MM Issue 6

8/4/2019 MM Issue 6

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Issue 6

CONSIST

* GOVERNOR’S

CAR

* BRANCHLINE?

* TEMORA MAIL

TRAIN* SWINE FLU?

*MUSINGS FROM

THE ROOMS

*TRACK CLEAN-

ING

*MECHANICAL

SIGNALLING

PART 2

* MEET THE

MEMBERS

* HISTORY* HOME SIGNAL

Wagga Wagga Model RailroadersPO Box 6340 Wagga Wagga Business Centre

Wagga Wagga NSW 2650

Only a few months to go now. Graeme is ramping up the enthusiasmnow for our Tenth Annual Model Railway And Hobby Exhibition.Seems only yesterday a small group of members was searching for ad-

vice and ideas as well as a suitable venue to establish this fine event.

What a fabulous time that first weekend was. From memory, there wassomething like $300 in the kitty and we worked on a budget of just$3000 in total costs to be recouped, hopefully, from the door takingswith the costs being reduced to an extent by donated goods and ser-vices. We were all wondering just how much each we would have toput up for the shortfall. Our hall rental is now almost that much on it’sown. Fuel costs and consequently the amount we forward to our exhib-iting layouts has had to be increased. Our first time out, we relied heav-ily on friends within the hobby to come and exhibit knowing they maynot get any fuel money for their efforts. And most of them are still lin-ing up for return visits. This year we have already said sorry we cannotfit you in to quite a few.

We would hope that visitors this year will recognize the huge effortfrom a small band ably supported by a large circle of like minded visit-ing groups, in opening this varied hobby to the general public in theform of a family oriented display of some of the best Model Railwaysfrom a 500 kilometre radius. We should also remember some of thosewho helped us with advice way back in the year 2000 prior to our first

show, a show which is now firmly on the calendar of many Model Railenthusiasts from all over NSW, Vic and the ACT.

SUBMISSIONS:

To the EditorIan [email protected] in word formatand pictures in JPEG for-mat separately. A flash orthumb drive may be usedor CD. These will be re-turned.

This document is provided free to share without modification or addition. The docu-ment remains the property of the Wagga Wagga Model Railroaders Inc. Where possi-ble, photos and articles used are with the owner’s permission. Reproduction in partwithout the permission of the owners may contravene copyright laws.

MURRUMBIDGEE MAILMURRUMBIDGEE MAIL

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T h e GOV E R NOR ’ S CA R(P r e s i d e n t ’ s Pa g e)

WAGGA WAGGA

MODEL RAILROADERS

INC.

PRESIDENT

GRAEME HEARN

VICE PRESIDENT LES WEST

SECRETARY

STEVEN RAVENSCROFT

TREASURER

FLEUR WEST

PO Box 6340Wagga Wagga

Business Centre

NSW 2650

The Club meets so-cially, most Mondayevenings from around7.00P.M. at the BESTRESERVE HALL forrunning on the perma-nent HO layout underconstruction. Membersare encouraged to par-ticipate in the con-struction. Guests aremost welcome.

G'day All,Well, we are quickly approaching the 10th Wagga Wagga ModelRailway & Hobby Exhibition. This year in the run up to the Show weare having a fund raiser at Bunnings’ Wagga Homebase store. This isin the form of a BBQ Sausage Sizzle etc. We are also doing a displayat the Market place. We are hoping to sell Raffle Tickets and to useboth events to advertise our show.We have placed a 1/4 page add in the 5th edition of “Model Railwaysin Australia”.This will be circulating prior to AMRA's Liverpool Exhibition.This magazine is proving very popular as it is obtainable at most

Train Shows for free as well as being on sale at various Hobby Shopsand at most Newsagents through Gordon & Gotch.We have had a number of people contact the Club from our area thatwanted to visit the clubrooms who either subscribe or buy the Maga-zine through their Newsagents. So it is being read.To aid our presentation as a group, Fleur West has organized T Shirtsfor Club Members. If you have not ordered yours’ yet you can bycontacting Fleur on 69 203 540.When the Train Show gets closer we have a Poster that we would liketo be spread around the district. So if you are going to neighbouringtowns in the next couple of months you may be able to place one of our posters on a bulletin board or in a shop window. Most retailersare happy to do this. Please contact the committee if you can place aposter or two.Yours till next issue.Graeme Hearn President.

