MRWA/WAGR/WESTRAIL GE Wagon

I have been working on my next kit and its ready to be released.

I wanted to do something simple and to cover all eras I model.

This kit is the MRWA WAGR WESTRAIL GE Wagon, however its the outside braced version. Only 30 wagons of this type were made, originally used by the MRWA, however some survived right through to the Westrail era.

I have done some experimentation with kit building and wanted to do a one piece mould.



I originally was going to scratch build five of these wagons, but only ended up doing one side, one end and one inside detail piece. This became the basis for the pattern.

I then poured the rubber over the pattern and left to dry over night. The result gave me a mould to use so every side was exactly the same. I then modified by NA Sleeper wagon underframe to become the underframe for the smaller GE wagon.

I then put the pieces together just like any other kit. This formed the basis for the one piece mould. My first attempt failed beacuse I forgot to put a release agent between the teo pieces so I had to cut the pattern out and try again.

The result is a one peice mould, of a wagon that represents three different eras. Naturally I have 10 MRWA 10 WAGR and 10 yellow westrail wagons for myself, and will do some for others if they wish.

HAPPY MODELLING............................

S Scale Detail Parts from Tichy Trains (US)

Just letting everyone know that Tichy Trains in the US has quite a few detail parts in S scale.

I have just ordered some doors and windows which are pretty close to the correct size for a model of the Kendenup station which I am planning to build for my layout (to go at Springdale). Kendenup Station had 8-panel double-hung windows, before they were covered up by shutters after the move to Katanning. If interested, there is some historical film of Kendenup from the 1920's including a train trip from Perth. The station in the film is an earlier, smaller building.

They do online orders so the parts are fairly easily available.

They also do some nicely detailed oil drums and a neat little crane.

Some of the HO items such as the pipe load could also be useful.

ModelRail 2011 Videos

I went along to ModelRial this year to test a few things and took my video camera,

Here is a video of the trains running at ModelRail this year on Swanview...

Some nice stuff on display!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V8MKw2wvQM

My First Locomotive.

Like many others my first scratch built styrene model was a WAGR D class four wheeled open wagon.

This was promptly followed by a model of a R class open bogie wagon.  Satisfied with the results of both models, I then moved on to something of greater interest to me, end loading long distance country AQS passenger cars. 

Most scratch building projects require time to be spent on planning, making jigs and sometimes fabrcating items on a trial basis, etc.  These tasks are not as non productive as they seam, as they help the modeller devise the simpler, easier and cheaper methods of building  models.  In order to get the most from this time it I decided to build a pair of AQS carriages. 

As time progressed so did my skills and confidence in using styrene.  By the time I had finished the carriages  I was ready to build something to "pull 'em" with. 

As far as steam locos were concerned the choice was easy - a Vclass.  For me the V class epitomized what a modern narrow gauge railway steam locomotive was all about.  

I was advised that the "Bachmann Plus" 2-8-0 consolidation locomotive [item 31401] was most suitable donor mechanism for a V class and that Murray Hartzer had previously built a Vclass in brass using the same donor mechanism.

I used a piece of 32mm diameter electrical conduit for the boiler.  All the other parts, e.g. fire box, cab, running boards etc. were attached to the boiler. The boiler was attached to the donor mechanism in the same way as the original Bachmann body shell. 

In the case of the tender, this was also constructed using sytrene, except for the brass sheet used to form the upper curved pannels of the coal bunker.  "Rails West" components were used to detail the the model. 

The model was primed with Holts brand red primer and top coated with a spray can of Colourbond brand Rivergum Green.  Black letraset tape was used to line the tender and simulate the boiler bands. 
A light coat of Wattyl brand Matt Estapol was applied to the model to dull the gloss of the paint and seal the Letraset tape.  The model was then weathered using Art Spectrum brand soft pastels [chalk] and sealed with a second coat of Estapol.   

                                                A model of V class locomotive 1216.

