new design train model

   Long time WMRC member supervises the running of the trains of the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group at the WMRC's annual spring open house.

 The WMRC would like to extend a very big THANK YOU  to everyone who attended our spring open house this weekend at the Charleswood Legion! We had a lot of very happy folks who love trains drop by. A lot of them stayed for hours, but that's okay - it's even encouraged!

    There sure was plenty to see! All of the popular gauges, from Z to G were on display, and there was even a display of rolling stock from the Assiniboine Valley Railway! Two big modular railways - the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group and the Kildonan Short Lines were up and running at the show. There were also two N gauge layouts, the ever popular Lionel "giraffe car" layout, plus the displays of the WMRC model and photo contest winners. Our charity of choice, our good friends at St. Amant, were also there with a big display.

    The good folks at the Kildonan Short Lines modular railway had lots of trains up and running!
   Frances South and her brother James were on hand to help volunteer with their mom running the canteen, and to help run the Lionel giraffe car layout!

   The WMRC would like to thank the Forum Art Centre for once again publicizing our spring open house for the second year in a row, without even asking them!

   Please note that the Forum Art Centre is also holding an event the same time the WMRC is holding their open house. They will be holding their Flea Market Fundraiser. They'll be selling everything but large furniture and clothing. There probably won't be any trains, but that's what you come to the WMRC open house for!

    However, we won't be selling any trains at our open house. But there will be lots of displays, exhibits and contest results! So why not go to both events?

    The WMRC open house will be held at the Charleswood Legion, 6003 Roblin Boulevard on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29. The hours are from 11AM to 4PM on both days. The Forum Art Centre's Flea Market Fundraiser will be held at their studios at 120 Eugenie Street from 10AM to 4PM on Saturday, March 28 and from noon to 4PM on Sunday, March 29. For more information about the Forum Art Centre click here.

   WMRC Past President Suzanne Lemon won the club's March photo contest with her image of an eastbound CP intermodal streaking  through Gull Lake, Saskatchewan on the eve of April 23, 2012. AC4400 9654 leads the train.

   The artistic image was captured with a combination of a slow shutter speed at 1/6 of a second and use of the flash in Rear Curtain Sync Mode. The flash fires at the end of the exposure, rather than at the beginning, therefore capturing some sharp detail in the subject, while the rest of the locomotive and its train is a blur of motion.

   Suzanne won a cash prize for her image, and the image was published on the cover of the March issue of The Lantern, the official publication of the WMRC. For next month�s contest, the theme is anything to do with RUSTY equipment.

The Moose Jaw Thunder Creek Model Railroad Club will be holding their annual train show in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on March 21 and 22, 2015.

   The show generally draws around 1000 people over the two days. It is held at the Moose Jaw Western Development Museum, History of Transportation. The Museum�s collection includes a number of railway artifacts such as Canadian Pacific 4-6-2 locomotive 2364 and a 1913 combination car. The show is spread throughout the museum�s collection.

  If you have any questions concerning the show please contact Stirling Millar at stirling.millar@live.ca or Bud Guidos at bguidos@sasktel.net

NOTE: This document was created in 1999 in order to present a more comprehensive and detailed account of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's model contest rules. It is being published on-line for the first time to provide access to all of our members and to the general public.

Contest rules

Revised January, 1999

1. SCOPE
a. It is the intent of this publication to list, define and clarify the contests authorized by the Winnipeg
Model Railroad Club Inc. (WMRC).

b. Contest Events
(1) Model Construction Event
(2) Photo Contest Event (rules for this event have been posted previously and are not included in this document)

c. General Rules
(1) Any member of the WMRC in good standing is eligible to compete.
(2) The WMRC can assume no responsibility in the event of loss or damage to an entry and no
insurance will be carried by the WMRC. Reasonable precautions will be taken for the protection of
all entries and exhibits.
(3) Each entry must be accompanied by a properly-completed official entry form signed by the entrant or his authorized proxy.
(4) Judges for the contest events will be selected by the Contest Chairman. All decisions of the judges
will be final.
(5) The Contest Chairman shall establish the time limits for entering models and their removal after
judging.
(6) Entries will be grouped by categories.
(7) Entries which have won a Contest Award for a model in a previous WMRC contest or a First Place in a previous WMRC Photo Contest cannot be reentered. A Contest Award is considered for the
purposes of this rule to be any of the trophies listed in the Club Handbook.
(8) Any entrant winning a first in a specific category for three successive years will not be eligible to
enter that category for the following two years. This restriction shall not apply to special events.
(9) The Contest Chairman shall furnish The Lantern (the publication of the WMRC) with the list of
winners.

