A Welcome to Oz

Those that follow these blogs would of course be aware that Blair Kooistra (North of Narrabri - http://northofnarrabri.blogspot.com/) and his friend Lance Lassen arrived in Sydney yesterday.

Gary Laker and I met them at Central Station and so began a day of hobby purchases as we drove around Sydney.

We ended up at my place for a welcoming BBQ with a number of friends, Bob Merchant, Bob Stack, Bob Lynch, Graham Saint, Marcus Amman, Terry Flynn and David Allen.

Other friends that couldn't be there as they were away either holidaying or at the Hobsons Bay Exhibition in Victoria were (Ron Cunningham, Ian Dunn and James McInerney).

Some time was spent talking and running a couple of trains, eating and generally having a great time.

Blair and Lance left this morning on a punishing road trip around NSW to photograph various trains being as I understand it, assisted at various times by a number of other contacts here, who I am afraid I do not know.

I am sure that Blair will give a much more detailed report on his blog when he arrives back home and recovers.

Blair and Lance, "Welcome to Australia".

Proposed Branchline Terminus

At the instigation of Dr Iain Stuart this post is being composed in Windows Live Writer and to give a small update on directions at Bylong.

In my last post I posted a photo of the layout with the new branchline and scenery. The branchline makes it's way around the room until it arrives at the previous position of the upper staging yard (above the lower staging yard).

At this point it enters the terminus of Cassilis.

Cassilis of course didn’t have a railway line but that just gives me a free hand to design the station yard.

Here is the proposed station yard as it stands at the moment.

I hope to start work on the terminus sometime in the next couple of months.

Yes Keiran, that’s where your silo will be going, the one I have been promising to buy for a while now.

Postscript: Live Writer was very easy to use and the plan could be placed right where I wanted it, although you have to have a Google Picasa Web Album account as a requirement, not a great impost.

Layout update

Just to show that I haven't been bludging here is a quick and dirty photo to show progress on the new upper level trackwork and scenery.

The main line climbs up and around behind the tree line to the upper level Gulgong storage.

That's 5085 creeping around the curve on the branch coming from the non-existent terminus.

The terminus will be above the lower staging which can be seen in a panoramic layout view in one of my early posts.

I think that the lower level backscene needs to be repainted to make the mountains rise up higher near the tunnel to better blend with the new upper level scenery.

What I am trying to achieve with the new scenery above the tunnel is the effect of a distant tree lined hill from afar but smaller trees and shrubs when up close looking at just the branch and main line.

I think it works reasonably well.

Desktop Picture Change

Yesterday I bought a 21.5" Full HD wide screen LCD monitor for my PC and realised that my desktop pictures being 4 x 3 proportions get distorted badly on a wide screen.

So I have reverted to a previous desktop picture but have added a wide screen 16 x 9 version.

Programs that show pictures seem to handle the different proportions OK but the Windows desktop does not have an option to show different proportion pictures properly.

I will do the same on the Eureka Models Blog desktop pictures that I do for Ron Cunningham.

I hope that this is of some use to you.

Back to Work

Well, I went back to work this week, what a joy!

I did however enjoy myself over the break, kit bashing my flour mill. It started as a Walthers kit for a steel merchants, I can't remember the name but you should recognise it. Anyway I had started it many years ago before the Walthers sugar mill was around, it was the most likely candidate. I had realised later that most flour mills had three or even four floors so two wouldn't do and the project stalled, I'm good at that, 3/4 finished models are my specialty.

After pondering over the problem after Christmas I realised that with a few bits of spare brick material and part of the rear wall (out of sight) I could give the mill a third floor.

I still have to build the rail unloading shed and vertical conveyor tower to the two silos but I thought I would share what I had done with you, after all, I am now 3/4's of the way through the total project.

So here it is, I'm pretty happy with it.

It has a mixture of features from several mills, double multi-pane windows, external fire escape stairs, explosion wall, bricked up windows, etc., see below.

Conquerer Flour mill - Cootamundra

Photo from http://www.filmcentralnsw.com/film_tv_nsw_home.shtml

Flour Mill at Murrumburrah

Photo from http://www.filmcentralnsw.com/film_tv_nsw_home.shtml

I cut a point into the main just west of Wollar in the area of the panorama photos of the layout that you can't see, just to the left of the camera (see earlier posts). The point is controlled by a push-pull rod to a Blue Point mechanism so this should make shunting interesting, most other points being electrically controlled.

I will post a photo of the completed mill with silos when I get it done but don't hold your breath.

An Unexpected Gift

To: District Superintendent

From: District Engineer - Signals

Subject: Brakes Landmark

General Appendix Part II p.42, Signalling, Sec. 9 Miscellaneous
Signals (d).

"Provided to indicate the place at which goods trains are to stop,
in accordance with regulations, for the purpose of applying or
releasing brakes.

The brakes landmark takes the form of a black disc with the word
"BRAKES" cut out of the face of the disc, or a black disc with the
word "BRAKES" inscribed with white lettering thereon. Both affixed
on a post.

During darkness, the indication is given by an illuminated "B" in
the centre of the disc."

So began a note in a Christmas present from a fellow Rambler, Gary
Laker.

A description of the construction on the enclosed Uneek model
Brakes Landmark was included along with the words:

"Built in appreciation of your passion and commitment to the
greatest hobby of all and your help and friendship along the way."

Well, I was blown away.

I think this shows the friendship that this hobby generates and it
caused me to think of a few other gifts over the years.

The first from James McInerney many years ago was the Cox's Gap
signal box, the goods loading bank and station platform at Wollar.

This was followed by a Central Valley girder bridge built along
NSWGR lines from Ian Dunn, which currently crosses the river at
Kerrabee.

And finally a trestle bridge from Ron Cunningham that is on the
grade from Bylong to Cox's Gap Loop.

Down the years I have received the assistance of the other Ramblers

when I have called for help with some aspect of the layout. They

even helped me move the layout and contents of the layout room to a

new purpose built garage many years ago.

I think Gary says it well, it truly is a great hobby and it is a hobby that engenders long term friendships.

Thank you Gary.

The Brakes Landmark in place at the Wollar loop at the top of the 1 in 40 grade to Bylong.

P.S. Gary (ex. NSW train driver) has been officially appointed
District Engineer - Signals.

Christmas

I would like to wish you all the best of the season, have a safe , enjoyable and relaxing time.

Ray