Kadee #262 Draft Gear Boxes for Whisker Couplers

I recently replaced the couplers on a model of an X class loco with Kadee #156 long-shank "Whisker" couplers, but it didn't work very well because the mounting hole for the draft gear box supplied with the Whisker couplers needs to be closer to the face of the buffer beam.

I contacted the Kadee company by e-mail to point out the discrepancy with the mounting holes, and they suggested I try the #262 draft gear box, which is designed to work with the range of "Whisker" couplers but has the same mounting hole dimensions as the older #5 and similar couplers.

I recently obtained some of the #156 draft gear boxes (20 to a pack, couplers not included) and have now completed the coupler conversion on the X class.

The #262 box has several useful features including:

* narrower than standard draft gear boxes which provides greater clearance for bogie swing on tightish curves,

* mounting hole is the same distance from the front face as standard draft gear boxes, so it is easy to fit or retrofit Whisker couplers to rolling stock designed for #5 couplers or similar,

* minimal vertical slop, so coupler height is more precise,

* snap-together design, so no gluing required.

If you are not familiar with Kadee Whisker couplers, these have very fine wire springs permanently attached to the coupler shank to provide centering, rather than the spring formerd from phosphor bronze sheet which is standard for #5 and similar couplers. The "Whisker" centering springs require less force to move the couplers sideways, so they work better with magnetic uncouplers, especially for delayed uncoupling.

Whisker couplers are easier to assemble as they don't require a separate centering spring, and the coupler boxes, either the supplied type (#242) or #262 type, snap together so the coupler stays together without gluing. Whisker couplers are available in both standard size heads (same as #5) and "scale" size heads, as well as several different shank lengths. For example, #158 has the "scale" head with the common, medium length shank, and #156 has the "scale" head with a long shank. The long shank couplers are particularly useful for WAGR steam and diesel locos with cowcatchers as they space adjacent wagons far enough away so the opposing "glad hand" does not get caught in the cowcatcher which can cause uncoupling or derailment.

Also, the rear of the draft gear box can be shortened by about 3 mm, without affecting operation, which is often useful to provide greater clearance for the front bogie of a steam loco, or for long bogie wagons or coaches. In these situations, there is an even smaller draft gear box, the #252, which can also be used.

The #252 and #262 draft gear boxes will not work with non-Whisker couplers, as there is insufficient room for the phosphor bronze centering spring. The #242 draft gear box will work with #5 and similar couplers, as well as with whisker couplers. Incidentally, the shanks on the Whisker couplers are slightly thicker so they are equivalent to a #5 shank plus the thickness of the #5 style phosphor bronze centering spring, which is why the #242 draft gear box will work with either style of coupler.

If you are a prolific wagon builder, it is also possible to buy the common Kadee couplers such as #158 in bulk packs of 50 or 100, without draft gear boxes, and buy the desired draft gear boxes separately. This actually works out cheaper than buying them 4 at a time.

Rail Heritage WA Archive Photo Gallery

A link to the Rail Heritage WA photo collection is below, it has also been added to the links section.

http://www.railheritagewa.org.au/archive_scans/thumbnails.php?album=search&cat=0&page=3

G Class Kit Finished

Well its been three weeks and finally I put the finishing touches to my 4-6-0 Version of the WAGR G class. I chose G 123 and modelled it on the 1965 era, before it ventured into preservation/vintage train working at Bunbury. For at least 30 years of its life it was based at Busselton as the shunter there.

It is DCC and has operating headlights, with pickups on the tender as well. The tender is permanently coupled to the locomotive and has a complete cab floor. I have added additional weight to it where possible and weighs about 160g. It can pull on a flat level track approx 32 GE type wagons and a ZJ (non prototypical load).

Flettner Ventilators - AV426 Retrofit

Flettner Spinning Ventilators were one of the more modern fittings used by the WAGR for attempting to create an airflow through the roofs of coaching stock to assist with cooling during the summer period. The Picture below shows two vents on top of the real AV426From a modelling point of view these ventilators are a very important part of producing a model which "looks the part" - in real life we only see these items from ground level, but with a model they are the first thing we see as we look down on our models from above.

