trendy train model

   Long time WMRC member supervises the running of the trains of the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group at the WMRC's annual spring open house.

 The WMRC would like to extend a very big THANK YOU  to everyone who attended our spring open house this weekend at the Charleswood Legion! We had a lot of very happy folks who love trains drop by. A lot of them stayed for hours, but that's okay - it's even encouraged!

    There sure was plenty to see! All of the popular gauges, from Z to G were on display, and there was even a display of rolling stock from the Assiniboine Valley Railway! Two big modular railways - the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group and the Kildonan Short Lines were up and running at the show. There were also two N gauge layouts, the ever popular Lionel "giraffe car" layout, plus the displays of the WMRC model and photo contest winners. Our charity of choice, our good friends at St. Amant, were also there with a big display.

    The good folks at the Kildonan Short Lines modular railway had lots of trains up and running!
   Frances South and her brother James were on hand to help volunteer with their mom running the canteen, and to help run the Lionel giraffe car layout!

   Mark your calendars! The WMRC will be holding its annual spring open house on Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29 at their new location at the Charleswood Legion Hall, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. Hours are from 11AM to 4PM both days. The venue is handicap accessible. Please enter on the west side of the building.

    There will be lots of stuff to see, such as the entries from our annual photo and model contests, and several operating layouts, including the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Layout, the Kildonan Short Lines modular layout, and the Lionel 027 "giraffe car" layout!

   The canteen will be open as well, serving donuts, pop, chips, coffee and our famous gourmet hot dogs, served with either mustard or ketchup! Come and help us celebrate our 60th year of model railroading in Winnipeg! Admission is by donation, and a portion of proceeds will go to support St. Amant. Hope to see you all there!

   WMRC Treasurer Gary Stempnick presents a donation to St. Amant's Juliette Trudeau Mucha at the club's meeting in December at the Charleswood Legion.

   The WMRC was honoured by the presence of St. Amant's Juliette Trudeau Mucha at our last meeting. Juliette presented a short video showcasing the wonderful work of St. Amant and was given a cheque from the club.

   The donation the club gave to St. Amant represents a portion of the proceedings of the money earned from September's Manitoba Mega Train Show. The club also donates a portion of the money earned at their annual spring open house to St. Amant. In 2013, St. Amant had a large display at the spring open house. Many volunteers from St. Amant were present at the show to promote the work the organization does in the community.

   The WMRC is a not-for-profit organization and it is also a charity-minded organization. We have had St. Amant as our charity of choice for about two years, and we are delighted to have chosen such a worthwhile and hard working organization.

    A crowd of enthusiastic youngsters take turns trying their hand at operating an N scale layout at NMRA Canada's train show last Saturday.

Over 250 very happy people attended NMRA Canada's very first public train show last Saturday. Although the show was scheduled the day after Halloween and at the same time as one of the biggest comic book conventions in Western Canada, the event still managed to draw a surprisingly large crowd of train lovers, and raised a respectable amount of money to be donated to St. Amant.

The No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group, which had the largest display at last month's Manitoba Mega Train Show, had the largest display this time as well. The group (dubbed the "blue shirt guys" by the show's visitors) received many compliments not only for their layout, but their willingness to share all aspects of their hobby and answer any question the viewers had about their group, and of model railroading in general.

Veteran model railroaders Ron Einarson and Rob Gairns held popular clinics. WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich (using his alter ego as "The Giraffe Car Man") wowed the kiddies once again with his hands-on Lionel layout. There was also a hands-on N Scale layout, and a G scale display run by Manitoba Mega Train organizer Maurice Dorge. 13 year old Michael Leader, the group's youngest member,  was also on hand to run the John Allen Timesaver Module.

No. 1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze ran a demonstration on how to run a model railroad with a cell phone. He was also interviewed by CTV News Winnipeg, which ran the segment on their Saturday evening news program. Several NMRA members were also on hand to promote the organization and its many benefits to model railroaders.

