Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Australian Model Railway Magazine

What’s Wrong With It? In November 2015, Christmas has come early; boxes of newly released models have arrived and await checking before putting onto the model railway. That some of these models have been long awaited has increased the Christmas present excitement. There’s the L, the 50, the 43 and the XPT, among many. As the models are unpacked and viewed for the first time, a question or two arise. Is it right? What’s wrong with it? I am of course referring to the prototype authenticity of the individual models. In some instances it is not the first time a model of these prototypes has been on the layout. In fact, the first 50 class was acquired in 1970, a Japanese hand-made brass import, as was the first 43 class…

As a contributor to issue 2 of Australasian Model Railroad Magazine back in 1963, and a member of AMRA since 1955, what can I say to contributor Trevor Hodges [In the Loop: Image Problem? What Image Problem? AMRM Issue 314, October 2015 – Editor], who seems to find our hobby being perceived as uncool? 1. Memorise some of these names: Stirling Moss, Sir Malcolm Campbell, Walt Disney, Lord Brabazon, Earl Mountbatten, two English kings, King Peter of Yugoslavia, John Galsworthy, Alex Guinness, George Bernard Shaw, Neville Shute, Duke of Westminster, Admiral Halsey, the Sultan of Turkey, Air Marshall Sir John Salmon, almost the entire British House of Lords... and dozens more notables from the aristocracy, the literati, the cognoscenti and the intelligentsia. These good people are listed by name on…

Until very recently my commercial involvement in the model railway hobby was limited to assembling two kits and the installation of a DCC decoder into a locomotive. These three instances were spread over approximately twenty years and across two different scales. All three resulted either from trying to help a friend, getting something I wanted in trade for the work, or a mixture of both. At the time of assembling the first of these kits. I had probably put together approximately ten steam locomotive kits, so I was reasonably proficient at the process. The kit was one of the Footplate Models range from DJH and, while it went together in a straightforward manner, an issue emerged for me that put paid to any long term plans I might have had…

Australian Railway Historical Society Archives Collection Volume 1 The Alex Grunbach Films DVD by Belbin Video, 12 Berowra Rd, Mt Colah 2079. Website: www.belbinvideo.com . au . Price: $40.00 Alex Grunbach, long a stalwart of the Australian Railway Historical Society, was regarded very highly as a photographer and his work has been shown far and wide. Aside from his interest in photography, Alex also proved that he too knew how to operate a movie camera. Recently, Belbin Video was given access to the ARHS (NSW) archives and subsequently the first of a planned series of ARHS Archive Collection DVDs has eventuated. Belbin Video has produced a brilliant visual record, albeit with non-original sound dubbed to enhance the original silent footage. Of note…

WARRNAMBOOL – VIC. January 9-10, 2016. St Joseph’s Primary School Hall. 10.00am-5.00pm (Sat), 10.00am-4.00pm (Sun). Exhibition manager David Shalders 0422 164 747 or WMRC Inc. PO Box 1221, Warrnambool 3280. CORIO – VIC. January 23-24, 2016. Geelong West Town Hall, Pakington St, Geelong West (cnr Albert). 10am-5pm (Sat), 10am-4pm (Sun), Enquiries David Nicholas 0409 528252 or steam3203@yahoo.com.au FORESTVILLE – NSW. March 5-6, 2016. NSRMA Forestville Exhibition, Forestville Memorial Halls, Cnr. Warringah Rd & Starkey St, Forestville, NSW. Sat 9am-5pm, Sunday 9.00am-4.00pm. Adults $12, Child $6, Concession $8, Family $28 Andrew King 0412447743 exhibition@nsrma.com.au www.nsrma.com.au THIRMERE – NSW. March 6, 2016. Thirlmere Public School Hall. SHMR Inc Model Railway Exhibition in conjunction with Thirlmere Steam Festival. 9am-5pm (Sun) $2/$1/$5. KYNETON – VIC. March 12-14, 2016. Macedon Ranges Model Railway Club Inc…

Coupling the V/Locity I purchased a Southern Rail Victorian V/Locity three-car set and experienced problems with the couplers. The coupler plug/socket could not be pushed together far enough to allow the extension piece to remain snapped over the spigot, resulting in separation of the couplings in operation when the power car was leading. Operating the set with power car trailing, pushing the trailers would, of course, keep them together, but this not really an acceptable solution. Having a large display case at my disposal for displaying models I decided that the best solution would be to glue the couplings together permanently. The three-car set is run off onto a section of removable track attached to a spur off the main layout, then removed to the display case. Permanently coupling the…

The rustic store is a common sight on model railway layouts, but not often modelled is a store that is part of a larger building. The old general store at Wolseley, on the corner of Railway Terrace and Garnet St, is part of a bigger complex that would make an interesting model, whether scratchbuilt or converted from commercially available models. More of this interesting commercial structure can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/  o2vkczq. The institute building is also a common feature of country towns. While most are now abandoned or repurposed, they were once a very important part of the cultural life of the areas. While many were cheaply built of timber, corrugated iron or, latterly, fibro-cement sheeting, some were more imposing, as befits the civic pride they once…

Well-known Queensland modeller Jim Fainges passed away on 18 October 2015 at the age of 84. Jim started model building at least 70 years ago and model trains over 65 years ago. Initially it was O scale, where he built a 2-6-0 with parts from O Scale House in Sydney and scratchbuilt an O scale 40' boxcar, complete with working brakes. This was the start of an incredible life journey, pioneering through many gauges and multiple scales, as well as making his passion his job and, in retirement, learning Adobe Illustrator to provide multiple scale drawings of (mainly) Queensland narrow gauge stock in his last years. He and his wife were working on a 1:24 scale exhibition layout until shortly before his death, when ill health made it impossible for…