Australian Model Railway Magazine

Broadening Horizons for Australian Modellers The release of a new scale, or the re-release of a scale by a big player, is rare. Hornby have put their weight behind releasing a full range of TT (Table Top) scale 1:120 locomotives and rolling stock, track (this works out to be 12mm gauge) and accessories. Heavy hitters such as PECO have joined this venture by releasing a range of track. There is always that one modeller who wants to try something different; the attraction of a new scale such as TT might just be too tempting. Part of this TT release is a British Railways (BR) 08 class diesel locomotive shunter. The Victorian Railways had a facsimile with their F class, not to mention the State Electricity Commission. Four-wheel open wagons are…

I guess the story behind Narellan could be best summarised from two previous attempts of building a model railway layout that ended in failure, the challenges of getting approval from my wife to build a layout, followed by a compromise that was put forward by my wife. All of this resulted in a successfully completed layout that got me thinking “do I really need a large layout?” Back in 2007, just after getting married, I had the desire to build a layout. I originally decided to do something in North American N scale, as there was a broader range of ready to run N scale stock compared to Australian N scale. At the time I was living in a small rental house. A layout would need to reside in the…

The worst thing that can happen on a Digital Command Control (DCC) layout is you get a short circuit - when a train derails or runs into a point, or for some other reason - because a lot of current can flow which can damage your booster and/or your trains. My layout has two power districts, so if I get a short on one side of the layout and I happen to be looking at the other side, I may not notice the short because I don't see or hear the train stop. So, I decided to build a buzzer system on each power district, to make an audible warning if there is a short. I bought piezo buzzers from Jaycar and installed them, but it turned out the frequency…

Why these bridges? In my article 'A Bridge for your Model Railway', [Editor note: Refer AMRM April 2010], I discussed some of the various types of bridges used on the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR), together with factors which should be considered in selecting a prototype bridge to model. These factors were illustrated by a discussion of the four bridges considered for my Camjong line, a single line branch terminus with fiddle yard layout based on NSWGR prototype in the mid 20th century. These bridges were: The road and railway bridges over the Nepean River on the Camden line; The road and railway bridges over the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond on the Kurrajong line; The railway bridge over the Yass River on the Yass line; The railway bridge…

The Macedon Ranges Model Railway Club presented their 42nd Annual Exhibition over the Labour Day long weekend at Sacred Heart College in Kyneton. This regional exhibition included 11 layouts and eight trade stands, including several scratch building and modelling displays.…

I recently completed a layout for the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) Inland Rail project's community consultation team to help visually represent what works are being accomplished from Melbourne to Brisbane. The layout needed to be small, portable and easy to set up and operate, so I went down the T-Trak route and simplified it with just a single main line. The four modules, two long town modules and two end modules that have the return loops on them, fit on a Bunnings portable table (non-folding). The controller is a Kato (DC) unit. Each module's electrical connections are Anderson car plugs to again make it easy and strong. The brief was to have a road overpass and underpass, pedestrian overpass, a passing loop, a livestock underpass and both a level…