new design train model

    Heads up, WMRC members! You only have a couple of days to meet the deadline for the March photo contest! Because of the short month of February, the deadline is midnight on Tuesday, March 3, so if you have a railroad photo that captures Lantern Editor Robert Weaver's theme of "Essence of Velocity" (think speed - zoom, zoom, zoom!) Send it to him by then!

   The winner will get their image on the cover of The Lantern (the official publication of the WMRC). They will also receive a minimum cash prize of $15. But if we receive 10 entries or more, the prize money doubles to $30!

    

   If you're planning to attend the 2015 NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention in Thunder Bay this year, you better hurry up and register! There are only 40 spaces available for the Resolute Forest Products tour, which promises to be one of the highlights of this convention.

   The convention is being held from may 22 to 24 this year in beautiful Thunder Bay. There will be a lot of Canadians, including our good friends from the No.1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group, who are bringing their fantastic layout to the show!

   For more information about the convention, go to the TLR website:
http://www.thousandlakesregion.org/#!
You can also e-mail the convention organizers by using this address:
northwoodrails@gmail.com
  

   On our last post, we reported that Minnesotans wishing to enter Canada for the 2015 Northwood Rails convention in Thunder Bay this year can apply for an enhanced driver's license for only $15, which is considerably less than getting a passport.

    For members of the TLR who live in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin, the most reasonable alternative to a passport is a passport card, which you can get for only $55. However, it's only good for travel by land or sea. If you're planning to fly, you would need a passport.

For more information on obtaining a passport card, pleas go to this link:
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card.html

     Every month the WMRC holds a model display. All members are invited to bring whatever they've been working on to the meeting and put it on the table for everyone to see. This is a display, not a competition. A cash prize is awarded, but the winner is selected by random.

    The minimum cash prize is $15. If there are ten entries from ten different members, the cash award goes up to $30.
     The WMRC is very proud of our member's creations, and every model in the monthly display is featured in The Lantern (the official publication of the WMRC) and as often as possible on the WMRC blog site.
 
   Aaron Woloshyn's car started its life the same way that the prototype likely did, as a bulkhead flatcar. He stripped all of the hardware off of one end and removed the whole bulkhead. Then he moved the bulkhead about a fifth of the way into the car and cemented it to the deck. The buttresses supporting it and side structures were made from Styrene. The ladders on the flat end are the ladders that used to be on the bulkhead.

   He painted it with a red/orange colour that  is pretty close to CN colours, the decals came from various locomotive and rolling stock sets. Then he weathered it and made a load from Atlas track.
The prototype can be seen below. That's a pretty good match!

   Our good friends at IPMS Winnipeg (that stands for International Plastic Modeller's Society) are holding their annual scale model contest, titled Valour Con 6, on April 17 and 18 at the St. James Legion, 1755 Portage Avenue. Guess what -  The admission is free!

    On Friday, April 17 there will be an early registration and a "meet and greet" from 4PM to 8PM. Registration continues on Saturday, April 18 until noon. Awards will be presented at 4:30PM.  This year's special contest theme commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. This event has something for every modeller, whether you're a model railroader or not. A model is still a model, and we all work in plastic!

   The IMPS holds regular meetings the first Wednesday of the month through the year at the  St. James Legion. The meetings start at 7:00pm. Skill enhancing demonstrations are a prominent feature at the meetings. The club also publishes a quarterly journal and a monthly bulletin.

    For more information about this club, please go to http://www.ipmswinnipeg.ca

  
   Our good friends at the Selkirk Model Railroad Association are holding two events in April! First, they'll have their popular annual open house on April 11 and 12 at their headquarters at 217 Clandeboye Avenue in Selkirk. Hours are from 10AM to 4PM on Saturday, and from noon to 4PM on Sunday. Admission charge for adults is $4.00. Ages 12-16, $3.00. Free admission for everyone under 12!

   Then they'll be holing their first ever swap meet the following weekend, April 18  and 19, in Stonewall at the South Interlake 55+ Centre, 5 Keith Cosens Drive. Hours are from 9AM to 5PM on both days.  Adult admission is $4.00. Children 12 and under, $2.00. Free admission for children under five years old.

   The table registration deadline for the swap meet is April 1. Tables are $25 each for the weekend. To download a registration form click here. For more info go to: http://selkirktrains.com/