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Our friend Al as he is known far and wide has influenced many of us in our model building skills. Be it is detailed knowledge of the CPR from the 50 and 60’s, to his arranging of annual social / model railroad events.
On the active model Rail Road scene Al has been responsible for getting many of us started in ‘Craftsman Corner’ be it at the annual Bracebridge summer train show or the annual Toronto Christmas train show. Through Al’s involvement in the ‘craftsman’s corner’ and other modeling activities he has helped many people with their model building skills. We have all seen the items that he has built from photos to match the prototype and then placed on his layout for operation.
Al has recruited a following that attends his home north of Toronto approximately every other Sunday afternoon during the winter model railroad season to operate and build components on his railroad the “Great White North” which is a depiction of the CPR in northern Ontario in the late 50’s when steam was still on the line and early diesel (MLW) power was starting to replace steam. Many photos of the “Great White North” have appeared in various publications.
Those of us who know Al are aware that the first item he will do when he sees a model (that one of us has built) is to come up with a ‘modification’ that will make the model more close to the real items that operated on the Canadian Pacific Railway in northern Ontario.
Al is also an associate member with the York Model railroader’s and generally arranges an operating pilgrimage to operate on the layout once a month. (Friday nite traffic holds no concerns for Al as he is a former long distance truck driver that now stays closer to home doing short runs for Muskoka transport.)
A new event that Al has started in the past few years is the annual road trip to Milwaukee for “Trainfest”. The people going in the vehicle ‘convoy’ assemble at the planned date and time and drive together to Milwaukee and attend the ‘Trainfest’ train show, display the groups modeling skills at a ‘Craftsman Corner’ at the show and have an active time visiting club layouts and home layouts in the Milwaukee area during the extended weekend.
Those of us who know Al are very pleased that his modeling skills and ongoing support of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) through his contributions to ‘Craftsman’s Corner’ has been recognized by his attaining Master Model Railroader certificate number 430 that was announced in the January 2011 issue of the NMRA magazine.
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Best wishes Al in your future modeling from your friends in the NFR.
John Brown MMR449
John is an active Model Railroader that has a home layout based on the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail Road with a West Virginia coal mine theme. On a monthly basis John has an operating group to his home to operate the layout using a dispatcher and car cards and train runs. John has a regular operating crew with other people on the ‘spare board’ so that he can arrange for a full crew on operating nites.
Over the years John has been active in the Craftsman Corner showcasing his modeling skills and promoting the hobby. John has researched the C&O railway in the coal region and has recreated items from his research on the layout by scratch building various structures and rolling stock to recreate the world in the mining territory he models. At the craftsman corner John can be regularly seen building a model from researched material to fit into the home layout.
John is also active with a group referred to as the ‘Union Railroad’ which is a HO switching portable layout that has been seen at several events in the area north of Toronto. The ‘Union Railroad’ is being built and operated by several members of his normal Friday nite operating crew.
John is also a member of the ‘North American Rail Car Owners Association’ and come spring, summer and fall is away on trips using his Blue Fairmont MT19 track car. While John is away on the ‘speeder’ trips he sends e mail’s with photo attachments of the locations where he has been to a regular audience.
During the NMRA national convention in 2003 held in Toronto John opened his house and layout for the bus tours on the home layout tour program.
John has demonstrated his modeling skills at the NFR ‘Craftsman Corner’ when it has been on the road at the annual Milwaukee train show called ‘Trainfest’
We are all pleased that John has attained his Master Model Railroader 449 (MMR) status that was announced in the February 2011 issue of the National Model Railroad Magazine (NMRA).
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Best wishes in your future activities John from your friends in the NFR.