Initially when I built a couple of coaches with these vents on the roof I opted for the easy and basic use of a slice of leftover Kadee coupler sprue which gave a good representation (as can be seen in the next picture) but that was all - I was happy with the result but I knew it could be better. After the show this year I started to produce the AZ kit (see elsewhere in blog) and decided it would be nice to be able to not only do the early version but also the later modernised versions which would need to have the Flettner Ventilators and lots of them - far too time consuming to make individually, and so I started down the path of producing a pattern for casting.

In S scale these vents are 3.75mm diameter and 2mm deep making them a very tiny and fiddly item to produce. After much cussing & time fiddling around, a pattern and mould was made enabling casting to begin.

And so I hereby present the WESTOZ MODELS - Flettner Ventilators.
The Picture above shows the vents on the roof of the AV dining car at the museum with the available 12pk of WESTOZ MODELS vents, and a much magnified view of the cast vent.

The view shows the bottom of the vent. Modellers need to gently sand the 'Top" of the casting to remove excess casting flash. This is best done using a fine sandpaper such as 400 wet and dry. "Care must be taken" to ensure an even sanding and not to heat up the vents with heat from fingers - as with any urethane casting they will bend with heat.

To show off these vents I figured I should retro fit one of my existing coaches and so AV426 was chosen - the pliers gotten out and the old vents twisted off the roof. Dont worry I cringed just as much as you probably did reading this, but it had to be done, even at the expense of potentially wrecking a perfectly good model. This next picture shows the old sprue vents removed from my AV dining car& the new Flettners in place and ready for paintingCast onto the bottom of the vent is a flat raising tab which will lift the vent just off the roof surface to give the impression of it not sitting flat on the roof - Place a small dob of glue on this tab an locate on coach roof - allow to dry and then paint. The above picture and the one below show the finished refit of AV426 with the Flettner Ventilators - Now to do the rest of my coaches!

As these vents were widely used on many different classes of coaches, hopefully they will make a very useful item for WAGR S scale modellers, enabling more coaches to be completed and "Look the Part" from above.

G Class Kit Progress

Recently I have been working on my G class locomotive 4-6-0 version. Being a combined brass/urethane kit I have had to brush up on my soldering skills. So far so good, the detailing on the tender is excellent, it took me about an hour to press the rivets out and only about half a day to put the tender together. SInce then the kit has slowly come together it has began to take shape. I have put the chasis together and so far it rolls freely when pushed along the track. I am in the process of wiring it up and then its onto the detail work of the boiler and cab fittings. Those of you who look carefully have seen my obvious mistake that I have encountered once fitting the cross head straps with the slide valves and the body of the smoke box door area, and will need to be rectified on the kit before I go any futher...

AZ First Class Sleeping Car

In 1928, the WAGR built four new 1st class sleeping cars to a design which the Midland Workshops used to build 3 JV class cars for the Midland Railway Co. in 1927.

The 1928 WAGR cars were numbered AZ 434 – 437. In 1929 a further 6 cars were built numbered 438 –443.

These cars were used on the Perth to Kalgoorlie "Westland" overnight sleeper services until being displaced to other less important services by the more modern AH cars which were introduced in 1948. In the early 1960's some of the cars had their matchwood sides repanelled with plywood sheeting as part of the general refurbishment programme. With the demise of the "Albany Progress" in 1978 the AZ's became redundant.

The above picture shows a model of an AZ sleeping car - this is the prototype model for the kit which is now available from WestOz Models. The Kit is formed from patterns produced by Brian Norris. WestOz Models has produced this AZ "Body" kit in polyurethane with a aluminum roof. Some underfloor detail parts (Steps, water tanks and transformer box) are included in the kit. All other parts are available from Railwest Models

my first model

just a quick entry heres a pic of the V class i made over 20 years ago

made from brass sheet from original drawings

after sorting out a few bugs it has been a a good performer

some old pics of layouts

i retreived thesefrom another site however i originaly took them

Westrail Livery

Orange and Yellow Night

As announced earlier in this Blog, an Orange and Yellow night was held on Monday 8 August 2011 by the Sn3½ Special Interest Group at the AMRA clubrooms in Bayswater.

