new design train model

The following is a post written by Chris Lane, editor of Carstens Publication's On3 Annual:

It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of Carstens Publications. Carstens, publishers of Railroad Model Craftsman and Railfan and Railroad magazines, closed down on August 22, 2014.

The roots of the company go back to 1933 with the initial publication of Model Craftsman magazine. Harold "Hal" Carstens joined the company in 1952 and purchased the company in 1969. Hal started Flying Models magazine that year, and in 1974 started Railfan magazine, In 1979 he purchased Freeman Hubbard's Railroad magazine and combined it with Rainfan magazine to create Railfan and Railroad. Hal passed away in 2006, and his son Henry took over operations.

Besides their two rail oriented publications, the firm also published several annuals, such as the On3 Annual, the HOn3 Annual and Great Railroad Photography.

On their website, the following notice from Henry Carstens was posted:

"It is with regret that Carstens Publicatons, Inc. will be closing permanently at close of business on Friday, August 22, 2014. Carstens Publications, Inc. has been a leading publisher of leading hobby magazines for over 50 years. Unfortunately the current economic climate has placed us in this position. Discussion is continuing with several parties who expressed desire to take on the continuance of the magazines. At this point there is still hope that all three titles will remain in existence. But I can offer no guarantees. We thank you for your patronage over the years, and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors."

Carstens publications has always been a strong supporter of model railroaders everywhere, especially in Manitoba. Who could ever forget the publicity they gave Railway Jamboree, 1983 NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg, by publishing all those articles of Winnipeg's great model railroads? Hal Carstens was there himself, sitting at a table with a big box of his magazines that he was giving out.

They did the same for us for the CARM's 2005 Golden Rails convention held in Winnipeg, and for the TLR's 2010 Steam on the Prairie convention, they sent over Associate Editor Ken Goslett to do a special presentation. Ken was best remembered for chasing the Prairie Dog Central through a terrific rainstorm during that convention.

According to a post by Chris Lane, former editor of Carsten's On3 Annual, negotiations are under way between Carstens and two interested buyers to purchase RMC and Railfan, but no deal has been reached yet.

Going to the hobby shop isn't going to be the same without those Carstens publications on the rack.

    Long time WMRC member John Longhurst has had his very first article published in the August 2014 issue of Model Railroader. John, who as been a member since the 90's, is well known in the model railroading community as the former Associate Editor for Canadian Railway Modeller, published by our own Morgan Turney.

    John has also had his byline twice in Railroad Model Craftsman, and has been a frequent contributor to the WMRC's official publication, The Lantern, and the Canadian Association of Railway Modeller's publication, The Canadian. He also has an excellent blog, titled the CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision. The blog is named after his own world class model railroad, but it covers a wide range of topics concerning model railroading and rail fanning in general.

    John's article is about his use of tree bark as a cheap and effective way of making realistic rock faces, which is his own unique discovery and has been used in many layout across Winnipeg since he introduced it.

     "When I was a kid, I read both Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman." Said John, "I told myself: One day I want to make a model railroad good enough to be in those magazines. My dream has been fulfilled!"

    John has always been an active volunteer for the WMRC. He will always be remembered for bringing the WMRC's Great Canadian train Show over to the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (along with former WMRC member Ken Epp, who also happens to be John's brother-in-law) and serving as Convention Director for CARM's 2005 convention in Winnipeg, which had the largest attendance of any model railroad convention in the city since the 1983 NMRA national convention, Railway Jamboree '83.

    Besides his editing gig for CMR, John also writes a regular faith column for the Winnipeg Free Press. He also holds down a full time job as Director of Communications and Marketing for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Where does he find the time?

    As an extra bonus, John's article is even listed on the cover! MR bought the article from John four years ago, which comes close to, but doesn't beat the seven years WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich had to wait for his own article to appear in the September 2013 issue of Trains. Please keep in mind that when submitting to these publications that they have a substantial backlog of articles to publish, and that these wait times are not all that unusual.

     WMRC members have been published all over the place recently. Along with John, Dennis Rietze has had an article about his model railroad published in Canadian Railway Modeller, and WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich has had two articles published in Kalmbach's Classic Toy Trains.

     Congratulations, John! Keep up the good work!

