Montreal Railroad Modellers Assoc EVICTION

The Montreal Railroad Modellers Association has a MASSIVE layout near Canadian National's Central Station, in downtown Montreal.

The club has been been given notice that they will be losing their lease within 18 months, and the layout is too large to dismantle and relocate. Finding a comparable space is virtually impossible.

The entire story including two video links is right here from CFCF Montreal / CTV News;

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local ... ntrealHome

Who is the evil landlord who doesn't like HO Trains?? CANADIAN NATIONAL.

The story is developing.

D/

This is terrible news

The most unfortunate thing is that the "evil landlord" just happens to be CN. Go figure.

I feel for these fine people. And the workmanship they displayed on their layout is spectacular from what I saw of the video posted.

I belonged to a model railroad club that was building a very elaborate N scale empire when the owner of the space gave us our "Buh Bye" for no reason than "they needed the space". It was disjointing to say the least to the club, it's taken the better part of 2 years to find a space to allow us to re-make the dream layout we worked on and destroyed years ago.

It's a shame that model railroad clubs have a difficult time to find affordable space anywhere to run and setup. I get it landlords need to make money, but really if you have a good tenant, albeit a tenant that my not be paying FMP on leased property, isn't that better than vacant space?

Follow this developing story at the source;

http://www.canadacentral.org/

There's your direct link to the club in Montreal, click for Francais or English.

D/

Those of us who own stock in CN ought to question it.

The HO club that I'm in has been around sent's the mid 1950's with in the last 12 years we have relocated 4 times. First starting in the County museum where we got kicked out. The museum needed the space for a display that fell apart leaving an open room that they did not use for over 10 years. Are 2ed location was in a club members garage which lasted 4 years before we found are 3ed location a huge 30 x 40 foot H.O. layout was started and never finished we got 1 train to run the whole layout a week before the building was leveled and turned into a parking lot. We managed to move into a building 100 feet from are 3ed location and have been there sent's but things maybe looking bleak. We ended up fixing up an old portable layout that we used to take to train shows and rebuilt it into are main layout. Its easy to dismantle and move if the day came where we were asked to leave again.

the true on that.. CN does'nt own anymore the space,it was sold to Depotium,a company who rent lockers for peoples or company,that they need space to put thing in storage..

eventualy,they will have need the MRMA local to conert it in lockers for storage..so they did not renewed the bail,ending soon.
So,the club is about to move and fin another local,but loca for that side is rare and most of the time,expensive to rent..

the better thing they can have,it's a smaller local,for that much of trains,start everything to zero will be hard time for this club..
on last open house in march,I buyed some stuff comming out from the layout,it's a diesel shop..

It will be a very last open house,then,I will try to save money to be able to buy and save some buitding from the layout..

The layout should be regarded as a national treasure and granted landmark status. It would be wonderful to integrate this layout into Exporail in Delson, but I doubt if there's enough space at Delson even to erect a building large enough to house the layout.

Is there a movement to save this, or is everybody being "Complacently Canadian" and politely going down without a fight? I'm so tired of seeing people there getting things taken away from them while they cry in their beer.

D?

Such a terrible thing to hear. Once again very happy that the people before me 50 years ago bought the building my club is in after being evicted from various places in NY they rented, along with the Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal. Its sad to see things like this happen to such beautiful model railroad clubs with such time and devotion put into their layouts.

In my opinion if the club that I'm in had to relocate for another round I think we would disbands a club but would concentrate more on a round robin deal helping everyone else with there own home layouts.

scharnhorst wrote:In my opinion if the club that I'm in had to relocate for another round I think we would disbands a club but would concentrate more on a round robin deal helping everyone else with there own home layouts.

Great idea, but like in the case of my club that probably couldn't happen. We all live in north jersey where not many have room for home layouts, the reason some are members is because they do not have a layout, skills to build one or the space.

ApproachMedium wrote:

scharnhorst wrote:In my opinion if the club that I'm in had to relocate for another round I think we would disbands a club but would concentrate more on a round robin deal helping everyone else with there own home layouts.

Great idea, but like in the case of my club that probably couldn't happen. We all live in north jersey where not many have room for home layouts, the reason some are members is because they do not have a layout, skills to build one or the space.

I hear ya there. I went from an H.O. Layout to an N Scale layout back in 1996 due to a lack of space but keeped only a dozen or so H.O. Cars and 3 locomotives. Most of the Guys in the H.O. Club that I belong to are between the ages of 30 and 83 and were down to maybe 8 or 9 active members compared to maybe 25 or 30 before we converted over to DCC operations about 8 years ago or so. Its not easy getting younger blood into the hobby where I am were more of a sports town than a hobby orientated place. We did Incorporate are model railroad club with the stipulation that everything that belongs to the club can not be sold so in the end everything that the club owns would have to be donated to charity as a whole and it would then be up to whom ever ends up with the stuff to decide what to do with it. The club members would of coarse take off anything that they bought and installed with there own money unless it was donated.

Here's the latest item on the situation from The Canadian Press. It would appear a miracle has yet to occur.

http://ca.mc1614.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welc ... nd=3235371

can't see the article,cause on Yahoo,I will have to create an account to see it...

the MRMA layout is a built-in layout,they will be able to save some part,but some other will be unusable after removing them,in one word..not a modular layout..

At-Delson Exporail museum,they actualy updating the layout,part of it are in construction works..

I will try to see this article,before to figure what will be done..

Dieter wrote:Here's the latest item on the situation from The Canadian Press. It would appear a miracle has yet to occur.

http://ca.mc1614.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welc ... nd=3235371

This link doesn't work. It appears you have posted a link to your email account.