Canberra NMRA Convention a huge success

The 2013 NMRA Australasia Region Convention is over for another year. The convention in Canberra was a huge success from what attendees were saying throughout the weekend. The Committee should be very satisfied with how the convention went and with the layout tours that were on offer.

PHOTO: Rob A. hosted an operating session and an open house as part of the Convention. Rob's layout is based on a fictional NSW-Victorian railway line on the east coast of Australia between Eden (NSW) and North Geelong (VIC).

The facilities at the convention location were good; the clinics were well attended; the food was sufficient; the ladies' program was very much complimented; and the layout tours were interesting. The opportunity to visit the ARHS Canberra Division premises in Kingston on the Sunday afternoon and look over progress on the restoration of Beyer-Garratt 6029 was also very popular - details about the restoration of 6029 here.

The dinner at Ainslie Football Club was made even better by the outstanding after-dinner talk by local modeller Stephen H., who combined a wicked wit with a wonderful knowledge of history, the law, and railroading into a very entertaining presentation.

The convener of the Canberra Convention, Viv B., commented to me that there were two critical factors for the success of the convention: good planning and organisation in preparation for the event itself. The fact that there are several ex-military personnel on the Committee would no doubt have helped in that department.

Choosing a venue with good facilities and where clinics could be held without undue noise were paramount. The physical separation of the main hall, the classrooms where the clinics were held, and a good-sized area for vendors and for attendees to talk with each other really made everything work well together. Excellent signage helped direct people into the building and where to find all the rooms and amenities. Good parking was also provided at the event location. A good variety of interesting presentation topics with the provision of the necessary IT equipment were also important considerations. Interestingly, because of the physical separation of most of the areas, a public address system was not needed (even in the main hall). A good ladies' program was also important.

Overall Viv and the team should be congratulated for putting on a terrific NMRA Convention. Well done to all involved!

The 2014 NMRA Australasian Region Convention will be held on the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland. Further information about next year's convention will be posted on the NMRA Australasia website as it becomes available.

National Model Railroad Association Convention 2013

The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Convention for 2013 is being held in Canberra. The Convention is being held on the weekend of 21-22 September at the University of Canberra High School, Kaleen (was the Kaleen High School) 104 Baldwin Drive, Kaleen, ACT. Kaleen is on the north side of Canberra.

You don't have to be a member of the NMRA to come along. The Convention registration form can be downloaded from the Convention site. There are some great layouts to visit, including Kangaroo Valley; the layout of Stephe Jitts (his layout was featured in AMRM February 2012)

 

The organising committee has put together a great program of presentations and clinics that should be of interest to all model railroaders, no matter what prototype you follow. The presentations include the following:

Eddie Gallier	3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping
David O'Hearn	Fences - Prototypes and Modelling Them
Brad Hinton	Modelling the prototype from afar: The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern
Gavin Hince MMR	TBA
Geoff Langbridge	Colour Isn't Colour
Allan Garbutt & Phil Collins	Storage Yards - Building A Better Mouse Trap
Phil Badger MMR	Beyond The Fence
David Low	WW 1 Narrow Gauge
Bob Best	Taking Measurements from Photos
Rob Nesbitt	Catenary, A brief history and modelling notes
Jess Brisbane	History of the Maine 2 Footers
Stephe Jitts MMR	The Science and Fiction of Wheels
Chris Minahan	Communication and Model Railway Operations
Erik Bennett	Advanced DCC - How It Works

Layout tour information can be found here.

I hope you can join us in Canberra on the weekend of 21-22 September for what looks to be a great weekend of model railroading.

Oh, and by the way, Floriade will be on at this time along with a host of other Canberra attractions including the Australian National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Australian War Museum, Botanic Gardens, and the new National Arboretum. And hopefully the warm weather we have enjoyed this week (20C+) will continue throughout the rest of September. So why not make a long weekend of it and enjoy the Convention and the local attractions too!

NMRA Convention 2012 Part 2

Yes I know it's been almost four weeks since the NMRA Australasian Region Convention. And I know good blog practice is to be current and post regularly. Unfortunately, life gets in the way sometimes!

In this second and final instalment about the NMRA Convention 2012, I wanted to quickly go through some of the presentations. Then I will follow up with a few photos from a couple of the layout visits I managed to squeeze in on the Sunday afternoon before driving back to Canberra.

