2016 New England Model Railway Convention

I have just spent 2 days at the New England Model Railway Convention in Armidale.  It has been a very nice time.  I had the pleasure of travelling down with Darren, Geoff and Brendan and rooming with them for 3 days.  The Convention was well attended.  I think that it had more attendees this time, compared to last convention 2 years ago.  To be honest, when I saw the program, I was looking at some sessions and thinking “I’ve heard that before”, “That does not really float my boat”, “There are no prototype sessions”.  That did not deter me from registering, as there are other reasons to attend.  I get to see some really great models.  There are the hobby shops that come along to the event and have some great items for sale.  There are the demonstration guys showing off some sort of skill.  I knew that there were some ‘subject matter experts’ attending.  So I could talk to them about various facets of their processes or techniques in their special discipline.

As usual we left Brisbane early Friday morning and after a couple of pit stops we arrived at Armidale just before 4:00pm.  There were quite a few fellow modellers staying in our motel.  Friday night registration was a time to say ‘G’day’ to quite a few old friends and have a nose around.

So over Saturday and Sunday, I attended 8 presentations.  I must admit, that I was very impressed with all 8.  I got quite a lot out of some sessions that I made an initial assumption, that they would not ‘float my boat’.  So I guess we should not be quick to jump to conclusions.  I took copious amounts of notes and I have been inspired to try new things, and implement some of the topics covered this weekend.

I captured quite a few photos of various models, display layouts and scenes on the layout tour.  I also had many great conversations.  But, I really had some great laughs on Friday night around the table over dinner and drinks afterwards, and again at the formal Saturday Night Dinner.  Did we have some laughs.  We had three mates gate crash our unit for breakfast on Saturday morning.  That was funny.  I also look forward to apparently a few dozen people attending the Whitebull tonight for dinner.  A few more laughs I dare say.

So for the first time in quite a few weekends I am presenting some photos on the blog – this time from the last few days.

The best piece of modelling I think I have ever seen.  The transformer on Rohan Fergusson's Ashford Mungindi Extension.

The grain outloader on the same module.  This model took out best structure at the convention.  It deserved it.

A great example of weathering a fuel tank.  This model was by Steve Pettit.

A example of the toilet block built using my AMRM article quite a few years ago.  This always makes me smile.

I do love Fuel Depots.  This is just nice.  I hope to have a couple of my layout eventually.

I am trying to make these exact bridge pillars for my Upper Richmond River crossing at Kyogle.

A fantastic model of the Railway Hotel built by Rohan Fergusson.

Another shot of the same hotel.

Any another.

To finish off, this is a shot of two of my room mates taking a shot of a 'Pop-up Layout'.  This is actually a flat pack layout, that unfolds into this incredible presentation.  It was built by Michael Flack.  We were just blown away.

Buy and Sell Bargains

Today quite a few people went to the Buy and Sell at the RMCQ Clubrooms at Brendale.  At 8:30am, 30 minutes before seller check in, there was a queue up of sellers wanting to register.   That eventually sorted itself out and tables were claimed.  I was impressed with the amount of very good NSW outline stuff for sale.  There were some very good bargains.  I also sold some stuff and my little helper took 10% of my sales when I was there and 100% of my sales when I wasn't on my table.  He did pretty well out of it.  I did also charge him 10% of the table costs as well.  he almost ended up with more money in his pocket than me!

Earlier in the week, Geoff posted on some Facebook groups about the Buy and Sell and I spotted in a photo, one of the items he was selling which was a fork lift.  I immediately emailed Geoff for confirmation and made a claim on that item.  I picked it up today.  Upon looking at Darren’s sale items today, I saw a half assembled AMRI platform building going for $5.  Whoosh!  That was the sound of me snapping that one up.  That will go with my two other already assembled kits and I will be doing some cutting and shunting of the various pieces together from the three kits to help create a model of the Cassino platform building.  That, I think, will be next year’s major modelling project.  I also picked up a very nicely assembled Shell three dome Tanker also from Darren's table.  Bargain!  I also purchased a grass tree from Dave at the Modeller's Warehouse.  These look really good and are a new range in his store.

