About

Welcome to my Blog!! This page is a bit of an introduction to me, and what I’m interested in and why I’m in the hobby, and why I’m blogging!

This Introductory Post gives a background on my history in the hobby, and what i’ve done over the years.

I am interested in a variety of different prototypes and places, but my primary interests are in Canadian National Railways in Ontario in the 1950’s, preserved railways in the United Kingdom, and in preserving the railway heritage of the Toronto area through the Toronto Railway Museum.  I model in both HO (1/87th) and OO (1/76) scales personally, and have been dragged into the world of S Scale (1/64) by a friend who models in that scale.  While I don’t at present have a layout, that isn’t stopping me from working on a variety of projects, which will hopefully someday grace a layout whenever we move somewhere just a bit bigger, or do a major reorganization of our current apartment.  In early 2018, my wife and I bought our first home, a three storey 3 bedroom+den condominium townhouse.  With this, for the first time in over a decade (since I still lived at home with my parents after university), I have a layout room, and construction has commenced on The Liberty Village Line, a recreation of Toronto’s Liberty Village industrial area served by the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways during its heyday of the 1950’s before the decline of Toronto’s industrial core commenced.

I hope you find my posts interesting and informative, and look forward to hearing from you if you choose to comment on a post.

Regards,

Stephen Gardiner
Toronto, ON

 

 

 

11 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi Stephen,

    I very much enjoy your blog. Thanks for your kind words regarding my Fillmore!
    Til Supper.

    Best Wishes
    Rick

    Reply

  3. Hi Stephen
    I am North American railroad fan and live in New Zealand.Love your site and all the detail, cannot afford Rapido GMD-1. Any version.
    Have you done a kitbash of one as yet, as you mentioned on a group online that you were intending to. I just need advice of best parts to begin with SW7, SW1500? etc and if a suitable cab is available. Chassis etc, I can work out something. Catch me on email

    Reply

  4. Is there any chance you’ll be making an N-scale version of the Hawker-Siddeley GO-Transit coaches ? I model the Montreal area in the 1990s and would be interested in getting at least seven or eight of these cars in N-scale. Name your price.

    Reply

  5. Stephen, I model in Fn3 (1:20.3) scale / 3 foot gauge for an indoor layout. I am very interested in acquiring parts, suitable to construct a reasonable version of a Fairmont speeder. I believe I could fabricate the enclosure / cab if I had the under frame available. Are you able to upsize your speeder frame to 1:20.3 scale? I could also furnish wheels if you find that a difficult proposition.
    Thank you for your reply and your modeling is very well done.
    Stuart L
    Salt Lake City, Utah

    Reply

  6. Hi Stephen,

    I have enjoyed reading your blog. I was wondering if you can still 3D print the single level Hawker GO passenger cars? If so I would like to buy some if possible?

    Thanks,

    Paul

    Reply

  8. Hello Stephen. I recently discovered your blog and have been working my way through your previous posts. I really enjoy your Liberty Village layout. I have a large CNR themed layout circa 1950 located in Markham ON. Look forward to meeting you someday.
    Philip

    Reply

  9. Hi Stephen,

    Thanks for posting your post about radio recording. May I offer a friendly suggestion? It’s likely a good idea to check with CRTC and/or a suitable lawyer before “publishing” any audio recordings made of private radio transmissions. It may well be considered a breach of privacy by, in your example, CP, and you may find yourself in legal trouble. Nobody is likely to take legal action against you for listening on your radio/scanner, even if they become aware of such action. Likewise, if you record such information, so long as it’s strictly for your private research purposes, especially if nobody knows about such actions. Personally, I’m envious of your success in this project, but I’d dislike you to find yourself in legal hot water. I would prefer if you did not publish this comment, since it’s not a subject I feel would be wise to get any public exposure, for your sake.

    Reply

  10. I love trains and model trains… Your photographs really hit me. Thank you for sharing with us, Greetings and Love, from İstanbul, nia

    Reply

  11. Hi, Stephen. Drop me a line when you have a moment. Tony Koester, editor, Model Railroad Planning

    Reply

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