The convention opened with a short introduction and then a delay while some technical issues were overcome with the computer and projector. The first presentation was in the Main Hall and featured the planning and building of the fabulous Smuggler's Cove layout. I cannot avoid adding some more photos...

Geoff and Michael explained how they planned and designed the layout after a trip they both had to the New England area of the United States. They both saw potential for a new model railroad from the scenery and small fishing villages along the Maine coast. During the trip, which I understand was a holiday with wives and not a train research trip per se, Geoff and Michael took lots of photos, bought books, artist drawings, brochures, and post cards of structures and scenes. In other words, they collected as much info as they could! One rather expensive purchase (but well worth the expense) was the motif for the layout.

The photos and prints and post cards were used as inspiration for specific scenes and buildings on the layout. Construction took place from November 2011 to July 2012 when the layout was displayed at the Castle Hill Model Railway Exhibition. There is nothing like a tight time frame to concentrate the mind and the effort! The layout as presented was in two modules, but there is a third module to be finished and added to the layout. That should be worth the wait.

After this introductory session, the next session had three options - "From the beginning", Planning your layout", and "Scratchbuilding in styrene". I went to the session on planning your layout which was given by Sam M. from the Central Coast. I wanted to go to the scrathcbuilding session too but I was able to spend time with John B. at his modelling desk later in the day. Sam went over some basic but important considerations to work through when planning a layout: for example, determining standards for the layout (layout height, size, aisle width, track radius, train length, purpose, etc.).

After a break for morning tea, there were more concurrent sessions. I went to the sessions on spline roadbed and plastic structures beyond the box. Bob B. gave a great presentation and demonstration of building spline roadbed using 6mm MDF cut into 20mm wide strips and hot glued together, using short spacers between each length of MDF until a 30mm wide spline was created (for HO scale). The session on plastic structures from Kelly was also very interesting, especially painting to take the plastic sheen off the buildings.

The afternoon sessions comprised adding fine detail, route control for tortoise point motors (an excellent presentation from Erik B.), and another instalment from Geoff and Michael (on structures, boats, water and scenery). Let me quote from their notes about the way they construct their buildings:
Every building has a cardboard sub – structure. Thick card was cut to match the plan then tacked together to check dimensions and visual effect. Problems were corrected, the card recut if necessary, then window and door openings cut. In most cases timber bracing was added as re-enforcing to corners, sides and roofing. We used a combination of Outback Model Co. , Grant Line , Atlantic Scale Models and Tichy windows and doors. Different siding and roofing materials were then laminated onto the card sub- structure. These included Artists coloured card, commercial wall and roofing printed card sheeting as well as basswood and balsa. The card and printed sheeting, once applied , was given a sprayed coat of artists fixative or matt finish to help preserve the surface.

On the Sunday there was a general presentation in the Main Hall from Sowerby S. on layout lighting, followed by a David O'H. presentation on detailing Australian rolling stock kits (pay attention to the prototype using photos or direct observation!).

The clinics and formal presentations finished late morning, although one might have been forgiven for wondering if there really was a finish to the day since no formal closing session was provided. We just mulled around the hall until we realised that that was all folks! It was a disappointing conclusion for the convention which, despite some technical and noise issues at times, was interesting enough.

After grabbing some lunch at a local takeaway outlet, I went to check out four layouts - all of which I had seen before when I was living in Sydney and a regular attendee of the NMRA Division 7 (NSW) monthly meetings (that included the Central Coast).

The first layout I went to was Dennis C.'s HO scale NSW layout based on Barmedman. The layout was in a new home, this time inside the house instead of the garage. I like this option! Dennis is a very good kit builder and has built a number of white metal NSW steam locomotives for me in the past. More information about the layout can be found from this website link.

The second layout visit I made was just up the street at Sam's place. I really like this layout because of it's operational focus. To give you an idea of the layout plan, the control panel schematic will do nicely, but more information can be found from this website link.

The third layout was just around the corner at the home of Rowan M. (recently elected VP of the NMRA Australasian Regional Committee). Rowan's layout is ambitious to say the least - an HO scale model railway based on the Main South Line in NSW from Sydney to Junee! A sample view of just one "corridor" should give you an idea of how such a large endeavour might look. More info from this website link.