Last week a mate snaffled up a kit for the Stephen Johnson Models 400 class railmotor and the 500 class trailer, at the AMRA Buy and Sell.  Well these two items were for resale today at our Buy and Sell for an uplift of 100% on what he bought it for last week.  I am the lucky new owner of the 400 Class railmotor, only paying 50% more.  These items are as scares as hen's teeth and when they become available they go for prices a lot more than what I picked mine up for.

So once home, I assembled the fork lift.  I have put the AMRI kit on the bench until the Christmas holidays.  I also took the 400 Class railmotor kit apart and have given it a once over.  I think the bogies/wheels will give me some grief but I think I should be able to assemble the kit fairly easily also over the Christmas Holidays.  The Shell tanker has already replaced a Lifelike single dome tanker wagon on the oil train sitting in Lismore Shell Oil Siding. 

This week I spent some time completing the sign boards for the Murwillumbah Cement Silo.  They just needed a structure to attach them to the Silo by.  I painted the frames yesterday and I attached them this arvo.  I also spray painted the FAM sleeping car a nice silver.  I then sprayed the underneath a nice matt black.  It looks pretty good.  Today after not selling two of my old Lima IP cars, which were in the midst of some semi-rebuilds, I did a small amount of work to both cars.  I had a DAM sleeper that I had added a styrene infill to a single window according to a AMRM article.  The styrene was previously left white.  So today – I painted that silver.  Now it is just like a bought one!  I then took my old Dining car, which I was making into a lounge car (I think),  This car I had cut up and rebuilt, and sprayed it silver.  This car still has some work to do on it.  Hmmm!  Both coaches may make reappearances on the layout within some passenger consists in the near future.  Time will tell.

Of course next Friday is our road trip to Armidale and the New England Model Railway Convention.  It will be great to catch up with everyone again.  Drinks in our room on Friday and Saturday night after the Bowls Club closes!

Easing Myself Back Into It

On early Saturday morning I went over to the AMRA Queensland clubrooms as they were holding a Buy and Sell table sales event.  I met up with about 6 guys from the Club also in attendance.  Of course there were many other guys that I had a natter with as well.  The event seemed well represented with sellers and they were supported by what looked like a good amount of buyers while I was there.  I ended up not buying anything, but I was tempted by quite a few items.  I need to save up my money for next Sunday which will be the RMCQ Buy and Sell event at our clubrooms which starts at 10:00am.  I also have the Armidale Convention the following weekend where I have a few items in my sights to purchase.  While over at Zillmere, I also had a walk around the AMRA Clubroom Layout as I had not seen it for many a year.

When I returned home, I got back into some modelling activities.  I folded up another 10 blacks tarps.  I then spray painted four tarps a yellow colour and folded them up.  I then did another 6 tarps in yellow today.  These have also been folded up.

I made up another 3 of my 40’ container flat bases and the have drilled holes for the locating of the end wire cages.  I finished off the cages today.  I then gave them a spray paint.  So some of these are ready to be viewed and potentially sold at next weekend’s Buy and Sell.

I also cut up some small pieces of styrene and painted them blue, so I could add a sign that was created in Photoshop for my Murwillumbah Cement Silo.  The sign has been glued with white glue to the blue styrene sheet to form a blue border around the sign.  These are yet to be added to the model.  I first have to make a sort of frame that will attach to the round silos of the structure. 

I then got around to installed some of the detail items on the rail side of the structure.  This included many types of hoses.  These have been glued down to the model's base.

I then turned my attention to working out how I will take my model down to the Armidale Convention in two weeks time.  I found a plastic storage container in the kids play room today and it had nothing in it.  I checked the measurements and you would not believe it.  It fitted perfectly.  I then cut up some pieces of foam and then chocked the model in place, so it will not flip around in the storage container.  I just now have to hope that everything that I and my passengers need to take down to Armidale will fit into my car.

