Associated Railroaders of Kingston

also known as
The Kingston Model Railroaders

Some Links to our favourite sites

Kingston Locomotive Works
Kingston's model railway dealer run by our club chair,  Dave Cook.   He deals with Rapdio and many other manufacturers.  He has great prices and excellent service.  Local pick up is available as well as delivery to ARK meetings.

 Accessory Pathways
The local Lenz DCC dealer as well as the Canadian supplier of Lenz products operated by ARK's own, Michael Pasch 

Eric Gagnon's Trackside Treasure Blog
Eric is a club member who has authored a number of books and blogs about railway sightings and history.  His  main blog, Trackside Treasure, is a Canadian railway blog and is always worth a visit.

Art-Noise
Kingston's  local manufacturer and supplier of art supplies.  Lots of great items for model railways, including odour free mineral spirts, graphite, blades, paints  and more.  Much of it is manufactured in Kingston.  It's downtown  on Pricess Street just south of Clergy Street.

Stephen Gardiner's Blog: Musing's on my Model Railroading Addicition
Stephen Gardiner presented at the December 2021 ARK meeting via Zoom on his layout based on Liberty Village in Toronto.  This is his blog which includes information about his layout, Liberty Village and lots of other things. 

Lark Spur Line
One of the best train stores anywhere, and it is only about 1 hour and 20  minutes from Kingston.   There is lots of stock and many interesting used items for estate purchases.  They order once a week on Sundays and usually have the product Friday afternoon.  

OVAR (Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders)
OVAR has been around since the sixties and is one of the most successful railway clubs in the country.   A few of us loved OVAR so much that we wanted a club like it in Kingston.  That's how the Associated Railroaders of Kingston came to be.  A social club that provides lots of opportunities to learn and make great friends.  

Canadian Express Line
Dave Cool is a regular vendor at  train shows in the province.  He operates a mail order / online business out of Brighton, which is only 1 hour from Kingston.  His prices are very good and customer service is top notch.  

Frontenac Society of Model Enginners
The Frontenac Society of Model Engineers (FSME) is located in Kingston with track 20 km north of Highway 401 in Battersean.  They feature live steam and trains you can ride.  They usually have two open houses a year for the public although new members and volunteers are welcome.

Ottawa Valley Garden Railwaty Society 
A great group of guys that build and operate Garden Railways.  They are usually open to visitors and generous with their knowledge.  Be sure to contact them ahead of a visit, and you might be lucky enough to be handed a throttle and run a train.  

National Model Railroad Association
An international association that provides a wealth of resources to model railroaders that includes standards for manufacturers, award program for modellers and some great conventions and shows.  Kingston is in the Niagara Frontier Region and is in the St. Lawrence Division.   A number of our members are members of the NMRA.

Intercolonial Railway: New Glasgow and Pictou Landing Branch Layout
One of our member's layouts that is currently being completely redesigned and rebuilt now that he has moved to Kingston.  Check out the site for updates on the progress.  This is also the site our club page is currently hosted on.

Greg Latiak's Bay of Quinte Railway
Greg's railway is locally based on the line that ran from Deseronto north and northeast.  His railroad includes the CN Napanee viaduct.   The blog has updates on building, wiring and scenery.  He did a presentation on his layout at a previous meeting.  Here are some pictures from his presentation

 Mike Hamer's Boston and Main Blog
Mike Hamer's Boston and Maine Layout in Ottawa was featured in an annual issue of Model Railroader's "Great Model Railroads" a few years ago and it is a gem.  Our club is going to visit Mike's layout in September and Mike is going to teach us how to make trees and shrubs for our layout.   Check out the blog and join the conversation with Mike.  

 

 

 


Welcome to the home of the Associated Railroaders of Kingston also known as the Kingston Model Railroaders.  We are located in beautiful Kingston, Ontario.  Kingston is a city with a rich railway history.  We once hosted both CP and CN stations and are currently one of the busiest VIA Rail stations in Canada.  Kingston was also the home of the Canadian Locomotive Company(CLC).  Our distinctive logo is based on a CLC diesel builders plate.  Club members can choose to have a name tag with our logo.

