During this past weekend the PNR 7th Division held its annual meet at the Cameron Recreation Centre in Burnaby, B.C. This event is a well-organized weekend of public shows, clinics, RPM display hall,layout tours, operating sessions, and prototype tour.
The PGE-BCR Modellers traditionally gather for dinner and social on the Friday night:
After dinner we meet at Greg Kennelly's house to view each other's models and visit Greg's N Scale layout:
In the display hall, Jean Brisson, Paul Crozier-Smith, Bob Deno and Andy Wegmuller provided models for the HO Scale display:
This year our N Scale display grew to five layout display boards with an operating Unitrack layout. Greg Kennelly, David Morgan, Chris Dittmar, Andy Thomas, Mike Mohr and myself all contributed models:
Our layout display boards are designed to promote railway prototype modelling by bringing our layout design and construction efforts to the display hall. Together our layouts span six decades and four subdivisons of the same railway.
Greg is building a layout depicting the Squamish Subdivison in 1952:
David plans to model the same subdivision ten years later in 1962:
My Dawson Creek Subdivision layout set in 1977:
Chris Dittmar is building a double deck layout depicting the Chetwynd Subdivision in 1989:
Andy Thomas is building the Fort St. John Subdivision as it appeared in 2002 (check out his website at
http://nscalefortstjohnsub.wordpress.com/):
On Saturday night I hosted a visit to my layout for the N Scale modellers, which was my first official layout visit by a group:
Andy Thomas ventured inside the helix to run some engines and test my recent wiring work:
Back at the display hall on Sunday, I took some photos of our N Scale models on display, including a 1952 PGE freight by Greg:
and 1960s PGE equipment by David:
I contributed some 1970s BCR equipment:
Phase II RDCs and C-630M by Chris Dittmar:
Kaslo Shops CN SD50F (required for BC Rail coal trains) and Phase 2 RDCs by Chris:
Also a Kaslo Shops combination door boxcar and stake car:
And a Kaslo Shops rotary gondola and Sidney Models covered gondola:
Andy Thomas contributed two GMD SD40-2s with rebuilt steps:
Some of Mike Mohr's PGE/BCR motive power:
Mike's Dash 9-44CWL, a Kato model with Kaslo Shops cab:
The Unitrack layout circling the display boards was amazingly reliable and ran well all weekend. Here is a train of lumber loads with Chris and Mike's SD40-2s up front and mid-train:
On Sunday night our friend John Walter hosted an operating session for the N Scale modellers. John's CN Sassamat Division freelances the oft-proposed but never built connection between the CN and BCR in the Fraser Canyon:
My apologies for the quality of some of the photographs - I was fighting a terrible cough all weekend and didn't have the patience to fiddle with the camera too much.
N Scale was well represented at the show with several operating modular layouts.
We had some special visitors to the show in the form of Bill Schaumburg from Railroad Model Craftsman magazine, and Darren Altbaum of True-Line Trains, both of whom were regular visitors to our tables. Darren announced a major addition to his line of Canadian paints which includes no less than eleven colours for PGE/BCR/BC Rail modellers! He also confirmed the announcement of PGE/BCR eight hatch reefers and more slab side hoppers in HO Scale, and the PGE/BCR newsprint boxcars in N Scale.
Thanks for looking,
Tim
