From the Dome Car: Train Nine, Track Two (July-August, 1999)




 









It may be hard for some younger modellers to believe, but there was a time when you really couldn’t get quality models of Canadian prototypes. Like the GMD 1, which has been manufactured by Rapido Trains. But in this issue of the Dome Car—number 50—Morgan is excited to share there will soon be an article about how to scratchbuild a GMD 1. (The loco was made available in brass in the 1970s, I think, but models were hard to find later and expensive.) And speaking of issue number 50, Morgan expresses the wish that CMR will be around for 50 more. He just made that mark, publishing 52 more issues before closing it down.

Issue number 50 has finally arrived! The cover photo for this edition is the winning photo from our Modellers' Photo contest (run over the past two issues.) It's fitting that Pierre Dion, who has contributed his time and talents to the magazine over the last number of years with his fine model photos and articles, has the winning photo on the cover. The remaining winner's photos appear in the Modellers' Photo section of this issue beginning on page 28. 

I want to thank all those that sent in their model photos for the contest, especially the first-time contributors. It's through your efforts as contributors that Canadian Railway Modeller magazine continues to present the Canadian modelling scene to our readers. 

As mentioned in the previous issue, we have one other 'event' happening in celebration of reaching our 50th issue. You'll remember that, as a tribute to our 50th issue, we were given the 50th print of 150 of David Oram's Unique at Danforth, published by Hockley Valley Railroad. A photo of the print is presented here, replacing our usual dome car shot. This beautiful colour print of CNR 6258 is 17 3/8 x 24 I /4 inches and will be given away to one of our many readers. 

To qualify for a chance to win it, simply send us your name, address and postal code on a standard post card and send it to: CRM 50th Issue Contest (at our usual address). Please print or type your entry - if we can't read it, we'll simply draw another card. The deadline for entries is September 15, 1999 and the winner will be announced in the first issue after that date. 

On the article scene, we've been conversing with one of our regular authors who is currently modelling a CN GMD 1 and has consented to doing an article about it for us. After running the GMD 1 two-part prototype article in Train 8, Tracks 3 and 4, several readers expressed an interest in building a model of this unique engine, if only they had some guidelines. There'll be a lot of happy modellers when this article finally appears in CRM's pages. 

And, really, that's what this magazine has been about for the last 50 issues –creating a medium where the contents of each page is on Canadian railroading. I'll say this: It's been a whole lot of fun putting the magazine together (not without a struggle at times, of course). And with continued support we'll be able to continue doing it for another 50 issues! 

As is usually the case with success, there are countless people to thank, both for their contribution and commitment and for their support through advertising in assisting us in getting this far. We have appreciated everybody's efforts. But, in the end, it is you, the reader, that we really want to thank for buying the magazine and supporting the shops and businesses that sell it and make the items advertised in it.

In retrospect, Canadian Railway Modeller over the last 50 issues has created a greater awareness to our Canadian modelling and prototype scene and will continue to have a positive impact on the marketplace. With the advent of so many new Canadian shortline railways, along with Canadian National's acquisition of Illinois Central, the prototype aspects of our hobby can only influence positively the direction our modelling course will take us. 

And that's right where we wish to be - reporting on both the modelling and prototype aspects of our hobby both from the past and into the future. Let's continue the tradition!



 

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 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

From the Dome Car: Train 8 Track 1 (May-June 1998)

Image
  Some Dome Cars are like unit trains, the whole column devoted to one subject or theme. But this one is more like the traditional mixed freight, with a mixture of topics and ideas such as what makes a model railroad “great;” what a great time it was for Canadian modellers with so many products; and news about the bid to host the 2003 NMRA convention in Toronto. The bid was successful, but the SARS pandemic intervened. (Who remembers that?)   What makes a model railroad 'great'? When it comes to greatness in model railroading, we usually think of things such as life-like scenery, fidelity to prototype, operational qualities, detailed locomotives and rolling stock, fine-scale structures and weathering. Often, though not always, size counts too - the bigger the layout, the greater it usually seems to be.   Thoughts about greatness in model railroading came to my mind recently when a friend told me that, after years of dreaming and planning, he had decided not to build ...
Read more