Exclusive photos of the locomotives being delivered to the Prairie Dog Central

Our intrepid photojournalist Morgan Turney took these photos of the former CPR G5 class 4-6-2 locomotives and their tenders yesterday. They were photographed at an undisclosed location in Winnipeg.

Morgan got a heads-up that they were behind a 10-foot fence,  so he dug out an 8-foot ladder, chucked it into his pick-up and off he went!  These engines are on their way to the Vintage Locomotive Society (also known as the Prairie Dog Central). These images, and several others, will be published in a forthcoming issue of Canadian Railway Modeller, but publisher Morgan Turney is giving us an exclusive to post a few of them here first!

We have been following the progress of these two engines since the news broke that they were returning to Canada. The locomotives spent over 40 years in Covington, Virginia as part of the late Jack Showalter's Virginia Central Tourist Railroad. Showalter, a tourist railroad operator and dedicated steam preservationist, died in November 2014.

 The engines have been stored on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in Staunton, Virginia for over 15 years. The Prairie Dog Central has not purchased these locomotives. They were purchased by an Albertan, but will be stored at the PDC's shops off Inkster Boulevard. The 1238 was built in Montreal in 1946. The 1286 was built in Kingston Locomotive Works in 1948. Future operating plans for these two engines are under review by the Vintage Locomotive Society.

All aboard for another Assiniboine Valley Railway open house

Our good friend Steve Boyko, who does the popular railfanning blog, Confessions of a train geek, is seen here with his family enjoying a ride on the AVR in July.

The AVR is having another open house this weekend! The fun starts at 11:00AM today and runs until 5:00PM. Sunday's hours are from 1:00PM to 5:00PM. It's only two bucks for a ride, and you can buy a rail pass, which will give you 12 rides for only twenty bucks! Children under two ride for free, and all minors must be accompanied by an adult. Join the fun at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park!

There's still time to make your reservations for their popular Fall Dinner Train, which will be held on Saturday, September 19 & Sunday, September 20. The cost is $15 for adults and $12 for kids. Reservations must be made for the specific times listed below, and must be prepaid to confirm. Payment is preferably by credit card, but arrangements can be made to pay by cheque or cash.  

Participants will eat on the train, 2 people to a car, up to 16 people per train.  Family groups can reserve a full train.  The meal lasts four loops around the track. The meal starts with refreshments (coffee, tea, soft drink or water), snacks and a fresh tossed salad for the first loop around the track. The main course is a deluxe hamburger platter (or a hot dog platter for kids), which will be eaten over 2 loops.  Dessert is pie with ice cream or whipped cream or a dish of ice cream for the fourth loop. Each meal lasts about an hour.

To make a reservation, phone Len LaRue at (204) 832-3448.  Messages can be left on voice mail, but please just leave a name & return phone number and be prepared with your credit card in hand.  Reservations are first come first served. This is a very popular event, so please make your reservations as soon as possible! The cut off date for making reservations is September 17, but don't wait until the last minute! They're sure to have been filled up by then!

Dinner train times are as follows:

Saturday, September 19:  12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 (Members only:  6:00, 7:30, BYOB)
Sunday, September 20:  1:00, 2:30, 4:00 (Members only:  5:30, BYOB).

Winnipeg Model Railroad Club meets Friday, September 11 at Charleswood Legion

This is where we meet: The Charleswood Legion 6003 Roblin Boulevrd. It's pretty easy to find. Just look for the tank! Please park and enter on the west side of the building.

Welcome back to another year at the WMRC!  September's program features a presentation from Ian Plett, our local long-haul trucker, who manages to do a lot of railfanning while at work. Ian has some great material to show us along with a few video clips he's managed to get while out on the road. After Ian's presentation, we'll have a short film that was made in 1928 showing a steam locomotive being built at CPR's Angus Shops in Montreal.

The canteen will be open, and we'll be holding our monthly 50-50 draw and our model display. If you've been doing any modelling during these rainy weekends we've been having all summer long, by all means bring it down! You can't win a prize unless you do!

To qualify for the monthly model contest prize, your model must show signs of either some assembly, (not just parts in a box or a ready to run model from the manufacturer) or some weathering beyond minor touch-ups of MU hoses. Each entry must include your name and a short write up describing the work that has been accomplished to date.

If you are planning to build a model using a 3D printer but have only completed some portion of your 3D CAD drawings, then we would like to see them -  but only if the renderings are actually your own work! No scanned materials! Each entrant will have but one entry for the monthly prize, which is a $15 gift certificate from a local hobby store.

The fun starts at 7:30 PM, Friday, September 11, at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. Guests are always welcome! Hope to see you there!

Membership application forms will be available at the meeting, but you can download this two page form,  print it up, fill it out, and bring it to the meeting! That way you'll spend less time doing paperwork at the meeting and more time chatting with the rest of the members!