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16 Articles

3 min.

Comment

The ‘Theatre’ effect As I progress in modelling, there is an ever-present drive for realism. However, our scale depictions need a little help with convincing the observer. There are tools that we can use to enhance our realism; this goes beyond putting up a backdrop, such as: • Limiting the angles that your model can be viewed, some oblique viewing angles can destroy realism, especially with printed backdrops. • Hiding the lighting in a valance or pelmet can set the ‘stage’ for your modelling talents and provide even diffused lighting. • Painting the valance and surrounds a dark colour focuses the eye onto your ‘stage’. These could be considered standard ‘theatre’ techniques; simple finishes like this can really help with realism and distract or obscure what you don’t want the…

15 min.

Bombo, NSW

I can remember a drive in the family car when I was in primary school, down along the South Coast of New South Wales (NSW) towards Kiama. Rounding a long and sweeping corner along the Princes Highway, passing rocky cliff faces and rolling hills, I was suddenly looking out across the Pacific Ocean. It was a sunny day, but I vividly recall the waves being choppy and wild along the beach that day. The only thing between the road and this beach was a single mainline leading into a quiet train station, standing as a silent sentinel with a commanding view of this utterly captivating scene. This was my first look at Bombo and, looking back now, I suppose that moment had left an imprint upon me! Bombo Beach is…

8 min.

Modelling the Nepean River Bridges at Camden Part 3

Note: Reference is made to images and figures in part one and part two. The railway bridge has been modelled in detail. In the prototype, each span was constructed using two steel plate web girders connected by four lateral bracing frames and stabilised by sway bracing. Each riveted girder consisted of a vertical web plate with a pair of flange angles along both top and bottom. The web plate was strengthened on both sides against buckling by several vertical stiffeners formed from angles. There was also a splice plate in the centre of the web since the span was too long for the web plate to be made from a single piece of steel plate. The railway bridge had additional flange plates attached to the flange angles. All components were…

1 min.

Jig for cutting diagonal braces

Jig for cutting diagonal braces from 3/64 by 3/64 (1.2mm by 1.2mm) tees – see Figure Y (a) Block of wood approximately 60mm by 40mm by 20mm Angle is determined from Figure 2 Line A – fine saw cut about 1mm deep and 0.2mm wide Line B - drawn line (b) Glue 3mm by 2mm wooden guide pieces parallel to lines A & B with a 1.2mm gap between them. Pieces of tee section 26mm long (diagonal brace length) are placed with tee stem in slot A, positioned equally about line B. These are held in place by 3mm by 1.2mm pieces of wood wedged between the guide pieces at each end. Fine saw and files are used to cut away tee head using line B guide pieces to locate,…

8 min.

The Yass Tramway

In the April 2023 issue of AMRM there was a ‘Location to Model’ article on the New South Wales Government Railway (NSWGR) Oberon branch. This prompted me to look what models are currently available and have been produced recently that would be suitable for a compact layout based on the Yass Tramway. I was thinking about layouts that would make a nice prototypical model for someone starting out in the hobby. This article will detail some history of the Yass Tramway, its operation and a selection of photos of the trains and the structures. For someone who needs some guidance in the actual construction of a layout, then the PECO book, ‘Your Guide to Model Railways and Layout Construction,’ which is available from Hobby shops at $20.00 AUD, provides a…

14 min.

Putting the O into Casterton Part 6: The train room fit out

Anyone who has had a major structure built for them, can attest that delays in construction are inevitable. Along with the usual issues, such as securing finance and facing material and labour shortages, a couple of unfortunate incidents conspired to slow down the progress of my build significantly. Firstly, one of the carpenters broke his neck playing football. Thankfully, he is okay and has suffered no ongoing issues. Secondly, one day into painting, the painter badly injured his shoulder. Given that he had to paint some 500m2 three times, he needed a lengthy rest away from the roller before resuming the job. This had a knock-on effect as the other trades, such as electricians and plumbers, who could not proceed until the painting was done. Despite these delays, the shed…

5 min.

Steel train operations on the Cassino layout

The Steel train operations One of my favourite trains on the layout is the Steel train. Up empty steel train - Acacia Ridge yard to Grafton yard The sequence of my steel train starts with an Up empty steel train (Train No.8) in track two (a return loop) in Acacia Ridge yard, departing south to Grafton yard where it stages until later in the session. This is sequence number five in the timetable departing Acacia Ridge yard at 01:20, due to arrive at Grafton yard track two (also a return loop) about 05:10. This roster enables you to travel the whole layout. This train is over length for some crossing loops, in particular The Risk, Border Loop, and Kyogle, providing the North Coast Controller with some scheduling headaches. Local steel…

6 min.

Just Right

IN THE LOOP The shed that housed my previous layout had a barn style roof which I’d failed to take into account when I was drafting layout plans prior to acquiring the property. The amount of space I imagined I had available in the nine metre by nine metre shed should have been something like seventy-two square metres. However, a staircase up to the first floor layout room, a large walk-in cupboard and the sloping ceilings all encroached on the available space. It turned out there was only about fifty-five square metres of floor space available. The main impact the sloping roof had on the layout design was the height the track could be set above floor level: the higher I set the track, the more I had to draw…

1 min.

AMRA Victorian Exhibition

The Annual AMRA Victorian Branch Exhibition was held at the Melbourne Showgrounds on 5 and 6 August 2023. This new venue was spacious and exhibitor friendly. Steamrail organised vintage ‘Red-Rattler’ trains to operate to and from the Showgrounds on Sunday. This move proved very popular as the venue was inundated with patrons taking advantage of this service. A great example of kindred organisations working together to promote the hobby. Fifty seven stands and exhibits were in attendance. These included, Sunbury Model Railway Club’s Gisbourne and London Midland and Scottish Crosby Stephen. North Shore Railway Modellers Association Blue Mountains. AMRA Vic’s Mar yborough and Zweibrucken Talbahn, Robert Popovski’s Gunning and David Standen and Roger Cole’s Cheakumus Canyon.…

3 min.

