The first two sets of photos show the two home layouts I managed to visit after the Convention. Both of these layouts featured (along with The Moping Branch layout) in the book "Recollections" by Kevin Kavanagh released last year at the Convention. The book gives a good insight into a handful of layouts owned and operated by like-minded individuals who have been part of the ABLO (Adelaide Branch Line Operators) group during the past forty years or so. The two layouts featured below still use a card operating system based on the ABLO method. The ABLO card system was featured in an article in the January 1977 issue of the Australian Model Railway Magazine (AMRM).
The first three photos shows the layout of Kev Kavanagh (not The Moping Branch Kev) that I was privileged to visit on the day after the Convention. The layout is the Huntingdale & Grange Railway. This layout was featured in the December 1997 issue of AMRM.
The next four photos shows the layout of Hugh Williams. This layout was moved in total from its former home in Belair to its new owner and new location - quite a move given the size of the layout and the complexity of the track plan. The layout runs around itself in three loops and each level is visible behind each other. As I said in the previous post, I did not find the visible layers distracting at all while I was operating my train. A description of the layout and a line diagram of the track plan are in the book "Recollections".
Finally, I have included a couple of photos from the National Railway Museum at Port Adelaide. The photos show, in order, a portrait of the front end of the SAR 930 class diesel; a shot of the Commonwealth Railways Budd car (that one is for Bob Stack), and the third photo is of a trio of LCL containers sitting in an open wagon (that's for Bob Gallagher).
I have already pencilled in some time away next year for the Convention plus a couple of extra days for "sightseeing". Keep a lookout for the 2011 dates that will be advised on the Modelling the Railways of South Australia Convention website.
Thanks Budd,
ReplyDeleteNice photos. Good to see a layout thats not covered with trees. I guess thats the decider if you model east or west coast of the US.
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteWell, avoiding making trees is something I will be doing when I get my mid-west US-based layout happening. The two layouts in the photos are based on South Australian prototypes where the tree cover is also very limited. I imagine filling a large layout with tress (other than using the "puffball" method used in the past by Allen McClelland and Tony Koester) would be too time consuming.
Having said that, your SCR layout has a fair smattering of trees and plenty of vegetation on it which really gives it that south coast NSW flavour. Now all we need to see is a grey ghost 44 hauling a nice NSWR Budd set!
regards,
Brad