6 August 2010

Revelstoke Modelroad Society Rebuilds History at Railway Museum

A station rests beneath model trees and scenery still under construction.

Revelstoke British Columbia - Model railroading is considered as a hobby that involves creativity and love of railroad, but it is more than that for members of the Revelstoke Model Railroad Society.
 
The society has been around since the late 1990s and many members began model railroading as their hobby in the 1980s. The society started modelling railways around Revelstoke in 2002 and their track is now displayed on the second floor of the Revelstoke Railway Museum.
 
The model includes the Illecillewaet hydro-electric dam, Albert Canyon, Glacier station, Connaught tunnel, and Summit Lake. The layout is built to be portable so they can take it apart and display it where they can find space.
 
The layout focuses on 1951 and 1952 railways. It was the biggest change in railway history in that steam and diesel trains were operated at the same time.
 
Greg Brule, a member of the society, says model railroading is an endless process and there is no one right way to do it. The modelling involves carpentry, building, photography, electronic work, and historical research. The members of the society have spent many hours building the layout that is unique but accurate to the original railway around Revelstoke.
 
The layout at the Railway Museum shows the beauty of the scenery and the railways but it also shows the hard work and love of railways.
 
What is inspiring about the model is the members often build parts and scenery from blueprints. They go to the scene, take photos, and measure the actual buildings. Careful planning and imagination seem to be the key skills involved in model railroading.
 
The members also apply their individual skills into modelling. Some members are good at electronics while others are good at designing or building parts.
 
The front part of the layout only shows well designed scenery and trains but the back of the layout is surrounded by wires, switches, and a computer. Each locomotive has a micro controller that allows the modellers to control the train. Brule says computer programming can be very frustrating but important in order to run trains smoothly.
 
Scenery is often made of cardboard strips, hydrocal, and industrial paper towels. Hydrocal is often used for making casts. Hydrocal keeps the scenery base hard when it is mixed with water. Modellers do lots of experiments in order to find the best material for creating scenery.
 
The society members believe model railroading is a great way to rebuild the history of the Revelstoke railway. They are also rebuilding their memories of the Canadian Pacific Railway around Revelstoke.
 
The members hope to show their Revelstoke layout to visitors during Railway Days. The Salmon Arm Model Railroad Association will also display their award-winning layout at the museum during the Railway Days from 12 to 17 Aug 2010.