Featured below are some photos of the large array of models in Westrail’s orange and yellow livery on display at the Sn3½ Orange and yellow night. It’s just a taste of the over 50 wagons and 4 locos on display.

The Sn3½ Special Interest Group meets on the second Monday evening of every month at the AMRA clubrooms. Visitors and new members are always welcome. It’s probably the best way to get involved in this aspect of the hobby in WA.

WAGR S Scale "Modern night"

This Monday the WAGR S Scale meeting has for the first time a theme dedicated to the "Modern era". As I really only remember orange locomotives and yellow rollingstock, I have chosen a select number of my items to be painted in the 1980s colour schemes. The above photo was taken at he recent AMRA exhibition early in the morning, prior to the doors opening to the public, to get a photo of some of my stuff on the Serpentine layout (of 1961!). See you all on Monday!

North Yard Model Railway Parts

One of the suppliers of 1:64 components (especially wheel sets) for our hobby is North Yard Model Railway Parts. 

North Yard have now developed a website to promote their products, please note that it is stated on the homepage that it is still under construction and does not have their full range shown.

http://northyard.co.nz/


Or go straight to their catalogue;

http://northyard.co.nz/catalogue.pdf

V Class Kit

The V class Mikado 2-8-2 locomotive kit

From Double G MODELS and X-CLASS MODELS

The prototype:

The V class locomotive was the last mainline heavy freight locomotive built for the WAGR in 1954-6. They were the most powerful non-articulated locomotive on the WAGR system and were extremely efficient and popular with crews. They lasted until the end of steam in 1972 and were relatively young (16 years) for steam locomotives when they were written off. Twenty four locomotives were built and they first entered service in 1955. They were numbered 1201-1224. Upon their arrival an exhibition at the garden dock of the Perth railway station was held by the WAGR to publicise their newest steam locomotive The V class was displayed along-side a diminutive 1985 A class steam locomotive (#11). Detailed information on the locomotive can be found in Gunsburg, A. (1984) History of WAGR Steam Locomotives (ARHS, WA) Four of the V class are preserved. One (1213) is in private hands, others are preserved at Bellarine, Victoria and Collie in WA and one (1220) can be seen at the ARHS Railway museum in Bassendean, WA.

The magnificent V1220 preserved at Bassendean

The Model:

This modelling project was first mooted at the 2009 AMRA (WA) Model Railway Exhibition by Gary Gray who detected an interest in the V class from a number of modellers from the AMRA S scale special interest group. Gary then organised a committee of enthusiasts to make an S scale kit of the V class utilising a Bachmann Berkshire chassis as the basis for the running gear. Meetings were held in December 2009 and subsequent meetings were held in early 2010. Don Moir and Graham Watson supplied the drawings, Neil Blinco supplied the stack, John Hatch volunteered to make the sand box and the turret, Stuart Mackay, the tender and cab, and Gary Gray volunteered to make the boiler. Lynton Englund and Graham Watson provided valued advice and Neil made his scratch-built V class available as an aid to construction. Other urethane parts were made by Gary and Stuart so that by the end of May patterns and castings had been made and a basic kit was assembled for display at the 2010 AMRA Model Railway Exhibition. The kit also involves metal parts from North Yard of NZ, Railwest Models and Cullengatty castings. Graham Watson made moulds of the styrene patterns made by John, Gary and Stuart. Supplying the final package fell on Gary and Stuart who were determined to see the difficult project through. This is certainly not a perfect representation of the prototype as the Berkshire had slightly different valve gear. It does however provide the opportunity for enthusiastic modellers to own a smooth running S scale model of the V class without having to scratch-build one, which is the usual and only alternative.

Some of the mystery is lost in this partially assembled and unpainted view of the model.

