From the Dome Car: Train 7 Track 1 (April-May 1997)

 

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 railroader about my new part-time job as Associate Editor for Canadian Railway Modeller, he replied: "Some guys get all the good jobs!" 

He's right, of course; very few people get to turn hobbies into employment (even if it is, in my case, just a few hours a week). But as much fun as it is to write, read and edit articles about model railroading, it 's also a lot of very hard work. 

If you don't believe me, ask Morgan Turney. For six years he's been editor, advertising manager, designer, mailer, bill collector and chief worrier at CRM—the entire staff, in other words. When you consider that other model railroad publications have anywhere from four to 20 staffers, the fact that Morgan has been able to produce a quality publication like CRM for this long is nothing short of remarkable. 

Although he'll be the first to say he enjoys it, the truth is it's also meant hard work and long hours for a very modest income for him and his wife, Carol (who also assists with the invoicing and other financial details). 

Canadian model railroaders owe a debt of gratitude to Morgan. Without his dedication and commitment, we wouldn't have a magazine like CRM to call our own. 

Many people took time to express their appreciation to Morgan at the March 22-23 Toronto Train Show. A number filled out a survey, leaving comments such as "Every issue is better than the last," "Great job!" and "Keep up the great work!" 

Winners of the survey draw were Bill Ryder, Sarnia, Ontario; John Eall, Beaconsfield, Quebec; Dan McLaren, Brampton, Ontario; P. Semple, East York, Ontario; Kenneth Brown, Edmonton, Alberta; and John A Dunning, Missisauga, Ontario. (Yes, it is the Toronto train show, but as you can see people come from across the country to attend it.) Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to all who took time to fill out the survey. 

One of the things we learned from the survey is that a majority of readers want more news and information about prototype Canadian railways. Beginning with this issue, we are happy to provide some of that information with a new feature called Canadian Railway News. We hope this will be useful to those of you who model the current scene. Thanks goes out to Bryce Lee for making this information available to us. As for those many of you who model the transition era, we haven't forgotten you; look for a special regular feature geared to your modelling needs in future issues. 

While thousands of people were enjoying the Show, a few Toronto area modellers were hard at work on a bid to bring the National Model Railroad Association convention to Toronto in 2003. Early reports suggest that the NMRA official in attendance was impressed by the facilities, as well as by the enthusiasm, layouts and capabilities of area modellers. The last time the NMRA was in Canada was in 1983 in Winnipeg; good luck to all in Ontario who are involved in making the bid. 

As always, we welcome submissions. CRM depends on articles from you, our readers. You could say that you are our staff; without the articles and photos you send, CRM wouldn't exist. So keep those articles and photos coming!


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From the Dome Car: Train 3 Track 1 (August-September 1992)

Image
  It’s sounding like a broken record by now: Morgan defending the tardiness of the magazine. Sure sounds like model railroaders had high expectations for getting CRM on time! Through it all, he manages to keep his cool, although I know the criticism weighed on him—he was doing his best at something he had never done before and with many things beyond his control. Like he said in the Dome Car below, it’s significant there’s any Canadian model railway magazine at all.   I've had some interesting mail lately outlining concerns regarding the type of letters we publish from our readers and about CRM publishing late.   To those few questioning our tardiness, I suggest they read some of our past editorials and letters on this matter of being 'behind'. In reality, we aren't behind. Prior to Train 1, Track 1, our Premier Issue, there wasn't a four-colour, glossy, Canadian content, model train magazine published exclusively for those that model Canadian roads! And, it...
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 5 Track 5 (November-December, 1995)

Image
  "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...
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 2 Track 3 (Sept.-Oct. 1991)

Image
This From the Dome Car begins on a sad note with the death of a friend who helped Morgan found the magazine. And a post office disruption caused headaches; for the entire time CRM was published, the post office was a source of many headaches — and one or two migraines! It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a founding member of Canadian Railway Modeller magazine. Ron Ayers, who's exceptional skill and eye for both photographic detail and business practices, passed away on September 10, 1991 after a brief battle with cancer. Ron was instrumental in helping me from the initial planning stages of CRM and gave of his all while he had his health. I have vivid memories of the times we spent together, and the excitement we both felt during the early stages of developing the photographic aspect of the publication. Although Ron was not a modeller or a railfanner, he displayed a never-ending interest in CRM and was always available when things needed to be done or talk...
Read more