A salute to the volunteers, exhibitors and vendors of the Manitoba Mega Train Show

How many people does it take to create the most successful train show in Manitoba?

Well, this many!

Those who were there when this photo was taken will fondly recall how Susan Dorge had to keep moving further and further back to get us all in the frame!

Make no mistake about it - it was volunteers who made this show run. Members of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club were there front and centre for the Friday set-up, manning the admissions desks, and for the Sunday evening take-down. You haven't lived until you've assembled sectional track for the 7 1/2" gauge Mega-Train!

Next year the show will be held a little earlier, on September 27 and 28. Hopefully it will be a bit warmer than it was for the 2013 show!

Volunteers will still be needed, of course, especially for the Sunday evening take-down. The show may be over at 5:00 PM on Sunday, but there's still plenty of work to be done after that, and the more volunteers we have, the faster we'll all get out of there. 

For more information about the Manitoba Mega Train Show, go to:

http://www.vectorgardentrains.ca/Mega-Train.page

There's also a new video of the 2013 Manitoba Mega Train Show on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_fPf2bnfIc

You'll see a lot of great trains and great layouts. You'll see a lot of familiar faces, too!

You might even spot yourself!

All aboard for the holidays at the Winnipeg Railway Museum!

Come one, come all  to ALL ABOARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located in Winnipeg’s Union Station at 123 Main Street. 

Manitoba’s only museum dedicated to rail heritage is all decked out for the holiday season with lights and decorations. The museum’s gift shop is also stocked full of model trains, railway books and collectables for rail enthusiasts of any age on your holiday shopping list.

Museum hours for this special event are Thursdays from 7 pm to 10 pm (which will be a great time to see the lights!) and Saturday & Sundays from 11 am – 4 pm each day.  

Visit soon as the event will ONLY be from December 5 – 29, 2013.

Visitors will also learn about railways winter operations as well as:

• Video presentations of snow plows in action.

• Winter railway uniforms

• Learn more about the unique Tri-pod telegraph pole lines on the Hudson Bay lines – built as permafrost would push out regular poles over time and more.

If you haven't seen the new home of the Gateway Western, now located in its very own structure inside the museum, this event is a good excuse as ever to view it!

Admission is free for children 6 and under, ages 7 - 15 are $3.00 per child and 16 and up is $5.00 per person.

This event is presented by Rail Travel Tours.

For more information, contact Daryl Adair, event sponsor, at                                   

        RAIL TRAVEL TOURS (204) 897-9551

For more information about the Winnipeg Railway Museum, go to:
http://www.wpgrailwaymuseum.com/

The CP Rail Holiday Train is coming to town!

    The CP Rail Holiday Train, a wonderful Christmas tradition for rail fans and non-rail fans alike, will be returning to Winnipeg on December 2. It will be at Molson Street between Panet Road and Monroe at 9:15 PM (that's 21:15 in railroad time). The jolly old gent himself will be making an appearance! Now there's a luck guy - he gets to ride a sleigh AND the CP Holiday Train at Christmas time! Doc Walker, Melanie Doane and Crystal Shawanda will also be performing.

     If you want to catch it earlier than that, then you can drive over to Whitemouth, where it will make a stop at 7:00 PM (19:00 railroad time). Along with jolly old Saint Nick, Melanie Doan and Crystal Shawanda will be performing there. Then you can chase the train back to Winnipeg! But please drive carefully!

     The train will also be making at stop at Portage La Prairie, opposite the Centennial Arena, 390 1st street NW,  on December 3 at 4:00 PM (16:00 railroad time). Melanie Doane and Doc Walker will perform there. Santa will be there too - maybe he'll do some rail fanning at the diamond!

      If you really feel like chasing that train, it will also be in Minnedosa on December 3 at 7:45 PM
(19:45 in railroad time) west of the rail station, north side of the yard, at 30 2nd Avenue NW. It will be at Shoal Lake on December 4 at 9:00 AM (9:00 railroad time, of course) at the gravel lot adjacent to the grain elevator on North Railway Avenue. Melanie Doane, Doc Walker and a certain Mr. Kris Kringle will be appearing at both locations. If you manage to make it to all of these places, you'll probably be BFFs with all of them!

      Since its inception in 1999, the train has raised more than $7.4 million dollars and over 3 million pounds of food in Canada and the U.S. Everyone who attends is encouraged to donate food and money, which will stay in the community.

     For more information, go to:
     http://www.cpr.ca/en/in-your-community/holiday-train/Pages/default.aspx

     You can even like them on Facebook:
     https://www.facebook.com/HolidayTrain