mt club online

    A crowd of enthusiastic youngsters take turns trying their hand at operating an N scale layout at NMRA Canada's train show last Saturday.

Over 250 very happy people attended NMRA Canada's very first public train show last Saturday. Although the show was scheduled the day after Halloween and at the same time as one of the biggest comic book conventions in Western Canada, the event still managed to draw a surprisingly large crowd of train lovers, and raised a respectable amount of money to be donated to St. Amant.

The No. 1 Northern Division's Free-Mo group, which had the largest display at last month's Manitoba Mega Train Show, had the largest display this time as well. The group (dubbed the "blue shirt guys" by the show's visitors) received many compliments not only for their layout, but their willingness to share all aspects of their hobby and answer any question the viewers had about their group, and of model railroading in general.

Veteran model railroaders Ron Einarson and Rob Gairns held popular clinics. WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich (using his alter ego as "The Giraffe Car Man") wowed the kiddies once again with his hands-on Lionel layout. There was also a hands-on N Scale layout, and a G scale display run by Manitoba Mega Train organizer Maurice Dorge. 13 year old Michael Leader, the group's youngest member,  was also on hand to run the John Allen Timesaver Module.

No. 1 Northern Superintendent Dennis Rietze ran a demonstration on how to run a model railroad with a cell phone. He was also interviewed by CTV News Winnipeg, which ran the segment on their Saturday evening news program. Several NMRA members were also on hand to promote the organization and its many benefits to model railroaders.

It was also great to see a lot of old, new and familiar faces at the show, such as former Elmwood Hobby Works proprietor Vern Gibson. There were lots of families and plenty of kids , who stayed for many hours enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby!


    Ron Einarson held clinics all day, displaying many of his award winning models.


    Lookee here! Could that be our old friend Kent, the former WMRC Lantern Editor with his son, enjoying WMRC blog editor Paul Ullrich's portable Lionel display? It sure is!

       Two of the "Blue Shirt Guys" (not to be confused with the Blue Man Group), Alan Graham (Centre) and No. 1 Northern Treasurer Sid Greenstone (L) promoting the many benefits of NMRA membership at  the show.

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is getting all sorts of great publicity this year! Last week Maurice Dorge was featured on a Manitoba Moments segment on CTV Morning Live. The clip showcased his compact garden railway, and why no dogs are allowed at Mega Train! You can see the segment by clicking  http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/ctv-morning-live/manitoba-moments.

Each copy of the Monday edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, has a post-it note on the cover about the Manitoba Mega Train Show. With a press run of 75,000 that's bound to get the word out!

Be sure to get up early on Friday Morning because there will be a segment about Mega Train on City TV's Breakfast Television!

Last year Mega Train had over 2,000 visitors, and this year we're expecting even more! The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club is partnered with Mega Train. It is a major source of revenue for the club, and a good portion of our take for this event goes to our charity of choice, St. Amant.

Volunteers are still needed for Mega Train! If you have some time to spare, help is always needed for set-up, take-down, and admissions. Set-up won't start until Friday noon this year, and take-down will start at 5:00 PM on Sunday. The more folks we have helping out, the faster it'll go! You can volunteer by clicking here.

The Manitoba Mega Train Show is being held at the CanLan Ice Sports Complex (formerly known as the Highlander) at 1871 Ellice Avenue. Hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28. General Admission is $5.00. Children ages 3-12 get in for $3.00. Kids two and under get in for free! A family pass is available for $15 for the day.

The 17,000 square feet of fun includes the No. 1 Northern's Free-Mo modular layout, which is the largest modular layout in the province and is a full 95 feet long this year! There will also be the spectacular Lego train display, the ever popular Lionel layout with all of the giraffe cars, a face painter, a balloon artist, 60 vendor tables and the Mega-Train itself! Admission gives you free unlimited rides on the 7.5" scale Mega Train!

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.