Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2015 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

For anyone like me, building models suitable for the Western Australian Government Railways of the mid-1950s, an X class diesel-electric locomotive is almost essential. Introduced in 1954 as the WAGR’s first mainline diesels, with their eight fixed driving wheels they were unique among locomotives in Australia. Their 2-Do-2 wheel arrangement (equivalent to a 4-8-4 steam locomotive) enabled their weight to be distributed over many wheels, giving them a maximum axle loading of just 10t. This allowed them to travel on all but the very lightest lines in the state, giving them a wide route availability. They were seen on branch lines, as well as main lines, right across the 3'6" (1067mm) gauge system. Although the WAGR had some modern and efficient steam locomotives, by the early 1950s the writing was…

The Broad Gauge States in HO Part 1 The model display at the annual Victorian Prototype Modellers’ Forum always produces many fine models. This is just a selection from a recent Forum and illustrates some of the excellent models of locomotives and rolling stock that once ran in the broad gauge states, Victoria and South Australia, which have been shown at this event. The next Victorian Prototype Modellers’ Forum is scheduled for later in 2015. Photos by James McInerney.…

Veteran Models have released an O (¼") scale kit for a four-wheel version of the VR’s ubiquitous Z van. SDS Models released a second batch of their HO scale r-t-r multi-media models of NSW bitumen carrying tank wagons in March 2015. This batch comprised two previously unreleased 1960s-era packs: Pack A containing Bitumen & Oil Refineries (Aust) Ltd No.100 and Ampol No.32, plus Pack C, containing BHP No.237 and Bitumen & Oil Refineries (Aust) Ltd No.107, as well as more of Pack B (Ampol No.33 and Bitumen & Oil Refineries (Aust) Ltd No.108). Pack B has been particularly popular and had sold out again as this item was being prepared. The 1960s-era Packs A and C, along with all the 1970s-/1980s-era packs remain available. Illustrated is…

The story of Arakoola really begins with another layout; Stringybark Creek [Some scenes on Stringybark Creek appeared on pgs. 16-17 of AMRM Issue 286, February 2011–Editor]. This pioneering 7mm fine scale layout made its debut at the AMRA (NSW) exhibition at Hurstville in 2005 and was constructed by a group of members of the Aus7 Modellers Group to show modellers in other scales and the general public what their chosen scale had to offer. Incomplete at the first showing, it went on to be exhibited twice more at subsequent exhibitions at both Hurstville and Liverpool. But ‘Stringybark’ was a very large and structurally complex layout in many ways and this proved its undoing, as transport and storage difficulties arose to tax the enthusiasm of the team. Reluctantly it was decided to…

O-Aust Kits Peter Krause, proprietor of O-Aust Kits, has issued the following statement: It is with regret that I have to advise that, due to personal circumstances, I have made the decision to exit the manufacture and sale of model railway kits under the O-Aust Kits and Century Models brands. It will be business as usual up to and including the 2015 AMRA (NSW) Liverpool exhibition, after which I will begin progressively winding down my involvement in the business. It is expected that this process could take up to six months after Liverpool to finalise. Most kits and stock items will continue to be available until October, but only recent releases will be re-stocked if sold out prior to October. Proposed new kits that have already been announced will be…

Private rail charters are not uncommon in Australia; however, the rolling stock is usually supplied by a heritage group or society. However, there is at least one contemporary example of a rail charter using privately owned passenger rolling stock. Mr Boyd Munro owns a pair of former SAR passenger cars, which he uses for regular private tours to various parts of NSW. These passenger cars are hauled by heritage steam or diesel locomotives, or by diesels supplied by a leasing company. Accompanying the private cars is support rolling stock, such as flat wagons for water tanks, generators, and other miscellaneous items. Other support rolling stock includes a guard’s van (depending on the rail operator’s accreditation requirements) and a sleeping car for the train crew and support staff. At times, a…

ABV Vans Ian Dunn’s valuable article on ABV vans [‘The Arnott’s Biscuit Van’, p26, AMRM Issue 311, April 2015 – Ed] reminded me of a derailment I was called out to in 1970. Five miles south of Tenterfield in northern NSW, a localised storm had washed out a short length of embankment, leaving a 10' deep gap under the track. This occurred shortly before the arrival of a down goods train. Miraculously, the locomotive and some S trucks cleared the washout, as did an ABV van. A G wagon, loaded with rolled steel beams, was following, along with the rest of the train. The ABV’s roof was nowhere to be seen, and both plywood sides were peeled out until they touched the ground. The G wagon looked as if it…

Country Branch Lines Victoria Part 9 The Far North-central Region , a photographic profile compiled by Neville Gee. Published by Train Hobby Publications, LPO Box 5123, Pinewood 3149. Website: www. trainhobbypublications.com.au . Price: $42.00. The plains north of the divide in Victoria hardly meet traditional standards for landscape beauty. They are flat, riverine plains with small towns, and railway facilities inevitably marked by peppercorn trees. Historically, the post-contact settlement focused on the Murray River and its utility as a transport network to the river ports Swan Hill and, more particularly, Echuca. Settlement of the riverine plains was closer to Melbourne than Sydney and the farmers found transport was cheaper and markets more profitable in Victoria. There was a strong separation movement in the Riverina…