new design train model

   Every year the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club presents the awards for winners of their model contest at their annual banquet. Long time member Ron Einarson was awarded first place this year in the structures category for his model of the O.H. Wright & company supply. He was also awarded third place for his model of his HO scale Kent Farmers AG & grain supply, and also received the best in show award for his HO scale Renfro lumber rack. Ron also received gold medal awards for all three structures.

     Second place was awarded to Gino Kost for his model of a tall steel trestle bridge. Gino also received the kit award, the gold medal award and the Clark Summers award for this structure.

      Outside of the structures and the special event competition, no other models were submitted. This led WMRC President to comment in his column in the May issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club:

   "At our club spring open house we had only a handful of members enter models in the model contest. Even the Special Event had a small turn out with only 5 members entering models. I have to wonder, has modeling become pass� in model railroading? Should the club continue to have a model contest? We have tried to encourage members to bring out their models to meetings by having the monthly model display with a cash prize. This is awarded in a random draw. The people entering are almost always the same few. An open question to the membership - SHOULD THE CLUB CONTINUE TO HAVE A MODEL CONTEST?"

     This has been a continuing problem, not only for the club, but for model railroading in general. Many of our finest modellers have passed away, and they haven't been replaced by younger members. Model railroaders can now buy structures that are fully assembled and weathered at a very reasonable cost. Quality rolling stock is now usually cheaper than kits. This makes model railroading less labor intensive, but if this trend continues, we run the danger of having all of our model railroad looking exactly the same.

   For reasons that can't be explained, the WMRC blog post about Ron Einarson's old time coal conveyor has consistently been one of the top posts of this site. Hoping that lighting will strike twice, this post features his latest effort in modeling a few more old time coal conveyors, submitted at the model display at November's meeting.

    Ron found three more Walthers kits hanging around in his place (also for reasons that can't be explained). He painted them right on the sprues so he could easily clamp in an upright position to dry. Then he trimmed the sprues and touched up any areas that were missing paint.

    He used "Krazy" Glue (Cyanoacrylate), as it dries much faster than styrene glue. After letting everything dry fro a day or two, he gave the models a dusting of black chalk dust to give them a used appearance. They're a perfect compliment to the coal trestle display he exhibited at last year's model contest at the WMRC open house last March!

In the November issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC, member John Longhurst authored a moving article about his late brother-in-law Ken Epp's layout, the Cougar River Subdivision. Unfortunately, this publication is only available to members of the WMRC. But you can still view Ken's layout on-line on two links!

The first link is from the Sweden Freezer website. This site was the on-line home of the WMRC until Bill Taylor's passing last year. Bill created and maintained this website for the club, starting at the time when not many of us even had computers, not to mention internet access. The site for his business still exists, but links have been created to re-direct viewers to the new websites for the WMRC and the AVR. However, the link to view Ken's layout still exists! It was last updated in 2003, with several images taken by our own Ron Einarson. View it by clicking here. 

The other site to view Ken's layout is at John Longhurst's own website, the Manitoba and Minnesota subdivision. You can view his tribute to Ken and see several images of his layout by clicking here. 

    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.

    This is a hilarious (and somewhat painful) short sent by long time WMRC member Ron Einarson about how a man's obsession with building his model railroad gets just a bit out of hand. This is one of a series of shorts made in the 40's and 50's featuring a character named Joe McDoakes, who gets into all sorts of trouble following his desires. There were over 60 shorts made, all with the titles beginning with "So You Want To......."

     If the voice of Joe McDoakes sounds familiar, that's because the actor, George O'Hanlon, was also the voice of George Jetson!

     This short is a little over eight minutes long, but please watch it all the way through, and look out for that surprise ending! It is strongly advised NOT to watch this with your spouse. Click here.

    Could we see Rod Stewart riding on the AVR this weekend? Who knows?

   Everyone knows that Rod Stewart is not only a legendary world class rocker, but he's also a model railroader! In the model railroading community, he's almost as famous as Ron Einarson or John Longhurst!

   Tonight  Rod will be in concert along with Carlos Santana at the MTS Centre. This man commands large crowds wherever he performs in concert. When he's not performing, he lives year round in Hawaii. So why would he pick this weekend to perform in this mosquito ridden backwater?

   There can be only one answer - he must've heard about the AVR's open house this weekend! Maybe he read this blog for the information!

   We don't know for sure if he's going to be there, but the only way to find out is to go there yourself! It looks like it's going to be a wonderful weekend for riding the trains! The hours for the open house are from 11:00 to 5:00 on Saturday, and from 1:00 to 5:00 on Sunday. It costs a measly two bucks a ride, and kids under three can ride for free. A 12 ride rail pass is available for $20, which is good at any AVR event.

