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.

Caulfield Model Railway Exhibition 2022

I have a belated report on the AMRA Caulfield Model Railway Exhibition from the weekend of 20-21 August. It was so good to be back after all the Covid-19 cancellations of the two previous years. The layouts on show had something to offer everyone, so let's get started with the layouts that caught my eye over the two days of the event. Click on the photos to expand.

Maryborough (HO scale) was clearly the standout Australian prototype layout. I've seen the layout before but it is truly a masterpiece. The station building, as you can see, is an amazing structure. The layout was constructed by the members of AMRA (Victoria Branch) to represent the station and surrounds from the post WWII era until 1962. The layout featured a wide range of locomotives and rolling stock over the weekend and no matter what was running, I enjoyed every minute of this layout.

 

Another Australian layout from AMRA (Victoria Branch) was the HO scale Murri layout. Murri is a generic southeastern Australian prototype layout with trains running from the early 20th century to moden day. The station area is a busy scene with plenty of through running, passenger trains, and yard workings.

Borderline (HO scale) was an HO scale generic Australian layout based on a fictional location on the border of Victoria and South Australia. As such, you can see plenty of interstate action on this layout.

The Peterborough Line (HO scale) has two signature scenes: the Light River Bridge (at Hamley Bridge) and Gumbowie. Both of these iconic scenes are no longer around on the prototype but it is good to see them represented in model form with this layout.

Tallarook (HO scale) was another great Australian prototype layout, based on the Victorian main northeast line. Tallarook is the junction of the Mansfield and Alexandra branch lines. The layout featured some superb scenery (especially the trees) as well as a good variety of trains.

The Epping Model Railway Club made the journey south to Melbourne with their exhibition layout, Binalong (HO scale). Binalong is in New South Wales on the Main South between Sydney and Melbourne. As such, it sees plenty of train action.

 

Turning to a Victorian-themed N scale layout, Billabong Flat was a lovely little layout featuring a rural terminus staion and reail yard. The compact size of the layout (1.6m x 0.6m) demonstrated how much fun you can have with N scale in such a small amount of space. I had a good chat with the layout owner who impressed upon me how far Australian N scale modelling had come over the years. Might be a good reason to attend the Australian N Scale Convention in Goulburn in October!

A layout showing good potential was Skipton (Victorian, HO scale). The layout was originally built in 2017 by a group of high school students and is based on the prototype station of the same name. It is a terminus station with turntable and a run-around siding. Actually, if I was to model a Victorian place myself, Skipton would be high on my list.

Electric Car Sheds (NSW, HO scale) showcases electric rail transport and suburban coaching stock based on a typical Sydney electric train maintenance depot. You can see a wonderful variety of electric traction on show with this layout.

Cheakamus Canyon (HO scale) is based on the prototype in British Columbia, Canada. The layout is a scenic extravaganza and features four marvellous bridge scenes replicating actual locations on the railroad. The vertical scenery in particular is a real standout for this layout.

Moving to O scale, Paradise Valley was a wonderful On30 layout from the Puffing Billy Modellers' Group. The layout is based on the Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook narrow gauge line in the 1950s. The layout and scenery are superb. The name Paradise Valley is the original name of Clematis station.

Black Stump (On 30) was another wonderful layout based on Victorian narrow gauge of the Otway Ranges. I'd seen this layout before at the Ballarat Exhibition a few months ago but it is one layout you can see several times and still admire the scenery and workmanship.

Eddington Quay (O/16.5) was a 7mm narrow gauge layout based on a secluded cove on the Devon Cornwall border. Using 16.5mm trck gives a prototype gauge of 2' 3''. This is a nicely presented layout with some wonderful buildings. The steam locos (and some freight stock) were kits built from the Smallbrook Studio range.

Another O scale layout was Daraby (British) that featured steam and diesel traction on an ened-to-end shunting layout. This layout really showed the detail and operational attributes of the larger scale.

Allanleigh (OO scale, British) was one of my favourite layouts from the exhibition. Allanleigh is a fictitious UK village set in the late 1960s-early 1970s period. This layout is another terminus station but with good shunting operations servicing two local industry sidings. This layout is DCC (Digitrax) and operated by smart phones over wi-fi. I enjoyed spending time at this layout and had an enjoyable chat with one of the lads on Sunday morning.

One of my other favourite layouts (and representing a new model railway interest for me) was the European-based layout Neubahn. The layout was built to an adapted version of European FREMO modular standards.  Neubahn features a double track mainline with through station. The layout can be controlled by DC or DCC but the catenary (very nicely done) is not powered. The layout showcases a range of European HO scale trains from Roco, Brawa, Fleischmann, Rivarossi, REE Models, ACME, and LS Models. The buildings came from commercial European kits that looked the part with some light weathering. I really enjoyed watching the range of trains on the Neubahn layout with action from Austrian, Dutch, French, German (including DR), Italian and Swiss prototypes.

Making another exhibition appearance was Railways of Japan. I'd seen this N scale layout in Ballarat earlier in the year but the detail on this layout is such that you can always find something you'd missed from a previous viewing.

 

The exhibition gave plenty of opportunity to spend hard-earned money with a plethora of commercial trade stands. The SDS Models NSW 81 class in candy livery was on sale and looked superb. The blue units should be on their way soon. IDR Models Victorian Railways DERM (upcoming) also looked to be popular based on the amount of interest around the trade stand. And Auscision had a number of display models from their upcoming HO scale and N scale models that certainly drew a good many eyeballs! Casula Models were also in attendance where I spent some money on several packs of KD couplers. Other stands that I noticed were Eureka Models, Brunel Hobbies, Pallas Hobbies, Train World, SEM, Buckambool, On Track Models, and Metro Hobbies. The AMRA second-hand stall did a roaring trade based on my frequent visits to check out how turnover of stock was progressing.

The AMRA Victoria Branch are to be congratulated for another fine exhibition.