2. MODEL CONSTRUCTION EVENT
a. Entry Instructions
(1) There shall be no restrictions on the number of models entered by a single contestant.
(2) Complete the official entry form as accurately as possible including name, WMRC number, category and model identification.
(3) On this form, list briefly all pertinent information which will describe the model to the best
advantage.
(4) On this form, identify whether the model is scratch built or built from a kit.
b. Supplemental information to verify or identify a point may be submitted with the entry form. The
judges are, however, under no obligation to consult the supplemental information.
c. All scales will be combined within the various categories. There will be no divisions based on the scale of the models.

d. Categories
(1A) Locomotives � Steam: All types of road and yard steam locomotives.
(1B) Locomotives � Others: All types of road and yard locomotives, including diesel, electric and gas electric, excluding steam.
(2) Passenger: All passenger train and passenger carrying cars, including combines, baggage, express
(except reefers), RPO�s, streetcars, rail buses and dayliners.
(3) Freight: All revenue�earning freight cars, including express reefers.
(4) Non-Revenue: All non-revenue cars, including maintenance-of-way, cabooses, snowplows, cranes, wrecking cars, rail inspection cars and dormitory cars.
(5) Structures: All buildings, bridges, coal docks, water towers, interlocking towers, stations, tool sheds, ice platforms, freight sheds and roundhouses as long as they are not on a scenicked base.
(6) Displays: Anything with a scenicked base, usually including any of the following; buildings, track,land, trees, trucks, cars, people, weeds, junk and activity.

e. Judging
(1) The Contest Chairman shall act as Senior Judge, issue instructions to Technical Judges, clarify points of question, fill in for Technical Judges so they do not have to judge their own entries, break ties and tally up scores from the individual factors.
(2) The panel of five Technical Judges shall determine the score points, one judge for each of the five
factors, in conformance with the judging guide and point schedule patterned after National Model
Railroad Association (NMRA) rules.

f. Factors
(1) Construction: This factor deals with the apparent workmanship of the builder. Proper handling of
materials, applied labour, skill and craftsmanship as demonstrated by the construction of the model
is considered, including cutting, shaping, fitting, gluing, soldering and casting.
(2) Detail: This factor deals with the refinement of the model. The number of subordinate parts added
and the complexity of the model is considered.
(3) Conformity: This factor deals with what is commonly called prototype practice. Logical construction and application of parts is considered to be conforming to prototype practice, even though there may not actually be a prototype, Proper dimensions are considered in this factor.
(4) Finish: This factor deals with the general appearance of the model as reflected by surface treatment to achieve a specific effect, through the proper use of finishing materials, and proper application of lettering, either decals, dry transfer or hand lettered. Painting, aging, weathering and special effects are considered to be part of the finish.
(5) Scratchbuilding: This factor deals with all parts of the model which have been fabricated by the
builder. Preformed wood and metal are considered basic material for scratchbuilding. Being
scratchbuilt is no automatic assurance of extra points, but the builder is rewarded for scratchbuilt
work that is well done.

g. Point Schedule
(1) Construction 0 to 40 points
(2) Detail 0 to 20 points
(3) Conformity* 0 to 25 points
(4) Finish 0 to 25 points
(5) Scratchbuilding 0 to 15 points
Maximum possible total 125 points
    *Without documentation, maximum conformity score is 15.

h. Scratchbuilding Point Sub-schedule

(1) Motive Power:
i. Completely scratchbuilt except motor, gears, drivers, wheels, couplers, trucks and light bulbs 10 to
15 points
ii. Mostly scratchbuilt except as above plus locomotive and tender frames, pilot, smoke box front,
main and side rods, and cylinder block.
5 to 9 points
iii. Partly scratchbuilt except as above under (i) and (ii) plus valve gear, domes, stack, marker lights,
pumps, brake rigging and other commercial parts
0 to 5 points

(2) Cars:
i. Completely scratchbuilt except trucks and couplers
0 to 15 points
ii. Partly scratchbuilt except as above plus seats, cylinder, reservoir, triple valve, ventilators, latches,
turnbuckles, hinges, ladders, diaphragms, platforms, steps, grabirons, plastic and metal window sash
and other commercial parts. All metal and plastic shapes exempted
0 to 9 points

(3) Structures:
i. Completely scratchbuilt except light bulbs and wiring
0 to 15 points
ii. Partly scratchbuilt as above plus metal and plastic doors and windows, figures and animals, interior
fittings, grass, gravel, etc. All wood and plastic sheet and shapes are exempted
0 to 9 points

i. Awards
Best-in-Show, First Place in each category, Kit Award, Initial Modelling Achievement Award and Junior Achievement Award winners will be presented with a Club Contest Certificate, a small engraved plaque to keep permanently and the appropriate Club trophy to keep until the April meeting of the following year. In addition, all Second Place and Honorable Mention Winners in the various
categories will be presented with a Club Certificate. All winners will be announced at the Contest Open House and all certificates, plaques and trophies will be awarded at the Annual General Meeting and Banquet.