Did I mention that there is a Buy and Sell next Sunday 6th of November at the RMCQ Clubrooms at Buckley Park, Terrence Road Brendale.  Sellers register from 9:00am, buyers let in from 10:00am.

I've Been Overseas

It seems activities are continuing to get in my way of modelling.  So I have no model railway activity to report except for the continued construction of a few more tarpaulins.  I created 8 on Thursday night and 10 more this afternoon.  I've also been working on putting some screws into a FAM coach to attach the base to the roof.  So maybe next week I'll get around to giving it a good wash and then the first undercoat before giving it a nice silver colour.

However, the main reason for the lack of model railway activity was that I went overseas this last weekend.  This weekend started with a day of work on Friday and the kids also had a day off school.  The boss didn't get a day off as she still had to all the jobs she does at home - but this time overseas. We all headed over to Cleveland to catch the Stradbroke Island Ferries barge for a nearly 55 minute trip over to North Stradbroke Island.  This was our first trip to Straddie, and the reason for the trip was for Mick and Melissa’s wedding on Saturday arvo/night.  Mick is my youngest nephew on my side of the family.  On Friday afternoon, I ran into a niece (Mick's sister) at the local convenience store, and that night I caught up with my sister and her husband and her two daughter’s, their husbands and their families for a couple of drinks and a chin wag at their unit.

This is the second trip overseas for the kids.  The previous time was Ireland, Scotland and England about 4 years ago.  This one cost a lot less and was really a fleeting visit.

Saturday I ran into a family friend and his wife and daughter while at the beach at Point Lookout also over to attend the wedding, and in the arvo we all gathered for a great event.  The reception was held in a marquee on Home Beach.  This was a great event with 5 out of my 6 nieces and nephews, but all 6 of their families in attendance, as well as my brother-in-law (Mick's dad) and his wife.  The evening kicked on until after midnight.  That was too late for me, as the boss had already gone home to help look after the younger great nieces and nephews and my kids back at the unit.  The reception started at 4:30pm and I left at about 11:20pm.  Boy there are some very bad people in my family, and they hang around with some even baderer people - and they have done this for many years.  I keep running into these same bad people at their family functions.  Well I guess that they are not all that bad.  But now I have seen them all drink out of their shoes.  Did I mention that the reception was actually on the beach!  I’m sure that they had sand in those drinks.  But it must have happened after midnight and it is on Facebook, so it did happen.  I am tasting that sand now just thinking about it.  There was no way I'd drink from my shoes that I was wearing.  Especially the ones that I wear to work.  They have holes in the bottom and I know I have walked through some disgusting things and that has entered the shoe from below especially in the rain!  No way!

Anyway we caught up again today for a short time and some of the boys were drinking mineral water and just plain old water.  Wusses is all I can say!  One could not remember how he got home this morning.  He was heard to say "We drove didn't we as the car is back at the unit?"  He had no idea.  Maybe it was something in his shoe?  My sister drove her husband and myself back home last night so that accounted for the car getting home.  The rest of the nieces and nephews and their partners had to walk over a kilometer back home around 1:00am.  I'm sure they all regret it now, but they had some great fun last night. We could not stay long this arvo's post event catchup, as we were booked on the 2:00pm barge back.  We had another great trip back on the ferry, it was just so calm on the 45 minute trip back across the bay on the Big Red Cat.

We had a really great place to stay on the island with views to the water.  But we had no phone reception in the unit and thus my daughter could not use our wifi dongle to do her school assignment.  Well I think it will be a late night coming up tonight for her.

So hopefully more trains this week and this weekend.

Ops Sessions and Exhibition

This weekend was quite busy in the world of Model Railways.  It started off with a touch of spray painting 6 of my 40’ container flats on Saturday morning.  I then cut up 6 tarpaulins and dipped them in my ink wash and let them dry.  Once dry I then proceeded to fold them up for use as load on various wagons on the layout. 

