trendy train model

The WMRC Gateway Western HO scale layout has reached another scenery stage!  A snow/rock slide shed is planned for an area where a mountain pass will create the need for such a structure. The shed is being built from stripwood according to a plan designed by WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney. In the above photo, Morgan tests the master 'bent'  for clearances.  Upon passing inspection, 18 bents will be constructed using a master jig built from strip Styrene to support the shed roof.

    WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney was contacted by a Winnipeg woman who has an apartment-sized layout that she wishes to give away.

   The buildings and rolling stock have been temporarily removed from the layout, and it will need to be dismantled for moving purposes. The layout is an odd shape, but it will come apart in three manageable sections with no disturbance of the track other than where it will need to be cut to accommodate the removal.

 It comes with a DC power pack, and once it is reassembled it will work fine. The layout is about 12 feet long on one side while the other side is about seven feet long. It's a basic over/under single track in HO scale.

For further information contact Morgan Turney at morgant@cdnrwymod.com or Tessa Denton at dentons2@shaw.ca

    WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney took these images of Aaron Woloshyn laying some scenery at the gateway Western. He's using the modeller's best friend, the Topside Creeper, which is available from Micro-Mark. For a big layout like the Gateway, the Topside Creeper is an indispensable tool for getting into those hard to reach spots!

     Tuesday nights are now, still, and always will be Gateway nights. It's a great opportunity for fun, fellowship, and working on the railroad! The crew meets around 7:00 PM at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located on the second level of the Via Rail station at 123 Main Street.

    Aaron Woloshyn is seen from the outside window of the Gateway, working on the landscaping.

   You won't be selling lemonade in Times Square. You won't have to deal with the villainous Omarosa or any of the Baldwin Brothers, you won't get hauled into the board room, and you won't get fired.

     But what you will get is an opportunity to learn how to be the Program Director for the WMRC by an expert! Morgan has been doing a stellar job as program director for many, many years. He's been wanting to step down from the position for some time now, but there have been no takers for the job.

   Morgan believes that there have been no volunteers that have stepped forward because the job might seem overwhelming to a novice. This has been a problem with getting people to volunteer in every organization. People are afraid that they'll be thrown into a job where they have no experience or training, and find themselves in a situation that's way over their heads.

  So Morgan has come up with a unique solution: taking on an apprentice for the job!

  If you chose to volunteer for this position, Morgan will train you every step of the way, and he'll make sure that you'll be more than ready and able to take over the reins when the time comes!

   If you're interested, please contact Morgan Turney at morgant@cdnrwymod.com

By Morgan Turney, WMRC Program Director

   The weekend of May 30 and 31 saw Doors Open Winnipeg,  which included the Winnipeg Railway Museum, along with the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club layout, the Gateway Western Railway.
The trains ran well all day for the two Open House days and at one point on the Sunday, there were seven complete trains running on the layout. Had there been more Digital Command Control (DCC) throttles, we'd have had even more running!

   As can be seen from the photos, fun was had by all. Many thanks to Larry Leavens for trouble shooting the DCC system on Saturday and to those running trains and meeting the public during the two days - thanks for your participation!

   The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club held its Annual Model Contest on March 28, 2015 marking their 60th Anniversary. A special 60th Anniversary decal was designed by WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich and printed by Black Cat Publishing of Winnipeg. It featured a special 60th Anniversary logo marking the 1955 - 2015 milestone in three scales - HO, N and O scale. The Special Event for the 2015 model contest was to use the decal to produce a 60th Anniversary model for the contest.

   Honourable Mention awards went to Margaret Ullrich for her HO scale mercantile building. An Honourable Mention also went to Paul Ullrich for his O scale BC Rail 907 box car. Larry Leavens also won an Honourable Mention for his HO scale WMRC 2015 Covered Hopper and his HO scale CN 377506 WMRC Commemorative Hopper.  Third Place was awarded to Suzanne Lemon for her HO scale WMRC 1955 40-Box Car. Second Place was awarded to Morgan Turney for his HO scale WMRC Baldwin VO 1000 463 locomotive. First Place went to Morgan Turney for his HO scale WMRC 195528 Hydrous-Ammonia Tank Car.

