You could be a Model RR God!

I’m here at the Railway Modellers’ Meet, babysitting the display room, which was unlocked unspeakably early due to reasons lost to history. As with any good model railway convention, I’m running on fumes due to the sprint to complete my display and the activities of the meet itself. Being the meet chairman, I’ve necessarily missed […]

What will you bring?

Early in my railway modelling life, I was fortunate to be encouraged to join the Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders (OVAR). Monthly through the long frigid Ottawa winters, this club met for dinner in the Nepean Sportsplex, right next to my high school. They’re still going strong after 56 years. As well as a speaker, OVAR […]

Construction Articles

While my mum’s here, and the railroad room is temporarily given over to its guest room function, I’m working on a few articles for Model Railroad Hobbyist. My recent rant about the tedium of North American model railroad magazines is still fresh in my mind, and it’s making me wonder if I can steer clear […]

The privilege of the active

I’m waiting at IKEA for yet more cabinets, this time for the laundry room, and as far as I can tell, unrelated to trains. I have a warm cinnamon bun and a coffee and the self-satisfied glow of being here early enough to have missed the crowds. On the other side of the hall, across […]

Prime railroading time

Last night was our neighbourhood’s annual Progressive Party. Yeah, I did wonder just what kind of neighbourhood we’d moved into when we got the invitation shortly after moving in 14 years ago. It turns out, there is no Ice Storm key swapping on the street as far as I’m aware, but rather it’s a pot […]

Don’t settle for good, go for better

Sometimes, inspiration comes from the strangest places. The Boy brought home a book from the library called “Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy,” Vesa Lehtimäki’s inspiring collection of photographs of Lego Star Wars. You should treat yourself to a look at his Flickr stream to get an idea of the work. Last night, during teeth-brushing, I got drawn right […]

Would you tour this layout?

One of the ways that I lose hobby time is by helping to organize the Railway Modellers’ Meet of British Columbia. This is the local NMRA divisional meet, and consists of all the same things as a regional or national meet, but on a smaller scale, and dare I say a higher quality. This year, […]

Remembering Ken Healy

As I was moving some books around today, a business card dropped out of one of them and fluttered to the floor. Ken Healy has been gone for some years, and I don’t think I ever saw him after I moved away from Ottawa over twenty five years ago. Yet, his card clicking softly to the floor […]

Why are North American Train Magazines so Tedious?

Railroad Model Craftsman arrived on Friday. I haven’t even finished reading the last one, and to be honest, I don’t know if I ever will. It’s been drowning in the pile of books beside my bed for weeks now, occasionally thrusting out a feeble page when I resurrect the book atop, but sinking ever lower. By […]

Colour of the steam age

My cousin Tracey is a fascinating individual. Endlessly curious, inventive and energetic, she is a trove of ideas and discoveries. Knowing that I am interested in the turn of the century, she once mentioned that she had discovered a book of colour photographs taken of Russia before the First World War. Sadly, she couldn’t recall anything […]