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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-09-22, Page 23d a le tor, ses troll din • 4Ps k. Sometimes stan wn0010,r of Goderich is away from the remote control panel Jur jus..mociai raurnitOn.i.o.loag that he has to -reacquaint hUnself with th switches. A map Qttilkktras is painted on the control panel to help him. Mr. Wheeler started his te*cir layout in the basement of his Goderich home in -1963 and says he IsriPA,Icalf finished. He has been model railroading since 1948. To b1,1110 los tayniChe first had to build the bench work upon which the whole thing rests, then4 the track bed and tracks. He did all the electrical wiring himself and stili has a lot of scenery building left to do. Model railroading is a hobbY, which requires carpentry., electrical and ar- chitectural skills. (staffy400) s me' Se' !leist .the 1( re two ss to twf !•Inec, re c • Seco; 'nUlt root! no Isbory Ps' / . „ •"•• xi • heeler of Goderich shows the small scale model of a coaling station built from and given to him by Dick Chalmers of Goderich. Mr. Wheeler will use the coaling in his small scale town which completes his model railroad layout. Mr. Wheeler is impossible to build everything from scratch. Most of his model structures are and have hundreds of parts. Some of his trains collie in kit form and some are ade. To build them all, Mr. Wheeler says one would have to be a machinist. Mr. r has been model railroading since 1948. (staff photo) 9 9 9 2 Si 14,10 heeler of Goderich has a collection of steam locomotives covering the years 1855 to 1955. Most of the locomotives are still operative. Mr. Wheeler says he considers a sacrilege but says, "however, we must progress." Mr. Wheeler, English r at G.D.C.I. from 1963 until his retirement last June, has been interested in trains et cars since he was a boy. He started his model railroad hobby in 1948. (staff Goaericn IGNAL--STAR 130 YEAR -38 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1977 BQyhpodintorestiea BY JOANNE WALTERS When Stan Wheeler of Goderich was only five or six years old, he remembers pushing a hair brush along the padding in the carpet o ,his home pretending the brush was a train. He also remembers the first wind up train set he ever received for Christmas as a boy. And his childhood memories take him back to Hamilton where he. could ride the street car for a nickel. A really big event for him was riding the inter- urban cars which radiated out from Hamilton to places like Dundas, Brantford, Burlington, Grimsby and Beamsville. At one time, he says, a person could cross the U.S. on the inter -urban line. Mr. Wheeler looks back with amusement on his fascination with trains and street cars. "I guess every boywanted to be a fireman or a 'railway engineer in those days," he says. Although he is quite happy with his ultimate choice of a teaching , career, Mr. Wheeler's interest in trains and railroads has never dissipated. He has turned his interest into a hobby in model railroading. It is a hobby which has provided him with pleasant relaxation after a long, hard day of teaching or marking exams. It is a hobby which has helped him to meet and make friends with other model railroaders for miles around. And it is a hobby which requires him to utilize a combination of such skills as carpentry, architectural design, track laying and Ir'electrical work. In his basement, Mr. Wheeler has an incomplete but intricate and well- designed track layout and remote controlled electric trains. He started the layout in 1963 and says he doubts if he is even half finished with it. BCSY LIFE "I'm so involved with other activities that 'this had not had top priority over the last two or three years," he says. Mr. Wheeler is the Grand Superintendent of Huron District Number 6 of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Canada in Ontario. His masonic ac- tivities keep him busy. He was an English teacher and head of the English depart- ment at G.D.C.I. from 1963 until his retirement last June, 1.70,V, • ts0.41•, -14} eeler of Goderieh has peen model railroading since 1948. He belongs :Ilona! Model Railroad Association and in 1971 he attended the convention in London, England. "It's surprising the friends you qtrgh a hobby like this," he says. Mr. Wheeler had a small track littaa when he lived there and a big one in Brantford where he was also president of the model railroad club. He started his Goderich one in 1963 and says he doubts if he is even half finished. He was busy teaching at until his retirement last rune and his masonic activities also keep him busy, so his hobby has not had top priority over the past few years. (staff photo) 4 k • There are times, says Mr. Wheeler, when he is away from his model train control panel for so long, that he often has to reacquaint himself with all the switches, Mr. Wheeler started model railroading in 1948. He was teaching history as well as English at that time and started a project to represent 100 years of railroading. All the trains were • steam locomotives in those days,. says Mr, Wheeler. "I con- sider diesels a sacrilege. However, we have made progress," he says. Mr. Wheeler has a collection of vintage steam locomotives covering the .years 1855 to 1955. They• are almost all operative. MEET FRIENDS After completing the project on the history of railroading, Mr. Wheeler became interested in having his own layout of track. He had a small layout when he SECOND SECTION hobb lived in Dutton and a big one when he lived 'in Brantford. He, was rilso president of the Model Railroad Club in Brantford. He has been a member of the National Model Railroad Association for the past 15 or 20 years. This association publishes a handbook with -the names of its several thousand mem- bers all over the world. When Mr. Wheeler- travels, he takes the hook with him and may happen to look up a fellow model railroader. Occasionally, another model railroader may call or drop in on him to discuss their mutual ifiterest and to perhaps pick up a tip or two about model railroading. "You get to know men from all over the world. It's sur- prising the friends you make through a hobby like this, ' says Mr. Wheeler. In 1971 he attended the National Cifil- vention for Model Railroaders in London, England, When he moved N) Goch Mr. Wheeler tried to organize a l‘loch..1 R•ailroad Club but found that he was too- husv to devote his time to it. There are a few model railroaders in tOWn,however, who get together once in awhile to talk and exchange ideas. SKILL INVOLVED Mr. Wheeler's first step in constructing his model railroad layout when he moved to Goderich was building the bench 'work upon which the whole set urrests and making it was sub- stantial. He had to lay his track bed and tracks. He has both upper and lower loops bf track., A map oft he tracks is painted on his rem ote control panel so as to guide hilm when he is operating the electrical switches to Mak(' Ilk trains go where he wants them to go. He did all the electrical wiring himself but is very modest a bout his electrician's Turn 0) page 3A • Stan Wheeler of Goderich is building a small scale town with a trolley lay out in the centre for his incomplete but intricate and well-designed model railroad layout. In the town, 111T. Wheeler will have to pave the strefts, put in overhead wiring and build structures such as schools, churches,houses and a town hall. Each structure has hundreds of parts. He may also build a second town linfeed to the first by an inter -urban line. Mr. Wheeler was an () English teacher at G.D.C.1. from 1963 until his retirement last June. He started his model photo)railr oad hobby in 1948 and has been fascinated with trains since he was a boy. (staff r1) .t" • rP „ • .4)