Fedoroshyn designed and printed these Jordan Spreaders!

These are not model kits! These Jordan Spreaders are entirely 3D designed and printed by WMRC member Tyler Fedoroshyn! They began as 3D CAD drawings, broken down into about 60 pieces, and printed on his AnyCubic Photon 3D printer. They were then assembled, painted and scaled to match the prototype.

The one difference between Jordan spreaders is the size of the side wings. Tyler has designed four different wing styles to match the CP, CN, BN and ONR Jordan Spreaders. Tyler is offering the Jordan Spreader model as a kit.

Along with the Jordan Spreaders, the snow plow and the SD-40-2 are representative of modern CP snow fighting trains which Tyler modified or custom built after the equipment around the Lake Louise station.
 

3d printing and a living room layout featured at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's March virtual meeting

 At our next Zoom meeting Tyler Fedoroshyn will conduct a presentation on modelling with the aid of a 3D printer. Learn how 3D printing can be used to create realistic parts that aren’t available commercially. Tyler took the leap into 3D printing and has made a number of unique items for his model railroad. He will give an overview of his printer and the software he uses and show a number of items he has printed. 

Then Christopher Robinson will display his unique model railroad that replicates the Algoma Central's operations in Hawk Junction, Ontario. He'll describe the design and operation of the layout. Christopher has built a portable model railroad that captures the essence of the ACR, is fun to operate and occupies a place of prominence in his living room. 

We will be holding our members monthly photo display. An entry will be chosen by random, and will receive a $20 gift certificate. 

The Zoom meeting starts at 7:30PM on Friday, March12. If you are not a member and wish to attend this meeting, please contact us at wmrc.trainclub@gmail.com. Guests (even virtual ones) are always warmly welcomed!

Tyler made all of these parts using a 3D printer. See how he did it at our March meeting!

Learn all about Arduinos and 3D printing at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's March meet

The WMRC two great clinics lined up for our March 2019 meeting. For our first clinic, Tyler Fedoroshyn will demonstrate building mainline signalling from scratch using an Arduino. Tyler is building a home layout and he'll explain what his signals can do, how they detect trains, what it takes to install them and he'll provide a high level rundown of the computer code used to program the Arduino.

Tyler will also provide a quick glimpse into three other unique Arduino projects he's done,  such as an automatic defect detector, a belt pack throttle, and his latest simulator project.

For our second clinic, Kent Hurley will conduct a demonstration about 3D printing using a 3D home printer.  This clinic was also presented at the 2018 NMRA National Convention. Learn what 3D printing can do for you and see how easy it can be to get started.

The meeting starts at 7:30PM on Friday, March 8, in the Tank Room at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. Wheelchair accessible. The canteen will be open, and we'll have a 50/50 draw and our monthly model display. Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed!

Two great clinics to be presented at the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's October meet

WMRC Treasurer John Bate will talk about his trip to the NMRA National Convention, which was recently held in Kansas City. John presented a clinic at the convention and also toured a number of layouts. He'll show you what a NMRA national convention is all about and talk about those things that caught his eye.

After that, Tyler Fedoroshyn will present a clinic about locomotive maintenance and repair in 1:1 scale. Tyler is a model railroader who works for GE (the people who make the diesels) as a service tech here in Winnipeg. Tyler has worked in both Weston (Canadian Pacific) and Symington (Canadian National) diesel shops. His presentation will include an overview of the shops and describe the various reasons why locomotives are brought into the shops. 

This will include stories about the problematic ones and stories about the particularly big  jobs like wrecks and major engine failures. He'll also talk about his HO scale CP PortCoquitlam shops with ideas on how you can model prototypical shop operations. Tyler spent 4 weeks this summer training at GE's Erie, Pennsylvania plant and may have some photos of that facility.

The meeting starts at 7:30PM on Friday, October 12, in the Tank Room at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The canteen will be open, and we'll have a 50/50 draw and our monthly model display. Not a member? Not a problem! Guests are always warmly welcomed!