From the pages of Canadian Railway Modeller: Morgan Turney, in his own words

  My first editorial! Celebrating my good fortune at being able to work for CRM. And the start of something that became a regular feature in the magazine: Canadian Railway News. (It eventually led to a prototype magazine called Railfan Canada, which ran from 2009-2013.)   There is also mention of the proposed 2003 NMRA convention in Toronto, which became known as the SARS convention due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak that hit the area that year. But people who attended—I was one of them—had a good time.   That was the last time the NMRA convention was in Toronto. The previous time it was in this country was 1983 in Winnipeg. That was the convention that saw me get back into the hobby after many years absence for university, travels and getting married. Forty-two years and four layouts later, I still am a model railroader—one who had the good fortune of working for Canada’s last model railroad magazine.   When I told a fellow model railroade...

  Introducing—me! With this issue I assumed my new (paid) very part-time role as Associate Editor of CRM, after several years as a volunteer editorial assistant. I’m not sure I liked the announcement of my new role linked to news that the price for the magazine would be going up. But, like Morgan said in the editorial, everything was getting more expensive.  I stayed in that position until 2014, when a new job demanded more of my time. It was a good ride, working with Morgan and relating to modellers in Canada and other parts of the world. It was always satisfying to help people get their modelling efforts in print for everyone to see and appreciate. Sort of like now, when I am remembering Morgan and the contribution he made to this hobby in Canada.   Hardly a week goes by without something being said in the media about the coming of the year 2000. Many businesses and others are preparing and planning for the next millennium. It's no different around here. We'll be t...

  CRM to the rescue! With the demise of Trackside Modeller, subscribers to that publication were given a subscription to CRM. (Does anyone have any back issues?) And Morgan muses about buying an abandoned rail line and creating a short line—no more just model railroading! He also writes about the importance of clubs. The Winnipeg Model Railroad Club, where he was a long-time member, celebrates 70 years this year. I don’t know if that makes it the oldest club in Canada, but it is one of the oldest for sure.   This issue brings you our first feature on Canadian model railway clubs, the Erin Mills Model Railroad Association.   Model railway clubs play a huge role in our hobby, especially to a beginner. They are a place where beginners can begin to get a feel for the hobby and get some answers to the many questions that run through their minds. Veteran's can also get satisfaction from belonging to a club, as is evident in the article.   Of course, belonging to a cl...

“If you have Internet access, take a look at our site and let us know what you think.” That’s what Morgan wrote in 1996 when CRM’s new website was created. Do you remember a time when most people didn’t have access? It wasn’t that long ago—just 29 years. The world sure is a different place today! Morgan also pays tribute to Jack Work, a Canadian who was considered by many to have been a pioneer in the hobby of model railroading. This issue contained an article about Jack by Stafford Swain, himself accomplished model railroader. And Morgan notes the closing of Canada’s other model railroad magazine that year. Yes, there once were two in this country!   In this issue, we pay tribute to one of Canada's exquisite modellers: Jack Work. Jack, who passed away this summer, was well known for his fine modelling skills. His numerous scratchbuilding projects appeared in Model Railroader magazine during the 1950s and '60s long before anybody was producing any models that resembled Canadi...

  In this Dome Car, Morgan provides information about a little-known feature of Canadian railroading: The tree planting car, which he visited that summer. And big news: CRM will soon be on the Web. In 1996, there were an estimated 257,000 websites in the world, so CRM was certainly on the leading edge in that area. Looking back on it from today, it’s cruelly ironic to read how excited Morgan was about that development; it was the Web that contributed greatly to the death of the magazine. Just like you don't need a tree planting car anymore, since everything is online.   Ah, the good old summer time! If you like to haunt the odd railway museum like I do, now's the best time of the year for it.   I heard from our magazine designer Debbie at DM Desktop that she and her family happened upon a 'tree planting car' while camping in the Sandilands area of eastern Manitoba. It sounded like a very interesting car, one of which I'd not heard of before.   So when Jim Mart...

  Along with publishing CRM, Morgan was active in the local Winnipeg Model Railway Club for many years, including helping organize and run train shows. That experience prompted him to find ways to promote other clubs across the country. He puts in a plug for advertisers, and adds a bit of prototype news—some years later, that would become a regular part of the magazine, with yours truly responsible for collecting and writing it.   One aspect of our great hobby that personally appeals to me is participating in our annual Winnipeg Model Railroad Club show here in Winnipeg. Sharing the work load, entering contests and generally helping the public understand what railway modelling is all about is very pleasing.   Naturally, putting on an annual show is not an easy task. Arrangements need to be made for space (assuming your club doesn't have a permanent residence) and members have to coordinate their efforts through an organizing committee to ensure a successful exhibi...