It was also great to see a lot of old, new and familiar faces at the show, such as former Elmwood Hobby Works proprietor Vern Gibson. There were lots of families and plenty of kids , who stayed for many hours enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby!


    Ron Einarson held clinics all day, displaying many of his award winning models.


    Lookee here! Could that be our old friend Kent, the former WMRC Lantern Editor with his son, enjoying WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich's portable Lionel display? It sure is!

       Two of the "Blue Shirt Guys" (not to be confused with the Blue Man Group), Alan Graham (Centre) and No. 1 Northern Treasurer Sid Greenstone (L) promoting the many benefits of NMRA membership at  the show.

Saturday, November 1 is the big day! The NMRA is holding it's first ever train show in Winnipeg, and it's open to the public! You don't have to be an NMRA member to attend! They're going to have lots of layouts, including the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo layout, the Lionel 027 "Giraffe Car" layout, a portable N scale layout, and a G scale layout! There will be clinics and a demonstration on how to run a layout with a cell phone. Try your hand at runing a miniature switching yard with the John Allen Timesaver module!

The fun starts at 10:00 AM this Saturday at Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, 201 Scurfield Road! Admission by donation. Handicap accessible! Portions of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant.

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is getting all sorts of great publicity this year! Last week Maurice Dorge was featured on a Manitoba Moments segment on CTV Morning Live. The clip showcased his compact garden railway, and why no dogs are allowed at Mega Train! You can see the segment by clicking  http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/ctv-morning-live/manitoba-moments.

Each copy of the Monday edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, has a post-it note on the cover about the Manitoba Mega Train Show. With a press run of 75,000 that's bound to get the word out!

Be sure to get up early on Friday Morning because there will be a segment about Mega Train on City TV's Breakfast Television!

Last year Mega Train had over 2,000 visitors, and this year we're expecting even more! The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club is partnered with Mega Train. It is a major source of revenue for the club, and a good portion of our take for this event goes to our charity of choice, St. Amant.

Volunteers are still needed for Mega Train! If you have some time to spare, help is always needed for set-up, take-down, and admissions. Set-up won't start until Friday noon this year, and take-down will start at 5:00 PM on Sunday. The more folks we have helping out, the faster it'll go! You can volunteer by clicking here.

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is being held at the CanLan Ice Sports Complex (formerly known as the Highlander) at 1871 Ellice Avenue. Hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28. General Admission is $5.00. Children ages 3-12 get in for $3.00. Kids two and under get in for free! A family pass is available for $15 for the day.

The 17,000 square feet of fun includes the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo modular layout, which is the largest modular layout in the province and is a full 95 feet long this year! There will also be the spectacular Lego train display, the ever popular Lionel layout with all of the giraffe cars, a face painter, a balloon artist, 60 vendor tables and the Mega-Train itself! Admission gives you free unlimited rides on the 7.5" scale Mega Train!

   This is the Big Kahuna. The biggest train show in the province. 2,000 people came to last year's show, and even more are expected this year! Yes, it's Manitoba Mega Train Show time again, and the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club will be out there in full force. We are partnered with this event. It's our major source of revenue, and the source for funding our charity of choice,  St. Amant.

   This is a big show, and volunteers are needed for set up on Friday, take down on Sunday, manning the admissions tables and the WMRC table as well. Set up starts at 12:00 noon on Friday, when the 7.5" scale Mega Train will be set up.  It's the biggest sectional track layout you'll ever have a chance to set up, and it's a lot of fun to put together!  Volunteers are also needed to set up the tables for the displayers and the vendors. Please note that vendors and displayers will not be allowed to set up until 2:30 on Friday, after the Mega Train is set up.

   Volunteers are needed for the admissions tables and the WMRC table. Volunteers are especially needed on Sunday evening for the take-down of the display and the vendors tables and of the Mega train. Take down starts at 5:00, and the more volunteers we have, the faster it will go!

   The event takes place at the CanLan SportsPlex at 1871 Ellice Avenue. The hours are from 9:00 to 5:00 on both Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28. If you can spare the time, please click here.