Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

For HO scale Australian modellers, the constant delivery of ready-to-run (RTR) rolling stock has created a seismic shift in many modellers’ priorities. One of the biggest problems in building a certain location has been the lack of RTR models to replicate a certain era. Over time, because of a larger and larger range of models, modellers can now contemplate locations that previously were prohibitive or even revisited. Murray River Bridge was one of those layouts that was revisited (and completed). However, in the modelling community there are some who lament that we are losing the craftsmanship side of the hobby. Well, yes and no. Yes, craftsmen and women are moving, but usually they are into scales that are not populated by RTR, modelling smaller locations in a bigger scale. Thus,…

A number of years ago I was in the process of building a group of Westrail and V/Line open wagon kits that required tarps to protect their model loadings of super-phosphate and steel products. I sought assistance from fellow modellers and various magazine articles, but was not impressed with the others’ techniques. These ranged from using heavy-duty aluminium foil to tissue paper. Due to this dissatisfaction, I embarked on an experiment using artist’s cartridge paper and developed a technique that produces tarps I am happy with. Cartridge paper is a fairly heavy-weight paper that is readily available from artists’ supply stores in single sheets or pads (it probably comes in various weights but the sort that comes in the garden-variety artist’s sketch pad/block is what you need). The first step…

Mail Order The current COVID-19 requirements in Australia has seen a marked increase overall in mail order transactions, but this has also put a strain on Australia Post’s ability for fast delivery (for example, postage items from Sydney, NSW to country Victoria are experiencing journey times of seven days). Thus, if you mail order from your favourite hobby shop or provider, just keep an eye on your tracking number — and be patient. Derailment In part 3 of Don Bishop’s A Bloke Needs a Shed… article, the wrong drawing (No. 5) was printed on page 35 of the August 2020 AMRM (issue 343). We have printed the correct drawing on page 61 and we apologise for the error. Australian Modeller is going through its second renovation to expand the store…

The story behind my current layout North Coast National goes back many decades when, as a child in the early sixties, I received a Tri-ang Hornby train set. I remember that it was made up of a British Railways (BR) Jinty steam locomotive, a few wagons, some track and a controller. I remember I would take that loco everywhere I went along with a copy of a Tri-ang catalogue that I had been given, so I was clearly bitten by the train bug at that point. After finishing year 10 at high school in Queensland I had what I call a couple of non-jobs for a few months, then joined the Queensland Government Railways (QR) in 1971 as a cleaner at Mayne in Brisbane. I was still keen on railways,…

The AHGX grain hopper is iconic and has been operated in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Of the original 132 built, Australian Southern Railroad had 122 AHGXs. A substantial part of the fleet was sold off to the Manildra Group in 2003 and to QR National as part of the Australian Railroad Group split-up in 2006, now named Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA). There were 31 members of the class in GWA ownership. These were fairly beaten up; various repaints and rough handling had taken their toll. The more capable CGAYs were handling the lion’s share of the grain haulage task for GWA. However, there was an operation that suited the AHGXs: the Loxton (Tookayerta) and Pinnaroo lines. The use of lighter axle locomotives such as…

Over the years, I have scratchbuilt a variety of structures. Some have been modelled from scale drawings, some interpolated from photographs of the prototype and some created largely from experience and imagination. It is very satisfying to replicate an actual building using the first two approaches, but this also requires a good deal of accurate measurement, accurate detailing and often many hours of research. On the other hand, freelance modelling can allow one to abandon (more or less) the rigour of prototype authenticity and just create models using general references, available modelling materials and a little free thinking. The freelanced suburban HO scale shopfronts described here are the result of such an approach. I like to think of this type of modelling as ‘creative fiddling’. None of the models replicates…

Historically, Australian railway bridges were often constructed with locally-sourced hardwood timbers, usually following clearings for farmland or from logging forests. This provided a relatively cheap and readily available source of materials for bridges and other structures along the railway line. The timber sections are now quite expensive to source as large hardwood timbers are difficult to come by and railway departments must compete with local councils that require them to maintain the numerous road bridges across the country. As a result, many railway bridges are now built with other materials such as concrete and steel. Nonetheless, many of the old timber bridges still remain in service, particularly in areas that are not heavily trafficked. The drawing for this prototype file is the Parkesbourne Road overbridge at Cooks Cutting, about 15…

• Auscision pack SGH-7 MHGX AN green with no logos or Auscision pack SGH-8 MHGX yellow with Manildra Harwood Sugar logo. [Editor’s note: At the time of writing, both these packs are sold out, but are available in the second-hand market.] • Tru-Color paints TCP-005 reefer white, TCP-069 reefer yellow, TCP-078 REA green, TCP-159 L&N blue. (At the time of writing, Southern Cross Railway Hobbies are the importer; this is just a guide, so these can be substituted for your favourite brand.) • Bline or Bills Billboards graffiti decals (there are others). • Humbrol enamel paints, No. 11 silver, No. 25 royal blue, No. 33 black, No. 34 white, No. 60 red, No. 64 light grey, No. 98 chocolate, No. 99 yellow and No. 101 green. • Uni POSCA 0.7 mm…

The Waterside branch of the Victorian Railways (VR) is a freelance HO scale layout set in the northeast of Victoria. Inspired by many prototype VR branches, it was built to test many modelling techniques I wanted to try before building a bigger layout. Originally, I thought it would be a five-year project, but it lasted for almost 14 years in two states and three homes. Originally set in the 1940s, the era was moved up to the 1960s for the last few years. The Powerline T class diesels were responsible for that! Construction The bench-work is typical open-grid constructed from pine screwed and glued together. The minimum track level is well above the top of the bench work to allow realistic depressions in the scenery for watercourses. I used 12…

This small group of locomotives only operated for ten years in Australia. However, they were obtained at a critical time during a mining boom and most went straight into service as trailing units, despite being up to forty years old at the time. Background In the early 1960s the three surviving North American locomotive manufacturers were engaged in a horsepower race, as North American railroads became interested in more powerful locomotives to reduce the number of locomotives required on their increasingly long and heavy trains. One technical problem limiting locomotive power was that the design of direct current (DC) generators, used effectively, limited the power of the locomotive to about 2500 h.p. This was overcome by using three-phase alternating current (AC) alternators in conjunction with solid-state rectifiers, Alco using this…

SDS Models’ SAR/ANR/AN 800 class HO scale locomotives have arrived, covering almost all liveries applied to the class over their operating lives. Shown here is 802 in AN livery, 805 in ANR livery (with the correct era-specific yellow bogies) and 800, as preserved in SAR livery. Steam Era Models has recently upgraded its HO scale kit for the Victorian Railways wooden U/HD louvre van. The kit now includes a moulded roof, instead of a sheet of plain polystyrene. The moulded-on handrails and uncoupling levers have been eliminated and etched brass is included for handrails, foundation brake rigging, handbrake lever with ratchet and the trapdoor that often featured at one end of these vans. A moulded jig is included to assist with forming uncoupling levers from the 0.3 mm wire supplied.…