COMING EVENTSBuilding Plastic models Work shop date TBA.

OUR TOWN Model Show, Newcastle, August 29 and 30

The Sydney AMRA Exhibition is back at it’s more well known location thisyear, the Whitlam Centre at Liverpool. October long week end.

Bunnings BBQ/ Club Fundraiser . Let Steve know when you wil l be avail ableto do a shift cooking snags.

Our annual exhibition will be held November 7 and 8.

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MODELLING IDEAS: Build a Branch Terminus

Lately, I have been asking myself a lot of questions, yes, arm chair modelling, about what Iwould like to do for a major personal project for the next few years. Whilst I have discussedthis conundrum with myself, I have decided that building a smaller project may well be thething to do to keep the hand in so to speak and to try some techniques. I have been discuss-

ing this with one of my friends and we have between us decided that a small switching lay-out would be fun and may even be able to be used elsewhere. We have been throwing track plans at one and other for some time, many of which have been published plans, but of latewe have been exploring prototype plans to come up with something which may be more in-teresting to build, operate and maybe even exhibit.

One of the simplest we have come across so far is the plan of Crookwell. This delightful lit-tle plan could easily be built by even a moderately skilled enthusiast. 6 sets of points in totalwould not stretch the budget too far or if hand laying track, would not tax the patience toofar. To help limit overall costs, a cassette style “fiddle” could be used A small yard like thiswould be perfect as an educational tool once finished as operation, although reasonably sim-ple, is complicated by the two offset loops. The turntable means that all locos can arrive anddepart “cab leading” simplifying the fiddle operation as a cassette can simply be reversed inreadiness for the next train. Members of the general public could easily drive this under in-struction, making it a wonderful promotional tool.

There are very few buildings, further containing costs and the one which will be lookedmost closely at, is the Station itself. Here we could use the new station building From CasulaHobbies and I understand that Joe is considering a Good’s Shed for the range, if you do notwish to scratch build one. You could use a manual turn table or I guess use diesels and “liftthe table” leaving just the track in place, rationalization!

As for rolling stock, let’s see, 2 maybe 3 locos, maybe a half dozen assorted bogie wagons,MLE, GLV etc, a handful of 4 wheelers, S, K, LV and a few brake vans, maybe a railmotoror at least an FS or a CS for passengers and a parcel/mail van.

This is a classis branch terminus, a type very popular with British Modellers due to theirspace limitations, but full of operational potential. This is a perfect step up from the toy-like6 by 4 oval.

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Temora Mail and Temora Mail

After reading Ian’s interesting article on the 70’s Temora Mail in the last issue of MM, Ithought a complimentary follow-up comparing the late 50’s early 60’s Temora Mail mightinterest some readers.

Ian’s comment about the make up of the train being a “motley collection of hand medown passenger and parcel vehicles” still holds true, probably even more so, as there weremore of them.

The Temora Mailof this period was aunique train in its ownright, departing Central(Sydney Terminal as itis now known) at 2025hrs, (8.25pm), some-times transporting the

writer from boardingschool in Sydney, toBarmedman in the SouthWest, just north of Te-mora.The train consist, during1958, for example was:ACM, CR, LAM, BS,FS, MHO, MHO, KP,and MHO. (Sometimes

the MHO’s would bereplaced with EHO’s).The ACM was usually detached at Harden for the Cowra line and the KP and Third MHO,having fulfilled their duties, detached at Cootamundra. The consists would vary slightly de-pending on load and availability, day of the week etc.

The train ran as No. 5 Temora Mail, Sunday to Friday nights inclusive, stopping atmost major centres such as Campbelltown, Picton, Mittagong, Bowral, Moss Vale, Goul-burn, Yass Junction, Binalong, Harden, Wallenbeen and arriving at Cootamundra at orabout dawn the next morning, depending how thick the fog was during winter. Here the mo-tive power, either a C36 or C38, depending on load and availability, was detached from thelead end of the train and a C32 attached to the rear end, (whilst the writer had another of the

notorious railway coffees). With the 32 firmly in place the train headed off back towardsSydney, but swinging west through Cootamundra West to Stockinbingal and Temora.

