trendy train model

The program for Friday's meeting features a special treat! Dennis Rietze, a long time member who is also the Superintendent of the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division, will be presenting a program about his visit to the Palo Verde Southern Railroad in Mesa, Arizona.

This layout has to be seen to believed! It's considered to be one of the largest G scale layouts in the world (if no the largest). It's famous for running 100+ car lengths, it's beautifully landscaped and the engines have full sound! There's nothing like hearing a sound system from the big speaker of a scale G gauge train!

There's lots of videos featuring this amazing layout on You Tube, but if you come to the meeting, you'll get to see in on a big screen instead of on your computer!

We won't be having a formal second program this month, so if any members wish to put something together to show to the club, here is your chance - Free For All Night! Simply put 15 or so train-related or model related photos on a CD/DVD or USB stick and bring them with you and we'll show them. 

We'll also be having our monthly model display, with a draw for a gift certificate from a local hobby shop. Feel free to bring down whatever you've been working on, and you might win! It doesn't have to be completed - but you must include a short write-up describing the work you've done to date. If we get ten or more entries from ten different members, the gift certificate prize will be doubled to thirty dollars!

Of course, the canteen and the library will be open as well.

Don't forget that we have a new meeting place - The Charleswood Legion at 6003 Roblin Boulevard! We meet at 7:30PM in the Tank Room located in the basement of the hall. Please use the entrance on the west side of the building (which is wheelchair accessible). You can't miss the building - it's got a big tank in front of it!

Hope to see you all there! Be sure to bring your membership renewal forms! If you don't have one, we'll supply you with one!

You've read about our new location several times in this blog.
It's been posted on the WMRC Facebook page.
There was an article about our new location in the September issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC, which was sent to all club members.
Our President, Larry Leavens, sent out an email to all past and present members notifying them of our move to our new location at the Charleswood Legion at 6003 Roblin Boulevard.
Just to be sure, we're telling you again:

Don't go to Westworth United Church on Friday night!

Of course, you're welcome to attend their church services on Sundays, but we're not meeting there anymore!
We meet as usual at 7:30PM, this Friday, September 12, 2014. Our meeting will be held in the tank room in the basement. Please use the parking lot on the west side of the building. There is also a parking lot available directly across Roblin on the south side of the street.
The building at 6003 Roblin Boulevard has a big tank in front of it - you can't miss it!
The building is also wheelchair accessible from the west side of the building.
The tank room has a 10' ceiling and no pillars to obstruct your view. It promises to be much warmer in the winter months, and you don't have to take off your shoes in the winter! Imagine that - no more cold, smelly feet at our meetings!
We have full use of a modern kitchen. There's a cloakroom and ample space for our library.

Hope to see you all there this Friday!

WinNtrak, seen here at last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show, will be displaying at the Forks next weekend.

Next weekend's model railroad events has gotten better with our good friends at WinNtrak, who will be displaying at the Forks Market on September 12, 13 and 14. Please note that their website was down last week, but it's up and running again. They'll be displaying from 9:00AM to 9:00PM on all three days. You can reach their website by clicking here: http://winntrak.com/

You can round out your model railroading weekend by visiting the Assiniboine Valley Railway, who will be having their monthly open house next weekend. The hours are from 11AM to 5PM on Saturday, and from 1AM to 5PM on Sunday. Rides are two bucks per person, but kids under three can ride for free! Find them here at http://assiniboinevalleyrailway.org/blog/ and remember that this is their new website. Don't go to their old one, which is still up. They're easy to find, at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, just west of Assiniboine Park. Look for the signs!

It's pretty easy to get from The Forks to the AVR. You can even do it by bike, going straight down Wellington Crescent for most of the way!

The model railroading season really starts to heat up in September! We start off first with the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's first meeting in our new location at the Charleswood Legion, located at 6003 Roblin Boulevard. The meeting will be held in the tank room in the basement of the hall on September 12, and starts at 7:30. The door on the west side of the building provides the best access. Hope to see you all there! You can't miss the building - it's got a tank in front of it!

The next day the Assiniboine Valley Railway holds its monthly open house on September 13 and also on September 14. The hours are from 11 to 5 on Saturday, and from 1 to 5 on Sunday. Rides are $2 per person. Kids under 3 ride for free!

The weekend after that is the Winnipeg Railway Museum's Railway days! The hours are from 10 to 5 on September 20 and 21. Admission is by donation. The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club will be out there in full force, operating the Gateway Western Railway in its own separate structure within the museum. That itself would be worth the price of admission, but there's so much more to see!

Following that is the Manitoba Mega Train Show on September 27 and 28 at the CanLan Ice Sports Complex on 1871 Ellice Avenue. The WMRC is partnered with this event. We'll have members all over the place setting up the 7.5" scale train, working the admissions desk, displaying and selling all sorts of neat model railroading stuff at the vendor's tables! Admission is $5, Children ages 3-12 $3, and kids 2 and under get in for free! Hours are from 9 to 5 on both days.

The WMRC blog site has passed the 22,000 reader mark, and our Facebook page is also gaining in popularity! It's become the voice of the club! Many people have been messaging us, asking all sorts of questions about the club, our activities, and membership inquiries through Facebook. We also get a lot of inquiries about selling trains, but we don't mind that at all, for that is part of the hobby!

Several groups have found us through Facebook, such as the Sioux Valley Railway Historical Society and Museum, the Endless Mountains Model Railroad Club and York Modelmaking. We've also "liked" the Assiniboine Valley Railway, the Winnipeg Railway Museum, the Prairie Dog Central, Model Railroader magazine, and White River Productions, so you can follow all of their posts on our FB site.

We're striving to make this blog site and our FB site the place to be for all model railroaders and rail fans in Manitoba, and it's not just for our members! Anyone can join Facebook and visit out page at https://www.facebook.com/WinnipegModelRailroadClub.