Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

Australia was lucky enough to have a thriving automotive industry. Vehicles (especially passenger cars) were uniquely Australian, companies such as Chrysler (Valiant), Ford and Holden (three of the biggest) produced vehicles primarily for the Australian market. These vehicles became iconic. Australians were, and mostly still are, in a love affair with their cars. Vehicles go through productions runs like most products, new ones are produced and older ones slowly disappear from the roads as consumers trade up or buy new. Thus, vehicles can be a very useful tool for setting an era on your layout. However, in practice this can be quite difficult. Not every modeller is a ‘motorhead’. I remember seeing a layout presentation, where the owner explained the intricacies of each train consist featured on his layout and…

My fascination with trains and railways started when my mother would take us to the City (Sydney NSW) via the public transport system. I remember sitting at the station (St Peters) waiting for a suburban and seeing big diesels and passenger cars howling through the platform heading to an unknown destination. This was frightening to a kid, but also exciting – this big metal monster terrorising onlookers and wondering where it was going. I received my first train set when I was around 10 years old. It was a HO scale Lima set comprising of an oval track, power transformer and a GM class Commonwealth Railways (CR) locomotive with two CR coaches. This was the best carpet train set ever as it lasted 6 months before its fate was sealed…

The rod is then routed to the rear of the layout and a knob fitted for comfort of operation. If the underlay is soft the rod will set into the material and can be concealed with ground cover. If something harder is used, such as cork, it may be necessary to cut a shallow groove. It may also be necessary to conceal the rod where it traverses the rest of the layout. It is not necessary to insert the rod in tubing as it has sufficient rigidity to operate without this. So, that’s all that is involved. The set-up takes less than five minutes to install and another advantage is that the un-prototypical, laterally protruding ends of the PECO throw bar may be cut off.…

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.…

O scale micro layouts Having just read the great article on micro layouts and being an O scale modeller, I couldn’t help feeling that they would be so much better in O scale, with generally better running and more realism while still remaining very manageable. The Gauge O Guild in UK offers Small Layouts books for additional inspiration for modellers without much room. Richard Leeder Trentham Vic We agree with your comments, micro layouts are inspirational and scale diversity is important, we would like to publish more O scale articles. We are currently working on a location to model which will suit a micro layout in O scale, stay tuned! – Editor Editor’s comment: Is it time for Exhibition diversity? I agree with what is said about shorter exhibitions and…

In the latter part of 2021 I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from an old friend of mine who lives in Armidale, NSW. My friend Jim Pullen is a long time member of the New England Model Railway Club who I met when I lived in Armidale in the early 2000s. I knew his health hasn’t been too good for the past few years but he sadly let me know he’d recently dismantled his layout. He and his wife had made the decision that his changing needs, brought on by his deteriorating health, had meant it was time for his HO layout to go. Jim’s layout had been housed in an approximately 5m x 5m room on the same level as the garage, laundry and a toilet which…

Auscision Models Auscision Models has announced the production of their second publication ‘Rails NSW – The 80’s’ which showcases the photographic work of Graham Cotterall’s 1980s NSW railway photos. The publication is a large format hard-cover book of 200 pages with 185 colour photographs. This book will be available in March 2022. Sound equipped models Unfortunately, due to the worldwide chip shortage Auscision Models are waiting for the delivery of ESU LokSound decoders. ESU have been unable to supply the large numbers needed. However, Auscision Models are working on DCC sound kit for the Victorian Railways ‘Tait’ sets and the Tangara sets in HO scale r-t-r. N scale projects National Rail – Pacific National NR Class diesel locomotive in N scale r-t-r is now in production. This model will initially…

• Scale: N Scale • Prototype: NSW various locations • Period: 60s to present day • Layout type: Continuous run with yard shunting • Layout size: 3.9m x 1.2m • Rail Height from floor: 1250mm • Baseboard: 2 main boards 1800mm x 400mm and 2 corner modules 1200mm x 1200mm and 1200mm x 900mm • Control: DC 2 x Gaugemaster Combi hand throttles • Scenery: XPS blue foam, Plaster cloth with Sculptamould and various Woodland Scenics coloured foams, MiniNatur static grass and Chucks Ballast. • Structures: Scratchbuilt • Locomotives and rolling stock: Scratchbuilt 3D printed, Kit & R-T-R • Builder: Robert Popovski…

TichyTrainGroupinsulators Catalogue no. 8158 (24 per pack) or Sommerfeldt insulators in white: Catalogue No. 205 (24 per pack), as required. PECO overhead catenary (various lengths) Note the following Catalogue No’s: LC-150 = 200mm; LC-151 = 260mm; LC-152 = 340mm; LC-153 = 380mm and LC-154 = 500mm. 0.5mm wire 1mm wire styrene flat strip or thin brass bar Prestige 12 x 28 x 1.5mm Brass Decorative Bracket (four per packet) as required. (available at Bunnings) Original era stanchion KSBrassChannel– No. 815015 as required K&S Brass H column – No. 815008 as required. Modern era stanchion K&S Brass – No. 815011 as required. K&S Brass H column – No. 815010 as required. K&S Brass C Channel – No. 15011 as required. Consumables and tools: Solder Flux Soldering iron Cyanoacrylate (CA)…

I recently built a narrow, HO scale, working diorama for a forthcoming exhibition. I set myself a tight budget for its construction and aimed for simplicity of set-up and operation. Because of this, I decided to mechanically operate the four PECO points from the rear of the diorama. Mechanical methods may involve bicycle spokes, piano wire run though fine tubing or even fishing line pulling against a return spring. These methods generally require the fitting of some kind of eye or adapter for engaging with the ‘pip’ on the point’s throw bar. I recently acquired some magazine folders of the type that holds the spine of the magazine with spring-steel rods – these are also used in AMRM folders. I salvaged the wires on the grounds that they might come…

EXHIBITIONS & EXPOS BUNDABERG – QLD. March 19-20, 2022. Bundaberg Model Train & Hobby Expo, Bundaberg Multiplex Sports & Convention Centre, 1 Civic Avenue, Bundaberg West. Open 9am-5pm (Sat), 9am-4pm (Sun). Graham Nicolson 0407 559 086.graham@queenslandscalemodels.com.au Wide Bay Burnett Model Railway Club Inc. KALEEN – ACT. March 26-27, 2022. 33rd Canberra Model Railway Expo, UC High School Kaleen, Baldwin Drive, Kaleen. Chris 0400 116 016.cmrcisecpra@gmail.com. https://cmrci.info/Canberra Model Railway Club BOWEN HILLS – QLD. April 30-May 1, 2022. AMRA Qld. Inc Brisbane Model Train Show, Exhibition Building, 601 Gregory Terrace (cnr. Costin Street) RNA Exhibition grounds. 9am-5pm (Sat), 9am-4pm (Sun). Adults $17, Concessions $12. Enquiries amraqld1@gmail.com ROSEHILL – NSW. May 14-15, 2022. Great Train Show, Rosehill Gardens Grand Pavilion, off Grand Ave, Rosehill. Mike 0408 817 554.secondhand@eppingmodelrailway.org.au www.eppingmodelrailway.org.au LAVINGTON – NSW.…