(1) Best-in-Show: The model scoring the highest total points shall be declared the winner of the Best-in-Show Award, and shall be removed from further competition in its category.

(2) Category Awards: Except where there is only one entry, the entry scoring the highest points in each category shall be declared First Place winner. The entry scoring the second highest total points shall be declared the Second Place winner. At the option of the Contest Chairman, further Honorable
Mention awards may be made for the entries scoring within a few points of the second place. Ties
will be avoided if at all possible. Where there is only one entry, a First Place or Honorable Mention
may be made at the discretion of the Judges dependent upon the quality of the model.

(3) Kit Award: This shall be made to the entry scoring the highest points in the Model Construction
Event which:
(a) was built from a kit.
(b) did not score more than 5 points in the scratchbuilt factor.
(c) did not win Best-in-Show or First Place in any Category.

(4) Initial Modelling Achievement Award: This shall be made to the modeller achieving the highest
points in any category in the Model Construction Event who:
(a) has never won Best-in-Show, First Place in any category, the Kit Award or this Award in any
previous WMRC Model Construction Event.
(d) does not win Best-in-Show, First Place in any category or the Kit Award in the current WMRC
Model Construction Event.

(5) Junior Modelling Achievement Award: This shall be made to the junior modeller achieving the highest points in any category in the Model Construction Event who does not win Best-in-Show, First
Place in any category, the Kit Award or the Initial Achievement Award in the current WMRC
Model Construction Event.

   Our members have requested that the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's model contest judge's score sheet be posted on-line for immediate access any time of the year. This score sheet is usually printed just once a year in the print and on-line PDF versions of our official publication, The Lantern.

   This post will remain as the top post of this blog site until Wednesday, March18. After is it no longer visible on the page, you can access it by scrolling down the page until you reach "access this blog", located on the right hand side of the page. Just type in score sheet or model contest judge's score sheet, and the form will appear.

  Do you want to create an award winning model? These valuable tips will show you how!
 
By Morgan Turney - WMRC Model Contest Chairperson

So, You Want To Enter A Model In The Model Contest - Here Are Some Tips To Help You Get That Trophy!

The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club hosts its annual model and photo contests each year at the club's Open House in the Spring. Why does the club have these events? It has been a tradition in the club since its beginnings and the club, over the years, has developed trophies to honour modelling achievement. It's an opportunity for Club members to highlight their modelling skills to others and learn to produce better models through an achievement program.

Many modellers enjoy showing and sharing with others the models they have built throughout the year and this is their opportunity to do so. In order to select which models in their respective categories are trophy winners, a points system is used which the club has adopted from the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA). The NMRA standards of achievement are high. However, there are some easy 'rules' to follow to earn the points necessary to earn a trophy.

Categories

I'll begin with the categories that are judged. These include steam locomotives (includes shays, climaxes, etc.), diesel and other locomotives (other being electrics, self-propelled, etc.), passenger cars, freight cars, non-revenue cars (cabooses, M of W, work cars, etc.), structures (buildings, water towers, coal tipples, etc. not mounted), displays (modules, scenes, etc. mounted) and a special event category (each year, the Special Event changes). Trophies are also awarded for the best model built from a kit (the kit can be from any of the above categories); the best model entry in any category for anyone who has never earned a first place trophy (Tyro Award); and the best model entry in any category from a Junior Member (under 16). There is also an award for the model that most represents railroading in general (Clark Summers Award). And just a note here: if your model is mounted on a

All model categories are basically judged in the same way. The idea is to accumulate as many points as you can in the five different sections that the judges consider when awarding points. The five sections are: construction, detail, conformity, finish and lettering and scratch-building.
Obviously, the more work you have put into your model, the more points will be awarded in each respective section. Keep in mind, too, that it's not just one judge that judges your model in all the sections. There are usually 3 or 4 judges, each one looking at only their assigned section. Judge number one will judge only the construction section; judge number 2 will judge the detail section; and judge number 3 will judge conformity, etc. Therefore, judge number one doesn't know what is written in the detail or conformity section. If you have done something to your model that fits into more than one section (let's say weathering), be sure to mention that in detail, finish and lettering and perhaps conformity. The more information you give to the judges (as written down) the more points that judge can award to that section. If there is nothing written down, there can be no points awarded!

