And now we are two!

For many years, I was the only Canada Atlantic Railway modeller I had ever met. Then for a short while, Ron Newby was hoeing this very long row with me. Then, he found other, more accessible subjects, and then as far as I know, I was the only one again. A couple of weeks ago, Richard […]

Seattle Roadtrip!

It seems like ages since I went for an operating weekend anywhere. However, there are some trips that you simply can’t pass up, and the last opportunity to operate on Al Frasch’s Pilchuck Division was one of those. So this Saturday, seven of us stole across the border at 7:30 AM, counting our blessings that […]

So Long Ed

Last week, I heard that Ed McCamey passed away, and I confess that it rather took the wind out of my sails. Ed was one of the first Proto:87 contacts I made, way back in 1994. He sat behind me at Jim Harper’s clinic on detailing track; when the discussion turned from 1:48 scale to […]

The madness of Chester Machniewski

What an enormous pleasure it was to meet Chester Machniewski today! Here is a man whose welcome and smile were eclipsed only by his fanaticism for model trains. Lots of people have passions, but few take them to Chester’s affectation. As far as I could tell, he does nothing on a small scale. Need a […]

Operations ideas from BC Hydro

My friend, Colin Dover, intimated to me last night that he builds layouts purely so he can have a place to switch. A couple of years ago, he tore out his representation of Vancouver Waterfront to build his “much simpler” Central Park line of BC Hydro. I put “much simpler” in quotes because, well, it […]

Vollmer Mill

At the Halifax and South Shore Railway Museum last summer, The Boy stuck up his hand when the proprietor asked if there were any model railroaders in the group. Later, he intimated that he wasn’t so interested in the railway itself as in the buildings and scene around it. When we got home, he started […]

Cade’s Green

As guest editor for Model Railway Journal No. 250, Iain Rice profiled his own home layout, Cade’s Green. Now, Iain’s is one of the few voices that somehow avoids the stultifying muffle of the American press, even when writing for Kalmbach. So, left to his own devices, his feature article absolutely sings with his rich […]

Reflections on the first layout tour

Well, the Railway Modellers’ Meet is in the can for 2017. Everyone seems to agree that it was a super event. Pembroke was on the self-guided layout tour, which took place today around mid-day. I was still sweeping the silk tree leaves off the driveway when the first guests pulled up, and for four hours […]

Near miss on the Boundary Sub

On Wednesday evening, I had an opportunity to dispatch on my friend Scott Calvert’s layout. His is a timetable and train order operation, just as the real Boundary was. If you’ve never had an opportunity to participate in a TT&TO operation, I encourage you to come to Vancouver for the annual Railway Modellers’ Meet. This […]

Coming Shifts in the Hobby

After visiting the south shore of Nova Scotia, and a dip into New Brunswick to celebrate Grammie’s 100th birthday, we found ourself on PEI. We stayed with our friend Marshall Ouellet, who was Laura’s Katimavik parent before I’d ever considered moving to Vancouver. He also happens to be a model railroader. The only other person […]