Our club formed in early 2015.  There are no dues to belong and everyone is welcome.  We have a number of interests including building and operating modular layouts, working on and operating home layouts and offering clinics and other help to new modellers.   While we have about 100 members, 25-35 come out regularly to our meetings.

WE HAVE A NEW LOCATION FOR OUR MEETINGS - SEE BELOW

We meet on the Second Thursday of the month for a dinner meeting at 5:30pm at Smitty's at 2376 Princess Street (in the Chapters plaza where Bennett's Furniture is).  Sometimes, depending on the state of the pandemic or weather, we will meet via Zoom on the same date at 7pm.   Details below.

Here is our schedule for the next few months

Date
Details
Thursday March 14 Dinner meeting at Smitty's on Princess Street at 5:30pm.
Kurt Vollenwyder will present on the Big Chute Marine Railway.  
Michael Pasch will give a video presentation.
Thursday April 11 Dinner meeting at Smitty's on Princess Street at 5:30pm.
Thursday May 9 Dinner meeting at Smitty's on Princess Street at 5:30pm.

Our club is always open to new members.  We have adults and youth in the club.

If you would like to join us, drop us a line, feel free to contact Dave Cook at dave@locomotiveworks.ca If you would like to join for a dinner meeting please E-mail the Dinner Chair, Michael Pasch, with your name and phone number so that he can give accurate numbers to the restaurant.  You can E-mail Andy at chisholm@intercolonialrailway.com


RAILFAIR 2024

Please see the show website for more details.


2023-2024 Executive

Chair- Dave Cook dave@locomotiveworks.ca
Vice-Chair - Paul Hunter railfairkingston@outlook.com
Secretary-Treasurer - Andrew Taylor  rolyata@live.com
Dinner Chair -  Michael Pasch  mjpasch2018@gmail.com

Program -  Andrew Jeanes -  andrew@jeanes.ca
Membership - Dave Cook - 
dave@locomotiveworks.ca
Director at Large, Website, Zoom Host - Andy Chisholm, chisholm@intercolonialrailway.com
Director at Large - Roger Trueman rolynrock51@gmail.com
Director at Large - Raul Cirne rgcirne@yahoo.ca

Contacts

Railfair - Paul Hunter railfairkingston@outlook.com
                Marc Cadieux marccadieux3@gmail.com
Hanley Spur - currently vacant

Our Purpose

The Associated Railroaders of Kingston (ARK) is a club made up of people who are interested in model railroading. The club does not have a club layout, thus allowing us to keep the club an informal association, free of internal politics, major capital investment and the complications inherent in hard rules or membership obligations. ARK makes up for this by giving you the opportunity to meet people who have, or are building, layouts, on which you can operate, work, contribute your skills or develop your knowledge. ARK meets the second Tuesday of each month, September to June (and sometimes in the summer) to pursue our interest in model trains. Each meeting, organized around a dinner, presents an opportunity to: meet others with similar interests; be entertained with a Program presented by speakers on different topics of interest to model railroaders.

What to do with an old layout / model railway items

We are frequently contacted by people trying to find a home for an old layout or model railway items.  We have been able to find good homes for many items given to us, including helping out some young people with limited means get into the hobby.  If you would like to sell items yourself, you could rent a table at our annual train show, or if you would like to sell items immediately, a local dealer, Kingston Locomotive Works, does purchase items. 

f you are interested in having us find a good home for your items by giving them to the club, please get in touch with Andy Chisholm at chisholm@intercolonialrailway.com.  If you are interested in selling to someone immediately, please get in touch with Dave at dave@locomotiveworks.ca, if you are interested in selling items yourself at our November show, please get in touch with Paul Hunter at railfairkingston@outlook.com

 

 

 

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Copyright 2015-2024,  Associated Railroaders of Kingston aka the Kingston Model Railroaders

Last Updated: 21 March 2024
URL: www.intercolonialrailway.com/ark/