Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

This is the third in a series of articles on the use of a computer to assist in designing, simulating and automating your model train layout. Although some readers may wish to follow this sequence, the use of a computer to design or even simulate a layout is not a pre-requisite for model train computer automation. You can automate an existing layout or incorporate it as part of building or renovating a layout. In this article, I will cover issues such as explaining what train automation is, how it is done and why you may want to do it. This article focusses on the train automation software called TrainController. This is Windows software, part of a suite of programs under the Railroad & Co. brand developed by Friewald Software, a…

The SAR 3'6" (1067mm) narrow gauge network was once quite extensive, serving the less populated areas of the state in the far south-east, north, the western section of the Yorke Peninsula and the isolated network on the Eyre Peninsula. The architecture, locomotives and rolling stock retained a more ‘English’ appearance than those serving the post-Webb broad gauge areas of the state, right through to the end of the steam era and well into the 1980s, by which time most of the network had closed, save the isolated lines on the Eyre Peninsula and the preserved Pichi Richi Railway in the north. Despite the picturesque nature of the railway system, it remains very much a minority modelling interest, with most items still needing to be scratchbuilt, though there are some kits…

Advertisements on Brick Walls I read with interest Graham Watson’s Beyond the Fence article, [‘Advertisements on Brick Walls’, AMRM Issue 331, August 2018– Editor] on evocative, faded advertisements that can still be found on brick walls of old shops, pubs and other buildings, particularly in country towns. Replication of such advertisements can be a challenge, as it is difficult to reproduce their faded appearance and also the way in which the bricks show through. Placing of decals on your model presents difficulties, as the edge of the decal can generally be detected. Also, although the advertisement can be weathered, it is still difficult to reproduce the fading and the appearance of the brickwork. I have found an inexpensive way of reproducing faded signs. Select the advertisement of your choice and…

Around 2003 I built a small, portable layout (more a diorama than a layout) to test the feasibility of working in a new scale. I’d switched from HO to O (1:43.5) about two years prior to starting the layout, but up to that point I’d only built some rolling stock kits and scratchbuilt a locomotive in my new scale. The time had arrived to move beyond a couple of lengths of flexitrack on a plank. Queens Wharf [Described in AMRM Issue 276, June 2009 – Editor] was 3m long and 600mm wide and in its first iteration had no fiddle yard, so trains were confined to the scenic portion of the layout. This didn’t matter too much, as it was really just an exercise to see if I could hand-build…

As mentioned in my review of the Austrains 30 class tank locomotives in AMRM Issue 330 (June 2018), the model is close to perfect, but there is always something that can be done to make a good locomotive even better. Modifications As per the review of the Austrains 30 class printed in AMRM Issue 330 (June 2018), the only things I had found to be missing from the model at the time of the review were the front and rear top lamp irons which, I assume, were not modelled to allow for the fitting of the headlight on the lit versions. Making them was not difficult; I filed a curve into one end of a section of 0.010" x 0.030" brass strip, cut it a scale 9" long, then soldered…

Casula Hobbies have received the first in their range of HO scale r-t-r NSWGR HG four-wheel brake vans, a special run of vans in turn of the 20th century purple brown, as some were painted when used in passenger service in the first decades of that century. This was a very limited run commissioned for attendees at ‘The 2018 Workshop on Modelling the Early Days of the NSW Railways’ which took place in July 2018. While this batch completely sold out, the balance of the run (in mid-20th century condition) is still expected to arrive in time for release at the AMRA (NSW) Liverpool exhibition on the October long weekend. Traction Scale Models have released an O scale 3D printed kit for the Ballarat SEC single…

Every model railway needs an industry or two. Running passenger trains is fun, but it’s shunting the sidings that makes it even more enjoyable. On a tiny model railway like Billabong Marina you may think that there would not be room for many industries, but this is not the case and operating the little layout can be lots of fun. When the layout was first mooted, I examined a few suggestions. I could model a colliery, but I had one of those planned for the extension. I could model a brewery. Like most blokes, I like beer and have dabbled in a few home brews, but I didn’t think it would give me enough variety of wagons – I may be wrong. I could model a steel works. It would…

The MU wagon code was ‘unearthed’ by Peter J Vincent in 1992 during one of his forays into the VR Rolling Stock Register. Fifty of these wagons were built in the early 1930s by converting M class cattle wagons to louvred vans. The reason for the work appeared to be connected with the autocoupler conversion project underway at that time. Peter surmises that they were a temporary replacement for other U vans being removed from service to be fitted with autocouplers. Fifty wagons were converted at Newport Workshops, which entailed the wagons being fitted with temporary closed in panels and wooden louvred sections on the sides and ends. The MU code chosen is logical, a U (louvred) version of the M cattle wagon. It was a very short-lived conversion though;…

While it’s no more difficult to work with aluminium than wood in the construction of benchwork, the first topic that should be mentioned is safety. Never attempt to cut aluminium (or any other metal), using power tools, without wearing safety glasses. It is possible to cut the fairly thin-walled aluminium I worked with in the construction of Morpeth with a hand hacksaw, however a mitre saw is a more practical option if you’re contemplating making more than a few cuts. If you do use a mitre saw then you will also need to acquire a saw blade designed for cutting aluminium. The main difference between a blade designed to cut aluminium and wood is the number of teeth [Photo 1]. As can be seen in the photo, blade A (designed…

SAR/ANR/AN 830/NSWGR 48 Class Locomotives, r-t-r in HO scale by Auscision Models, PO Box 1791, Castle Hill 1765.Website: www.auscisionmodels.com.au . Price: $335.00. Prototype If Sir Topham Hatt (Thomas the Tank Engine’s Fat Controller) had seen the plucky little 830 and 48 class locomotives operating, I am certain that he would have said that they are “Really useful engines”. This class of little branch line locomotives have demonstrated over and over that they are wonderful, versatile locomotives. These plucky little South Australian Railways (SAR) and New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) locomotives have operated across Australia. They have worked on broad gauge, standard gauge and narrow gauge tracks and were equally at home on light branch lines and the main line. They have hauled all types of trains…

Thanks Bob Comerford! After eight years of quiet, unsung, but extremely effective assistance to AMRM, volunteer proofreader, Bob Comerford, has put his red pencil in the drawer and taken a well-deserved ‘retirement’. From late 2009 until last issue, Bob checked every article, review and news item once it was laid out and his attention to detail definitely showed in the final result. The standards of excellence in production values that AMRM currently reaches is definitely the result of the quality of work put in by our ‘behind the scenes’ volunteers, such as Bob, to make sure that the magazine that you read is as perfect and free from ‘typos’ as possible. As mentioned in these pages recently, Bob’s position in the proofreading process has been filled by Louise Smithers, who…