Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Christmas Past, Cricket and New Blood

As these thoughts are being typed, it is a fortnight before Christmas Day. Traditionally, many youngsters were introduced to railways with a train set as a Christmas present. Often, the present was really for dad, but the credit was always placed with the youngster who ‘wanted a train set’. There is little doubt that many readers got their start this way, indeed for those of my vintage and older, the train set may even have been clockwork. I had the added advantage that an uncle was a Hornby Club member, so my parents had some good guidance. Then, train sets were used to promote the festive season. More than one shop window in the city of Sydney included a continuously operating train. I am sure it was common all around…

3 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

At A Glance

Scale: HO Prototype: Inspired by the NSWGR’s Blayney-Demondrille cross-country line Period: 1930s-1970s Layout type: Y shaped end-to-end / fiddle yard to fiddle yard Layout size: 4.5m x 4.3m Baseboard: Plywood, pine and MDF box structure Baseboard height: 1360mm Track: Handlaid code 55/Peco code 75 Minimum radius: 1m Ruling gradient: No deliberate gradients! Control: DCC Structures: Scratchbuilt and modified kits Scenery: Plaster over polystyrene foam Locomotives: Brass and plastic r-t-r, kit-built Rolling stock: Kit-built, r-t-r and scratchbuilt Builder: James McInerney…

1 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Backdate an Auscision MLV

Some time ago, Auscision produced a good model of a 36'0", fishbellyunderframed MLV louvred van. The model depicted a vehicle late in its life, with roller bearing, high speed bogies, single roof, bufferless and with low lamp brackets. This limits its usefulness for those modelling the popular 1960s steam/diesel crossover period. These very distinctive vans, of which there were about 100, originated as three-compartment louvred vans, built on various types of underframes between 1910 and 1921. The first two contracts used the complicated and weak Thow compound truss underframe and this was modified in the 1920s to a simple queenpost arrangement. The later contracts were on all-steel cantilever underframes. All types used the Thow diamond-frame 5'6" wheelbase bogie. In the late 1930s an upgrading programme was instituted and plate-frame, 6'6"…

3 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Moving the Traffic

The water laps against the stone wall, gently rocking the fishing boats whose crews are unloading their overnight catch. Seagulls swoop and caw with the hope of catching a stray fish while pelicans stand nearby silently, expecting a feed. The serenity is quietly disturbed by a distant and growing rumble. Before long the source of the noise appears; a 48 class with four ice-chilled refrigerated vans and a guard’s van rolls into Billabong Wharf station, making sure the rear of its train is clear of the points (Diagram 1). The X200 class shunter couples to the guard’s van at the rear of the train and 4894 is released. The guard exchanges paperwork with the crew of X210. There is some conversation between the driver and shunter, along with some pointing…

13 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

REVIEWS

The products covered in the Review pages have been supplied or made available by the manufacturer, producer, importer or retailer listed in each product heading. AMRM welcomes access to new product lines for inclusion in the Review pages and requests items be addressed to the Editor at Australian Model Railway Magazine, PO Box 345, Matraville 2036. Readers are reminded that the prices quoted in the reviews are those applicable at the time of going to press. Those using the prices as a guide to purchasing products by mail order should always add extra for postage, or contact the supplier for the additional cost for mail order.…

1 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Diary

SCMRA ACTIVITIES For all activities contact Eastern Division representative Graham Windmill on (02) 9626 0351. 8 February Meeting at the home of Marcus Ammann, Pymble. 21 March SCMRA Seminar on NSW Rail Operations – Modelling the Prototype. 18 April Running session on DCC layout of Mudgee at home of Tim Stewart, 2.00pm to 5.00pm. 9 May To be confirmed. 6-8 June Great Train Show, Rosehill Gardens. 11 July SCMRA and EMRCI Open Day. Trevor (02) 9876 3522. EXHIBITIONS & EXPOS UNLEY – SA. January 17-19, 2020. South Australian N Gauge Society display. Unley Civic Library, 181 Unley Road, Unley. 10am-4pm (Fri & Sat), 1pm-4pm (Sun). secretary2@sangs.asn.au http://www.sangs.asn.au/ NORLANE – VIC. January 25-26, 2020. Corio Model Railway Club Inc. New Venue: Centenary Hall, Corner Princes Highway and Cox Road, Norlane. 10am-5pm…

