The Road Taken examines the experiences of Canada's black railway porters

WMRC Vice-President Dave Downie sent us this fascinating documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) titled "The Road Taken".

This 52 minute documentary produced in 1996 takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada's railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted to other railway jobs until finally, in 1955, porter Lee Williams took his fight to the union. 

Claiming discrimination under the Canada Fair Employment Act, the Blacks won their right to work in other areas. Interviews, archival footage and the music of noted jazz musician Joe Sealy (whose father was a porter) combine to portray a fascinating history that might otherwise have been forgotten.

You can view this fascinating documentary by clicking here. 

National Mode lRailroad Association to hold regional convention in Fargo in May

All aboard for Fargo, North Dakota for the NMRA Thousand Lakes Region's 2016 convention! We're hoping a lot of WMRC and No. 1Northern Division members will make the trip this year, as it's only 223 miles away from Winnipeg. That's practically in our back yard! If you can make it to West Acres, then you can make it to the Baymont Inn in Fargo where the convention's being held!

The theme of this year's convention is "Live Steam in 2016". And there will be plenty of steam, as we're heading out to Rollag on Saturday, where the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion is held! The Friday dessert reception is being held at Bonanzaville USA, Fargo's premeire historic tourist attraction, where you can fest your eyes on their 130 year old 4-4-0 steamer that they have on display!

There will also be plenty of prototype tours and layout hops, along with the popular model and photo contests. There will be a guest speaker at the banquet, followed by the Chinese auction hosted by the ever popular "B+ Team" of Jay Manning, Paul Ullrich and Paul Gerry! They used to be called the "B" team, but they were upgraded from "B" due to their stellar performance at last year's convention in Thunder Bay. 

The fun starts on Thursday evening, May 26 and goes on until Sunday, May 29. Hope to see you all there! For additional information on the convention, and to get a downloadable registration form, go to the TLR website by clicking here.

The Flying Scotsman rides again!

Here's a great link to some wonderful images of the legendary Flying Scotsman going for a run on January 8, 2016. The locomotive, which was the first to break the 100 mph barrier over 80 years ago, has been fully restored.  It took 10 years and over $6,000,000 US to restore it to its former glory. Purists might notice that the engine has not painted in its traditional green, but it will be next month! Enjoy!

http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/legendary-flying-scotsman-rides-rails-again-n492996.