Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

Some Tender Care It was one of those moments granddads enjoy; in the train room with grandson and he picks up a soft brush and starts cleaning the dust of time from the top of a string of four-wheel grain hoppers. If I had not been warmed by the pre-teenage smile on his face, I would have identified the warning sign. One of the regular operators had run these wagons out of storage. This in itself is not an issue; the regular operators have as much ownership of the model railway as the owner. The problem was that the level of dust reflected the time these wagons had been in storage, off layout – well over half a decade – and as such they had missed the last round of…

After many years of moving and waiting to find enough space to build my layout, I finally moved into a house with a very large garage, half of which could accommodate a reasonable-sized layout. Various designs were tried out (isn’t CAD wonderful?), until I had a plan which fitted all my principal requirements and would fit the space allocated. Construction of the framework started in November 2014 and by February 2015 track laying had begun. There are lots of long straights with dual track and a hidden storage yard. To make my life easier while laying this track, I made several jigs to assist me. All the jigs are constructed from scrap 9mm ply that I use for the baseboard. They are constructed by cutting in a Stanley mitre box…

The recently released Eureka 50 class locomotive is fitted with a hook coupler at the front. A replacement dummy knuckle coupler is supplied in the box. However, neither of these is particularly suitable if you do a lot of shunting or if double heading is desired. After a quick bit of investigating I have found that a modified Kadee coupler can easily be fitted to the front buffer beam without the need for any further modifications to the locomotive. You will need a Kadee which has a 2mm wide shank. As shown in the diagram, you simply drill a 1.3mm hole (number 55) in the shank at the end of the straight section. The hole should be carefully deburred and cleaned and the remaining section of the coupler cut off.…

SCT Logistics SCT Class Diesel Locomotive, r-t-r in HO scale by Railmotor Models. Distributed by Train World, 290 Bay St, Brighton 3186. Available from most hobby shops. Price: $370.00. Prototype The 15 members of the SCT class were the ‘launch’ order for the now widespread Downer EDI model GT46C ACe locomotive, of which 79 were ultimately built. The SCT class locomotives were built for freight operator SCT Logistics in 2007-8, numbered SCT001 to SCT 015. SCT007 was named Geoff (James Bond) Smith after the SCT Logistics company CEO. The locos weigh 134t and feature a 16-cylinder, EMD 710 prime mover rated at 4300hp for traction – which is delivered via AC traction equipment, through passive-steer bogies. A comprehensive technical description of this locomotive series was included in the GT46C ACe…

Brian Rowling was born with steam in his veins, for his grandfather and aunt were both employed on England’s Liverpool and Manchester Railway prior to, and during, the First World War. Although she was too young to be employed, Brian’s mother Anne used to unofficially help her sister Chris, who was a porter, when needed. In 1926 Brian’s father Bert, who was a motor mechanic, and mother Anne, were married in England and migrated to Australia, finally settling in Parramatta. From early childhood Brian had that interest in railways fostered by his mother’s early connection with railways in England. And so the seed was sown. Like so many railway modellers, Brian received an O gauge clockwork train set in his tender years and gradually progressed to an electric train after…

CASTLE HILL – NSW. July 30-31, 2016. Harvey Lowe pavilion Castle Hill Showgrounds. 9.00am-5.00pm (Sat), 9.00am-4.00pm (Sun). Adults $12, Senior $8, Children $6, Family $25 Ron (Pres) 0438 959670 or Grant (Sec) 0421 603240. Web site: http://www.hmrs.org.au/ BRISBANE – QLD. August 6-7, 2016. Strathpine Community Centre, 199 Gympie Road, Strathpine 4500 (enter off Mecklem St) 9.00am-4.00pm (Sat & Sun). Adults $7, Concession $6, Family $17 (2A+3C) Child $2. Railway Modellers’ Club of Queensland. Show Manager John Kennedy john.kennedy4@optusnet,.com.au Mob: 0422 759 641. CANBERRA – ACT. August 6-7, 2016. 44th Malkara Model Railway & Scale Model Exhibition at Malkara Special School, Wisdom Street, Garran, ACT. 9.30am-5.00pm (Sat), 9.30am-4.00pm (Sun). ACT Model Railway Society Inc. and Malkara P&C Inc. Gavan Bennett 0401 308 926 or email: gavanbennett@iinet.net.au THORNLEIGH – NSW. August 13-14,…

Ixion Models released their HO scale r-t-r NSWGR ‘low-frame’ 32 class steam locomotive at the Thornleigh exhibition on the June long weekend. The illustrations show most of the variations offered in the first run. Top is the straight front footplate model with bogie tender, offered as 3333, 3361 or 3375 (red footplate edge), then the curved front footplate with bogie tender version, available numbered as 3223, 3258 or 3273 (all with red footplate edge), plus an un-numbered model in plain black. The six-wheel 3000 gallon tender is also offered, attached to 3208, 3298, 3307 or 3372, all in plain black. The pièce de résistance is the model of 3265, modelled as currently preserved in a 1930s-era maroon colour scheme. Models ‘N More have added a number…

The New South Wales 80 class diesel-electric locomotives were introduced from 1978 and built by Alco’s Australian licensee, Comeng, as an evolution of the 442 class of 1971/73. Featuring a Co-Co bogie arrangement, the 80 class produced 2150hp from their ALCO 12-251CE prime mover and were the first locomotives in Australia to feature factory-fitted cab air-conditioning, fibreglass body panels and were the first in NSW to be delivered without buffing plates. In the late 1990s, Austrains released their first series of the 80 class model in HO scale. They are a good representation of the prototype and are of robust construction. Whilst not fitted with a DCC plug, they can be fitted with a decoder and sound with some internal modifications. Given that they were the first of the ‘modern…

At the same time that I was working my way through the upper years of primary school, I had a friend whose parents sent him to a private school when he commenced high school. Spending that amount of money on something that was available free at the local government high school made a lasting impression on me and the sums of money involved were quite beyond my pre-adolescent comprehension. I knew exactly how much it was costing the family because my friend told me in forensic detail the precise amount the fees they were being charged, probably in an effort to big-note himself in front his slightly younger, impressionable friend. When I think back over that time, three very distinct memories come to mind: the rather silly straw boaters they…

With deep sadness we record the death of Malcolm John McKenzie on the morning of 20 June 2016. Known to most of us as John, he will be familiar to many AMRM readers as an occasional author and reviewer. John was born into a country railway family and commenced his working life as an NSWGR apprentice fitter and machinist during the latter years of steam. Recognising the advent of diesels and lack of opportunities in the railway industry, John retrained as a manual arts high school teacher, spending time at Holbrook and Orange. If John’s teaching values were reflected in the respect he was shown by his past students, he must have been a brilliant teacher. Sadly, John’s years as a teacher were cut short by a physically debilitating illness.…