Stop Monkeying Around! Or, making GY wagon tarpaulins

If you have some Auscision Models Victorian Railways GY wagons, these wagons have fairly average moulded plastic tarpaulins refer Photo 1. Feeling energetic I went searching for solutions, only to find most mentioned making a mandrel for your replacement tarpaulin. This was a bit of a problem, I thought they were talking about a mandrill monkey which would not be much use for this project. Undeterred, I could see the supplied plastic tarpaulin could be used effectively as a mould for a plaster mandrel (no, not the monkey one). Editor’s Note: This is a variation of a technique presented by the Victorian Model Railway Society ‘VRMS’ see references. As per Photo 2, take the plastic tarpaulins and secure them upside down, seal the ends with masking tape and coat the…

7 min.

Reviews

SDS Models South Australian Railways (SAR) 900 class diesel locomotives in HO scale r-t-r. Website: http://www.sdsmodels.com.au Email: sales@sdsmodels.com.au P.O.Box 804 Winston Hills NSW 2153 All prototype photos are credited to Bob Richardson. SDS Models’ venture into the South Australian Railways market has reached new levels with the release of SAR 900 class diesel. Available r-t-r in DC – DCC ready with 21 pin socket $335.00 AUD and DCC with ESU sound fitted $465.00 AUD. The model is available in the following liveries and configurations: • SAR 1950s with silver roof No. 900, 902, 906 and 904. • SAR 1960 with grey roof and maroon nose No. 904 and 907. • SAR 1967 onwards with maroon roof with Sinclair arial No. 900, 901, 905 and 909. • Australian National Railways (ANR)…

12 min.

AMRM News

HO Scale Auscision Models have received the first painted pilot models of their r-t-r Victorian Railways ‘Harris’ Suburban Electric Multiple Units, these will be available in four and seven unit packs. These models are expected into production the first quarter of 2024. Eureka Models have received an engineering pilot model of their r-t-r New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) AD60 Beyer Garratt steam locomotive. For this re-run some retooling was undertaken followed by extensive testing Importantly, a Zimo decoder was fitted complete with the sound files. With the final steps in the assembly process getting under-way, Eureka is scheduled to visit the factory in November so delivery can be expected early next year. Planned models are: • 6001, 6027, 6032 and 6035 engine black, long bunker, sound tubes • 6007…

2 min.

Vale

Bruce Macdonald OAM 29 January 1928 - 22 June 2023 Bruce had a lifelong interest in railways and steam machinery, the full size prototype and railway models. His father was a Guard with the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) and Bruce travelled several times with his father from Sydney to Newcastle, in a bouncing HG van, with a dim gas light for night travel. By the early 1950s Bruce had constructed an O gauge garden railway, including some fine scratch-built models. In 1953 he acquired steam tram motor 103A, which was moved into his backyard for restoration. I met Bruce at this time and the steam tram motor was restored and returned to service in Parramatta Park within a few years. Tram motor 103A now runs regularly at Valley…

1 min.

Vale

John Ward 28 November 1942 - 28 May 2023 Just as the last issue of AMRM was going to press, news of the death of Eveleigh Press author John Ward came to our attention. John’s book Sydney Subruban Steam contained some of his railway photographs from around Sydney. John was a renowned photograph of all things related to historic transport. He not only photographed railways, but buses, trams and ferries. John was born in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville and was the eldest of three children. As a young boy attending Gladesville Primary School, John became fascinated with the trams and buses he saw on his way to and from school. On leaving school in 1962, John worked for the NSW Lands Department and went on holidays with his parents…

2 min.

Diary

EXHIBITIONS & EXPOS SHEPPARTON – VIC. October 21-22, 2023. Shepparton Model Rail Exhibition, GV Rail Club Inc. McIntosh Centre, Shepparton Showgrounds (5 minute walk from the railway station). 9am–5.30pm (Sat), 10am–4pm (Sun). Adults $10, Children $5, Family $20. Ross 0407 845 247. https://www.gvrailclub.com SUNBURY – VIC. October 21-22, 2023. Sunbury Model Railway Club, 38th Annual Exhibition. St. Anne’s Church Hall, Riddell Road Sunbury. 10am-5pm (Sat), 10am-4pm (Sun). Adults $10.00, Child $5.00, Family $25.00. Mark 0407 880 604. STANHOPE GARDENS – NSW. November 4-5, 2023. Hills Model Railway Society ‘Back on Track’ Exhibition. Blacktown Leisure Centre, Sentry Drive, Stanhope Gardens. Adults $15.00, Children (5-13 years) $5.00, Concession $5.00, Family (2 Adults, 2 Children) $35.00. exhibition@hmrs.org.au hmrs.org.au BRISBANE – QLD. November 25-26, 2023. The Railway Modellers Club of Qld (Men’s Shed) presents…

1 min.

Mailbag

Interesting Back Issue I recently purchased a back copy of AMRM issue November 1977 from the AMRM website, as I was after it for an article about the South Australian Railways (SAR) 930 class diesel locomotive written by Phil Curnow. I was fascinated by the detailed information in the piece by Phil, especially in a time long before the internet. There were detailed line drawings of the versions of the 930 class locomotive and information right down to exact external detail variations of individual locomotives such as the placement of logos on the nose (some higher or lower than others), locations of marker lamps, multiple unit socket covers and differences of steps on pilots. A great piece, and a peek into the past of the dedication to detail of train…

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