Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

Painting After the five plate web girders were finished (Photo 27), I spent some time searching colour photos of New South Wales (NSW) steel railway bridges without arriving at a definite conclusion as to what might be the correct colour to paint them. Don Fraser told me that he had no idea what the original colours of the bridge were, however, he stated “the standard painting layers for a great many years were a coat of red lead and two coats of ferrodor, a mid grey.” So, the bridge girders were thoroughly washed in warm water with some detergent in it. After drying they were painted with a metal primer and then with two coats of an appropriate shade of grey. I used Testors Model Master acrylic enamels applied with…

KCC cement container wagons for the Fyansford Geelong to Snowy Mountains Scheme Despite the above title and the rail destination of Cudgewa, with a bit of modellers licence, these wagons could be used on any model railway to provide variation of loads. They would have formed part of numerous goods trains that ran from Fyansford Geelong via Melbourne to Wodonga and onto Cudgewa! The Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme was one of, if not, the largest infrastructure project in Australia, and one of the most complex hydro-electric schemes in the world. The project required enormous quantities of bulk cement, steel, electrical components, building materials and general supplies to be delivered to the remote Snowy Mountains location. The Victorian Railways (VR) were called upon to transport a large amount of these materials…

In the December 2020 edition of AMRM, Phil Jeffrey did a great job in his article describing the detail of the Tait carriages as produced by Auscision Models. My article looks at later variations of Taits from a modeller’s point of view, versions not covered by the Auscision Models. This is based on a review of photographs where identifiable Tait serials can be made out in books or on line. It is not based on primary source information, nor is it a definitive history of Taits, and only covers variations of different cabs, passenger roofs and queen post trusses. The Taits produced by Auscision Models have the following features: original style cab roof, rod and turnbuckle queen post truss and clerestory passenger compartment roof. For the purpose of this article,…

Introduction In 2020, James Pennington and myself (Keith) both rekindled our interest in the hobby of model railways. This layout became a gateway back into the hobby and a stepping-stone into the world of Digital Command Control (DCC). I have now become enamoured with all its bells and whistles. Design and Planning We opted for a size of 2.4 by 1.2 metres (8ft by 4ft), which is a common size for constructing an entry-level layout. Starting with this manageable size, enables beginners to ease into the hobby without being overwhelmed. We hadn’t encountered a South Australian Railways (SAR) layout built to this size before. The layout is planned as a showcase for inspiring modellers who wish to model the SAR, but are constrained by space. They can still pursue their…

As my layout is basically a long stretch of single track with many passing loops, I needed a method or a process that prevented two trains from occupying a section of single track at the same time. The solution was to develop my own ‘Staff machine’ system. Basically, it is two Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switches, with one switch located at each ‘signal box’, see Photo 2. As per the prototype, this system is not idiot proof; some people will always find work-arounds for interlocking systems. My system does not prevent anyone from driving their train onto the mainline from the crossing loop, but it works for my purposes. Each staff machine is linked to the next (at the next crossing loop location) with a length of four-core alarm…

This year marks 20 years of N Scale T-TRAK in Australia. The first T-TRAK module was built in 2003 by Andrew George after he read an article about the original design by Lee MonocoFitzGerald. The American modeller ’s innovation is recognised in the modular system’s name - the ‘T’ comes from the name of her son, Thomas, who passed away in 1993. Andrew displayed his first module at the 2003 N Scale Convention in Melbourne. Later, the concept was shown to the MelbNTrak club and presented at the 2007 convention in Adelaide. Many convention attendees spread the concept around Australia with both modellers and clubs taking on the T-TRAK system. T-TRAK’s growth in Australia since the early 2000s has been largely attributed to its size and portability; there is no…

Handover So, here I am with the builder, looking down from the main viewing platform as we discuss the practical completion of the project. After such a long time, the day has come, and the train room has been handed over. (I don’t call it a shed anymore). Brief thoughts of “What have I got myself into?” are dismissed, and it is with great satisfaction that I shake the hand of the builder and plan the next steps. I was very fortunate to have a builder that allowed me access to the site whilst the project was underway. I got to meet all the tradies that worked on the site, and all of them were keen to talk about the layout; some even knowing a little about model trains. But…

Sutherland is 24km south of Sydney (Central) on the Illawarra line and passengers are served by Sydney Trains T4 trains and New South Wales (NSW) TrainLink South Coast trains. History The railway reached Sutherland on 26 December 1885 and was the terminus of the Illawarra line when it was extended from Hurstville. It was built as single line with a brick station building, a goods shed and Station Master’s residence. On 9 March 1886, an extension was opened to Waterfall with a branch line from Loftus to National Park (later re-named The Royal National Park). with further extensions finally reached the terminus at Bomaderry (Nowra). In 1890 and 1891 the line was duplicated from Hurstville to Waterfall with a gauntlet track arrangement installed on the Georges River bridge at Como.…

T-TRAK is a two-track N Scale modular tabletop system which relies upon the interlocking qualities of Kato Unitrack. The unique Unitrack joining method not only joins the tracks together but also facilitates a good electrical connection between adjacent modules. The system utilises a standard single-length baseboard module, being 308 mm long and 300 mm from front to back, with the module height being 70 mm. The first track is positioned with the edge of the Kato Unitrack located 38 mm from the front of the module, and the two mainline tracks are 33 mm apart (centre to centre), see Diagram 1. The most common modules are singles (310 mm long track length) and doubles (620 mm long), with 90- and 180-degree corner modules. The base length is 2mm shorter than…

Whenever I visit my local hobby shop, I invariably look at the tempting array of Oxford diecast model vehicles. The problem is that apart from the American car range, these models are 1:76 (OO) which is too large for HO modelers such as myself. I have noticed that some HO modelers sometimes use OO models and provided they are not placed close to HO vehicles this can be acceptable, but not generally so. The same problem exists with the range of Australian prototype buses that have been produced by Trux, Ozbus and Exclusive First Additions (EFE). Excellent models that they are, they dwarf the HO vehicles if placed on my layout. See photo 1. I have managed to incorporate two of these Trux buses by placing them inside a bus…