It has taken a while, but I’m start to build a new network of like-minded hobbyists in Saskatoon. This is important to me, since the social aspects are a big motivator for my engagement with the hobby.
On a semi-regular basis – roughly every month – I get together with Cal, Gordon, and Martin. They’re all great guys: We get along really well and I’d enjoy their company even without the common interest in things that ride on rails. I’m grateful to be part of this group.
Cal is about 15 minutes east of my place and reached out to me when I first moved here. He’s been a wonderful “host” for the hobby in Saskatchewan. He’s introduced me to many people and filled me in on everything from the history of the hobby here to the best places to find supplies or a good lunch. Cal is modelling specific prototype subdivisions in Saskatchewan, in a specific era. In the past year, he has been able to start hosting operating sessions on his layout. Our group has been out a few times to switch elevators, fuel dealers, and forestry companies, and we’re all excited by his plans for this thoughtfully-designed layout.
A friend who is not in the hobby introduced me to Gordon and I’m so glad he did. Gordon lives three blocks east of me and has a spare-room sized HO scale layout well underway. He loves to tinker and has a real talent for restoring old brass steam engines. Cal and I recently enabled Gordon by introducing him to the Van Hobbies CNR O18a – a beautiful 0-6-0 switcher that has aged really, really well. Gordon acquired one, upgraded its motor and added DCC. He’s done a superb job of making it run well and sound great – so much so that he’s now considering upgrading the speakers and decoders in some of his other steam engines.
Gordon did not design his layout with prototypical operations foremost in mind, but thanks to some throttle time at Cal’s place he’s now contemplating how to adapt his layout to host some sort of formal operating session. Cal and I have looked over his layout and this is going to be fairly easy to achieve: The track plan doesn’t really need any adjustments to get started. Mostly, Gordon needs to define jobs for a couple of train crews. Cal and I have been offering suggestions and I’m looking forward to our first operating session.
Martin is our most recent addition to the group. He lives a half block from Gordon and they’ve known each other for a while. Martin is new to the hobby but has a strong idea of what he wants to model. Interestingly for me, it’s also UK-based: some scenes around Exeter St. David’s in Devon.
We’ve been introducing Martin to concepts like Givens and Druthers, and interrogating him about his goals for the layout. Martin is starting with a clean slate and – based upon the prototype and his space to model it – N scale is looking like the strongest candidate. I look forward to helping him bring this to life.
On Friday, the three guys came over to my house around 11:00 am. I gave them a quick tour of my Great Western Railway layout. I ran some locomotives back and forth and described my next steps. (The big push is to get some terrain around the roadbed, so any derailments don’t end up on the floor!)
The four of us then headed around the corner to an excellent local fish and chips restaurant for lunch. While waiting for our orders to arrive, Martin shared some maps and gave us an overview of what he wants to achieve in his layout room. We started brainstorming ideas to accomplish this – ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous – and I’m sure at some point we’ll be converting the best ideas into drawings so we can get started.
After lunch, we made stops at Martin’s and Gordon’s. We scoped out Martin’s space, and explored several projects Gordon has been working on.
I had a great time. These lunches are always a treat and can’t wait to do more. Meantime, I’m keen to make progress on the GWR: As those who have been in the hobby for any length of time know, there’s nothing like impending visitors to motivate one to get things done!
The Model Railway Show 