Adelaide Model Railway Exhibition 2026

Last weekend I attended the Adelaide Model Railway Exhibition at the Adelaide Showgrounds. It is a three day event over the King's Birthday holiday weekend. This was my third annual visit; the first at the Showgrounds instead of the greyhound track venue from previous years. The Showgrounds are much easier to get to by public transport and offered a better overall environment for the exhibitors and visitors. Outside (besides the roller derby in the hall next door) were three food vendors and plenty of tables and seating. I hope the exhibition can stay at the Showgrounds next year.

There was a good balance of layouts and commercial vendors at this exhibition - neither overpowered the other which was a good set up. The exhibition also had a substantial second hand stall that had a solid throughput all day Saturday when I was there.

Here are several layouts that caught my eye at the exhibition but the clear standout was Terowie North (HO scale) from the Adelaide Modellers' Group. The layout is based on the actual location of Terowie (with some compromises), 230 kilometres north of Adelaide, during the 1950s and 1960s. 

Another excellent South Australian prototype layout was Wilkins (HO scale), a fictional location in mid-north South Australia, showing a more contemporary period of operation. The layout is from the SARMA club.

Borderline (HO scale) was another fictional town, not surprisingly located on the border of South Australia and Victoria. The layout features operations from the 1980s and showcases locos and rolling stock from that period, as well as a beautiful steam tourist train.

Port Elliot (HO scale) was another well presented South Australian layout based on the actual town and the Strand in the 1950/60s period. It was very nicely modelled.

Strathburn (HO scale), set in the Adelaide hills in the mid-1980s, had plenty of train action in a very well detailed scenic environment. The layout is now owned by Junction Hobbies in Adelaide.

Turning to a smaller layout, we have Oakland Junction (HO scale). This layout has plenty to see and shows what can be achieved without excessive cost. The buildings are made from card and other recycled materials.

In 7mm scale, and all the way from Canberra, was the layout Glasson. This layout is based on a western NSW branch terminus (fictional) but featured trains from both NSW and South Australia at the exhibition. This layout has an emphasis on shunting and shows what can be achieved with quality modelling in a larger scale. In addition, one member of the group had his collection of hand-built South Australian steam locos on display which generated a huge amount of interest over the weekend.

Another Australian layout was the HO scale Brigadoon. This layout features long diesel-led trains in a section of the prototypical Avon Valley in Western Australia between Cutting No. 1 and No.2 on this standard gauge line.

I was pleased to see the well-travelled exhibition layout Maryborough (HO scale) at this exhibition. This magnificent Victorian prototype layout has been around for several years now but it is always a fascinating layout to view time and time again. One cannot but marvel at the station building.

Turning now to 4mm scale, we had the delightful Spirsby LNER layout showcasing 1930s England. I loved this layout! The station and surrounding yard and buildings were superb. The layout is based on the actual track plan for the ex-Great Northern Railway branch terminus of Spilsby, Lincolnshire. Most of the locos and rolling stock are built from kits and I must say, they ran reliably well whenever I stopped by.

An interesting HO scale 009 gauge layout was Milltown. The layout featured (not surprisingly) a timber mill which is a beautiful piece of modelling. Milltown is set in the early 1900s, built with plenty of inspiration from photos and plans of similar trains and surrounds from around Australia. A feature of the construction of this layout is the use of Knauf foam board out of which scenery was carved and finished with finishing plaster, gap filler, paint, dirt, sticks, dried plants, and static grass effects.

Animas Canyon (On30) is based on the Rio Grande & Southern Railroad in the USA. Although a fictional location, the layout is modelled using original photos and plans of the prototype.

A very large N scale layout, Planes of Fame, from the South Australian N Gauge Society was very impressive. The layout featured a number of planes and helicopters, as well as trains, with plenty of visual interest including aircraft hangars, cargo distribution warehouses, a NASCAR raceway, and a drive-in movie theatre (ah, those were the days!). Interestingly (or confusingly??), the centre track is DC powered but the front and rear tracks are run via DCC.

As always, I very much enjoyed my trip to the exhibition (and to Adelaide for the few days I was there). Make sure you consider attending next year's Adelaide Exhibition as it is well worth a visit.

