Malkara Exhibition 2011

I managed an hour each yesterday and today for a quick look around the Malkara Exhibition here in Canberra. The exhibition, organised by the ACT Model Railway Society,  is a major fundraiser for the Malkara School. The show includes a range of scale hobbies including model railways, model cars, plastic modelling, remote control boats, and dolls houses. I was naturally there to help a good cause and check out the the model railways.

There were about a dozen model railways on show, not including the popular train ride for the kids outside.

As I only had a short time at the show because of report writing commitments at home, here is a sample of the layouts at the exhibition.

Yendys (Sydney spelt backwards) is the HO scale club layout of the ACT Model Railway Society. The layout is a double-track mainline with a suburban station and electric suburban carriage sidings. A feature of this layout is the catenary, something that really adds realism to the scene. The following three photos highlight some of the scenes from this layout. I especially like the third photo showing a suburban train about to pull away from the station among the hustle and bustle of the day.

Another layout from Canberra modellers was Willigobung (HO scale). This layout is a generic NSW country through station on a busy two track mainline (obviously the Main South). A good selection of trains is always on show to keep the punters happy.

The amiable lads from the Illawarra returned to Canberra with their exhibition layout, Waterfall (HO scale).

South Bend and Hilltop Railway is an N scale US-prototype layout. A feature of this layout was the long trains snaking through a variety of scenic elements. The yard at the front of the layout is also a good spot to watch the trains pass through.

The Epping Model Railway Club (the "yellow shirts") made the trip to Canberra with their exhibition layout, Brunswick Park (HO scale). This layout features a Sydney suburban scene with a focus on the industries around the North Strathfield/Concord  area.

The magnificent Sydney Central Station (N scale) was back on the exhibition circuit after several months on public display at the NSWRTM office on Central Station concourse in Sydney. It is always a pleasure to admire the fabulous detail and modelling skill of this remarkable layout.

Other layouts on show were Clifton Falls, Crestwood, Mullett Creek, South Creek, and the Canberra Monaro N scale group's AusTrak modules.

Several model railway shops were also in attendance. They included Casula Hobbies and Model Railroad Craftsman (both selling the latest issue of Australian Journal of Railway Modelling I was pleased to see), Pallas Hobbies, and Runway 13. Also in attendance were Ron Cunningham of Eureka Models and John Eassie from Austrains. Austrains seemed to be pretty busy whenever I popped my head in there and I am sure the local Canberra and South Coast modellers kept the cash register ringing! I did my bit in buying another NR for myself on Saturday at the discounted price of $200. One of my mates bought three NR's and another two bought one each - who said that NR's wouldn't still be popular?

I hope the weekend was a big success for the organisers and the school. It was the 39th Malkara exhibition and that is quite an achievement. Well done!

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.