LAM by Dennis Clarke

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While the passengers, continuing on, enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the Temora Rail-way Refreshment Rooms, the fun started on the tracks with the shunters dividing the traininto two. The BS, FS and one MHO, forming the consist to Griffith and the CR and otherMHO forming the train to continue on northwards to Wyalong Central. The sleeper LAMwas usually detached at Temora, but has been known to continue to Wyalong. These two

trains would normally be hauled by a C30 Tender loco from the Temora Loco contingent.And if that wasn’t enough, it all happened in reverse that afternoon and night.

Now from the modeler’s point of view this raises some interesting challenges. TheLocomotives are available as DJH kits or recently the 32 and 36 RTR from Trainorama andAustrains respectively. The FS, BS and MHO have long been available from PowerlineRTR, and with a little detailing, i.e. roof vents, and a bit of weathering etc. make a nicetrain. However the CR, LAM and ACM are where the challenges begin. To my knowledgenone of these three are available RTR. The BR from Ian Lyndsay Models could be substi-tuted for the CR as sometimes a BR would run with “Second” stickers on the windows of the compartments on one end. Or, the CR can be scratch built using L&C sides from AR

kits. The ACM, is a bit more of a challenge, I built one using some windows from a LimaTAM car and some from L&C sides. The LAM I built using windows from a TAM and afew from the L&C sides.

My version of the Temora Mail some will remember also doing a few stints on“Stockinbingal” at various exhibitions including Wagga some years ago. It was my timewith the Wagga club that prompted me to model my Temora Mail, a train in which I hadtravelled several times. It still runs occasionally on my “Barmedman” layout.

Dennis Clarke

ACM by Dennis Clarke

Although I had also travelled by Mail Train home from Boarding School in Sydney, myreason to build my Temora Mail revolved around my desire to have an actual set of carsthat I could rightly call by their name. Dennis has noted nostalgia as his reason forbuilding his set. It is very interesting speaking with different people to learn why theymodel what they do. A very common reason is to recreate something from the past.We are slowly loosing our older enthusiasts and nostalgia will soon have to be learntfrom a photograph in an old book or grainy film clip. It won’t be long and our only con-tact with a steam loco will be a heritage tour. We already get a little misty thinkingabout a 40 class or in Victoria a blue and gold bulldog. Take the time to listen to theolder enthusiasts. They have much to share. editor

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SWINE FLU?

Horror of Horrors, the bastion of the kit built loco has been infiltrated. Macca has acquireda PLASTIC STEAMER. Although I have seen so many running on home and exhibitionlayouts, I had also heard and unfortunately listened to all the stories about the ones with is-sues. So until Saturday at the Epping Model Railway Show, I did not own one.

An example of the Austrain’s Pig (NSWR 36 class) found its’ way into the boot of the carto come home with me from one of my favourite shows of the year. As I was staying withfriends before travelling home, it was unpacked to see what we could see. Yeah well, newtoy, had to see it run. After deciding that yes a black loco was the best choice for my futureplans, we decided that I would at least have to lightly weather this old girl to take away thatplastic sheen. Apart from that, a crew, maybe a Gladstone bag and a spare shovel alongwith real coal for the tender, I like mine about half to two thirds full, and 3666 will look good pressed into service on a goods or at the head of an N set. Yes, there are a couple of pipes and conduits modelled in half relief to keep the cost down and a number of minoromissions such as the lubricator actuator, but from three feet, the model looks fine andsome light dry brushing and weathering will enhance it. Any one familiar with James McIn-erney’s web site can view before and after shots of his Austrains 36 with cab handrails re-placed with brass wire and turned brass handrail knobs and the previously mentioned lubri-cator actuator rod fitted along with the curled air lines from the cylindrical tanks under thefootplate. These small changes add a lot of personality to the model.

After a couple of laps to allow her to step out any tightness that may be present, (there was-n’t, the loco ran flawlessly immediately), it was time to back up to a train and really try herout. The selected set was a 6 car HUB set which was weighted to well past 100gm per carfor smoother rolling. (The sound through frogs and at track joints alone is worth the effort).

With no wheel slip, 3666 lifted the set from the stand still and with no fuss smoothly accel-erated to an acceptable speed. After several laps it was time to try the “HILL”. The grade isin the order of 125mm in just over maybe 2.5metres with a better than 90 degree curve to-wards the top section of just under 24” radius. Gee this will test the girl I heard myself say,but no, around again and reduce the throttle setting, and again the grade was conquered withreasonable ease. The loco was not slipping or bucking, just a loss of some of the speed aswould be expected. I resisted the urge to see how many cars would be a maximum load onthis grade, as the loco was already pulling much more in weight than what most modellerswould ever expect to have seen behind a pig in service. Even the Riverina Express RUBwas at best a 7 car set and Pigs often assisted the 38s in various locations. Why then wouldwe expect our plastic motive power to be able to haul more?

In short, the loco is too shiny for mine, but I can fix that. Having said that, the vast majorityof these will probably never be touched, but will run as they are. In fact, I have seen manyalready running on “Exhibition Layouts” exactly as they came and pulling cars straightfrom the box. The paintwork is nice and even and is of the usual satin finish common tomost retail offerings, the red lining is sharp and fine closely matching photos of similarlocos from the 36 class. Much of the fine added detail, whistle, hand rails etc, appear to bemetal. My loco runs smoothly and performs well. I am sure there are many dimensionalflaws yet the overall appearance of the model is exceptional.

Yes, Macca is happy with his plastic steamer and will run it amongst his kit built stud quite

happily.

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Musings from the Rooms:-

Thoughts are being directed to the local big annual event for us. Whilst we may all havedifferent directions to travel all year, from about now until November, we all focus on ourWagga Wagga Model Railway and Hobby Exhibition.

We try and think of different things to do and different ways to do things so as to ensurethat the event goes smoothly and profitably for us. Great pains are taken each year andshould be to ensure that we are good hosts to our visitors, trade, display and paying.

This year we will again be supporting the NSW Cancer Council by collecting on their be-half. They may even contribute to the weekend by having a presence via their own displayat the show. I do hope this is possible for them.

Graeme and I have a long list of interested persons and groups already showing interest inbeing a part of our tenth show. I personally would like to thank in some small way some of the people who have been tremendous supporters/mentors/friends to our club and its mem-bers, especially when we were first entering the public side of the hobby. This could bedone by way of a small plaque similar to the Life Memberships Plaques so generously pre-sented last year. Obviously the recipients will need to be kept secret until the presentation.

TRACK CLEANINGOK, so the loco was running perfectly when you checked it at home and you know it was serviced prop-

erly before placing it on the club layout and now it won’t go. Maybe it ran for a few metres and began

to run very jerkily and will only move a few inches now before stalling completely.

There could be many reasons for this but I will bet vital parts of my anatomy that electrical pick up is

the problem.

Wheels need to be kept very clean on your loco and your carriages. If you are not in the habit of clean-

ing the wheels, you will see a build-up of grot and grime on the treads of wheels on all of your rolling

stock. This will cause poor rolling and possibly derailments.

With your loco, it is likely that you will now notice along with some grot and grime, very fine corrosion

on the tread. This is caused by the electricity “arcing” between the rail and the tread. This is caused by

dust or similar causing the wheel to lift away from the rail head. A spark can jump the gap. This leavesa “pit” or burn mark on the wheel as well as the rail head. This pit, along with a few thousand just like

it, although very small, will provide insulation next time around and cause even more sparks and pits.

How do we avoid this?

Quite easily really. The track must firstly be cleaned. An abrasive rubber like the Peco Track Rubber

can be used, but don’t forget to go back along the track and clean up the rubber residue with a cloth

dampened with possibly some Methylated Spirits. The rubber residue may only act like the dust and

corrosion that got us here in the first place. Once this is done, many use some oil to protect the surface.