The 2022 Rosehill Model Railway Exhibition

Congratulations to the Epping Model Railway Club for an absolutely fantastic model railway exhibition at Rosehill racecourse. After two false starts in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid-19, it was great to have this exhibition back in business as it is truly one of the best in the country.

This exhibition was a two day affair instead of the usual three day exhibition. Talking to exhibitors, they were pretty happy with a two day event. I don't know what the patronage was over the weekend, but on Saturday when I attended it was pretty busy, both inside the second hand section and the the exhibition proper. The venue (and the sunny weather) was excellent with good lighting, plenty of aisle space and a great range of layouts and commercial stands.

I had pre-booked and entry mid-morning Saturday was easy. The $20 entry fee, at first glance, seemed a bit high but everything seems to be expensive at the moment. That said, when I consider I was there for about five hours, enjoyed the layouts and catching up with people, then a $20 entry fee was good value.

Before I go any further, let's see a sample of some of the layouts on show.

First up is Yendys (HO scale) from the ACT Model Railway Society. As you can see from the exhibition plaques in the second photo below, this layout has done a lot of shows. It is a very good layout and always worth a good look. As always, click on the image to expand. 

Next up was the Peterborough Line, an interesting layout with separate vignettes showing the Light River bridge (photos) and Tarlee. The layout is HO scale and set in the 1982-86 era when Australian National trains plied the rails. I look forward to seeing further developments on this layout in the future.

The popular Binalong layout (HO scale) from the Epping Model Railway Club made another exhibition appearance. This layout is always a pleasure to view.

Widgeree (N scale) was a new layout to me and one that packs a lot of model railway into a scene. The layout is from the Sydney N Scale Model Railway Club. The layout is based on a small country town in the goldfields region of Victoria on the Castlemaine to Maryborough line in the early 1980s. The layout showcases a wide range of locos and rolling stock from club members.

The Canadian-themed Cheakamus Canyon in HO scale was an amazing layout set in the mountains of British Columbia. The layout features a number of bridge scenes, all based on real locations. The scenery was built using plaster castings on a foam base. The enormity of the scenic areas really place the trains in context. The layout was featured in the December 2021 issue of Continental Modeller. This layout is one to look out for at future exhibitions.

One of the highlights was the HO scale layout Burrowa. This layout is now 30' long (just over 9 metres) and well-scenicked using static grass and various coloured fibres. The slow pace of this branch line replicates the prototype nicely. The layout modules are are constructed using aluminium frames with plywood and foam superstructure. The station and associated buildings were all scratchbuilt, save for the S008 grain silos. The control panel uses the DCC Concepts Alpha Central for switching the points. I really love this layout and enjoyed talking to Peter, the owner/builder, about its construction.

 

 

In contrast by size, my other favourite layout was the wonderful Cass layout (HO scale) set in the mountains of West Virginia, USA, located a "ways up" the Chesapeake & Ohio Greenbrier Division. This layout was new to me. The layout featured shay lumber workings of the Cass, and then later, Mower Lumber companies. Note in the photos below the wonderful shay (brass) and how the right side of the layout extends back deep to give the layout a strong sense of depth but within a relatively small amount of space. The layout was constructed dusing Qubelok aluminium and foam core board which makes this layout light and easy to transport. This layout was superb.

Another layout I saw for the first time was the Queensland Railways HOn31/2 Walloon from the Logan District Model Railway Club. The layout is set in the 1960-80 period with a good variety of locos and rolling stock. In particular, the station buildings and the church were very nicely made and contributed to the realism of the associated scenery.

 

Another layout I was very impressed with was Over the Fence (NSW, HO scale). This layout is loosely modelled on Adamstown (including the station). The layout features some wonderful suburban houses and cameo scenes which we've come to expect from the layout builders in the now familiar perspex display mode. The railway line literally passes these houses "over the fence". All the buildings and structures were scratchbuilt using styrene. The different houses and rooflines are exceptional.

Stay tuned for the second instalment later in the week for the completion of the exhibition report and associated layout photos. But once again, thanks to the Epping MRC for an exceptional day.