  Model railroad thieves? That’s what has Morgan’s attention in this Dome Car. Hard to believe it would happen, but it did. (And maybe still does.) And the fifth anniversary boxcar is announced, along with a CRM license plate. All ways for him to celebrate the magazine and promote the hobby.   One nice thing about this time of year is that soon the snow will be gone and spring will be here. When I look out my window, all I see are snow-covered streets, bundled-up people and plugged-in cars! Soon, though, the roads will be wet and slushy—if your windshield washer fluid isn't full, you're doomed!   Winter snow and cold does have its advantages though, especially if you're a railway modeller. Those cold and windy nights are spent working on models, building a layout or just enjoying the hobby. Hanging out at the local hobby shop can be fun, too. If you like to railfan, winter offers a different perspective on your subjects, along with the challenge of getting near the ...

  250 articles modelling articles, 175 Proto Photos, 150 Modellers' Photos and countless numbers of book reviews, video reviews, new product reports, letters and events—that’s what was published in the first five years, or 30 issues, of CRM. From concept to product, it was quite a journey for Morgan. One thing he lamented was the aging of the hobby, which was in the mid-50s in the mid-1990s. (I wonder what it is today?) And he expressed his disdain for the Internet, which was just in its infancy back then. (Remember dial-up?) To his dismay, the Internet would continue to be a challenge for Morgan—and ultimately put an end to his magazine dream, as it did for many other print publications.   The last issue of our 5th year has arrived! Train 5 Track 6 is our 30th issue.   Over the past five years we've published around 250 articles connected in some way to Canadian modelling, over 175 Proto Photos, 150 Modellers' Photos and countless numbers of book reviews, video revie...

  "Weekend Warriors”—there’s a term I haven’t heard for a long time! Weekend Warriors is what we used to call people who operated hobby shops out of their homes, selling new products at weekend train shows across the country. Hobby shops disliked them for cutting into their sales since they could sell items so much cheaper due to not paying rent, salaries and taxes. Morgan took the topic head on in this Dome Car, and in a special investigative report in the magazine written by yours truly. (I think this was my first byline in the magazine.)   The ongoing controversy between hobby shops and the so-called 'weekend warriors'—people working out of their homes who sell new model railroad products at weekend shows—was recently brought to our attention here at CRM. It's our policy at CRM not to mention swap meets in Subdivision Footnotes. The column is intended to provide free space to clubs which want to promote their shows.   But a hobby shop owner in southern Ontario i...

  Morgan takes readers to South Africa, courtesy of a model railroad magazine from that country. He mentions a section in that magazine about the prototype; it would be a few years before CRM would include Proto Report—with yours truly as the author and compiler. In the last issue Morgan enthused about this new thing called DCC; in this issue he notes how computers are enhancing model photography—and wonders if it should be seen as acceptable for model photography contests. We’ve come a long way since then!   Many readers will remember the advertisement for the Schreiber Heritage and Tourism Committee that appeared in Train 5 Track 2. The Canadian Pacific model of the ML W S-3 was won by Ken Haun of Kitimat, BC., who told us it's the first thing he's ever won in his life! Congratulations, Ken. I have no doubt you will be very pleased with your prize.   Organizers of the draw informed me that well over 1,000 tickets were sold and that over half of them came from the ad...

Today, DCC is the standard way people operate trains. In this Dome Car, we are taken back to when DCC was just entering the model railroad marketplace. (The NMRA had just standardized DCC two years earlier in 1993.) You can hear the fascination in Morgan's words as he uses it for the first time. As he put it: “It was like I was in total control of running the operations of the locomotives, just as one would be on the prototype.” All he needed was horn and bell sounds, and it would be perfect, he said—something that is, of course, standard these days. How do you think the advancements in digital command control (DCC) will affect future model railroaders and their layouts? I had a sneak preview of what to expect last week, when on my weekly visit to the local hobby shops in town, I had the opportunity to 'play with' the system introduced by Wangrow Electronics called the System One. The Wangrow company is one of four better-know companies producing DCC systems, the others...