P.A. model train show attracts fans of all ages

“It’s the actual rail line that goes up there, and the whole thing is built on top of an interior door for a base,” he explained, adding it’s all about the details.

“I’ve got the big grain terminal that’s up [in Churchill], I’ve got the inukshuk that overlooks the Hudson Bay when you’re up at Churchill, and I’ve got the bear jail (Polar Bear Holding Facility) up there too.”

Randall’s attention to detail is meticulous. His model is complete with a polar bear being airlifted away from the bear jail, trees only growing on one side because of the northern polar winds, and he included tripod telephone poles that don’t sink into the ground.

He uses the set as a bit of a learning tool to teach people that Churchill isn’t all about polar bears and the cold. He’s said there is even more he can add to his model.

“They used to have missile launching, like a rocket launching site up there. They used to fire rockets up there to study the Northern Lights, and that’s my next project that I’m going to put in there. I got a guy working on it right now,” he laughed.

The largest model at the show, featuring even the smallest details. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Model railroad sets like Randall’s can take years to make, as most of the work happens in his spare time. So, he felt a huge sense of accomplishment and pride when in 2024, he won a Golden Spike Award for his Northern Manitoba model.

“I got judged one year down in Moose Jaw. The guy asked me, ‘Can we judge your layout?’ And I’m like, for what?’ He tells me he’s with the National Model Railroaders Association, and I go, ‘Yeah, okay, go ahead and do what you have to do.’ And they gave me an award for it. It was a big award, a lot of people were talking about it at the banquet that night.”

A few larger models were on display at the Prince Albert event as well, with some measuring well over 20 feet in length.

Workers fix some imperfections on the largest scale model at the show. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Set up in their own corner of the venue was the P.A. Scale Modellers, displaying their model boats, aircraft, and military vehicles like tanks and old Jeeps.

The club has just a handful of members, including Jon Hopper who made his own models of Saskatchewan military vehicles that were used in battle during World War II.

“Prince Albert at one time had an artillery battery, the 44th Battery, so I found out what kind of vehicles an artillery battery used and that they would have had in World War II in Normandy, France, et cetera. Then I found out more about the Saskatoon Light Infantry, which technically was what they called the Machine Gun Battalion. It was used in a support role in the First Division. I’ve also got a vehicle from the South Saskatchewan Regiment, another one from the Regina Rifles, and then I got some vehicles here from what would have been the 14th Canadian Hussars out of Swift Current, but in World War II, they were called the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment.”

Some of the model Saskatchewan military vehicles that Jon Hopper has made. The ones labelled with ’43’ are models from the 44th Field Battery from Prince Albert, a small glimpse at what those vehicles would’ve looked like in World War II. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Hopper said the Scale Modellers are open to anyone who is interested, and they meet once every one to two months; the next meeting is March 14 at the public library in downtown. He added there’s something for everyone in the world of scale models.

“Modern day aircraft, biplanes, there are cars, trucks, whether they’re vintage or modern or whatever, there’s all that in there. It’s kind of interesting in this club because usually the car models are the biggest scale model, that’s the biggest number of stuff that’s usually built with planes coming second. We seem to have broken the mold here,” he joked.

Both the Model Railroaders and Scale Modellers say that the membership of their clubs is dwindling year after year.

“It’s a small group,” said Randall. “It’s unfortunate the guys are getting older, and of course, you know, it’s just the way it is. The young people, they’re more into their computers and that. Yeah, that’s unfortunate too.”

More of Jon Hopper’s models. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

The Prince Albert Model Train Show will be open again on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, while children under five get in for free.

For more information about the Prince Albert Model Railroaders, click here.

For more information about the Prince Albert Scale Modellers, click here.

Two trains pass on parallel tracks, disrupting golfers trying to enjoy their round. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

Some trains were fitted with speakers playing accurate train horns, including this VIA Rail train that just passed by a gas station. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

P.A. model train show attracts fans of all ages

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