Trains still rolling at Gateway Mall model train show

The Prince Albert Model Train Show is open from noon till 5 p.m. on Sunday at the old Staples location. -- Bailey Sutherland/Daily Herald

There’s still time to bring the whole family down to the Gateway Mall for a few hours of educational fun at the Prince Albert Model Train Show, open for one more day on Sunday from noon till 5 p.m. at the old Staples location.

The organizer of the show is happy to be in the new Gateway Mall location, having moved from 2022’s previous smaller facility at Midtown Hall due to the growing number of exhibitors and supporters that make the show bigger and better every year. This year, the Prince Albert Model Railroaders hosted around 12 different miniature train and other scale model exhibitors from across Saskatchewan.

“We just fit into it but it was tight,” said Brian Randall, Club President of the Prince Albert Model Railroaders and this year’s Show Chairman. “[Now] we’ve got plenty of space and we’re just hoping to build from that.”

Randall took the time to show off his realistic build of the rail line through the tundra from La Pas, MB., to Churchill, MB. He made sure to include every detail, from the trees that only grow on one side of the track due to the chilly arctic winds, to how telephone polls that float in the muskeg sit on a tripod instead of a single poll, so they don’t sink.

Randall, who followed his railroad engineer father’s footsteps by working on the railroad for four years out of high school, said railroading is in your blood after experiencing it as a career.

“After I left the railroad, I got into model trains because I still loved railroading. What I do is, I build my own world now,” Randall explained. “In this hobby, no matter what you learn in school, you’re going to apply that to this. Whether it be art, electronics, construction, anything like that.”

John Ewert with Saskatoon model train club Prairie Rail Workshop said he always looks forward to the Prince Albert Model Railroaders’ Train Show.

“They put on a fantastic show every year. There’s lot of people milling around and enjoying themselves. Brian and the guys are good hosts, they take care of everybody,” said Ewert, who’s been interested in the hobby since getting a train set for Christmas at 14 years old. “You get to meet lots of interesting people, that’s what it’s all about. We can interact with all the other clubs and maybe pick up a few new skills, spend a little bit of money and come home with more trinkets.”

The Prince Albert Model Train show is only on for a few more hours this Sunday, so make sure to catch the trains in action down at the Gateway Mall before it’s over. Admission price for adults is $7 and $4 for students, while preschoolers and under are free.

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