Winnipeg Model Railroad Club mourns passing of Vern Gibson

Vern Gibson (right) is pictured with his good friend Hilt Friesen in their store, Elmwood Hobby Works, on the cover of the Sunday Herald in 1999.

Long time WMRC member Vern Gibson passed away on Friday, July 16 at age 89, just short of his 90th birthday in August. He was a resident of Beacon Hill Lodge during his final years.

Vern spent most of his working life at the Centennial Concert Hall. He will be fondly remembered by the model railroad community as the founder of Elmwood Hobby Works, which he started in a small section of his good friend Hilt Friesen’s furniture, window treatment and blind shop. Hilt became a co-partner and the shop expanded to take over the entire building.

Vern and Hilt built the business up, providing an excellent stock of model train equipment for all gauges along with great service. Their mail order business was well received by hobbyists across Western Canada. Vern eventually sold his half of the business to Hilt and devoted the rest of his time to his favourite hobby. He and his good friend Marvin Fetch built a spectacular layout in Marvin’s house, which has been featured in several model railroad publications and posts on-line.

Vern was a lifetime member of the NMRA, and he encouraged almost everyone who entered his shop to join. He kept membership forms in a desk drawer right by the cash register. He attended many regional and national conventions, the last one being the 2006 TLR convention held in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

Two great clinics on tap for Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's February Zoom meeting

The WMRC will present two great clinics at their next virtual meeting in February. First, Tommy Kucera will present "A CPR supervisor's journal book", which is an artifact from the 1930s used by at least 3 CPR supervisors in the Western region. It is neither a log book or a diary, but a compendium of odds-and-ends that the supervisors found interesting, useful and important. 

After that, WMRC Secretary Marvin Fetch will present "The Carson & Cobourg Railroad". Marvin and his good friend Vern Gibson have been building one of Winnipeg's finest model railroads with unsurpassed levels of detail. He will describe the construction and operation of this masterpiece while showing photos of the layout. 

The club will still be holding their monthly Photo Contest. Members can send in their photos (model or prototype) to Bart Hasselfield at wmrcphotocontest@gmail.com. The photos will be shown at the meeting during the break. One lucky entry will win a $20 gift certificate. The deadline for submissions is 5:00pm on Friday, Feb 12.

The meeting starts on-line at 7:30 PM on Friday, February 12. Members have already received the Zoom link. If you are not a member and wish to attend the virtual meeting, please contact us at wmrc.trainclub@gmail.com. Guests (even virtual ones) are always warmly welcomed!

Marvin Fetch and Vern Gibson's Carson and Cobourg Central Railway debuts at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's spring layout hop

   Here's a great view of the rail yard in the mountain setting created by Vern Gibson and Marvin Fetch for their Carson and Cobourg Central Railway.

   One of the highlights of the WMRC's spring layout hop was the grand premiere of Marvin Fetch and Vern Gibson's Carson and Cobourg Central Railway. Vern Gibson was a long time member of the club, and was also part owner of the late, great Elmwood Hobbies. He has a well deserved reputation as a great modeller and a model railroader, and club members have been anxiously waiting for a chance to view his newest effort.

     Of course, no one was disappointed at what they saw! The Carson and Cobourg Central Railway was an absolutely spectacular layout. Viewers were dazzled by the amount of detailing that they saw everywhere! Congratulations to Vern Gibson and his model railroading partner Marvin Fetch for creating such a spectacular model railroad! A special treat for Winnipeggers was seeing the popular Bridge Drive In modelled on the layout!

Steam lives on the Carson and Cobourg Central Railway! 
Look at all of that motive power coming out of the roundhouse!

There's some diesel power as well, as a vintage CN switcher makes a stop by a fuel tank.

Could it be? Yes it is! It's the Bridge Drive In! The BDI has been a Winnipeg institution for 55 years and countings. Going there for the creamiest shakes in town is always a treat, and it was also a treat to see it modelled on the Carson and Cobourg Central Railway! But it's not nearly as crowded here on this layout than it is on a hot Sunday summer afternoon in Winnipeg!