   The Assiniboine Valley Railway is located at 3001 Roblin Boulevard, right next to Assiniboine Park. If you see Rod there, remember that you read it first right here! But even if he isn't there, you're guaranteed a great time riding the rails!

   Please not the the AVR has a new website, which you can reach by clicking here. 

              Are the meetings at your local model railroading club beginning to look like this?

   There's no doubt about it - model railroading needs more younger members! The greying of our hobby has been happening for a long time, and it's epidemic all across the country. We saw it coming in the 80's and 90's when we saw the younger generation's fascination with video games.

    The baby boomers were the last generation to fully embrace the hobby, mostly because they grew up with model railroads. Attendance in the WMRC spiked and thrived in the 80's when boomers such as Larry Leavens and Ron Einarson joined the club. These members were in their 30'swhen they joined, and they continue to make important contributions to the club. But now these boomers are in their 60's, and there are very few younger members joining. Membership has been declining in every model railroading club.

   Mind you, there's still a lot of life in the old codgers. The rebuilding of the Gateway Western, which included building a vary large structure to house the railway, was mostly done by members of the WMRC and the Winnipeg Railway Museum who were in their 60's, and even in their 70's!

    The WMRC has younger members, such as Ian Plett and Suzanne Lemon, who have done wonders for the club. Their enthusiasm has truly revitalized and inspired us. We need more just like them!

    Attendance the Manitoba Mega Train Show and the WMRC's spring open house has showed us that interest in model railroading is still very strong. We get many young families in to view the trains. But they're not joining!

   Our only hope for survival is to have more younger members. But where are we going to get them?

    Ron Einarson reaches deep into the bucket held by Morgan Turney to select a winning ticket.

   What makes the WMRC banquets so much fun are the prize draws - and we have lots of them!

    We start off with the door prizes. Every guest receives a free ticket. There are several prizes available, including some "non-rail" items. Then we have the elimination draw. This draw actually works in reverse! The very last ticket drawn wins the prize! There were lots of moans and groans to be heard as Morgan read off the names of the ticket holders who weren't called last!

    Our last prize draw had lots of tickets. Guests purchased an arm's length of tickets for five bucks. Just to keep things fair (as some have arms longer than others) WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich sold the tickets and used his own very long arms to measure the tickets!

    The "arms length" is measured as such: The person holds the end of the ticket roll by their fingertips, then turns their head away and pulls out the ticket roll until it touches the tip of their nose. Then the tickets are torn off at that point.

   It should be pointed out that Paul doesn't have the longest reach in the club. That honour belongs to Robert Weaver. But Paul does have a larger nose.

    There were tons of prizes, and most people walked away with something. There were even gift certificates from Home Depot and Canadian Tire, good places to buy all the wood, screws, nails and glue you need to build your layout!

   What do Meryl Streep and Ron Einarson Have in common? They're both about the same age, very  good looking, extremely talented and multiple award winners!

    At this year's open house, Ron walked away with more awards than we could count, and he deserved every one of them. If you wish to see him receive all of these honours (or just to see how he's going to carry them all away to his car), then come to the WMRC's annual banquet!

    The WMRC annual banquet will be held May 9, at 6:00 PM at the Canad Inns Windsor Park, located at 1034 Elizabeth Road in St. Boniface. Come out for the delicious buffet at Aaltos Garden Cafe and help us celebrate another rewarding year with the presentation of awards for modelling and photography (yes, there were others beside Ron who won some awards) and the always popular prize draws.

    There will be no advance tickets. All you have to do is pay for your meal before you leave. Meryl Streep will not be in attendance, but it's still going to be a fun night! Hope to see you there!

     Anybody got a wheelbarrow that Ron can borrow so he can take all of his awards to his car without making a second trip?

   Ron Einarson has done it again! Is there no stopping this man? For the sake of the hobby, we hope not! Pictured above is his second of three entries he submitted for the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's February model display. God bless him, he even provided his own copy on how he built it, saving the blog editor a bit of time and effort!

By Ron Einarson

   The model started out as Old Time Coal Conveyors kit # 933-3520 from Walthers. I painted the parts flat green right on the sprues. I was able to clamp them in an upright position to dry. After trimming the parts from the sprues, I touched up the areas that were missing paint.

   I followed the instructions included in the kit and the construction went well. The only thing I would suggest is to use �Krazy� Gel Glue to put it together, as I found styrene glue took to long to dry. I find �Krazy� Gel Glue sets up faster and harder, and my hand doesn�t cramp holding it in line!

   A couple of days after it had dried, I dusted the pieces with black chalk dust to give it a well used appearance. This new addition will look great with the coal trestle display I constructed and displayed at a recent model display at the WMRC.

