Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

Trevor Hodges, in his ‘In the Loop’ column Image Problem? What Image Problem? in AMRM Issue 314 (October 2015) raises the issue of whether railway modelling has a ‘cool’ image or not, especially noting how it is portrayed in the media, and in the general community. It seems a shame that he “can’t remember a time when being interested in model railways was perceived as being cool” and also that he is “willing to accept that being into model railways isn’t cool anymore”. He notes that “as a society we seem to spend a lot of time and effort worrying about our kids and what the internet is doing to the current generation of children”. However, it is encouraging to see that he appreciates the knowledge and skills he has…

I am always looking for ways to enhance my layout, or to do something to have a change away from the norm. Recently, I was looking to add some operation to my layout, Westgate. The question was how was I going to achieve this on a small layout with just two stations. I have been to a few operations sessions on other layouts and seen presentations at seminars, but all required a big layout with many stations. Various cards systems, control methods, fast clock and a heap of operators were used. I looked at extending my layout; this would give me three stations, one a junction. Still not quite ideal for the operating systems I had observed, though. My main station, Westgate, has a fair-size yard, but was a little…

The KL wagon can be relatively easily constructed using the excellent Steam Era Models (SEM) 11'6" wheelbase I/IA underframe kit and styrene. For the KQ container wagon, SDS have produced an excellent r-t-r model which is still available. Measurements In this article I have used the exact equivalent to two decimal places in HO scale, but in construction I generally rounded these up to the nearest 0.5mm. Construction The wagon floor from the SEM 11'6" underframe kit will not be used for the KL wagon, as it is too thick. We shall however, use it as a guide/template during construction and after that it can be discarded or retained in the ‘scrap box’ for a future project. Also replace the 11.08mm nine-spoke wheels (which come with the kit) with the…

In real life stored, abandoned and obsolete locomotives, wagons, carriages and other paraphernalia are often found scattered around the countryside. These items are there for many reasons; some are awaiting mechanical attention, while others may be temporarily out of service due to traffic flow reductions. Still others may have been condemned and are waiting the final call of the cutter’s torch, while others may be getting ready to be towed to a major workshop for overhaul. Some even are disposed of for further use, sometimes in non-railway related fields. As these vehicles can often be stored for extended periods they make for interesting displays on a layout. They don’t even need to be operational. These models do not go anywhere, so can be prototypically ‘untrafficable’, as they normally stay in…

A huge, roller coaster of an article in four hundred sizzling chapters. A searing indictment of model railways in the 21st century, with some hot gypsies thrown in. (With apologies to Gertrude Perkins). Stuart Dix Where many of the layouts that grace exhibitions and these pages see little change over their lifetime, this article looks at the evolution and growth of one layout and some of the external impacts that have shaped these changes. Not being beholden to club bureaucracy, politics and compromises, the layout has been free to continuously evolve in a direction that suits my needs, as I see fit. These changes have in many ways been driven by changes in my own life and also those in the model railway industry in Australia. Whilst the layout had…

Models of the various VR timber bridges can be built using stripwood and dowel and the following table gives some guidance for modellers in HO scale. Strip basswood by Northeastern Scale Models is widely available, but is generally only produced in actual dimensions, rather than true scale sizes, so some compromise in dimensions is required. Kappler Mill and Lumber Co. have a wide range of HO ‘scale lumber’, but these are mostly only available in even number sizes, so some compromise is still required. The other thing to be said is that the ‘standard plans’ should be used as a guide only. Any examination of actual bridges at various sites around the state will quickly reveal considerable variation, such as two-pile piers with crossheads measuring no less than 18" in…

