Ready-Made Farms and the Canadian Pacific Railway

At the turn of the last century, the Canadian Pacific Railway had a problem.

It had lots of land in southern Alberta, but it was hard to convince settlers to come to the arid, treeless area to buy it and start their new lives.

So in 1909 the CPR decided on a novel strategy: Ready-Made farms. Just show up and move in!

Settlers from Colorado arrive in Alberta.

I thought about the railway’s unique sales approach after a friend posted a photo of settlers from Colorado on their way to new ready-made homes and farms in southern Alberta in 1914.

It also brought back memories of visiting a replica ready-made barn in the rural district of Readymade, Alberta, near Coaldale, a couple of years ago.

The Readymade community hall.

Settlers who took the CPR up on its offer would find themselves in possession of up to 160 acres of land, fenced and ploughed; a house, shed and barn; and a drilled well and pump house.

The cost? Between $1,300 to $2,500, depending on the size of the land and house.

According to one report, between 1909 and 1919 the CPR developed 762 ready-made farms in 24 colonies of five to 122 farms.

A Ready-Made house and barn.

Very few ready-made buildings exist. One is on display at the Danish-Canadian National Museum in Spruceview, Alberta. A few abandoned structures can be found in the province, as well.

A restored Ready-Made house at the 
Danish-Canadian Museum.

Today, when automation is making it possible to have things made to order, it’s worth remembering that the CPR was doing something similar with its ready-made farms over 100 years ago.

More info, including house and barn plans, at the Archives Society of Alberta.

An abandoned Ready-Made barn near Kildady,
from West of the Fifth Meridian blog.

House plans.

Another house and barn.

(Yet) Another Visit to the Waterloo Region Model Railway Club

No trip to the Kitchener/Waterloo, Ont. area to see trains is complete without a visit to the Waterloo Region Model Railway Club in nearby Maryhill. 

I was there in March for the annual Doubleheaders tour, and made sure to make my last stop at the club.

Although I have seen the layout several times, it always feels like you just can’t go there enough—It’s such an outstanding effort.

After all, who else do you know who isn’t just building a double-deck layout, but a two-story one?

What other layout do you know that has ten helixes?

If you want to read about the layout, including the concept, era and construction, click here to read a previous post.

Otherwise, just marvel at the photos! Click here to visit the club's website.

2017 Doubleheader's Tour: Another Check Off the Bucket List

Charlie Ellis' CNR/CPR/BAR in New Brunswick

I checked another thing off my Model Railroad bucket list recently: I attended the 2017 Doubleheaders layout tour in the Kitchener/Waterloo, Ont. region.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Doubleheaders, it is an annual self-guided tour of local layouts for the public. $8 got you a pass to visit 31 layouts, along with four more in the registration room.

As if that was possible in one day! I managed to see five layouts, including the not-to-be-missed Waterloo Region Model Railroad Club. (Which I saw for the third time.)

Chris Bramble's Central Ontario Sub.

On this page are photos of some of the layouts I visited, along with a few observations about the tour.

First, modellers in southwestern Ontario seem to like to handlay track! Maybe it’s because it’s the home of Fast Tracks, or perhaps there is something in the water.

Peter Wright's Panhandle & Santa Fe

Second, every layout I visited used DCC. I truly am a dinosaur, still using DC.

Third, all of them also employed sound. Fortunately, all kept the sound down low—no loud cacophony from several locomotives operating at the same time.

Fourth—and reassuringly—all of the layouts had a problem or two while I was there. A piece of track where a train would always derail; a pilot truck that kept derailing; a locomotive that wouldn’t work; or some other gremlin-inspired malady.

Mark Van Runt's North Shore Central

I was glad to see it doesn’t happen only to me!

Fifth, it was great to see layouts in various states of completion. We are accustomed to seeing only finished layouts in the pages of the hobby press.

But most layouts aren’t like that; they take years to be “finished.” For long stretches of time they are nothing but track and plywood, with temporary or no structures or scenery.

Sixth, it was also good to peek into a few workshops—that’s where the magic happens! Good to see that other modellers also have lots of projects on the go. It was also good to peek behind the scenes to see staging yards.

Jeff Pinchbeck's CPR Sutherland Sub.

Anyway, it was a great experience; maybe I will be able to arrange business travel to coincide with a future Doubleheader’s tour and visit some more layouts one day.

I hear the ones in Baden are well-worth seeing . . . .

Waterloo Region Model Railway Club

A few more photos from my visits are below.

Video of Layout in a Crawl Space

In 2012 I wrote about how Winnipeg model railroader Dennis Rietze didn't let lack of space in his basement stop him from building a layout--he used the crawl space.

Of course, it took some creative thinking to figure out a way to keep from bumping his noggin' on the beams and duct work, and to avoid a permanent crick in his back.

For Dennis, the solution was rolling chairs, the kind mechanics use. He can wheel around the layout room without fear of getting a concussion!

Anyway, our local cable TV provider has done a video about Dennis' unique layout. Click here to see it.

Model Railrugger, a New Model Railroad "Magazine"

If you are of a certain age, like I am, you began this hobby of model railroading on the floor--likely with a Lionel O gauge layout.

Over time, as we aged and progressed in the hobby, we moved to 4 by 8 sheets of plywood and then, ultimately, to more sophisticated benchwork and, maybe, even double-deck layouts.

But some people can't do that. They lack the space, time or resources to build something more permanent. In those cases, the floor is the only option.

For those people, there is a new "magazine:" Model Railrugger.

Found on Facebook, MRR provides a place for people to show photos and videos of their layouts on the floor of their houses and apartment--and some smiles and a bit of fun, too.

Right now, there isn't much in the way of activity, but maybe that will change as more people discover it.

In any event, running on the floor isn't for me, but it does bring back happy memories of my childhood, watching my Lionel trans run around the living room furniture or through my bedroom.

Enjoy!