Judging Tips

So, what are some 'tips' from the judges that can help you get those points? There are several. First of all, don't wait until you have finished a model before you take a look at the Judges' Score Sheet to see how it will be judged. Study each of the sections to see what the judges look at in each and keep them in mind as you do your model. Fill in the sheet as you go along. Secondly, to the judges, the most important category (other than construction), believe it or not, is the conformity section. After all, you are trying to duplicate the prototype so why not show the judges what you are duplicating? If you supply a photo of the prototype that you have based your model on, that will show the judges that your model conforms to that prototype. If the photo shows a rust streak down the side of a box car, and you added that detail to your model, more points can be awarded because it conforms to the photo. The same with a horn or bell that you moved to conform with the prototype. If you have a photo of the prototype with the bell moved to the underframe, and you modelled that feature, you will get more points (assuming that you wrote it down as being moved). And again, these items can be mentioned in more than on section.

Gaining Points

Each section is allotted a maximum number of points so, as you gain points in each section, you'll end up with more points in the end. If you don't write anything in a section, no points are awarded - the judges can't give points for nothing done. Therefore, try to do something to your model so that you are legitimately able to write in what you did in that section. As mentioned before, much of what you did will qualify to be entered in more than one section.

Let's look into each section in more detail. The construction section is fairly self-explanatory - there are boxes to check-off for the work you performed. This section actually mirrors the scratch-building section so the more you have scratch built on your model, the more points will be awarded. Be sure to write a detailed description of the work performed. Some modellers keep a written record as they make a model so that, when the time comes to fill out the judges' sheet, they already have the work they did written down.

In the detail section, the judges want to know what details you added to your model to make it look more prototypical. Were the details from a manufacturer or did you scratch-build them? If you replaced the front pilot on a locomotive with, lets say a Miniatures by Eric detail part, write it down. If you added a tack board on the side of a box car that wasn't on the original model, that too, is added detail. Also, if you added a decal that wasn't on the model before you started, that also counts. And don't forget your weathering details. If you haven't weathered your model because you want it to look factory-fresh, write it down. But remember, a building or a box car that's 30 or 40 years old doesn't look brand new - put some weathering on it.

In the conformity section, the judges look for how the model conforms with what the prototype looks like. Photos, drawings and plans are essential if you want points in this section. If you have used a magazine article to build your model, be sure to mention that in the written portion and have the magazine article spread-out with the model. If you weathered an engine to conform to a photo of the prototype you have, be sure to write it down. Remember - pictures are worth a thousand words.

In the finish and lettering section, be sure to fill in the boxes that apply to your model and write down how you painted the model (air brush or hand-painted, etc.), what decals you used, how you painted the building's roof, etc. If you made your own decals and applied them, tell the judges. Don't forget to tell the judges how you weathered the model (chalks, paint, eye shadow, etc.) and how it conforms to the prototype photo you provided (see how all the sections fit together?).

And finally, in the scratch built section, tell the judges what you have built from scratch and added to your model. If you bent grab irons and added them on, write that in this section as well as in the conformity, detail and construction sections. If you cut your own logs to simulate a log load, this qualifies as scratch building, too. Anything you added that was manufactured by your own hand is considered scratch built.

In summery, filling out the Judges' Score Sheet isn't that difficult if you follow some of these simple rules. The best part is that now you know what the judges are looking for! The contest judging is designed to help you become a better modeller.

In 2013, the WMRC introduced a medal system to signify achievement. Models are judged on a points-type system as above and the accumulated points determines whether the entry receives an Honourable Mention, Bronze Metal, Silver Metal or a Gold Metal. This basically eliminates the 'category' system of first, second, third and/or honourable mentions, replacing it with non-category achievement. The trophy for each of the categories (steam, diesel, passenger car, non-revenue, etc.) can still be presented but only with the achievement of a gold metal in the category.
All models entered in the contest are judged in the same way and from the scores accumulated. Personal awards (Kit Award, Tyro Award, Junior Award, Clark Summers Award, Special Event Award and Best in Show Award) are still be up for grabs, with or without a gold metal placement.
The point awards for medals are established as follows:

Honourable mention - less than 45 points
Bronze Metal - 45 to 65 points
Silver Metal - 66 to 86 points
Gold Metal - 87 to 125 points.

Each person entering a model is entitled to receive only one metal from each class (bronze, silver, gold) and if a second is achieved, they will receive a recognition bar to go with their metal in either bronze, silver or gold.