Following on from my previous article on building fencing from styrene posts (Build a Fence AMRM Issue 320, October 2016), I thought I’d continue, building HO scale post and rail fencing based on the same types of posts. Similarly to the previous article, I use 0.060" I-beam styrene to simulate the short lengths of old disused rail that are sometimes brought into use as fence posts. Again, for a realistic length post, I cut the styrene into approximately 20mm lengths. If building a 4' high fence, they need to protrude 14mm out of the ground and, if building a 4'6" high fence, the posts need to protrude almost 16 (15.75)mm from the ground. In this article, I am simulating fencing with three rails attached. I am suggesting that the rails…

The use of shipping containers, in most situations, involves the unloading of the container from the train/vehicle before the actual contents are removed. In the early days of container use, i.e. 1960s and 1970s, the Victorian Railways (VR) along with other railways of the time had few locations that were equipped to handle containers. The purpose-built FQX 65' container wagon, which arrived in 1969, often had the then new 20' containers placed at each end with the doors facing the centre of the wagon, allowing the wagon floor between to be used as a deck for loading/unloading. However, with the increase in containerisation, the VR experienced a shortage of suitable bogie container wagons. Partly to ease this shortage, between 1969 and 1973, 60 four-wheel, 11'6" wheelbase, IZ/RY outside sill (riveted)…

Scale: HO (16.5mm gauge) Prototype: Western Victoria, Melbourne – Adelaide mainline Period: 1985 to 1995 Layout type: Layout at front – fiddle yard at rear exhibition layout Layout size: 7.2m x 2.4m (final version) Rail height above floor: 1.0m Baseboards: Pine framing with ply or chipboard top Track: Peco code 75 and code 100 flexible track, Peco small and medium radius turnouts Control: Digitrax DCC, Tortoise point motors Structures: Various kit and scratchbuilt Scenery: Woodlands Scenics and natural materials over foam or aluminium screen wire Locomotives: Various r-t-r and kit-built Rolling stock: Various r-t-r, kit- and scratchbuilt Road vehicles: Various commercial products Builder: Stuart Dix, with the assistance of the rest of the Tasmanian Rail Modellers…

The year was 1936 (a lifetime ago). The British Empire (of great importance to the Australia of the time) saw three monarchs during the course of one calendar year with the death of King George V, the abdication of King Edward VIII and the ascension to the throne of George VI (father of the current monarch, Elizabeth II). Joseph Lyons was in office as the 10th Prime Minster of Australia with Sir Bertram Stevens the Premier of the state of New South Wales. The military strength of Australia was being boosted by the Federal Government in response to the growing unease in Europe and Asia, while one Reginald Ansett won a Brisbane to Adelaide air race in celebration of the centenary of South Australia. Mr Ansett went on to form…

Signals Branch , Ray Pilgrim’s Shapeways shop, has released a range of NSWGR ‘Beyer Peacock’ 3D printed boiler fittings in O, HO and N scales. Currently available are two chimneys (32 and Standard Goods classes) and a dome (common to both 32 class and Standard Goods locomotives). The HO versions (illustrated) of the 32 class chimney and the dome are designed to fit the Ixion 32 class and are a ‘drop in’ fit, as is the Standard Goods chimney and dome to the Eureka 50 class. Also available is a version of the Standard Goods chimney and dome with a 1/8" centralised mounting peg for models other than the Eureka 50 class. The fittings are accurately printed to NSWGR specifications and will also be useful to scratchbuilders and those…

Missing Contacts Regrettably, occasionally we misplace the contact details of contributors to AMRM. Ray McDermott, Graeme Kaufman and Andrew Robertson, please contact AMRM’s office (contact details on page 4), you may learn something to your advantage! Vulcan Vale Collection On Display The 13th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention, to be held at Geelong over the Easter weekend in April 2017, will be hosting a display of the late Rick Richardson’s Vulcan Vale collection of models that were once part of this famous On2½ layout, which has featured in AMRM on numerous occasions. This display will feature most of the significant structures from the layout, plus locomotives and rolling stock, as well as other contributions, such as photographs from the layout, including poster-sized reproductions of John Dennis’s articles on the layout that…