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   WMRC members Neil Carleton, Paul Ullrich and Ian Plett show off their spiffy T-shirts (designed by Paul Ullrich) in front of the Richardson grain elevator in Thunder Bay, Ontario at the TLR's 2015 convention. 

   Several WMRC members, who are also NMRA members, left a lasting impression on the rest of attendees at the TLR's annual convention in Thunder Bay, Ontario this year.

    Ian Plett towed the No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo layout to the convention in his own trailer. The layout was set up at the location of the old Thom Thumb Hobby Shop in the Fort William area of town. He was assisted in set-up and operation by Neil Carleton, Dennis Rietze and Michael Leader. It was one of the very few times a modular layout has been set up at a TLR convention, and it was a very popular attraction during the convention's two layout hops on Friday and on Sunday.

    WMRC members also won several awards at the convention's annual banquet. Ian Plett, Neil Carleton, and Margaret Ullrich all won modelling awards. Paul Ullrich won "Best in Show" in the photo contest, and he also won the Bob Dew award for his continued and dedicated service to the TLR.

   Ian Plett and Michael Leader operate the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo layout at the site of the former Thom Thumb hobby shop in Thunder Bay during the TLR's 2015 convention. 
    Ian Plett and Neil Carleton show off the model contest awards they received at the banquet.
    Margaret Ullrich receives her model contest award from Tom Boyd at the convention banquet.

  Paul Ullrich receives the Bob Dew award for his service to the TLR from President Gerry Miller.

    WMRC member Ian Plett took these images of a recent session at the Gateway Western Railway, located in its own structure inside the Winnipeg Railway Museum. As you can see, significant progress is being made on what is going to be the most spectacular model railway in the city!

     The Winnipeg Railway Museum is located on the second level of the Via Rail Station at 123 Main Street. Tuesday Nights are always Gateway nights! That's when the gang gets together around 7:00PM for some modelling, train running, and some good old camaraderie!
   Morgan Turney, completely undisturbed by the pair chatting behind him, concentrates fully on the modelling project at hand. The man is in the zone!

WMRC member Ian Plett has created a truly unique video of the 2014 Manitoba Mega Train Show. He built a car out of Lego and mounted a camera on it! Then he ran it on the No. 1 Northern Division Free-Mo Group's enormous layout (it was 95 feet long - the biggest display in the show). As the layout was just about in the middle of the show, you get a very interesting view of what was going on.  Please note that the video was shot early in the morning while the crowds were still light. As most visitors would attest, it got pretty crowded later in the day! Click here to watch this amazing video!

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is only a month away, and the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo Group is ready to go with their most spectacular layout ever, measuring a staggering 95' x 22'!
Last year, their layout was the largest in the show. It was so large that during set-up organizer Maurice Dorge called No.1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze just to double check that he got the measurements right (he did).

This set-up should be called the long, long layout! Being 95 feet long, it'll provide plenty of room for some long run-throughs! Much thanks to Ian Plett (the driving force behind the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo group) for suppling this plan.

The Manitoba Mega Train Show will be held on September 27 and 28 at the CanLan Sports Centre, 1871 Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg. The hours for both days are from 9AM to 5PM. General admission is five dollars. Admission for children ages 3-12 is three dollars. Free admission for children two and under. Admission includes unlimited rides on the Mega-Train which encircles the entire show. Vendors, a huge Lego exhibit and plenty of model railroads on display. Free parking, handicapped accessible.

   WMRC member Ian Plett took this panoramic view of the Gateway Western with his iphone last week. There is no doubt that this layout is going to become every model railroader's dream! It's hard to believe that  just a little over a year ago the Gateway Western was nothing but a pile of lumber on top of a flat bed truck and a collection of dreams. This shows what a dedicated staff of volunteers can do when they put their hearts and minds into completing something!

   But as you can see, the Gateway is still under construction, and volunteers are still welcome to help finish the job. It's a great way to gain all sorts of experience in skills such as carpentry, wiring, track laying and landscaping. No experience is necessary! All you need is a desire to help out and learn!

    The crew meets every Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM at the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located at the second level of the Via Rail station at 123 Main Street.

   Ian Plett is one busy guy! He's an active member of the WMRC and the NMRA's No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo modular group, and he holds down a job as a long distance trucker. While he was helping operating the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo layout at the WMRC's last open house, he also found the time to conduct a tree modelling clinic!
 
   Tree modelling has always been one of the WMRC's most successful clinics. By using such easily obtainable and inexpensive items as twigs, hair spray and ground foam, anyone can make some very
convincing looking trees for their layout. Just look at the beauty Ian created in the foreground of this image!

It was a battle royal, a fight to the finish, a no holds barred, winner-take-all royal rumble in the basement of Whyte Ridge Baptist Church! Not since the WWE came to town has there been such a cataclysmic clash! There hasn't been such a brutal dogfight since Richthofen and Brown!

On November 2, 2013, the city's top John Allen Timesaver competitors squared off at the No. 1 Northern Division's third annual train meet. Their goal was to win the coveted gift certificate from a local hobby shop and a semi-valuable trophy. Each contestant had to shunt freight cars from one section of track to another through a maze of switches. The one who could do it in the shortest time won the prize!

First up was mighty Morgan Turney, Publisher of Canadian Railway Modeller and Acting Program Director for the WMRC. He threw in the towel after seven minutes and 50 seconds. Next up was Michael Leader, who finished in just under four minutes! Ian Plett was next, tying Michael's time.
WMRC Blog Editor Paul Ullrich was next, coming from way behind with a score for 12 minutes (and he was the one who designed the configuration for the competition).

Ian and Michael faced off in the finals. Michael picked up speed in the second round, edging out Ian with a new record time of just over three minutes! The semi-coveted trophy and the gift certificate was awarded to Michael by No. 1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze.