REGINA - A love for constructing railway models has brought together a group of individuals who meet three times a week to showcase their passion and creativity.
The Regina Railway Modellers Association (RRMA) has been around for over a decade. The current president of the RRMA, Kevin Hendriks and the former president, Thomas Mulligan, each discuss what got them into trains in the first place.
"[My love for trains] started when I was a boy, and [I] had a set then and played with it as much as I could. Of course, then life got in the way, and I backed off for a while. But [as] I'm close to retirement, it's a passion that I've always wanted to do," said Hendriks.
Meanwhile, Mulligan has always liked running trains. Mulligan recalled having "an American Flyer when I [Mulligan] was about 5 years old and had [a] track laid [out] all through the upstairs of the house, that sort of thing."
Once Mulligan started a family, he put aside his love of trains to raise his four daughters. Even though Mulligan stopped constructing train models, he still had a passion for doing it.
So around 12 years ago, Mulligan and a few other people who were in a different railway modeller club decided to get together and form the RRMA.
Eventually, the RRMA moved into the library at the Â鶹ÊÓƵland Mall, which was a huge attraction for the space.
Around 2022, the group was talking to multiple malls about moving into a new home. One of those malls was the Northgate Mall, which Mulligan said had heavy interest from their manager. While it seemed set that the RRMA would move to Northgate, the cost of utilities became an issue.
Mulligan noted the RRMA only had six members at the time, so paying a certain amount for utilities per month was too much.
About a year later, Northgate Mall called the RRMA and asked if they were still interested in moving in. This time, the RRMA managed to work out the costs and had their own place inside the mall next to GameStop.
Since moving into the mall, the association has been a hit, with over 10,000 people alone stopping by last year, according to the group.
Hendriks noted most people are not aware of the group being in the mall until they notice the train modules inside. He will hear people say they wanna bring their grandchildren or tell their friends about the RRMA and see what they currently have going on.
Creating a new module
When discussing ideas for a new module, Mulligan said there are all sorts of ways to approach creating a new one. The RRMA said YouTube is a great source for understanding how other railway modellers created their own modules.
Once there is an idea for a module, Hendriks said the group uses a wood deck as a base and a one-inch styrofoam that sits on top of the wood deck. The styrofoam is cut back, and then the group tapers the edges.
From there, anyone can add detail to the edges, like a real shoreline or dirt. Hendriks himself likes to keep scenery realistic based on the area, for example, southern Sask.. So, for water, Hendriks will mix different kinds of epoxy together to create bits of paint that match the tone of the water from the region.
Even with a clear picture of what they want their modules to look like, Hendriks noted, "nothing happens instantly because it just takes time. Like you cannot rush it [a module] because if you rush it, it may not look [like] what your end goal is [or] [where you are] trying to get to. So when you do it, it's a little bit at a time, and then you stand back and look at it. And then, you know, especially here, we've got lots of really high-level guys on scenery, and they come over, and they give you pointers, and you make some adjustments, and it works out really well."
The group will combine modules to create one large railroad circuit in the middle of their location that showcases different types of areas, like towns, refineries, etc.
One thing Hendriks loves is when people come in to check out what is different about the modules from their last visit and suggest a potential idea, which he feels engages people in their work. He also noted how this hobby allows for continuous changes to the modules, whether that is the scenery, the people, etc.
Regarding the trains being able to move, certain members of the group will work on the electrical aspect. On their phones, there is a software they can use to control the trains. The software allows the group to command the speed, create noise, etc. Kids who stop by are allowed to try controlling the functions of the trains.
If you asked the two which module they were most proud of creating, Mulligan would tell you it's the 28 foot long railyard he worked on.
As for Hendriks, his favourite is the module he is currently working on, which includes three different types of bridges, along with a river. Eventually, Hendriks wants to create a playground area for the module and turn it into an amusement park.
Along with the module Hendriks is working on, the group has around 10 to 20 modules in the works as well.
The group is currently accepting new members and offers classes to learn how to operate module trains.