4 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

LAMBING FLAT (Beecroft version)

History The version of Lambing Flat described here had its beginnings in a module, featuring the Wombat Flour Mill, that I built in 1984 and first displayed at the Modelling the Railways of NSW convention in August of that year at the old AMRA (NSW) clubrooms in Rockdale. There had been other NSWGR-inspired Lambing Flat layouts, most of which never got beyond the bare board and track stage, dating back to 1977. When I moved to Burwood in 1983 my modelling interests had finally ‘gelled’ into a specific interest in NSWGR ‘pioneer’ branch lines and the locomotives and rolling stock that ran on them, rather than the ‘generic’ NSWGR theme that I had been previously pursuing. This, combined with a major advance in my modelling skills, brought about by the…

19 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Planting a Vineyard

My HO scale layout is of NSW outline, but of no specific period or location; I just like model railways and ‘making things’. As it happened, I had a corner on the layout that looked bare, giving me the idea that a vineyard would be a worthwhile addition for that spot. So I set about constructing one, a process that proved to be easy and utilised available materials. Pre-planning The first decision to be made is about the length of each row of grapevines and how many of them. Obviously the space available will help one to arrive at that answer. In my case, I constructed six rows, 15mm (a scale 4'3" – 1.3m) apart. From observations when visiting vineyards, I estimated that they need to be 20mm high (about…

6 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

The Exhibition Experience

A couple of times in the past twelve months I’ve been involved in discussions that started with sentences along the lines of: “Well that was disappointing. There wasn’t anything very new or that I haven’t seen before. There hasn’t really been a good layout since (insert your own preference of scale, gauge or prototype here)...” These sentences, almost always delivered by someone I know who has just visited a model railway exhibition, always get my attention because I rarely feel like this after attending a show. Even if there are no layouts in my own scale and gauge, I almost always find something to inspire me and I often meet an old friend I haven’t seen for a while at the show and can catch up with over a coffee.…

14 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

The Commonwealth Railways Standard Gauge System

The Commonwealth Railways’ standard gauge system across Australia is a much neglected modelling topic. While the diesels, Indian Pacific carriages and the bogie exchange stock have achieved a certain level of recognition, perhaps due to their appearances in the more-modelled eastern states, the Trans Australian Railway itself, particularly in the years prior to the Australian National takeover in 1975, is not a subject that has often appeared in these pages. However, thanks to these photos, supplied by Gavin Thrum (images from the 2017 Modelling the Railways of South Australia convention) and Paul Grundy (models he has constructed), we can present a tiny sample of the delights available to those who are prepared to look further afield than the ‘mainstream’ modelling topics.…

5 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

AMRM News

Retirement Beckons… If you have ever had the yen to helm Australia’s premier model railway magazine, this is your chance! After thirteen years as Production Manager/Editor, I (James) am well and truly ready to retire, as is our General Manager (Bob, after nearly 50 years). If guiding AMRM through the next stage of its development is something you might like to do, have a look at the invitation for Expressions of Interest on p.64. If you want more information on what the job of Production Manager/Editor entails, see Producing AMRM Today on pgs. 24/25 of AMRM Issue 301 (August 2013). Things are pretty much the same today, only the names of some of the volunteer assistants have changed! Bathurst Railway Museum Opening Construction of the Bathurst Rail Museum, housed in…

6 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Mailbag

A Finished Model! I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased to see photos of my VR bogie sheep and cattle wagons featured on p.42 in the Gallery section of AMRM Issue 339 (December 2019). The cattle wagon is now finished and weathered as MF1, using photographs of the prototype. Alan Greenhill Wheelers Hill 3150 Standard Gauge W Class I have just read the December 2019 issue of AMRM (another excellent issue). I particularly liked the feature layout The Top End 1942. In the item in the News section regarding the upcoming IDR Models W class, it is mentioned that W266 (ex-NSWGR 7101) was the only standard gauge member of the class. W267 was also on the standard gauge and there is a classic photo on P.34 of John Dare’s publication…

2 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Why ‘Lambing Flat’?

