The return of Armchair Modeller Down Under

It has been a long time between drinks, as they say. Armchair Modeller Down Under, or more specifically yours truly, pretty much lost enthusiasm for the blog and the hobby for some time. There wasn't one single reason for this loss of interest; just a general concoction of many things as I wrestled my way through the last couple of years of my job (finally retiring last year) and working out what to prioritise moving forward.

That's not to say I didn't participate in model railways in this period. I went to a few exhibitions and attended the NMRA Australasian Convention last year in Brisbane which was very good. However, I was not really active and the layout itself was left pretty much as baseboard central as it had been for a number of years. That said, the layout was (and is) operational but it's just that it didn't see much action and it certainly didn't receive any beautification.

All that said, there were some sparks. First, it was AP (of Border District fame) at the NMRA Convention last year; firstly with his presentation and then a short operating session on his home layout. I would have liked to have stayed longer but there were other layouts to visit. AP was supportive and encouraging to get back into the layout and also to start blogging again. And Craig Mackie (and his layout) just abounds with positivity and enthusiasm. 

Then there was Les F. from Adelaide, and Bob Stack, Rob Nesbitt and Stephe Jitts who all, in their own way, got me back on track as it were to at least start thinking about my layout and getting back on the iron horse. In addition, the weekly modelling session (that's not a fashion statement, by the way) at David Low's with a small group of keen modellers has also spurred both interest and activity (chipping non-sound NSW diesel locos mostly) for the previously moribund layout.

And today, I received in the mail the latest AMRM with a feature article in which a previous Armchair Modeller Down Under blog post that mentioned my use of a traverser was cited - thank you for that Phil Nadin! Hard to believe I started building my traverser for my long-ago "Winmar" layout way back in 2009! Here's a couple of photos of it under construction and later dismantled.

 The baseboard frame was wood with lengths of aluminium bolted together for rigidity. I used computer server racks as the mechanism for the traverser as they were strong enough to support and slide out the heavy MDF board (which was used because it's very flat) with twelve tracks (and trains) on top

And as for the current layout, well the last six months have been very interesting. I decided (for reasons that may become clear in future blog posts) to ditch my US themed double-deck layout and go back to good ol' New South Wales Railways...with a twist. More on that next time.

Suffice to say, the following picture shows that the layout is in transition. I guess this gives me plenty of scope to move forward both physically with the "new" layout and talking about it (and other things) on this blog. 

 

 

So back into the blog writer's chair to see how far we might get to now. And that, good people, is where we are at.