   Every year the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club presents the awards for winners of their model contest at their annual banquet. Long time member Ron Einarson was awarded first place this year in the structures category for his model of the O.H. Wright & company supply. He was also awarded third place for his model of his HO scale Kent Farmers AG & grain supply, and also received the best in show award for his HO scale Renfro lumber rack. Ron also received gold medal awards for all three structures.

     Second place was awarded to Gino Kost for his model of a tall steel trestle bridge. Gino also received the kit award, the gold medal award and the Clark Summers award for this structure.

      Outside of the structures and the special event competition, no other models were submitted. This led WMRC President to comment in his column in the May issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club:

   "At our club spring open house we had only a handful of members enter models in the model contest. Even the Special Event had a small turn out with only 5 members entering models. I have to wonder, has modeling become pass� in model railroading? Should the club continue to have a model contest? We have tried to encourage members to bring out their models to meetings by having the monthly model display with a cash prize. This is awarded in a random draw. The people entering are almost always the same few. An open question to the membership - SHOULD THE CLUB CONTINUE TO HAVE A MODEL CONTEST?"

     This has been a continuing problem, not only for the club, but for model railroading in general. Many of our finest modellers have passed away, and they haven't been replaced by younger members. Model railroaders can now buy structures that are fully assembled and weathered at a very reasonable cost. Quality rolling stock is now usually cheaper than kits. This makes model railroading less labor intensive, but if this trend continues, we run the danger of having all of our model railroad looking exactly the same.

    WMRC President Larry Leavens reads out the winning ticket number for the Walthers brick freight house that WMRC model contest chair is holding up. Check out the stash behind Larry! What a haul of model railroading goodies!

    One of the best things about our annual banquet are prizes, prizes and more prizes! We first hold a raffle for several door prizes. Each person attending gets a ticket when they enter. The prizes not only include model railroad stuff, but several of what we call "non-rail" prizes, which include gift cards to such retailers as Home Depot!

    Next comes the elimination draw. Tickets were sold for five dollars for the sole prize of a very nifty HO locomotive, fully equipped with DCC. But in the elimination draw, it's not the first ticket that wins - it's the last! Everyone had lots of fun watching ticket after ticket drawn, waiting in anticipation as to whose name was going to be on that very last ticket!

   Our last draw used "arm's length" tickets. A roll of tickets were sold, the amount of tickets you received for five bucks was measured from the tips of your finger to the bridge of your nose when you turned your head. Yes, you could use a taller friend to substitute for you if you happened to be height challenged. 

    Just about everybody walked away with some sort of prize that night. Some had more prizes than others, but that's the luck of the draw!

We had enough entries in our club's 60th anniversary model contest special event to make a train, complete with an engine! WMRC Contest Chair Morgan Turney thought it only appropriate to set it down on some track on the Kildonan Short Lines modular layout during our 2015 spring open house and take a picture of it!

However, one of the cars didn't fit, as it was O gauge. So Morgan "borrowed" WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich's popular Lionel "giraffe car" layout and put it on this CP freight and shot a photo of it just as it was going into a tunnel!

    This year being our 60th anniversary year, WMRC model contest chair Morgan Turney came up with a truly novel idea for the special event - to make a model incorporating the club's 60th anniversary logo! A special logo was made by WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich for this event, and was made into a decal by Black Cat Decals. We had so many entries for this event that we're going to split them into several different post during the week! Here are the first three:

  Do you want to create an award winning model? These valuable tips will show you how!
 
By Morgan Turney - WMRC Model Contest Chairperson

So, You Want To Enter A Model In The Model Contest - Here Are Some Tips To Help You Get That Trophy!

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club hosts its annual model and photo contests each year at the club's Open House in the Spring. Why does the club have these events? It has been a tradition in the club since its beginnings and the club, over the years, has developed trophies to honour modelling achievement. It's an opportunity for Club members to highlight their modelling skills to others and learn to produce better models through an achievement program.