South Madisonville Extension

By Ron Einarson

   The South Madisonville Extension was built exactly as the prototype around the 1950's & 60�s, following construction methods at the time and with all the associated equipment and transitions from Madisonville to points south.  The display is typical of those along the L&N lines built during that period.  The display was built with the idea that it was getting towards the time when repairs & painting might be in need.
 
   I started with a 1'x8' pine board and added track, scenery and a line side MOW facility. I added a turnout that connects the mains through town with the single track southbound. The area is set as a rural area with pastures for cattle and some scrub brush land paralleling the right of way. I used a piece of 1'x8' lumber six feet long for this section with a 1'' piece of Styrofoam glued on top that I painted brown. Next I laid the Atlas flex track and one #6 Atlas turnout on top of cork roadbed. I carved out ditches using a cordless Dremel tool, various files and knives. All this was done outside with my Shop Vac handy. I touched up the exposed Styrofoam with brown paint.
 
   Next came some ballast and ground foam glued down with diluted white glue. I used coarse foam and foam clusters to add a rough look to some of the area. On the right side I fenced off an area for cattle, using bamboo skewers stained with my steel wool stain and cut them to size. Next I strung the nylon thread along the fence using fine fishing line, which I stained by dragging a cloth soaked in Polly-S Rust along the line. I added the cattle, an old bathtub with resin water in it for watering the cattle, trees, some junk parts & pieces plus a still.   
   At the turnout I added a shed, vehicle, motorcycle (custom built & painted), Acetylene tanks (hand painted) and a parking area with gravel and added lots of junk parts details and a MOW crew. Telephone poles (bamboo skewers made with RIX cross arms) were added along the right of way as well as trees and bushes. Also added was a gravel country road with a wood board crossing.

   I'll be adding a backdrop created using personal photos I stitched together on the computer to create the 6 foot long rural mural.  I printed it on a colour plotter. I'm going to mount it on a 1' x 6' piece of Masonite and paint it sky blue. Lastly, I added some junk parts and pieces around the area to give it more of a lived in look. Besides the fenced cattle area, I added a forest area with scratchbuilt trees from Spirea & Sedum bushes, dirt from the garden covered with various textures of ground foam (both homemade as well as commercial). I added lots of underbrush details with broken twigs and piles of rocks, etc. to add depth to the area, plus a moonshine still that I built from an old cast metal kit. I crushed up some fine shale I had found along the road at the lake, sprinkled it in one of the ditches to add support to roadbed. I then took some Poge material my daughter Louise had during her younger days and applied about 10 coats to give an appearance of water in the ditch.

   One the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's most talented and skilled modellers is Ron Einarson. Is there anything he can't do? Give him some steel wool and he'll knit you a Volkswagen. He'll even make the seats out of scrap pieces of sheet styrene and ground foam! If there's any steel wool left over from that project, he'll use it to make some wood stain!
 
   Holding just one clinic at the club's annual Klinic Karnival wasn't enough for Ron. He held four at the same time: Working with wood, weathering wood, building wood On30 freight cars, and making telephone poles from bamboo skewers! He must've gotten some mighty good grade in woodworking shop in high school!

    Ron is the holder of a plethora of awards from the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club and the NMRA which are too numerous to mention. But the one he's proudest of was the WMRC President's shield, which was awarded to him for his tireless volunteer service. He's served on the board, was the editor of The Lantern, held a staggering number of clinics and had his hand in every model railroad convention that came to town for many decades!

     Ron is also a loyal and steadfast member of the NMRA. He served as President of NMRA Canada,  and he will always be remembered for keeping the No. 1 Northern Division alive for so many years until it was reorganized in 2008.

    Ron never fails to greet you with a smile and a handshake, and dispensing good advice about the hobby that he loves is part of his nature.  Now that he's retired, this grandfather-to-be has a bit more spare time to earn his MMR!

   CP veteran Dan Kollesavich gave an excellent presentation on the history and usage of the telegraph at the Winnipeg Model Railroad club's meeting on November 8. Dan started working for the railroad in the 50's, when the telegraph was still in use. Both CN and CP Rail finally stopped using the telegraph in 1970. By then, it was only used for communication with rural stations. Dan also gave a demonstration on how it worked by clicking out "Winnipeg Model Railroad Club" in lightning speed!

   Before Dan's presentation, Suzanne Lemon demonstrated how to dry brush a laser cut wooden kit.

    There were also some very fine models shown for our monthly display run by the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division. WMRC members Ron Einarson, Ron Lundy, Morgan Turney, Larry Leavens and Suzanne Lemon all exhibited their latest creations.