At just on midday – Grover and Darren came over and we headed off to HobbyOne and Austral Modelcraft for a hobby shop fix and a look around.  Then we headed over to Anthony’s place for his usual 3rd weekend of the month Operating Session.  There we met Brendan and Iain and of Course Anthony.  It was a really good session.  I ventured down to the Jameston branch and truly enjoyed myself down there running 8 trains there and another out on the mainline to help someone else out.  But I think I got the good part of the timetable and didn’t have too many hard shunts.  I did come a cropper a couple of times.  Once I left the branch and left my guard's van back at Jameson - a very big whoops.  The second issue, which was not my fault, was when Iain and I think with the help of Grover, uncoupled my train as it was heading through Tatiara Downs.  I was on the other side of the layout behind the backscene, and when it came back into its resting place in the staging yard - the train control identified it was a bit short.  Then all the laughing eventuated on the other side of the layout.  This was the last train of the day and it was keeping everyone from after session drinks.

Today I headed down to Beenleigh and attended the Logan City Model Train Show.  Who should I see there, but Darren and Grover again.  Well I caught up with 4 club members there, quite a few other exhibitor friends and a few shop proprietors.  I again had a blast.  I was very impressed with Gary and Dennis’s QR layout.  It is a real ripper.  I picked up a few things – some more ballast and another of the Wuiske backdrops before they run out.

When I came home, I cut up and stained another 8 tarpaulins and then turned my attention to - how to attach the roof of my FAM to its chassis.  So I am trying to glue some posts to the roof so I can then screw into these from below the model.  I have drilled the three holes in the base and attached one post to the roof at this time.  Two more posts to do next week.  Then I can give the model a good wash and then undercoat it and then spray it silver.

I think I will also make a few more 40' foot container flats this week.  I will try and seel some at out Club Buy and Sell in about three weeks.

For Thinking and Planning Than Modelling

The last week started off with the public holiday Monday spent modelling at the kitchen table.  Ah, the life!   I produced a few more models of the 40’ container flats with a wire cage end.  After this, my modelling efforts turned to checking out the Hanovale Models FAM fit.  The kit has all the components extremely straight and true, but I did have to clean up a bit of flash, particularly in every window opening – that that is not an issue.  In preparation I drilled out the relevant holes in the body for wire handrails, screws for bogie attachment and also joining the base to the roof.  I washed all the kit components in warm soapy water and allowed them to dry on a flat surface.  The rest of the week was totally free of modelling except Friday night.  This was spent down at the local hobby shop – Simon Says at their now traditional first Friday of the month Modelling night.  I was joined by Darren and Geoff and we set about modelling with an absolute huge turnout of modellers - the biggest yet.  I put together another three models of 40’ containers with wire cage ends.  After that my modelling attention again turned to my FAM kiy.  I started gluing the two sides to the base and adding the two ends.

With yesterday spent over at the Club chatting with everyone, it was not until today that I did any more modelling.  I left it until after the Great Race had completed.  I had to grind about 2-3mm off the end of the roof to allow it to fit.  But by doing this and trying to lever out the sides to get a tight fit, I made the sides come adrift from the base - Damn!  I think I will need to go over the carriage joins with some epoxy glue or get a better brand of super glue.

So now the kit has been reglued and is drying.  The roof has been added and is just sitting in the frame to keep the sides the correct distance apart.

So next weekend I envisage that this kit will be cleaned up, washed again and a base spray coat of paint will be applied.  That might be followed by a spray of silver paint if I can find any at home.  While painting, I will try and paint up the rest of my fleet of 40’ container wagons. 

I have asked the boss to keep a few tea bags aside for me and I plan to disassemble these and then cut them out into the size of tarpaulin.  It looks like I can get 2 tarps out of a tea bag.  My tarps I'm modelling will be 24’ x 16’.  But who will know their size as most will be folded up.  I plan to drop these into my standard stain mix and allow to dry.  I will fold some up for locating on my new container flats (and tie them down), while others will be installed folded up in some open wagons already on the layout.  I will also see if I can hide some loads under the tarps on a couple of my new 40’ container flats.  That is one of the advantages of this hobby.  You can try lots of things, if they do not turn out, you try something else.  I already have a few tarps rolled up and left lying in Lismore Yard near one of the sidings.