Many modellers enjoy showing and sharing with others the models they have built throughout the year and this is their opportunity to do so. In order to select which models in their respective categories are trophy winners, a points system is used which the club has adopted from the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). The NMRA standards of achievement are high. However, there are some easy 'rules' to follow to earn the points necessary to earn a trophy.

Categories

I'll begin with the categories that are judged. These include steam locomotives (includes shays, climaxes, etc.), diesel and other locomotives (other being electrics, self-propelled, etc.), passenger cars, freight cars, non-revenue cars (cabooses, M of W, work cars, etc.), structures (buildings, water towers, coal tipples, etc. not mounted), displays (modules, scenes, etc. mounted) and a special event category (each year, the Special Event changes). Trophies are also awarded for the best model built from a kit (the kit can be from any of the above categories); the best model entry in any category for anyone who has never earned a first place trophy (Tyro Award); and the best model entry in any category from a Junior Member (under 16). There is also an award for the model that most represents railroading in general (Clark Summers Award). And just a note here: if your model is mounted on a

All model categories are basically judged in the same way. The idea is to accumulate as many points as you can in the five different sections that the judges consider when awarding points. The five sections are: construction, detail, conformity, finish and lettering and scratch-building.
Obviously, the more work you have put into your model, the more points will be awarded in each respective section. Keep in mind, too, that it's not just one judge that judges your model in all the sections. There are usually 3 or 4 judges, each one looking at only their assigned section. Judge number one will judge only the construction section; judge number 2 will judge the detail section; and judge number 3 will judge conformity, etc. Therefore, judge number one doesn't know what is written in the detail or conformity section. If you have done something to your model that fits into more than one section (let's say weathering), be sure to mention that in detail, finish and lettering and perhaps conformity. The more information you give to the judges (as written down) the more points that judge can award to that section. If there is nothing written down, there can be no points awarded!

Judging Tips

So, what are some 'tips' from the judges that can help you get those points? There are several. First of all, don't wait until you have finished a model before you take a look at the Judges' Score Sheet to see how it will be judged. Study each of the sections to see what the judges look at in each and keep them in mind as you do your model. Fill in the sheet as you go along. Secondly, to the judges, the most important category (other than construction), believe it or not, is the conformity section. After all, you are trying to duplicate the prototype so why not show the judges what you are duplicating? If you supply a photo of the prototype that you have based your model on, that will show the judges that your model conforms to that prototype. If the photo shows a rust streak down the side of a box car, and you added that detail to your model, more points can be awarded because it conforms to the photo. The same with a horn or bell that you moved to conform with the prototype. If you have a photo of the prototype with the bell moved to the underframe, and you modelled that feature, you will get more points (assuming that you wrote it down as being moved). And again, these items can be mentioned in more than on section.

Gaining Points

Each section is allotted a maximum number of points so, as you gain points in each section, you'll end up with more points in the end. If you don't write anything in a section, no points are awarded - the judges can't give points for nothing done. Therefore, try to do something to your model so that you are legitimately able to write in what you did in that section. As mentioned before, much of what you did will qualify to be entered in more than one section.

Let's look into each section in more detail. The construction section is fairly self-explanatory - there are boxes to check-off for the work you performed. This section actually mirrors the scratch-building section so the more you have scratch built on your model, the more points will be awarded. Be sure to write a detailed description of the work performed. Some modellers keep a written record as they make a model so that, when the time comes to fill out the judges' sheet, they already have the work they did written down.

In the detail section, the judges want to know what details you added to your model to make it look more prototypical. Were the details from a manufacturer or did you scratch-build them? If you replaced the front pilot on a locomotive with, lets say a Miniatures by Eric detail part, write it down. If you added a tack board on the side of a box car that wasn't on the original model, that too, is added detail. Also, if you added a decal that wasn't on the model before you started, that also counts. And don't forget your weathering details. If you haven't weathered your model because you want it to look factory-fresh, write it down. But remember, a building or a box car that's 30 or 40 years old doesn't look brand new - put some weathering on it.