The final layout for me on the day was the Great Northern Great Falls Division by Gerry H. The layout is beautifully presented. The operation and scenery are exceptionally well done. You can read and see more from this website link. Thanks to Gerry and his wife for the lovely afternoon tea as well - got me through the drive back to Canberra!

And, let me conclude with a beaut little layout that was also on display at the Convention. The layout was  called Lizard Ridge (On30).

I enjoyed the weekend and the limited amount of layout tours I could manage in an afternoon. Next year the Convention is being hosted by NMRA Division 2 in Canberra.....hey, that's my mob!

NMRA Convention 2012 - Part 1

I spent an enjoyable weekend on the Central Coast of New South Wales at the Australasian NMRA Convention. The Convention had the usual array of presentations, modelling clinics, and layout tours. Models were on display for assessment for the NMRA achievement program awards. A handful of layouts were also on display; the feature being the latest modelling creation from Messrs Flack and Nott - Smuggler's Cove.

The Smuggler's Cove (On30) layout was presented in a similar style to previous layouts from this partnership. Smuggler's Cove is essentially a set of two joined dioramas with a couple of trains running through them. A third portion of the layout is still to be added. The layout was first exhibited at the recent Castle Hill Model Railway Exhibition in Sydney. The NMRA Convention was fortunate to not only have the layout on display, but to have Messrs Flack and Nott give two presentations on the design and construction of the layout.

Smuggler's Cove is a fictional location in Maine in the New England region of the United States. The model features some superb scratchbuilt structures and magnificent detailed scenery. The layout lighting and general presentation are superb.

The following photographs of Smuggler's Cove show just a taste of this superbly displayed layout.

I will have more to say on the Convention in my next blog post but I wanted to give you a taste of the weekend with some photo's of the Smuggler's Cove layout.

Bungendore Model Railway Exhibition 2010

This afternoon I made the drive for a quick visit to the Bungendore Model Railway Exhibition. Bungendore is about 40km from home in Canberra. I didn't have a lot of spare time this weekend so I only had about an hour at the exhibition to have a good look around.

This was the first model railway exhibition in Bungendore, held at the multi-purpose hall of Bungendore Primary School. There were about fifteen layouts (HO and N scale) and about half a dozen commercial traders. It was a good balance for a relatively small exhibition.

Most of the layouts were exhibited by local Bungendore or Canberra railway modellers. The layouts included Crestwood, Eskbank, Little Austria, Nicholls Siding, NMRA (ACT Division) US layout, Sodor, Sydney Central, and the Canberra Monaro N scale Group's AusTrak modular layout. Springfield Junction (Hills Model Railway Society), South Creek (NSW N scale Group) and Strawberry Hills (Sydney N scale Model Railway Club) made the trip from Sydney.Yallah came from the Illawarra.

I have included a few photos from my short visit today.

The first two photos are from the Eskbank (circa. 1899) layout (HO scale). Eskbank is a real location near Lithgow (NSW) at the western foot of the Blue Mountains. The first photos shows (or should that be shews?) a short freight consist moving slowly through Eskbank station. Note that the freight car just behind the loco is a wagon hauling coal gas. The second photo shows a U105 on the turntable at Eskbank. The U105 Baldwin locomotive is based on a Roundhouse model (I think) and the turntable is by Fleischmann.

The next photo is from Ross Balderson's Sydney Central (N scale). The photo show the trams along Eddy Avenue, a common sight in 1958, the period in which the model typifies.

The next three photos show generic NSW locations on typical exhibition-style layouts (plenty of colour and movement). In order, the layouts are Crestwood (HO), Nicholls Siding (HO), and South Creek (N scale).

The last three photos are from the US-inspired Springfield Junction (HO) layout. I saw this layout previously at the Beecroft Exhibition a couple of months ago.This layout operates using NCE digital command control (DCC). Note the way in which the throttle sits when not in use on the layout.

Off to South Dakota

On Tuesday I head off to South Dakota to railfan the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DME) railroad. This US Class 2 railroad has been of interest to me for the past ten months; so much so that I am looking at building a model railroad based on the DME. I blog about this proposed layout on sister blog, DME Down Under.

