new design train model

   We've had an unusual amount of response when our last post about Chris Burden's model railroad sculpture was posted on the WMRC's Facebook page. But the best reply came from our own John Longhurst, who made a post on his own blog, the Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision, about an Canadian visual artist named Kim Adams who also uses model railroading equipment in his art, which was displayed in the Art Gallery of Ontario.

    Whether you agree with his approach or not, he might be on to something, because he was awarded the Gershon Iskowitz prize of $50,000 for his efforts! You can buy a lot of ground foam for that kind of money!

    To see John's post on Kim Adams, click here.  To read more about Kim Adam's 2013 exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario, click here.

    One of our loyal readers asked us if we could re-post the layout plan of the Gateway Western. Your wish is our command! Post for the Gateway Western have proven to be extremely popular on this blog site, and on our Facebook page as well.

     To further meet this demand, we have put in a Gateway Western index on this site. Scroll down the page and you'll find it on the right hand side. All of the posts about the Gateway Western are there! All you have to do is click on one of the links, and you're there!

   We are very pleased to announce that the Assiniboine Valley Railway is having their next open house this weekend. The trains will be running from 1PM to 4PM on both Saturday and Sunday at 3001 Roblin Boulevard.

    Last weekend, they held their first winter open house since the passing of their founder, the late great Bill Taylor, in August of 2013. Outside of former WMRC President Ed Mulholland's announcement of the AVR's forthcoming open houses at the WMRC's December meeting, there was virtually no publicity for the event (not even a mention on their own website).

    The day after the WMRC's December meeting,  the news was posted on this blog site and on the WMRC's Facebook page. The FB notice got 500 views in just a few hours! Watching the numbers come in was like watching the gas gauge at the pump turn while you're filling up your car! This shows not only the power of social media, but of the interest in the AVR itself!

    We sent our top investigative reporter out to the AVR open house to cover the event last Sunday. As you can see by the photographic evidence, it was business as usual at the AVR! They had steady and respectable crowds on both days, and they're hoping for the same this coming weekend.

    And they'll certainly get that! Another FB post about the AVR on the WMRC's Facebook page has garnered over 4000 views and 50 shares! AVR President Len LaRue was on CBC Radio One's noon program on Wednesday, They gave him a full ten minutes to promote the event! He was also on the CBC 24 Hours supper time news show that night, and the evenwas also promoted on the noon hour radio news on boxing day.

    Riding the AVR at Christmas has become an important Winnipeg traditions for many Winnipeg families. Although the lights aren't up and there are no evening runs, people still want to ride the trains through the forest! And there's still plenty of deers to see while you're enjoying the ride!

    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.

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.

   Coming soon to a t-shirt near you! For the WMRC's 60th anniversary next year, the executive had their friendly neighbourhood WMRC blog editor and Facebook moderator Paul Ullrich to design a special logo. After a dozen or so variations, this was the design chosen by the board.

    Both light and dark coloured shirts will be used to print this logo. A special decal set is also being planned with an updated version of the traditional WMRC logo with the lantern in the centre. This new design will be posted in the near future.

   WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich had a little fun with photoshop making this graphic. He showed it to Joe before he posted it, and he loved it!

  Comics America has been a staunch supporter of our shows for several years. Owner Joe Krolik has not only put our posters up in his store, he's also stuffed his customer's bag with our handouts! This year, he also mentioned our open house in paid ads that he put on Facebook!

    We had a very successful show this year, with an estimated 500 visitors, and Joe certainly played a part in making our show a success!

    Joe has also opened his store to model railroaders by adding several Lionel Train sets to his stock. Comics America is located at 552 Academy road, and you can find them on Facebook.

     

It's official - the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club has joined the 21st century! Not only do we have this nifty blog site, but we're now also on Facebook for all the world to see! If you wish to "like" us on FB (And why not? Everybody likes the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club!) please go to this link:

https://www.facebook.com/WinnipegModelRailroadClub