From the Dome Car: Train Nine, Track Three (September-October, 1999)


 












And we’re talking about GMD-1s again! Morgan saw two brass GMD-1s at a train show. He noted they garnered a lot of interest. It made him wonder if any brave Canadian company might make one in plastic. Seventeen years later, Rapido Trains did just that! Morgan also talks about changes to railfanning in this Dome Car, noting that in the old days there were a lot more trains to watch. In 1999, when this was written, trains were already fewer and longer. And then there’s mention of this favourite railfan location at Rennie, MB, one of two places in the province where the CP and CN transcontinental mainlines crossed each other. (The other is a Portage la Prairie, at grade.) And don’t miss the novel way he chose a raffle winner; it involves postcards, a bucket, a fast-moving train and that bridge! 

We have a winning contestant from our 50th issue contest. First though, you may ask, "How' d you determine the winner?" That part was easy. We took all of the eligible post cards (there were several hundred of them) and threw them all off the Rennie bridge toward a 4-litre ice cream pail below. The one closest to, or first in the pail, would win. Unorthodox maybe, but hey, it was a chance to get out of the office. 

(For those not familiar with the Rennie bridge, it's located in eastern Manitoba, where the CN mainline crosses the CP mainline on a steel girder bridge. It's one of my favourite railfanning spots.) 

To make a long story short, one of the cards actually landed in the pail! Which was a good thing because, after the cards were thrown, guess what made an approach from around the corner and toward the bridge? You guessed it—a CP double stack freight train, travelling at track speed! 

Well, the post cards went every-which-way and it took us almost an hour to collect all the cards that were strewn along the track for about a quarter of a mile. But the card in the pail was there to stay. So it's with pleasure that we offer our congratulations to Bill Bresnahan of Niagara Falls, Ontario, who wins the beautiful artist print of David Oram's Unique at Danforth, published by Hockley Valley Railroad. 

We thank all of those that sent in a post card, some with very interesting and witty comments attached. 

And, while I'm on the subject of railfanning, there's something else I've been noticing lately while trackside. With the major railways opting for larger and more powerful locomotives, capable of pulling longer and heavier loads, there are fewer trains out there. We really notice it here on the prairies. Time was, we'd see 12 to 15 trains a day passing by our spot at Rennie. 

While out there the other day, we only saw six trains, one of them being VIA's number I. With CN using Dash 8s, SD60, 70 and 75s, and CP with their AC4400s and SD90MACs—all locomotives rated very high on the horsepower scale—trains are becoming longer, which means they're also becoming fewer. I suspect it's the same both east and west of us here in Manitoba. Even VIA was pulling a long string of cars the other day—three F40PH locomotives and 26 cars! At an average of 85 feet per car, the train was almost a half-mile long! 

There was a time when a train that size would be split in two and run 20 minutes apart. I guess it's a sign of the times. 

And here's another sign of times past. I was at a local railway show a few weekends ago and noticed two unpainted HO scale Custom Brass Canada Limited GMD-1 s for sale. Manufactured in the early 1970s, I was surprised to see one for sale, let alone two. They drew quite a crowd of modellers taking a look at them and finally sold for $250.00 each. 

I'd venture to say that if manufacturer would take on the task of building one in plastic, that the market is there to sell them. How 'bout it, folks? 

And so, another issue has gone to press (as they say in the industry), which makes a lot of people very happy. It won't be too long before the snow will be here and many will be busy, doing their ' thing' in the basement. Keep the snow shovel handy, though, and keep havin' fun!




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 3 Track 3 (February-March 1993)

Image
    A price increase! And not the last time. Prices for everything kept going up; finding a way to balance costs and revenue was an ongoing challenge for Morgan. And we get a report about his plan to give a train set for Christmas to some neighbour boys. New collector cards are coming, and we hear the common refrain again for more articles. Journalism, it is said, is either an act of commission—going to get articles—or collection—waiting for them to come in. The latter approach is less expensive but riskier; that’s the approach Morgan took. Later, when I became involved, I would search out articles and work with authors, trying to keep the hopper full. It was always a challenge. With Groundhog Day behind us, it's only a matter of time now before the snow will be gone and I can drag the BBQ out of the shed and burn up a steak or two! We've had our share of the white stuff this year. On the plus side, the railfanning in the snow and cold was great! Our plans this year in...
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 7 Track 4 (August-September 1997)

Image
Remember when collecting  President’s Choice trainsets was all the craze? Maybe some of you still have them in your basements or attics! When we cleaned out Morgan’s basement after his death, I think he had two of each set there. (Sold to support his widow, along with the rest of his model railroad collection.) Morgan was a big booster of Boris Polakow and his trainsets for Loblaws, seeing them as a way to introduce kids to the hobby.   When we think of manufacturers of model railway products, names like Walthers, Model Die Casting and Athearn quickly come to mind. Chances are you wouldn't include Loblaws in that group, but since 1992 the grocery chain-giant has been one of the largest retailers of model trains in Canada, selling 60,000 specially-produced train sets.   It all started with an idea by Boris Polakow, Vice President of Canadian Sales Development for Lob law's Private Label. As a kid, Boris was fascinated by trains, building three HO scale layouts with his...
Read more