In the conformity section, the judges look for how the model conforms with what the prototype looks like. Photos, drawings and plans are essential if you want points in this section. If you have used a magazine article to build your model, be sure to mention that in the written portion and have the magazine article spread-out with the model. If you weathered an engine to conform to a photo of the prototype you have, be sure to write it down. Remember - pictures are worth a thousand words.

In the finish and lettering section, be sure to fill in the boxes that apply to your model and write down how you painted the model (air brush or hand-painted, etc.), what decals you used, how you painted the building's roof, etc. If you made your own decals and applied them, tell the judges. Don't forget to tell the judges how you weathered the model (chalks, paint, eye shadow, etc.) and how it conforms to the prototype photo you provided (see how all the sections fit together?).

And finally, in the scratch built section, tell the judges what you have built from scratch and added to your model. If you bent grab irons and added them on, write that in this section as well as in the conformity, detail and construction sections. If you cut your own logs to simulate a log load, this qualifies as scratch building, too. Anything you added that was manufactured by your own hand is considered scratch built.

In summery, filling out the Judges' Score Sheet isn't that difficult if you follow some of these simple rules. The best part is that now you know what the judges are looking for! The contest judging is designed to help you become a better modeller.

In 2013, the WMRC introduced a medal system to signify achievement. Models are judged on a points-type system as above and the accumulated points determines whether the entry receives an Honourable Mention, Bronze Metal, Silver Metal or a Gold Metal. This basically eliminates the 'category' system of first, second, third and/or honourable mentions, replacing it with non-category achievement. The trophy for each of the categories (steam, diesel, passenger car, non-revenue, etc.) can still be presented but only with the achievement of a gold metal in the category.
All models entered in the contest are judged in the same way and from the scores accumulated. Personal awards (Kit Award, Tyro Award, Junior Award, Clark Summers Award, Special Event Award and Best in Show Award) are still be up for grabs, with or without a gold metal placement.
The point awards for medals are established as follows:

Honourable mention - less than 45 points
Bronze Metal - 45 to 65 points
Silver Metal - 66 to 86 points
Gold Metal - 87 to 125 points.

Each person entering a model is entitled to receive only one metal from each class (bronze, silver, gold) and if a second is achieved, they will receive a recognition bar to go with their metal in either bronze, silver or gold.

   Long time WMRC member Morgan Turney won the club's photo contest for January. His winning image was featured on the cover of the January issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC.

    January's theme was snow. The theme for February's contest is a railway photograph that expresses just how cold it is outside. It could be hoarfrost on a cold steel rail, ice crystals as exhaust plumes rise from diesel locomotives or wind driven sheets of snow caused by the velocity induced by train movements.

   To make things easier, any photograph that was shot in 2015, 2014 or earlier will be allowed. The winner will have their image featured on February's cover of The Lantern. They will also receive $15 or $30, depending on how many entries are submitted.  The deadline for entries will be no later than MIDNIGHT on Tuesday, January 27.

   Morgan Turney, WMRC Program Director and organizer of our annual Klinic Karnival, also found the time to run his own clinic on how to model trees out of weeds and ordinary garden cuttings. Watching him employ his impressive skills are Bob Shawcross, our head librarian, and long time WMRC member Brent Tingey.

    Morgan is not only a talented and highly skilled modeller. He's served as president of the WMRC many times and has been our program director for several years. He's also has been the organizer of our annual spring open house. He is also the publisher of Canada's foremost model railroad magazine, Canadian Railway Modeller, now celebrating its 25th year of publication! There's nothing Morgan can't do when he puts his mind to it!

   Except when it comes to putting ketchup on a hot dog (he has some very strong opinions about that).

    All kidding aside, if there's anyone who has been proven absolutely indispensable to the club, it's Morgan! Thanks for all of your help throughout the years!

   WMRC President Larry Leavens sent in this photo of a CN rail grain hopper with the WMRC's 60th anniversary logo on it while he was out rail fanning last Saturday. Suspicions have been raised as to whether this is actually a prototype image, or one taken of a model on someone's layout. But Larry swears that it is prototype, and as we all know, chief executives never lie (except when they're not telling the truth). However, if you choose to believe him, we'd like to sell you the Chief Peguis Trail bridge. No reasonable offers will be accepted.

