From the Dome Car: Train 10 Track 5 (April, 2001)

 

This Dome Car underscores how far the hobby has come, what with an announcement of new Canadian rolling stock and locomotives we all take for granted these days. Along with that, Morgan says there will soon be an article about how to kitbash a GMD-1. He goes on to say that readers shouldn't expect a commercially available plastic GMD-1 any time soon. He was right; the first plastic model of that iconic locomotive came out from Rapido in 2017. And this is my first cover shot, of a VIA unit emerging from a tunnel on my former CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Sub.  

As I look outside today, the snow is gone—finally! Unless, of course, you live in Newfoundland; they'll have the white stuff well into June! That will suit one of our contributors though, just fine. Steve Vallis says that as long as the snow is on the ground, he doesn't have to do yard work and can spend more time getting his layout finished! 

But for the rest of us, spring usually means another new beginning and a resumption of doing 'summer' things. It could be the restart of the railfanning season, the beginning of that garden layout you have been dreaming about all winter or, perhaps, that train trip you've been planning for. No matter what your pleasure, spring is definitely in the air. 

Our hobby is so diverse that, no matter what the season, there is always something to do that's related to it. I know of one fellow who takes his modelling to the cottage with him in the summer. Winnipegger John Morris has been known to have more modelling stuff than food with him when he leaves for the lake; now that's dedication! 

And how many of us plan our summer vacations around something to do with our hobby? A check with some hobby shops around the country indicates that there seems to be a number of new people getting into our hobby. Owners don't seem to know why this is so, but we're all certainly happy to get this news. 

Maybe it was that local mall show where somebody saw the trains on a modular portable layout; perhaps it was the local train show that got them interested; or maybe it was something they saw on the Internet that piqued their interest. No matter; it's great to know that there are new people venturing into our fascinating hobby. 

And, it doesn't end there either; there are more and more new manufacturers starting up, too. And more and more new products for Canadian roads coming to market. Reports suggest that we can expect to see NSC 50' newsprint cars for CP and CN, a Budd RDC-3, and an MLW RS-18, all from Proto 1 000; a GP9 Phase II for CN and CP from Proto 2000; and 40' Canadian-style box cars from InterMountain, among others. These are all good signs that model railroading is not going away. 

On the magazine article front, we have a contributor who has kitbashed an HO scale Athearn model into a CN GMD1 who is prepared to share his modelling talents with our readers. There are many readers who would like to see the GMD 1 produced commercially, but that isn't likely to happen any time soon. So, for that reason, we'll welcome this article with open arms. 

If you have an article in mind that you would like to share with our readers, let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate. 

And so, the end of another dome car. Our next issue will be a special one; it'll be the anniversary of our 10th issue—ten years worth of magazines on nothing but Canadian railway modelling. It's been fun and promises to continue to be for many years to come. 

The commercial says: "Got milk?" We say, "Got CRM?" If the answer is yes, then you're in for more great Canadian modelling!




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