new design train model: free-mo

Showing posts with label free-mo. Show all posts

Friday, 31 October 2014

The National Model Railroad Association's Winnipeg train show is on tomorrow!

Saturday, November 1 is the big day! The NMRA is holding it's first ever train show in Winnipeg, and it's open to the public! You don't have to be an NMRA member to attend! They're going to have lots of layouts, including the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo layout, the Lionel 027 "Giraffe Car" layout, a portable N scale layout, and a G scale layout! There will be clinics and a demonstration on how to run a layout with a cell phone. Try your hand at runing a miniature switching yard with the John Allen Timesaver module!

The fun starts at 10:00 AM this Saturday at Whyte Ridge Baptist Church, 201 Scurfield Road! Admission by donation. Handicap accessible! Portions of the proceeds will be donated to St. Amant.

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

NMRA No. 1 Northern Division Free-Mo group displays at WMRC open house

Neil Carlton runs a freight train on the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group layout at the WMRC's open house. Photo by Paul Ullrich

The NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group displayed once again at the WMRC's annual open house. The layout was a bit smaller than last year's, mostly because there were so many other displays, and only so much space to go around! Still, there was enough room to have some really long trains do some really long runs.

The two loops the group constructed were funded by a grant from the NMRA's Thousand lakes Region (TLR). The No. 1 Northern Division thanks the TLR for their generosity in helping complete this project.

A BN freight rolls down the straightaway, heading for the next loop which will bring it back. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Ian Plett holds a tree modelling clinic at the WMRC open house

Ian Plett is one busy guy! He's an active member of the WMRC and the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group, and he holds down a job as a long distance trucker. While he was helping operating the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo layout at the WMRC's last open house, he also found the time to conduct a tree modelling clinic!

Tree modelling has always been one of the WMRC's most successful clinics. By using such easily obtainable and inexpensive items as twigs, hair spray and ground foam, anyone can make some very
convincing looking trees for their layout. Just look at the beauty Ian created in the foreground of this image!

Sunday, 9 March 2014

NMRA No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group to exhibit at WMRC's open house

No. 1 Northern Division Superintendent Dennis Rietze waves hello to a father and son watching the trains go by. Photo by Suzanne Lemon.

The NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division will once again be displaying their free-mo group's layout at the WMRC's annual open house this year. Free-mo stands for free modular, which is a relatively new concept in model railroading.

According to Wikipedia, Free-mo's emphasis is on flexibility in track design and prototypical scenery and operations. Free-mo was developed with the idea that a set of standards focusing mainly on module end plates would enable faithful modeling of prototype track plans and operations in a modular environment. The length and track configuration of a Free-mo module or module set is up to the modeller. Free-mo modules may be long or short, straight or curved. Free-mo modules may even be composed of several sections, forming a module set.

The No. 1 Northern Division's layout was the largest display at last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show, and it's always a treat to see them run!

The NMRA will also have a display at the train meet. There will be application forms available for those who wish to join. The NMRA is an international model railroading association. Membership give access to regional and national conventions, several publications, and insurance for your model railroad equipment. For more information about the NMRA, click here.

The WMRC's open house will be held on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March16 at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Avenue. Times are from 11:00AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, and from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Admission is by donation. A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to support St.Amant.

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Highlights from the Manitoba Mega Train Show

1700 happy people can't be wrong! The second annual Manitoba Mega Train Show was Winnipeg's best attended model railroad event since the 1983 NMRA national convention!

This is the first in a series of images of the event, which were taken by Suzanne Lemon, the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's photo contest chairperson. Suzanne has been the photo contest chair for seven years. She was also the club's only female president, a title which she held for three years. She's also the editor of Railfan Canada.

Today's images will focus on the No. 1 Northern Division's free-mo layout, easily the largest display in the show. It covered a whopping 40' x 50' of floor space! The Division will be holding their third annual division meet on Saturday, November 2. For more information on this meet, click here.

Pictured below are No. 1 Northern superintendent Dennis Rietze and WMRC treasurer Gary Stempnick at the layout.