I mention this now for two reasons: firstly, my report on the 2009 NMRA Convention that I attended today in Sydney is in DME Down Under and I don't need to repeat that report here; and secondly, I will have only limited opportunity to blog while I am away which means that DME Down Under will have priority!

A full report of the trip and my evolving thinking around the model railroad will reach Armchair Modeller Down Under when I get back after the 18th October.

Until next time...

Sydney MR exhibition 2009 report

I spent much of today at the Sydney Model Railway Exhibition. Tomorrow I will go to the NMRA Convention. I had initially thought I could spend the first half of the day at the exhibition and then I could drive from Liverpool to Castle Hill for the afternoon session of the Convention. It was not to be; there were simply too many layouts, trade stands, and people to catch up with at the exhibition. Moreover, the exhibition was absolutely packed out!

The exhibition featured a couple of really great layouts. The best was the 7mm (O scale) layout, Stringybark Creek. The layout represents an area of the NSW north coast in the period 1950-65. On display were a standard goods and a nineteen class steam locomotive, plus a delightful 400 class railmotor. The layout had some excellent scenery, especially the buildings. I really loved the Norco dairy factory, the pub, and the trestle bridge.

The other super quality layout was A Tracktiv Effort by Peter Lewis. The layout is 5.6 metres in length, enclosed in the plexiglass showcase style like his former layout. Peter was responsible for the superb Time and Patience layout. This new layout is in the same mould - a Newcastle (NSW) suburban scene with excellent structures and the inevitable corner petrol station, with trains running in the background, albeit on a double track this time around. I can't say I like the name of this layout but I can say I do like the layout itself.

The third top quality layout on display was Eskbank. This wasn't the first time I'd seen this layout at the Sydney exhibition, but it is always interesting to watch. The layout is circa 1899 and is based on Eskbank near Lithgow in NSW. The "olden days" locos and rollingstock are certainly of unique interest compared to the modern image of today and the steam-diesel transition era preferred by most modellers. The station building and loco depot are really superb and are a great credit to the builder, David Low.

A new layout, Wallerawang, was being exhibited for the first time from the Guildford Model Railway Group in Sydney (not the layout by Jack Parker featured recently in an issue of AMRM). The exhibition layout is 6.5 metres in length and based on the station and yard at Wallerawang on the Main Western line in NSW (actually, not far from Lithgow).

The large generic prototype layout (but really US-based) from the Coffs Harbour Modellers' Group was also on display and presented exceptionally well, especially with the self-enclosed lighting that really showcased the layout to maximum effect. Similarly well lit and presented was the much smaller but superbly modelled Plainview (On30), a diorama style North American freelance bush logging layout from Viv Farrow.

Old favourites making another exhibition appearance included Brunswick Park, Dirt, Dungog, Galong, Jembaicumbene, Smaldon Curve, and Tarana.

The floorplan included in my blog post yesterday gives details of all the layouts and trade stands (so I won't mention everything I saw today). However, it was good to see that the four main Australian r-t-r locomotive and rollingstock manufacturers were there - Auscision, Austrains, Eureka, and Trainorama. Other notable Australian model railway suppliers were Antons Trains, Balmain Drawingboard, Bergs Hobbies, Casula Hobbies, Chuck's Ballast Supplies, Frate-N, Gwyder Valley Models, IDR kits, InFront Models, Kerroby Models, Kieran Ryan Models, O-Aust kits, On Track Models, Powerline, and VR models from the Victorian Hobby Centre.
My only gripe with the exhibition was the generally poor lighting. Because the sports arena had such a high ceiling, and the flourescent lights attached directly to the ceiling rather than hanging down, the overall lighting within the building was not great. Where layouts did not provide their own lighting, or sufficient lighting, the full impact of the layout was compromised, IMHO.
Tomorrow, the NMRA Convention...

Sydney Model Railway Exhibition

This weekend I am off to the Sydney Model Railway Exhibition at Liverpool. I am also going to the NMRA Convention at Castle Hill in Sydney. It will be a huge weekend, including layout visits on Monday and Tuesday!

The Sydney Model Railway Exhibition is one of the biggest in Australia, and possibly one of the best. I always look forward to this exhibition to catch up with friends, see lots of layouts, buy the odd item or two from the trade stands, and generally take in the model railway atmosphere. You can see what layouts and trade stands will be present from the floor plan.