   

By Paul Ullrich
WMRC Blog Editor

   Stafford Swain was the main reason why I joined the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club.

   When I started getting back into the hobby, I bought copies of Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman to hone up my skills. In 1981, I purchased a copy of RMC that had a cover story about modelling a prairie town, authored by Stafford. I never heard of him before, but when I read it, I realized that this guy was not only living in Manitoba, but he was modelling it as well! I was astonished at the painstakingly accurate scenes of the Whiteshell that he created.

    More articles by Stafford were published, and I collected them. Then I heard about the 1983 NMRA national convention that was being held in Winnipeg. I promptly registered, hoping to see Stafford's layout in person.

    When I saw his layout, I was surprised on how small it was. It was a rather simple perimeter style layout in one room of his basement. But it was deceptively simple. The modelling detail was near photographic, and the transition from Canadian Shield to the prairies in such a small space was absolutely seamless, and very believable.
 
    Above the layout were framed covers from a few of the model railroad magazines that published his stories. He couldn't have hung them all, as he had over 80 published!

     I was actually quite nervous about meeting him. At the time, I worked in the newsroom of the Winnipeg Free Press. I've met two Prime Ministers. Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe were once in my office. That didn't phase me at all. But I was star struck about meeting Stafford!

     But I needn't have worried, for Stafford is a humble and unassuming man who loves nothing more than to share the love of his hobby with others. Over 20 years after that convention, I told him that I went to the convention and joined the WMRC because I wanted to meet him. He let out a hearty laugh and said, "And you've been disappointed ever since!"

    Actually, I wasn't. And I never will be.


 

 
 The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's December Klinic Karnival was graced by the presence of one of Winnipeg's all time great modellers, big John Morris himself!  Mister "life on the edge" presented an excellent clinic on applying decals. John is the Fred Astaire of decal application. He makes it look so easy. There isn't a single member of the club who hasn't ruined a perfectly good model at least once by messing up the crucial final touch of applying the decals. Watching the master himself doing it so effortlessly (while hobnobbing with all sorts of visitors to his table) was a real treat!

    Interestingly enough, John only uses one of the half dozen or so Micro Scale products - Micro Sol! After loosening the decal in a tray of lukewarm water (he doesn't even time how long it needs to soak), he takes it out, slips it onto the model with a brush, eyeballs it into place, and dabs a bit of micro-sol on top of it while it's still wet. He produced a perfect model every time!

    John's reputation as a model railroader goes well past Winnipeg's city limits. When the TLR's 2010 "Steam on the Prairies" convention clinics were being organized, Railroad Model Craftsman Contributing Editor Ken Goslett asked specifically that his clinic not be placed at the same time as John's! Perhaps he didn't want the competition, or perhaps he just wanted to go to John's clinic. All the same, the message was clear - when John speaks, everyone listens!

   Except for perhaps his wife.

A CN freight lumbers through a typical prairie town in Stafford Swain's exquisite Whiteshell subdivision layout. Stafford's 12' x 30' layout might be considered small by today's standards, but it was packed with amazing detail. It was a perimeter layout, which meant that the larger scenes were in the corners. That's where this painstakingly accurate model of a typical prairie town was found. The building of Stafford's fictional town of Forsyth, Manitoba was featured in a cover story of Railroad Model Craftsman in the early 1980's.

Some of you might've noticed that we now have an image from a model railroad on our site's masthead.  We surely needed a visual presence there. After all, this is a blog about the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club!

When it came to selecting an image, the choice was obvious - it had to be from Stafford Swain's layout!
Stafford was a true model railroading pioneer. His layout of the CNR Whiteshell Division was a museum quality creation of the real thing. He started building his layout in 1975, when prototype modelling was a rarity, and scenery techniques were pretty basic.

He's had over 80 articles published in magazines such as Model Railroader, Mainline Modeller and Railroad Model Craftsman. He's MMR #98. He helped found the CN Lines SIG (now the Canadian National Railway Historical Association), was president of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club and the TLR, and was the Convention Director for the 1983 NMRA national convention held in Winnipeg.

Sadly, his layout is no more. The 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 has been published in Canadian railway Modeller, Train 17, Track 3. Besides this site, you can also read about Stafford at WMRC member John Longhurst's Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision blog at http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.com/ 

This site will continue to post further images of Stafford's layout in the future.