BHP Whyalla Bogie Ore Wagons

 

Ore bogie wagon has a Tichy Trains kit as its base with Styrene overlay, styrene and wire detailing and Steam Era Models bogies. This produces a slightly short but credible model of BHP Whyalla's wagons.

BHP Whyalla MKA Rebuilt DE Class

HO scale model of one of Morrison-Knudsen's rebuilds of BHP Whyalla railways DE Class. Chassis is a quite modified BRM VR T Class, body is primarily a CAD/Rapid Prototyped shell with styrene and brass detailing. Decals were own design, produced by Signs of All Kinds in SA.

North West Railway (India / Pakistan) C Van

A standard Indian (later Pakistan) railways C van in HO scale, this one intended for the North West Railway. Construction is styrene sheet for the van walls with a modified Steam Era Models (SEM) U van roof, and a modified SEM Z van chassis. Detailing is in strip styrene (I didn't worry about the many many rivets this time!) with the ribbing formed with sectioned U channel bent to shape. Buffers and brake ratchet also from SEM. the van remains in brown gloss as I haven't yet decided on the lettering, so dullcote and weathering awaits decals.

Some Visitors

My "Glenburn" layout has been fortunate to host some different runnings often for modellers who don't have their own layout at this time. I may add in more pictures as these events occur.

"Glenburn" hosted Phil Dunn's exquisite Micro Metakit model of a Bavarian S1 which other than the wheel arrangement and detailing is surprisingly close in many of the main dimensions to the VR's V Class.

Below are some pictures showing NSW rolling stock either built by or owned by Grant Djung:

 Showing Victoria and NSW's different approaches to the same task.

 A few 1970s cars and Grant's Weico Sydney Bus (must find out what sort it is) change Faith Street to somewhere more recent and quite a bit North

Grant's C35 and some nicely loaded and weathered NSW 4 wheelers

I deliberately kept the Down running line through "Glenburn" with a more generous loading gauge through the platform to allow larger rolling stock to run. Here, Grant's AD60 is seen "wrong line" so as to fit on the layout. The below-solebar bracing etc. for some of the Sydney Single Deckers didn't allow them to transit quite so well...

V/Line VOFX Superphosphate Open

The VOFX is built up from an AMK Engineering kit (with Steam Era Models bogies) and added detail - handrails, additional fine tarp rope railings, brake chain and motion, air hoses, tarp and card tarp supports, decals and Kadee #58 couplers. Other than that it's a pretty standard build of the kit. I have included some pictures below showing the progression of the build.

 Showing the added tarp rope railings per several VOFXs seen on Shepparton-Scoones Siding (Kyabram) traffic in the late 1990s.

 Showing card formers cut out to the shape of the "lower" style of tarp support gear.

 Tarp formed and printed from PC drawing of same and weathered with wagon again in accordance of VOFX's seen in teh Shepparton area as mentioned above.

 Brake end.

Non-brake end.

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad EF-1

This New Haven Railroad EF-1 is a brass model dating from c.1968 which was purchased in the condition shown in first two pictures above. After a fix/repaint/re-decal, it has come up quite well given the model’s age. Paint was Scalecoat Pullman Green for the body, and a mix of sprayed and acrylic black for the roof and chassis. Decals are an excellent new product by Model Memories, lenses are by MV, and the body has a finishing coat of Dullcoat.

For the layout pictures I set the loco up with the closest Victorian Railways wagons I had, however while the first was a VR version of a US pattern, they don't suit as well as a "proper" US rake would.
I had intended to give the EF-1 an occasional run on my layout "Glenburn" however sadly the layout shots show why I may well have to sell it - The pantographs exert too much pressure on the catenary leading to slippage and wire tangling, and running without pantos up just isn’t much chop. I don't want to mess with the springs or replace the pantographs as that will affect the integrity of the model. It has nonetheless been an enjoyable restoration of what to me is an attractive prototype.

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (ex-Hawthorn Tramways Trust) N Class

A John Eastaff Models (JEM) HTT Maximum Traction Bogie tram kit with a later roof kindly supplied by JEM (from the SECV version kit) and other minor modifications to represent it during it's later M&MTB days in the mid 1930's.

Sydney Ferries - "Kintelliko"

Closely based on the pre-Harbour Bridge car ferries that plied Sydney Harbour, "Kintelliko" (Aboriginal-Awabakal for "to laugh") is a "what-if" narrow-gauge rail ferry.

Made of card, wood and styrene with the only purchased details being the air vents and life rings, she is painted in Sydney Ferries' famous green and creen livery of the latter half of the 20th century.

Sydney Ferries - "Kareela"

"Kareela" was one of the famous "K" class of Inner Harbour ferries that plied the harbour from the late 19th to the late 20th century. "Kareela" is well remembered particularly for her time on the Neutral Bay and Mosman runs between 1905 and 1959 when she was withdrawn, being replaced by the somewhat less popular "Kooleen" (the hulk of which has just been sold recently having resided on the riverbed of the Parramatta river for some time).

Model is scratchbuilt from balsa, wood, styrene, perspex and wire from a copy of the original General Arrangement obtained from the Australian National Maritime Museum archives. Nearly 1800 parts, the only purchased details being the airvents, lifeboat and ladders. She is mounted on an authentic Sydney Ferries "K" Class floorboard - from her larger and later sister "Kanangra" which is being restored by the Australian Heritage Fleet. Livery is a one-off colour scheme that only she wore in the 1950's as a pilot for a possible change in Sydney Ferries' livery, that was not adopted for the fleet.

"Papanui" - Coastal Trader

"Papanui" is a freelance model scratchbuilt from card and wood, again with air vents and lifebats being the only commercial items used. She is based on the typical "60 Milers" and coastal ships that were operating up and down Australia's east coast for most of the 20th century. She is most closely based on "Himitangi" (ex-"Coolebar") however wihout the longer stern section of the prototype.

Sydney Tramways - C Class, C29

C29 is a conversion of Halling's Lisbon tram (original also shown in the pictures above for comparison) to the Sydney C Class design. For the purists, the C class were built in several variations, one of the more obvious differences being the number of vestibule windows - indeed C29 was actually a 9 window C class however I took some licence for modelling simplicity (and I think the 6 window version looks better). It is unpowered as it was built as a gift for my wife. I have prepared an article on this conversion for AMRM.