I can see from the floor plan that there are some layouts I have seen before (Eskbank, for example) and some new ones (or one's I don't remember!) too. There is a feast of trade stands as well, always well worth visiting to see what's available and what might be tempting to purchase.

The NMRA Convention is on this weekend too. I am still deciding on the logistics as to where and when I will get to the exhibition and the convention. I still haven't fixed the times and places yet, although I have a three hour drive from Canberra to Sydney tomorrow morning to think about it.

Wherever I am over the weekend, track me down and say hello!

Model railway operation using staff control

I had an enjoyable operating session last night at the home of one of the local members of the Australasian Division of the NMRA. The layout is a fictional railway line located between North Geelong in Victoria and Eden on the far south coast of NSW. As a consequence, the line is standard gauge. The locos and rollingstock come from both the Victorian and NSW railways, as well as Freight Australia, Great Northern, R&H, and National Rail.

The layout is controlled using an older version of Easy DCC and works to a train order sequence. A card for each train gives instructions as to the origin and destination, and any operational requirements en route. For example, one of my trains last night was a goods train that had instructions to pick up and set out wagons at various locations along the way. Shunting in a number of yards and keeping to sequence was indeed quite a challenge, especially if through trains were waiting on me clearing the main to allow them uninterrupted passage.

There were about nine of us working these trains, including what the Americans would call yardmasters at the terminus points (North Geelong and Eden) and at the key crossing point (Latrobe Valley) midway between the two.

Operation was an interesting combination of radio control and staff exchange. This meant that one couldn't enter a new section of the railroad without permission (obtained through using the individual radio control handsets and microphones) and without getting the staff for that section. Upon leaving the section, the staff had to be returned. The photo below shows the staffs for the five key sections of the layout. You can see that there are two trains in operation by the fact that the staff for section B and section D are not in the box.

You can also see in the photo how the staffs are stored in a vertical position. The staffs sit in the box and actually operate a switch at the base of the wooden holders to indicate when a staff is in position in the wooden box or has been removed. The staff set-up also controls the signals to give the correct colour light signal for approaching trains. Very ingenious indeed!

I really enjoyed the operating night and using another type of digital control system. I am becoming more interested in using digital control every time I have the chance to experience a real operational model railroad, rather than simple loop layouts that are popular at model railway exhibitions. Operating a Victorian/NSW layout was also an interesting experience. It was certainly nice to see all those Austrains, Auscision and Trainorama locos and wagons in use.

Thanks to Rob and the other chaps for a really great evening!

The 2009 NMRA Convention in Sydney, Australia

Following on from my previous blog post, I must mention the NMRA Australia 2009 Convention to be held at Castle Hill (Sydney) between the 2nd and 5th of October. It is the 25th anniversary convention so it too will be a special time. The NMRA convention program is out now. Registrations are being taken for the convention plus orders for commemorative shirts. There are also plenty of layout tours featuring mostly US and Australian prototype model railway layouts.

The dates do clash with the AMRA Sydney Model Railway Exhibition at the Whitlam Leisure Centre in Liverpool. However, I believe there will be time on the Monday available for NMRA convention attendees to make the trip to Liverpool. The Sydney exhibition is returning to the Liverpool venue after a few years away at Hurstville.

The NSW October Labour Day weekend promises to be a very, very busy time.

The 2009 NMRA Convention in Hartford, USA

I am a National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) member. When I was living in Sydney I'd attend the monthly layout visits when I could and found them always interesting events. Now in Canberra, I have made a couple of layout visits but still to get into a more regular routine.

One of our Canberra mob, John P., is heading off to the US at the end of this week to attend the annual NMRA Convention being held this year in Hartford, Connecticut. The convention begins on July 5th.

It's likely that several Australians will be making the trip to the US to go to the Convention in Harford, CT. The clinics and layout tours look terrific.

My hope is to go to the 2010 NMRA Convention in Milwaukee. The 2010 convention will be the 75th anniversary of the NMRA so it promises to be extra special. And, Milwaukee is (sort of) close enough to my favourite US prototype railroads, the Soo and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern.

In the meantime, I hope John and the other Aussies have a great time in Connecticut and bring back lots of good ideas and tips for the rest of us!