This is not a kit for the inexperienced modeller. It is a kit is for a modeller with experience in assembling similar WAGR loco kits such as the Railwest Pm and S class locomotives, or the X-Class models U class kit. The kit requires a sound knowledge of the V class locomotive prototype, experience in kit assembly and ingenuity in building a realistic and presentable S scale model. There is considerable detailing which can be done and the degree to which this detailing is done will depend on the skill and preferences of the modeller. Readers should refer to Neil Blinco’s article on his super-detailed scratch-built model of V1213 elsewhere on this Blog if they really want to knock themselves out.

Author’s model of V1207, with Westland Models decals, resting on his home layout.

Modellers are expected to supply their own Bachmann Berkshire proprietary chassis. The Bachmann model requires dismantling and some modification (cutting and grinding) to the metal underside of the firebox, the front metal platform and the bogies. There is a quite a lot of work to do but the end result is well worth it and the modeller will be happy in the knowledge that he is one of the very few to own a working S scale model of the WAGR V class. And now, the bad news. All 23 kits have been allocated to members of the AMRA (WA) special interest group who expressed an interest in obtaining one. This group of modellers meets on the second Monday of every month at the AMRA clubrooms 24 Moojebing st Bayswater WA at 8pm. Visitors and new members are always welcome. A small second run is possible but Gary and Stuart have moved on to building other models and kits of West Australian prototypes.

Suggested Paint Colours for WAGR Modellers

Colour	Application	Paint Brand and Reference	Comments
Locomotives and Rolling Stock
Red/brown	Freight wagons	Humbrol H70 "Matt Brick Red"
		Revell R37
		Floquil* "Boxcar Red"
		Floquil* 60% "Boxcar Red" 40% "Red Oxide"	Exact ratio not critical due to prototype colour variation.
		Holts Red Primer	In spraycan
Green	Passenger Coaches	Humbrol 76 "Matt Uniform Green"
		Revell R48
Green	Steam Locos	Humbrol H3 Gloss "Brunswick Green"	Also railcars
		Humbrol H105 "Matt Marine Green"
		Humbrol H101 "Matt Mid Green"
		Revell SM 364	Semi-matt. Possibly too light?
		Floquil* "Depot Olive"
Cream	Passenger Coaches	Model Master "Panzer Interior Buff"
White	Suburban Coaches and Railcars	Humbrol 22 "Gloss White"
Sand	Coach Roofs	Humbrol 63 "Matt Sand"
Sand	Wagon Roofs	Humbrol 94 "Matt Brown Yellow"
Cream	Wagon and Coach Roofs	Humbrol 102???"
		Humbrol H110 "Matt Natural Wood"
		Floquil* "Depot Buff"
Red	Early Passenger Coaches	Revell SM331 (Semi-matt)	Similar to historic coach at East Perth Terminal
Black	Underframes/bogies	Revell R9 "Anthracite"	Shows detail more than pure black.
		Humbrol H33 "Matt Black"
		Humbrol H67 "Matt Tank Grey"	Slightly lighter still than R9.
Black	Steam locos	Revell R9 "Anthracite"	Shows detail more than pure black.
		Floquil* "Dirty Black"
		Floquil* "Engine Black"	Satin finish.
		Steam Era Models "Engine Black"
		Tamiya TS-6 "Matt Black"	In spraycan (also in bottles).
Red	Loco Buffer Beams	Humbrol H19 "Gloss Bright Red"
		Floquil* "Caboose Red"
Yellow	Handrails on Guard's Vans/Diesels	Humbrol H69 "Gloss Yellow"
		Humbrol H24 "Trainer Yellow"
Orange	Locos Westrail Era c1980 on	Revell R30
Orange	Locos ARG "original" scheme	Humbrol 50% H18 "Gloss Orange" 50% H82 "Matt Orange Lining"	Mix gives satin finish
Black	Locos ARG "original" scheme	Humbrol H85 "Satin Coal Black"
Yellow	Locos ARG "original" scheme	Model Master "Blue Angel Yellow"
Yellow	Wagons Westrail Era c1980 on	Humbrol H154 "Insignia Yellow"	also Shunting Tractors and distant signal arms
Silver	Furniture containers, ADE railcars	Humbrol H11 "Metallic Silver"
Silver	Ends of Governor railcars	Humbrol H191 "Chrome Silver"	Not too shiny
Dark pink	Brake hoses	Humbrol H73 "Matt Wine"
Buildings and Lineside Equipment
Cream	Station Buildings	Model Master "Radome Tan"
White	Signal Posts	Humbrol H34 "Matt White"
Undercoats and Clear Coats
Grey	Undercoat	Holts grey primter"	In spraycan
		Tamiya Surface Primer L	Light grey
Clear	Varnish	Estapol Matt Clear Varnish	In spraycan
		Testors Dullcote	In spraycan
		Humbrol 35 "Gloss Clear Poly"	Ideal prior to decal application
		Humbrol 49 "Matt Varnish"	Final coat after decalling
		Humbrol 135 "Satin Varnish"	Final coat after decalling
MRWA Rolling Stock
Blue/grey	Freight wagons and guard's cans	Humbrol H79 "Matt Blue Grey"
		Humbrol H96 "Matt RAF Blue"
		Humbrol H144 "Matt Intermediate Blue"	Possibly too light
Red	Coaches	Humbrol H107	May no longer be available.

