new design train model

The WMRC's monthly model display has always had a fascinating showcase of unique and superbly crafted models, and many of them will be posted on this site. But this model of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge modeled by Donald Gordon, submitted for our October meeting,  deserves some special consideration.

   The Portage Lake Lift Bridge, (officially the Houghton�Hancock Bridge), connects the cities of Hancock and Houghton, across the waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

   The original 1959 design by Hazelet and Erdal of Chicago of the bridge�s liftspan had roadways constructed on both upper and lower levels with rails embedded in the road surface on the lower deck. With the closing of the copper mines and the end of rail service in 1982, the railway portion is no longer used.

   This model has only one level and is constructed as a railway bridge. It is HO scale, based on estimated dimensions taken from the photographs. It is constructed from mahogany strips with a steel structural frame.

   And get this - it's motorized! Donald used an auto-mobile window motor which he purchased from the model railroader's unofficial hobby shop,  Princess Auto. Members had a lot of fun operating the brig at the meeting!

   LED lights illuminate the bridge deck, machine rooms and aircraft warning lights.  On Donald's home layout, the bridge crosses over a ship canal leading to a container loading facilities. Power is provided to the track, deck lights and deck signal lights by 3 wire flexible cables that were salvaged from earphones. These  fine wires were difficult to solder but appear to have sufficient current carrying capacity to power the locomotive.

        And here's the real thing! Donald put in a lot of effort to make his model close to prototype.

   The dapper and erudite Steve Boyko, creator of the popular rail fanning blog, "Confessions of a Train Geek" (which has had over 725,000 views), will be giving a special presentation about grain elevators at the WMRC's November meeting, which will be held on Friday, November 14.

   If you're a rail fan living in Western Canada, you know all too well about the importance of these "prairie giants" that dotted the landscape from the Whiteshell to the Rockies. Grain was king in the prairies, and the railroads served every community that had a grain elevator. Sadly, these landmarks have been disappearing at an alarming rate, as grain is now stored in massive concrete silos.


   Besides our usual business meeting ,we'll also have our monthly model display, the ever popular 50-50 draw, and the canteen will be open! After the meeting, there's always pizza at Santa Lucia's on St. Mary's Road!

   The meeting starts at 7:30 PM at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard. You can't miss the place - it's the one with the tank in front of it! Please enter on the west side of the building.

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. 

   Here's something our good friend Zenon Lisakowski sent us. it's a locally produced retrospective film on Winnipeg's  streetcar system. It's well stacked with archival photos and old film footage. This 30 minute film, produced by Jeff McKay and Beth Azore, was originally commissioned for television broadcast by MTS Cable and  has also been screened at Winnipeg's Cinematheque. Click here to enjoy the film!

Our good friends at the Selkirk Model Railroad Association are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a special supper in honour of the late Tom Reeve, who was President of the group up until his death in July of this year. The supper marks the official inauguration of the club's Thomas Wesley Reeve Fund.

The supper will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at the Selkirk Golf and Country Club, 100 Sutherland Avenue in Selkirk. Cocktails start at 5:30, and supper will be served at 6:00. There will be a door prize and several other draws. Tickets are $35 per person, and there are only 100 tickets available.

For more information contact Peter Hall at 204-482-7412 or Joe at 204-795-1952.

    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.