Waverley Model Railway Club's Exhibition 2022

OK folks - time now for the overview of the Waverley Model Railway Club's 2022 Exhibition in Melbourne held over the weekend of 11-13 June. There were some nice layouts at this exhibition so let's get into those straight away.

Victoria Bridge (HO scale) was a terrific layout with great scenery and plenty of train action. This layout is from the Waverley Model Railway Club and featured Victorian Railways passenger and freight trains. The layout is a double track mainline, with station and yard facilities. The highlight is the bridge on one side of the layout, loosely based on the Taradale viaduct on the Melbourne to Bendigo line. Layout operation is via digital command control (DCC).

 

 

Another large and fabulous layout was the The Beechie, an On30 layout from the Sunbury Model Railway Club. This layout is a fictional narrow gauge layout as seen on the Beech Forest line in the Otway Ranges in Victoria. This layout is associated with the On30 layout exhibited at Ballarat mentioned in the previous blog post.

Collinsille Riverland Railway Company (HO scale with broad gauge and narrow gauge track) was another beautifully constructed layout with a plethora of fantastic buildings across the full space of the layout. The layout is based on a fictional coastal river port and includes a multitude of buildings scratchbuilt from plans and information about the tramways, trains and surroundings from all over Australia. That said, there is a strong sense of place in this layout with the beautifully modelled and painted timber structures. There are a multitude of small scenes scattered throughout the layout which heightens the visual interest and appreciation of the skills involved in this layout's construction.

At the other of the scale, in terms of size, was the small Inglenook layout, Port Flora (HO scale). I really enjoyed this little layout with its simplicity but entertaining shunting movements. The layout uses the familiar card system from which specific freight wagons are assembled into a small train. These type of layouts demonstrate that a small, high quality layout is very achievable if one takes the time and thought over its construction and scene setting.

Genesis (OO scale) from the Waverley Model Railway Club was a British layout making its exhibition debut. The scenery is nicely done with that characteristic English flavour.

Hollow Glen was another OO scale layout based on a fictitious English castle in the northern border region of England and Scotland. The layout is deliberately set a low height to better engage some of the younger exhibition visitors.

Another British layout, but this time N scale, was Brocklebank.

 
Another N scale layout was the Swiss-themed Langweiss.

Grainger's Bridge, Hillsborough and Outback Return was a US N scale modular layout from the Waverley Model Railway Club. These modules are made by individual club members. The photo below shows one of the modules.

Railways of Japan (N scale) was a modular layout featuring some iconic Japanese scenes in both rural and urban areas. The modules were full of lights, colour and action! The modules are made by members of the Australian Japanese Model Railway Group.

 

The Waverley Model Railway Club should be congratulated for putting on a very nice exhibition.