trendy train model

   Tuesday nights are Gateway nights, and the WMRC's layout over at the Winnipeg Railway Museum is coming along just great! We're getting into some might fine landscaping which is making the layout really come alive! Dave Downie, our Vice-President, sent along these images to us to show the remarkable progress they're making on the layout!

    The gang meets tonight at 7:00 PM at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located on the second level of the Via Rail Station at 123 Main Street. It's really cold outside, but the Gateway is housed in it's own heated building within the museum!

     Former WMRC President Suzanne Lemon modeled this lovely lake for the Gateway Western.

    Mark Perry, who is one of the WMRC's Facebook friends, has shared these wonderful photos of the original Gateway Western Railway on the club's FB page.

   The first Gateway Western was in its own room on the main floor of Winnipeg's Union Station, long before Via Rail took the building over. It was a landmark for decades until the club was forced to demolish it to make way for a new bathroom.

   Since then, it has been revived first as a modular group, then as a permanent display at Gooch's Hobbies, and no finally back to its original place (albeit one floor above) back at the station in the Winnipeg Railway Museum!

    The image above was taken in the 70's.  Bob Whitehouse is seen on the left, bending over the layout as Lindsey Fuller looks on.

    The image below was taken in the 80's. Jim Jenkins is seen in the back, while Dave Kyliuk switches out one of the industry tracks on the layout.

 Ken Epp (L) is seen with John Longhurst at John's layout, the CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision. The photo was taken two weeks before Ken's death.

Long time WMRC member John Longhurst wrote a tribute to his brother-in-law Ken Epp in his most recent post on his blog, the CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision. It has been mentioned before on a previous post on this site, but it was so moving that it warranted another posting.  The best quote was one from Ken himself, reflecting on his many trips on Via Rail and Amtrak.

�I have to say that sitting in the dome car at night as the train goes across the Canadian Shield, watching the signals get knocked down, seeing the northern lights and the snow on the trees�I don�t know if what heaven is like, but for me, that�s heaven.�

 We can only hope that heaven is as nice a place as that.

Ken's funeral service will be held on Sunday, October 19 at North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church, 1315 Gateway Road at 2:30 PM.

   These two distinguished gentlemen and their unidentified "companion" were questioned by the RCMP during a recent rail fanning trip to Portage La Prairie.

    During a recent trip to Portage la Prairie, a small group of rail fans were reported by CN authorities and questioned by the RCMP.

    The group had settled in their usual rail fanning place at the foundation of the old grain elevator near the CP tracks. Two of them, who were in their 60's, left the site to walk to the Via Rail station to answer nature's call ( which is common for most men of that age). The two elderly men were walking  on the station platform on the opposite side of the tracks when a CN employee burst from CN's portable structure and shouted at them.

    "Hey, get off of there! You're trespassing!" Shouted the employee.

     The two men immediately complied and walked across the tracks to the passenger platform at the station. When they returned to their rail fanning site, they were surprised to see an RCMP police car approaching them. The police informed them that the CN employee had called them to report a trespassing incident.

    The two policemen took their names and told them that they'd have to call CN Police to see if they wanted to lay charges against them. The police seemed a bit embarrassed by the situation, and as they were waiting for the CN Police to respond to their 800 call, they chatted with the three men about camera equipment (It should be noted that while this was going on, other people were freely crossing the tracks at various locations). About ten minutes later, the CN Police responded.

   No charges were laid, but the RCMP strongly advised the men not to cross the tracks for any reason except at the designated level crossings. With that, the rail fans parked at the station, then later went to the diamond, far away from the prying eyes of CN.

    This might've been an unusual and even an isolated incident, and the rail fans might've been just a victim of bad timing on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but CN (and CP) are well within their rights to report such incidents. They might've not taken some of the more extreme measures we've all heard about the U.S. railroads regarding rail fanning, bur keep in mind the CN and CP have a strong presence in the U.S. and are influenced by the practices of other railroads.