Lambing Flat is the old name for Young, a largish country town on the South West Slopes of NSW, and the location in which I grew up. While I did want to model the railway system I grew up observing (the Blayney/Demondrille line and branches), I did not want to model a specific location on the line, as this would restrict me too much in what I could (legitimately) run on the layout. By modelling an imaginary location, but keeping to the ‘rules’ of NSWGR design and practice, I could have the best of both worlds.…

1 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Practical Track Planning for Operation and Enjoyment

Some model railway layouts start at a distinct point in time. The design for this layout is one that was arrived at because of an invitation to give a presentation at the New England Model Railway Club (NEMRC) 2016 convention. I questioned what I could present to modellers that would have impact, as well as provide a worthwhile and interesting experience. I owe the inspiration for this design to the ‘well-known’ member of the hobby ‘Raleigh Modlar’. He was the driving force for the idea for the plan and selection of ‘The Dangarsleigh Room’ at the Armidale convention site. Before Starting There are a few common principles that drive the initiation of a model railway layout. There must be an idea in the mind for a railway, inspired perhaps by…

16 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

QR/QRN ‘Sweeper’ Freight Train Nos 243/752

As with the rest of Australia, steel products are a commodity that is carried by rail in Queensland. Unlike the other states of Australia, Queensland has never had dedicated steel-carrying trains. This is due in part to the considerably smaller amount of steel products being transported and the restrictions of having a smaller loading gauge as a result of Queensland’s 3'6" (1067mm) gauge track. The only exception to this was the Queensland Rail/QR National (QR/QRN) ‘sweeper’ freight trains of the noughties (2000-2009) that ran on the North Coast Line (NCL) from Acacia Ridge (Brisbane) to the northern city of Townsville. These trains sometimes carried large quantities of steel products. The focus of this article will be on the mid-to-late noughties, which this author remembers fondly from his time working for…

13 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Reviews

NSWGR S Four-wheeled Open Wagon kit in O scale (1:43.5) by ModelOKits, PO Box 379, Ermington 1700. Website: www. modelokits.com. Email: sales@ modelokits.com. Price: $85.00. Prototype S trucks were the most common four-wheeled wagon on the NSWGR with their numbers reaching something over 10,000 in the 1930s. These ‘standard’ 18' long wagons began appearing in 1900 with the full steel-bodied S truck gradually becoming ubiquitous on the NSWGR system. The early steel-bodied wagons were produced in batches in the early part of the 20th century and there was then a lull in new construction until the 1940s when a major ‘renewal’ program was commenced that saw the entire existing fleet of steel-bodied S trucks replaced with a new design of 18' four-wheeled open wagon, still coded ‘S’ and retaining the…

9 min

Australian Model Railway Magazine|February 2020

Vale Warren McLean

It is with great sadness that I have to inform the readers of AMRM that Warren McLean, well-known modeller and one of the original members of the Australian branch of the NMRA, has passed on after suffering a heart attack on 15 October last. Many would remember Warren as the principal of Quality Scale Model Distributors and for his amazing US-style HO, HOn3 and On3 exhibition layouts seen at many east coast exhibitions back in the 1980s and 1990s. Warren was also the Convener of the Newcastle Model Railway Exhibition for several years. He attended the very first Model Railway Exhibition at Copeton Dam, near Glen Innis in northern NSW, which was the catalyst that started off the New England Model Railway Club. Warren was also guest speaker at special…

1 min