Notes: 1. Paints are matt unless stated otherwise. 2. All colours are subjective so evaluate alternatives yourself before making final choice. * Observe safety directions for Floquil paints due to different chemical composition from most hobby paints. Older Floquil paints (pre 1995-2000) can attack plastics and may require a "barrier" coat first to prevent crazing. Floquil colours are also available in non-toxic "Polly S" range.

The information in this table was originally published on my Marbelup Valley Railway web site in February 2010, and was based on input from several Sn3½ modellers. I have copied the information to the blog to make it more accessible. In time, I will remove this information from my web site and just include a reference to the blog page. If anyone wishes to contribute any further colour suggestions, I can add the information to the table. Please also let me know if the table doesn't display correctly in your browser, as I simply copied the HTML code from my web site without alteration, other than adjusting the table width.

WAGR "S 548" Gardner

In 1943 the WAGR placed into service the first 3 of 10, S class steam locomotives designed by Frederick Mills and built at the Midland Workshops.
These 4-8-2 "Mountain" type locos were designed for mixed traffic use, weighing 119t in working order with a 13t axle loading which limited them to use on lines with 60lb rail, seeing them used mostly in the Eastern and South Western areas of WA. They were regarded by the crews to be free steaming and reliable machines which saw them last in service till the cessation of steam operations in 1972.

In 2007 Railwest Models released its kit of the "small tender" S class utilising a Mehano models "Mountain" steam locomotive for the mechanism.
The kit contains all main body parts cast in urethane, with mostly brass detailing parts as can be seen in this view below showing the model prior to painting. Construction of the kit took several months and was completed in May 2008 in time for the AMRA Model Railway Show where it ran well on Murray Hartzers "Parkerville" layout.

As with most of my models, the kit has been superdetailed to the best of my ability, fitted with all pipework, washout plugs, injectors, shaped cylinders, realistic tender coal load and footplate crew. Paint used was humbrol 76 green and 33 black with revell 93 for the visible brass fittings (safety valves) which have then been washed in a black watered down with turps. Pickups are fitted to all wheels except the pony trucks. It is fitted with DCC and more recently a sound chip has been added. It is a good runner and has been seen hauling realistic loads when in use on the exhibition layouts.


These locomotives were all named by the WAGR after mountains in WA and I chose to do 548 Gardner as there were good detailing photos available in existing books etc and to have one of the less obvious choices such as the 3 preserved locomotives.

JGH 8726 Hydrochloric Tank Wagon

Whilst assisting in the preparation of  Serpentine for the June exhibition, Graham placed a very unique tank wagon into the test train consist which immediately drew my attention. This was a model of JGH 8726, a Hydrochloric tank wagon which in 1:1 scale only one was ever built in this format .