     All kidding aside, the WMRC is having their 60th anniversary in 2015, and one of the ways we're celebrating is with our annual model contest. This year's special event is to use our 60th anniversary decal (specially designed by blog editor Paul Ullrich) on any railroad related model. It could be an engine, a piece of rolling stock, a building, or anything else you can imagine!

   You can purchase these decals from WMRC Program Director Morgan Turney at our next meeting, which will be held on December 12 at 7:30 at the Charleswood Legion at 6003 Roblin Boulevard. A limited number of these decals have been made, so don't put it off much longer than that!

Peter Newman, who sent Morgan Turney the information we posted last month about Del Rosamond's amazing photos posted at http://www.CanadianSteam.Smugmug.com, also sent us another fascinating post: http://pembroke87.wordpress.com/. It's a great model railroading and rail fanning blog all in itself, and it also features a post on Del Rosamond's photography, which he posted on September 5, which you can read by clicking here. Enjoy!

   Here's something Morgan Turney, our Program Director, discovered for the WMRC blog:

  Peter Newman, who is a rail fan and a commercial airline pilot,  has created Canadian Steam, a website gallery that features the photography of the late Del Rosamond. Del spent a lifetime capturing scenes of steam trains and early diesels that were part of Canadian Pacific and Canadian National freight and passenger consists.

  The images were taken primarily in the Pembroke, Ontario region. Peter has had these slides for over 35 years, and he knew that someday they had to be professionally restored and shared. There is a lot of detail in these shots, and they would certainly be valuable to anybody modelling this time period and area.

  Canadian Steam provides a rich experience in time travel with visions of an era in transportation that has gone the way of chariots.

   Our most popular posts on this blog has been about Stafford Swain, a truly legendary model railroader and long time WMRC member.  The two posts about Stafford have consistently been in the top ten views, and the post title Stafford Swain - a true master model railroader, has been #1 in views for some time now, garnering almost 400 hits.
 
   Stafford's layout was dismantled shortly after it's last public showing in 2010 for the TLR's Steam on the Prairies convention in Winnipeg. A glowing tribute to Stafford and his many accomplishments was published in Canadian railway Modeller, Train 17, Track 3. With permission of the publisher, our own Morgan Turney, we are presenting the cover of this issue.

    We still have several other views of Stafford's famous layout, which we will be posting very soon.

   Paul Ullrich, long time WMRC member and blog editor, has had his second article published in Kalmbach's Classic Toy Trains Magazine this year. Both articles have appeared in their "Tips, tools and techniques" column in the back page of the magazine. His second article has been published in the July 2014 issue. Paul also has had a third article accepted, which will run later this year.

    Paul is not the only WMRC member that has been making their names in the news. Earlier this year, member Dennis Rietze had an article published in Canadian Railway Modeller (published by our own Morgan Turney) about his very unique and well crafted layout in a crawl space. The article has been published in its entirety on this blog. You can view his article by clicking here.



 

    Ron Einarson reaches deep into the bucket held by Morgan Turney to select a winning ticket.

   What makes the WMRC banquets so much fun are the prize draws - and we have lots of them!

    We start off with the door prizes. Every guest receives a free ticket. There are several prizes available, including some "non-rail" items. Then we have the elimination draw. This draw actually works in reverse! The very last ticket drawn wins the prize! There were lots of moans and groans to be heard as Morgan read off the names of the ticket holders who weren't called last!

    Our last prize draw had lots of tickets. Guests purchased an arm's length of tickets for five bucks. Just to keep things fair (as some have arms longer than others) WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich sold the tickets and used his own very long arms to measure the tickets!

    The "arms length" is measured as such: The person holds the end of the ticket roll by their fingertips, then turns their head away and pulls out the ticket roll until it touches the tip of their nose. Then the tickets are torn off at that point.

   It should be pointed out that Paul doesn't have the longest reach in the club. That honour belongs to Robert Weaver. But Paul does have a larger nose.

    There were tons of prizes, and most people walked away with something. There were even gift certificates from Home Depot and Canadian Tire, good places to buy all the wood, screws, nails and glue you need to build your layout!