NR30's long awaited arrival

It's a weird feeling when a model locomotive that you pre-ordered years ago finally arrives. I found it was a mix of excitement and worry, that the model I ordered back in 2019 and was now sold-out, wasn't going to be the one model in the entire production run to have something broken or missing and find its way into my hands. As it turned out, the locomotive arrived in perfect condition. exceptional in every sense of the word. Only now, the years of anticipation from waiting for this model to arrive was finally over. It didn't take me long to film a short sequence of these sound equipped models at work in Philden Street Yard, (the above video will premiere this afternoon on YouTube at 4:00 pm AEST). But after a week of running my new NR's a little more than I should have, given the writing projects I have queued and waiting, this weekend now feels like the week after Christmas. The garbage man has come during the week and the wrapping paper that the locomotives came is long gone, (or a padded jiffy mailer that is, without wanting to ruin a good story).

NR30 Warmi and NR52 Kungara Mankurpa in their Indigenous livery. The pair are Auscision Models.

NR30, and NR52 which I'd ordered a year or so later, would be the two locomotives I would design and build Philden Street Yard around. The locomotive headshunt was measured to enable back-to-back running of a pair of these large modern locomotives on a 3.3 metre long shelf style switching layout. While the two locomotive service tracks were designed and spaced so as to be able to park the pair side by side in the centre of The Yard, and just admire them being on display. To that extent the choice of models and design of layout are a success. When you build a layout for a particular era, theme and size, the Indigenous pairing look as though they have been there all along.

I photographed NR30 crossing Coffs creek bridge in Coffs Harbour back in March 2005.

So why the big deal about NR30? Well, back when I had the layout Philden, I built the small Beach Extension to replace the original staging shelf that was a feature of my book Build a Bookshelf Layout. The NR Class loco was a model I really wanted to add to my layout as I'd photographed them on a few occassions while holidaying on the New South Wales North Coast, including the photo above taken at Coffs Harbour. I'd first purchased an AustrainsNEO NR Class loco to operate on the Beach Extension, but the problem with the NR Class was the length on such a small layout. The HO scale model is a staggering 25.5 cm over the couplers, and as such couldn't fit into the headshunt on Philden. So the length of the NR Class became a factor when designing the new layout.

In designing a new layout back in 2019, I thought why not order the Indigenous loco I'd photographed passing over Coffs Creek railway bridge while my kids were making sandcastles? It's a nice memory that I look back on now, of family holidays and moments like above when the family agreed to stop at a nice location while I waited for a train that was due through any moment now. For those who railfan on the NSW North Coast Line, you'll know exactly what is meant by the words any moment now. And of course from there, the plans for a new layout evolved around the era that NR30 would have worn its Indigenous livery.

I guess the thing for me about adding the pair of Indigenous locos to my roster is the era they represent. Not my own childhood, but my era of parenthood. