Steam on the Prairies, #2: Layouts of Winnipeg

Winnipeg is a great model railroad town for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the number of home and club layouts in the city.

Altogether, there were 20 layouts on display during Steam on the Prairies, the May 28-30 NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention. (There are, of course, many other layouts in town, but not all were open for the convention.) The layouts ranged from N to O, and included a working display of 1930s-era Marx trains. A few are pictured here; more photos can be found on Flickr.

Click here to view a video of Ron Loewen’s beautiful O gauge fall in Pennsylvania layout.



Another reason why Winnipeg is such a great model railroad town is the number of hobby shops that sell trains; we have six, one of which is trains-only and another which is mostly trains (some plastic models). The others all have train sections. What other city of 650,000 can boast that many hobby shops? (Especially in this age, when so many people buy online?)

Then there’s the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, which hosted the convention. At 55 years-old, it is one of the oldest model railroad clubs in Canada.



Of course, being a major railway town helps, too; Winnipeg is host to the transcontinental mainlines of CN and the CPR, and a BNSF branch. It is also 45 minutes east of Portage la Prairie, where the CN and CPR mainlines cross at grade. Being home to the Prairie Dog Central excursion railway, which utilizes one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in North America, is a bonus.

Steam On The Prairies, #1: The Prairie Dog Central

Prairie Dog Central #3, built 1882, ready for
its convention run.

The May 28-30 NMRA Thousand Lakes Region "Steam on the Prairies" convention in Winnipeg was a great success! 146 people registered; compared to other regional conventions, likely a small turnout, but large for the Thousand Lakes region.

In addition to the usual clinics and layout tours, "Steam on the Prairies" featured, well, steam on the prairies. The convention included a ride on the Prairie Dog Central (http://www.pdcrailway.com/), one of the oldest regularly scheduled operating steam-powered trains in North America.

The convention special was headed by 4-4-0 No. 3, built in 1882 in Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It pulled a combination car and three coaches; none of them were built before 1913.

The PDC also owns GP9 #4138, built in 1958 for the Grand Trunk Western.

The afternoon started out sunny, but later it poured buckets; after dropping convention participants off at the Hitch n' Post, a restaurant along the line, #3 went back to the station for water. But the coal in the tender turned to porridge; the crew could barely keep steam up. The GP9 was used to bring convention-goers home from a banquet.

Over the next few posts I'll share more about the convention. More Prairie Dog Central photos below and on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/21943269@N07/sets/72157624193232302/


GP9 #4138 brought convention-goers home.


Coach #104, built in 1906 by the Crossen Coach
Company for the Canadian Northern Railway.


It rained buckets during the trip! #3 is turning
on the wye during the downpour.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign . . . on the layout, that is

Signs on the Manitoba & Minnesota Sub.

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.” That’s what the Canadian group Five Man Electrical Band sang in their big hit in 1971.

There are also signs everywhere on the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision. But, unlike in the song, my songs aren’t “blocking out the scenery” or “breaking my mind.” My signs do the opposite—they inform and, hopefully, enlighten visitors.

One thing I have found during layout tours is that a) I can’t keep an eye on the trains and answer everyone’s questions when there are so many people in the room and b) I have to answer the same questions over and over again. (How did you make your trees? What is the height of your levels? How did you make those rocks?”)

I like talking to people, but I just can’t keep up. That’s where the signs come in.

Prior to a layout tour, like the one happening May 30 during the NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention here in Winnipeg, I tape signs to the fascia around the layout. The signs tell people about scenery techniques, how I made buildings, what's behind those windows, the length of the mainline run, the concept behind the layout, how to find a mirror, etc.

It’s a simple and easy way to help people get the information they need—and keep me from going crazy.

Like a work of art, a layout is supposed to speak for itself. With all my signs, the M & M Sub. really does!


Another sign on the layout.

Rapido Trains CP Rail Angus Vans Arrive!

A newly-arrived CP Rail Angus Van.
When Jason Shron started Rapido Trains, I told him I was sorry—sorry I couldn't support him.

Of course, I supported his desire to build one of Canada’s finest model railroad companies, and to bring out the most prototypical rolling stock and locomotives. I just couldn’t support him financially.

Since my layout is set in the mid-1990s in the Canadian prairies, I don’t need the kinds of things that Rapido is best known for—VIA and CN smooth side passenger cars, LRCs, steam gennies or F units.

But, I told him, if you ever bring out a prototypical CP Rail Angus caboose (or van, as they are called in Canada), I’m in.

Well, as most people know, Jason did just that, and today I am the proud owner of two of these fine vans. They arrived just in time for the May 28-30 NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention; they will have pride of place in the engine yard on the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision when visitors come to see the layout—and maybe also get out on the road for a few mainline runs, too!

Easy Coal Loads From Foam

A foam coal load.

Looking for an easy way to make good-looking coal loads? You might be sleeping on it. At least, that's what I was doing. For a long time we used a foam mattress topper—a piece of foam that went on top of the regular mattress.


The foam mattress topper and a load. Loaded
cars in the background.
Eventually, like most things, it wore out. I was going to throw it out when I thought: I could make coal loads out of this!

Of course, I wasn’t the first person to think of using foam to make coal loads. Locally, my friend and fellow modeler Ron Einarson had written about making coal out of foam. When I saw the mattress topper, I thought of his article and knew I could do the same thing.


Unpainted and painted coal loads.
To make the loads, I cut the foam to fit my MDC bathtub gondolas. (I know these aren’t prototypical; the InterMountain coal cars would be much better. I just haven’t been able to persuade myself to spring for the string of 20 hoppers I’d need for my unit train.) Since I model the modern era, my coal loads needed to be flat, which makes this process even easier.

After cutting out the loads, I spray painted them glossy black. When dry, I popped them into the cars. Done!

I used mattress foam, but any piece of one-inch thick foam would do.


Unpainted and painted loads in cars.

As a bonus, these loads are easily removable. On the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Sub., I run them loaded from B.C. to power plants in the east and empty going back.


A final look at a foam coal load.