    As Canadians, we are often inclined believe that we can rail fan more freely than our friends south of the border. Incidents like this show that this is no longer true. When we rail fan, we should always exercise extreme caution and respect the property laws of the railroads, whether we are rail fanning in the U.S. or in Canada.

   Here's a blast from the past! It's a CN Rail ad from the Winnipeg Free Press from way back in 1954 - 60 years ago! That was way before VIA was created, when we actually had two passenger railway systems spanning from coast to coast, serving almost every community in Canada.

    Sadly, those days are gone forever, but it's still fun to view the ad, and remember a simpler time when rail travel was more popular and accessible to all. This ad was posted earlier this year by the popular Winnipeg blog, West End Dumplings.

Hungry to do some model railroading?

   Are you like this guy, who's chomping at the bit (in this case, the compressor hose) to do some real model railroading? Feeling housebound from the polar vortex? Is cabin fever setting in? Can you even remember the last time went outside except to shovel the snow?

    Then come on down to the Gateway Western this Tuesday, February 4, at 7:00 PM! They meet at the  Winnipeg Railway Museum, which is located at Via Rail's Union Station at 123 Main street. You're more than welcome to pitch in and help build a great looking model railroad. No experience is necessary, and the lessons are free! The structure is heated, so you can work in comfort!

By Morgan Turney

   The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's  'Gateway Western Railway'  began in CN's Union Station. It was moved to Gooch's Hobbies and is now being resurrected at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, ironically, back at what is now VIA Rail's Union Station. This is the story of the building of the Gateway Western, which will be Winnipeg's crowning model railroad empire, as told in the photo captions.

   The layout is being built though the financial efforts of both the Winnipeg Railway Museum and the WMRC. There are six to eight regular volunteers who meet once every week to do the work. Upwards of 15 different volunteers show up periodically when they can. Everyone involved is learning the skills needed to built a model train layout and what's best of all - it's so much fun!

   So join us as we follow the building of the Gateway Western Railway. We'll post our progress at regular intervals on this site. Here we go!

   Want to work on a really big model railroad? Well, here's your chance! The Gateway Western needs you! Come on over to the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located at Winnipeg's historic Via Rail Union Station (located at 123 Main Street) at 7:00 PM (that's 19:00 railway time) and pitch in!

   Come out and give us a hand, because even one more person helping out will make a real difference. If you've never been there before, it'll be a great opportunity to make some new friends. If you have been there already, it'll be an excellent opportunity to renew some old acquaintances.

   The museum is located at the second level of the station. If you're entering through the front entrance, walk straight through the rotunda . The entrance will be the first door on your right. If you're coming through the station's back entrance, then walk through the corridor until you're almost reach the rotunda.  The entrance will be on your left.

    The Gateway Western is in it's own heated enclosure inside the museum, so you'll be roasty toasty warm was you're helping to build what is promising to be one of the finest layouts in the city.

    The Gateway is the jewel in the crown of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club. It's latest incarnation (and it's had almost as many regenerations as Doctor Who) brings it right back to Union Station, where the very first Gateway Western layout was assembled, maintained and operated by the WMRC until 1995, when it was replaced by a bathroom on the main floor.

    Don't worry about your lack of skill, or even if you've never picked up a hammer. There's no experience necessary, as the crew will provide in house training!

Heads up, fellow model railroaders and rail fans! The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club is holding their monthly meeting tonight at 7:30 PM at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Avenue in Winnipeg. After our business meeting, we'll have a presentation on the Prairie Dog Central's recent visit to The Forks and the Via Rail station. Of course, there will be the usual fellowship and camaraderie among members old and new, and guests! Guests are always welcome at our meetings, so come on down and see what you've been missing!

There's nothing much on TV tonight anyway. On PBS, you've got Shakespeare's Henry V (spoiler alert - he wins the battle of Agincourt). Sharknado is also on, but there are no trains to be seen in the movie! There's no trains in Henry V either, but that's because it takes place in the early 15th century. So why not come on down and join in on the fun! After the meeting, we'll head out for some pizza at Santa Lucia !