Caulfield exhibition report - final

Thanks to the people who have been in touch asking for more photos from the AMRA Caulfield model railway exhibition from last weekend. Here are a few more photos from the exhibition. I will load some more photos into a photostream in Flickr and link to there at another time.

However, I have a few images here to show. The first image shows one side of the layout, Murri. This side features the station and yard while the other side is principally an open fiddleyard from where the trains are stored between runs. You can get a good view here as to how the layout is illuminated, using fluorescent globes mounted between boards attached to a metal frame.



The next image shows End of the line - note the gap between the scenic boards in the middle towards the top of the photo where trains enter from a lead that turns ninety degrees to the left to a small stub-ended fiddleyard. This image shows the station area in the foreground and the sidings at the top right of the photo.



The next image is a full length shot of the HO scale US-inspired Yardwork layout. The layout as exhibited is the same as it is at home. Note the book-case like framing and the neutral colours.



As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, the operators of Bright/Everton operate the layout outside of the middle well and are indeed part of the spectators! The next image shows the operators on the Everton side of the layout. One thing I forgot to ask them was what headset communication system they were using to let operators on each side know when a train was coming.



I also want to mention Duck Creek, a narrow gauge HO scale Victorian-inspired layout. Duck Creek had been exhibited in early August at the Malkara exhibition in Canberra. Because I'd seen it so recently, I didn't spend as much time looking at this layout as I did for others. However, it is a very nice and compact layout, worthy of a mention and a photo!



And to end off our journey to Caulfield, the dirt road rail crossing between Everton and Bright...



As one exhibition ends one weekend, another begins! This weekend (29-30 August) the Newcastle (Our Town) model railway exhibition is being held at Broadmeadow. I sure hope Bob takes his camera and gives us a report on his South Coast Rail blog! Until next time...

Blogger layouts I follow

One of the interesting dimensions of blogging using Blogger is the connections with other Blogger bloggers of similar interests - in ths case, railway modellers. I realise that this is the community or social media aspect to the Blogger product. It is not as sophisticated as Vox nor as ubiquitous as Wordpress. But it still performs a connecting function to like-minded souls that I think I will like. But I digress.

I have decided to initially connect to two layouts featured on Blogger/Blogspot. They are South Coast Rail (SCR) and Bylong.

I have visited South Coast Rail many times and really admire the way in which the layout's operational and design elements have come together. Partly this is due to the track plan, and partly because of the thinking behind the layout's reason-for-being. I often invited myself over just to see the progress on the layout and see some new building or scenery under construction.

The second connection I have made is to Ray Pilgrim's Bylong. I first saw Bylong at the Sydney Model Railway Exhibition in the late 1970s. I recall a NSWGR 26 class saddle tank in action at the time. I was impressed back then by the layout and equally impressed when I read about the layout in an issue of AMRM. I would love to see another article in AMRM about Bylong, especially the emphasis on operations.

Since that time I have followed the progress of Bylong via third parties and the odd conversation at a Petersham Convention or model rail exhibition. I doubt that Ray would know me, although I know a little about Ray and his rock n' roll!

The common feature of both layouts are quality production and operations - and they are the critical points of interest for me too.