During the week, after looking at some other blogs out there (you buggers have got a lot to answer for) I decided to commit to buying a Speed-e-gas tanker from SDS.  This wagons will be added to either my oil train from Grafton to Lismore with an extra wagon of speed-e-gas added and the train continuing from the oil siding at Lismore to another siding that I will activate at Lismore behind the station.  Alternatively, I will add the wagon to the Murwillumbah Shunt train.  However, this train is already too long to fit into the back platform road at Cassino on its way around the layout.  Maybe I can add the speed-e-gas wagon to the front of the train?  So anyway a few decisions need to be made.  Either way more changes to the timetables are required.

I also saw a photo of the SDS guards van.  Damn the four letter coding van looks very nice.  Maybe I will add it to one of the trains operating around the top deck of the layout from Acacia Ridge to Clapham Yard to Park Road Sidings and then South Brisbane Interstate and back again.  My wife will cut me in half if she knows how much I am going into debt for these wagons as well as the RUB set that I have not yet ordered with some add on wagons - $1000.  Then there is the realisation that after looking through various Brisbane Limited consists last week, that I needed another three passenger cars to make up my true Brisbane Limited set after the RUB cars are released by Auscision.  I think I can purchase some of Bergs HUB cars to add to my train – BH, SBH and BHA.  Again that is another $200 that I had not budgeted for.  As Dr Smith once said is an old sci-fi series ‘Lost in space’ – ‘Oh the pain, the pain!”.

I’m still looking for a small Lotto win, to pay off my model railway debts!  Maybe next week.

No Time This Weekend

On Thursday morning I received a phone call at work from the boss.  My Auscision package of Brisbane Limited Sleepers had arrived.  So that arvo I took them out of the package and found a little surprise in it.  Included in the package was an old issue of Australian Railways Illustrated magazine from 2015.  That was a very nice surprise.  Thanks guys!  Anyway, I took the wagons out of the box, and placed them on the track at Acacia Ridge Yard.  I pushed them up and down the track through some crossovers and everything ran well.  I was very happy indeed.

The only issue with this was that I have now had my interest raised into creating an accurate model of the Brisbane Limited.  I still have yet to place my order of the RUB cars from Auscision, which I will do in December when I build up some more monetary credit with the boss.  I knew I had recorded the various consists variations over the years of the Brisbane Limited.  Do you think I could find where I had recorded it?  Not on your nelly!  Anyway eventually on Friday afternoon, after scanning through 24 Railway Digest magazines (I had already gone through about 36 of them the night before), I found the recorded consists of the Expo Express, Gold Coast Motorrail, and the Brisbane Limited.  So I am somewhat relieved.

So on Friday night, I was thinking that I did have a kit for a FAM sleeper stored away in the shed.  I was thinking that I might need to get it out, give it a check out and get into building this over the next few weeks.

On Saturday I went to the local hobby shop to buy some styrene required to complete a couple of outstanding jobs.  Today I have used some 2mm channel to help build 3 more 40' container bases.  But my time is up for the day.  I'm no delivering my daughter to a concert and picking her up duty.  Of course she will be lining up at 4:00pm, The Rugby League Grant Final is on after 6:00pm and I need to pick her up by 10:00pm.  So no time left to post this weekend at my usual time, so this is why I'm getting in early.

I must also thank Arthur, whom sent me a few shots of the Brisbane Limited last night.  These photos showed the train in the ranges south of Brisbane.  These have confirmed to me what end the doors of the sleepers are located.  Arthur was also buying supplies at the local hobby shop yesterday when I ran into him.

I envision that this week I will be completing the current 4 of my 40' container flats, and getting the FAM kit out and cleaning it up ready for building.  I will also be working out if there are any other carriages I need for my Brisbane Limited, that I either do not already have, or are not in the future Auscision RUB set.