Wahl oil available form a barber or some LaBelle 108 is very good. Do not use a mineral oil like the

Singer oil your Mum has. It will attack plastics. Another product is Rail Zip. This is a great item and I

can highly recommend it. A couple of drops on the railhead, usually in a fiddle yard neck is dispersed

around the layout by the trains themselves.Some people complain about the buildup of residue on the track after oiling or using Rail Zip. That

means that the process is working. Firstly, the muck from the carriage wheels is being cleaned and de-

posited on the rail and in the case of Rail Zip, this muck is now suspended in an electrically conductive

mix. By all means clean this off with a clean rag without using any solvents or cleaning fluids. Reapply

oil or Rail Zip as needed, but just a couple of drops.

Macca

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The Home Signal.

A home signal is a controlled signal which directly protects a permanent risk within an inter-locking. E.g. Points or a level crossing. An interlocking would typically be a station area orother yard area controlled from a signal box or frame.

The home signal can be controlled by the signaller or fixed to display a permanent STOPindication. When more than 1 home is controlled from a signal box they are numbered inorder of approach e.g. home, 2nd home, 3rd home, starter

Distinguishing which signal does which line

To correctly refer to signals they are deemedUP or Down. And the way this is done is likethis.Imagine that Sydney is on top of a largemountain. All trains going to Sydney need togo UP the hill. Trains going away from Syd-ney are going DOWN the hill.

So Down trains will ap-proach the Down homesignal and UP trains willapproach the UP Home.

The NSW system also used height and size to distinguish which signalsrelated to which line. The higher and larger signal arm signified theMain line, the lower and smaller arm signified a lesser road, e.g. loop orsiding.

Here’s an easy example. A bracket home signal at the approach to a crossing loop will have

2 signal arms, 1 high and the other 4’ lower and on the side that the loop is located. The loopsignal will also have a smaller arm.

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Starting Signal

The Starting or “Starter” is a fixed signal. It is the last signal the driver will pass when leav-ing the interlocking. When cleared it authorises the driver to proceed towards the next signalbox/station, provided they have the correct authority for the section, e.g. staff or ticket or in

some cases just the green light in the signal is authority! (CTC)

Just a side note a section is the area between 2 interlockings, e.g Wagga to Kapooka is a

section and Bomen to Wagga is a section.

The section is determined by where the authority or token has to be changed, or the method

of safe-working changes, e.g Block telegraph to Automatic, electric staff to staff & ticket. Dale Richards

The driver of this train will have littledoubt regarding the state of the roadahead as it will be indicated by theposition of the signals and all he needsis to know what they mean.

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M eet the M embers

Fleur & Les West are both enjoying their retirement, well Fleur is as Lesstill drives a school bus from time to time. They call the Main Street of down town Yerong Creek home, right on the Main South and get to seemain line traffic over the back fence. Trains no longer stop regularly atYerong Creek but that has not stopped the interest and both enjoy thehobby as well as their garden and grandchildren.Fleur was Postmistress at Yerong creek for many years and enjoys a goodnovel, word puzzles, and likes early American trains.Les was a motor mechanic by trade and has a keen interest in any hands onactivity from repairing lawn mowers to renovating the family home. His

many interests include wood work and his choice is NSW Trains.They both became members of the club approx 18 months ago and havebecome integral members of the group. Les was almost immediatelythrown in as Vice President, a position he still holds and Fleur was saddledwith the unenviable job of Treasurer. Both have taken to these tasks readilyand have become tireless workers within the Club.Fleur and Les mostly enjoy the social side of the hobby and the friendshipsformed within the group. Probably a product of the quiet lifestyle they haveadopted in retirement.

The back shed which has been a place for hobbies for some time has ac-quired bench-work and track which will become their little piece of thisModel Railway hobby to enjoy and to be entertained by for some time tocome..

Old American Train, the JOHN BULL on Tumut.Photo Courtesy Andrew Lawson

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HISTORY LESSON:) To choose an Australian prototype to model may have seemed sillyat the time, after all we were mostly modelling American roads at that time. Union Pacific,Southern Pacific, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe, Milwaukee Road and Rio Grande were all repre-sented, in steam and diesel.The main thing that we brought with us from our American back grounds was “operation”.

