Witness a rare occurrence as VIA Rail's The Canadian detours over the CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision from Thunder Bay, Ont. to Winnipeg, Man. Bonus footage of a mixed freight crossing the Rushing River at the end.
You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQdDrKClVio
And now for the rest of the story . . . .
The CP Rail M & M Sub. is a freight-only layout, as is befitting its mid-1990s era. (VIA Rail runs on CN tracks across the west.)
As for the train itself, I know it is hardly prototypical or accurate. (No diaphraghms, to begin with, wrong windows on some cars, and how about the overhang on that 26-inch radius curve?)
The train is a string of Con-Cor cars. Bought them a long time ago, before the Walther's cars came out. (With their Canada decal on the sides, the Walther's cars are actully too new for my era.) The end dome is kitbashed from an undec model. Two Spectrum units pull the train. I attempted to achieve a slight modicum of plausibility by cutting the skirting off the coaches.
Despite all this, it still looks impressive when it makes its occasional appearance on the line. Long live the three-foot rule!
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQdDrKClVio
And now for the rest of the story . . . .
The CP Rail M & M Sub. is a freight-only layout, as is befitting its mid-1990s era. (VIA Rail runs on CN tracks across the west.)
As for the train itself, I know it is hardly prototypical or accurate. (No diaphraghms, to begin with, wrong windows on some cars, and how about the overhang on that 26-inch radius curve?)
The train is a string of Con-Cor cars. Bought them a long time ago, before the Walther's cars came out. (With their Canada decal on the sides, the Walther's cars are actully too new for my era.) The end dome is kitbashed from an undec model. Two Spectrum units pull the train. I attempted to achieve a slight modicum of plausibility by cutting the skirting off the coaches.
Despite all this, it still looks impressive when it makes its occasional appearance on the line. Long live the three-foot rule!
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