Details of the prototype and model of the wagon can be found in the April 1999 and August 2000 editions of the AMRM respectively and are still available as a back order so we won't go into fine detail here. More prototype information is available from Andy's web site located at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/asmay2002/jgh_wagon.htm

Basically the underframe was built using Railwest Models GS open wagon kit and the tank was modified from a Triang "TT" tank wagon. The lettering was provided by Roger Palmer who with the aid of his computer and Coreldraw produced a bright red with white lettering wrap to fit around the tank. 

The end result is very impressive indeed.

Biante 1:64 Models - EH and HX Holdens

Soon to be released from Biante are the Holden EH sedan and station wagon along with the Holden HX Sandman panel vans. All of course in 1/64 scale.

EH Sedan Link Below;
http://www.biante.com.au/find-a-model.htm?submitquicksearch=Search&action=results&keyword=64402&submitquicksearch.x=0&submitquicksearch.y=0&submitquicksearch=Search

HZ Sandman link below;
http://www.biante.com.au/find-a-model.htm?action=results&keyword=sandman&submitquicksearch=Search&scale=18&refinemanufacturer=

The test shots can be veiwed at the below link;
http://www.biante.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=16355&page=5

According to Stanbridges web site, the EH is due at the end of June, whilst the HX Sandman is due in September.

Custom Decals

Did you see this supplier of custom decals mentioned in the AMRA Journal May/June 2011 (page 62)?

web site: www.stickitgraphics.com.au
e-mail: chris@stickitgraphics.com.au
Mobile: 0430 771 965

WESTRAIL "NA SLEEPER WAGON"

I have been working away at producing a few kits to compliment the excellent group of kit builders we have in our small area of modelling the WAGR. I have started with a small kit to begin with and considering our "modern" night is coming up I chose to do the 4 wheel Westrail NA Sleeper Wagon. Its a very simple body only kit. Twenty of these wagons were produced from 1980 and carted sleepers to various destinations across the network. This kit will require medium skills to put together and doesnt take long to assemble. A few kits will be available at the next meeting night. No excuse not to have a yellow wagon or two in your collections. Many thanks to Railwest Models for assistance with producing my first kit.

SERPENTINE (1992 Exhibition)

In keeping with the Serpentine theme, we fast forward 30 years to the late 80's, Clyde built DB1587 crosses the Serpentine River with a fast goods heading towards Bunbury. The first QUA wagon will go further south to Manjimup so the containers can be loaded with freshly dug potatoes whilst the second QUG will be off loaded at Picton for loading with Superphosphate.

The DB class entered traffic in 1982/83 and were a further improved version of the D/DA locomotives. Unfortunately potatoes and superphosphate traffic has been lost to road transport.

The DB and rollingstock shown behind the locomotive were scratch built by Gavin Stallard in the 1990-92 period.

SERPENTINE

The SN3-1/2 Layout shown at the AMRA Model Railway Exhibition over the June long weekend was Serpentine, the following locomotives and trains were amongst those that run on the Saturday.

Built in the late 1890's, the O class were a heavy freight locomotive capable of operating over light 45lb rails. Seen at Serpentine is an example of this class of engine passing through on a long distance passenger train towards the end of its life as most had disappeared by the mid 50's when they were replaced with the W class.

Wildflower class power car, ADF 495 - Banksia and two ADU passenger coaches stop at Serpentine to pickup passengers en route from Bunbury to Perth in the late 50's early 60's. This type of railcar would later be used to form the Bunbury Belle and Shopper named trains introduced in 1964.

PM 702 waits in the loop for the Australind to pass prior to making her way to Bunbury with a general goods. Local cattle are seen being herded into the stockyards in readiness to being loaded onto cattle wagons later in the day.

 

Beyer Peacock built W954 crosses the Serpentine River on its way to the City with a general goods. Sixty W class locomotives were introduced in the early 1950's as part of the post war rehabilitation programme to replace obsolete, worn out locomotives like the O class previously mentioned.

 

Following the placement of the TA cattle wagon at the stockyard, Pr525 reattaches to its train and waits for the green signal prior to departing to Pinjarra. Introduced in the 1930/40's, the Pr's were the crack passenger locomotives of the WAGR prior to the introduction of the X class diesel locomotives in the mid 50's.