Most Australian layouts of that time were basically tail chasers. I don’t mean that in a de-rogatory manner, but it is true to say that what we were seeing at exhibitions were generallydual main layouts, generally with a nicely modelled station and some scenery. Let’s face it,that was probably the most common because it is easy to keep trains running and in motionand the general public like to see the trains moving.The enthusiast however, was being attracted to in many cases, lesser known prototypes withsimple themes and often labour intensive operation. There were some very nice layoutsaround, still are, based on various long past English Rail companies and operated as point topoint layouts. A train arrived, and needed turning, remarshalling and readying for the returntrip to the fiddle yards.We discussed combining both types of operation on what ever we would build.Stockinbingal would be built as close to the prototype as our generous size would allow.Being a branch familiar with all types of train allowed us to operate in a tail chaser mode,many long trains. Being a junction, forced us to cross trains correctly. This staggering of trains forced us to “operate”. The simplest operation on Stock was waiting at the platformfor a down train to clear the single line section.In real life, Stockinbigal saw very little operation other than grain movements. Of course wemade sure that we shunted the silo fairly regularly, even to the point of mimicking actualtrain movements caused by a faulty set of points we were told about by drivers. We alsotried to keep train movements close to prototypically correct as discussed with us by variousrailway staff.

No matter what we were capable of doing on the layout, there was always the possibilitythat one operator may at times need to be able to “run the display”. We made sure that re-verting to a simple tail chaser was possible. With practice, one person could operate a trainin either direction, but it took some diligence and full attention to the task in hand. So thisdid not happen very often.As we work towards a permanent railway in our club rooms, it is interesting to note that weas yet have not included much in the way of large yards. Personally, I do not see this as adeficit. Most of our current members are happy to simply see a train run. To be honest, thatis probably the most relaxing task we have and it is good to simply sit back and watch everynow and then. Once the two mainlines are operational again, the possibility of basic timetable operation will be enough of a challenge for most of us and will not be beyond the abil-

ity of most visitors.Operations on Stockinbingal were basic, but based on what actually happens or happenedon the real thing. When you watch other exhibition layouts, pay close attention to the thingsthat catch your eye. Watch as a coal train rolls past the loader, or a wagon or two are“spotted” by a dock or warehouse, a string of oil tankers are collected from the local fueldepot, or a “milk pot” gets added to the back of a commuter.Except in major locations or industrial areas, we just do not have large freight yards. Whenwe do have yards, they are designed for a purpose. Cootamundra is well suited as a crewchange station as there is room to store and service a number of trains off the main. DarlingHarbour was all about getting freight to and from the ships. Our South Main station is de-signed to service the branch. Our City station is simply a through junction. Both were de-

signed to fulfil a role and have only what is necessary.

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Ne w P r od u c t sAt Epping, Austrains had all their new Flat car variants on display and availablefor sale. They are variants of the MLE Flat Wagon and they look great.

Ontrack Models had samples of their NSW CH wagons on display at EppingModel Railway Exhibition. Very Nice. Boxes of three. If you can’t use three, splita box with your mates.

By next issue I should be able to comment on the Balmain Drawing Board NSWSignal Box kit. This kit is supplied as a set of styrene sheets scribed by computerwhich need to be cutapart and reassembledto resemble The boxat Scarborough. Myinitial impression isthat the model is wellthought out and willform the basis of avery sweet lookingmodel. The kit lacksinterior detail but alever kit is also avail-able from BalmainDrawing Board. Somepeople, general clutterand thought in assem-bly should result in avery respectablemodel.

HOME SIGNALHOME SIGNAL

Paint Pressure Packs Under Pressure: It seems that the humble pressure pack of paintmay be in an amount of stress. The word is that it will shortly be a requirement that retail-ers who sell them will need not only to have a locked cabinet to store them in and will onlybe able to sell the items to people obviously over 18 or who can prove that they are over18, but will also need to hold a special license to allow them to carry the items in stock forpossible sale. I have heard of one major retailer many of us visit regularly who are not go-ing to continue offering them for sale for this reason. I wonder how many will follow suit.Whether this will extend to cans of propellant for basic air brush setups I do not know. Iam just glad I have a decent air brush and compressor.

MM Issue 6

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Transcript of MM Issue 6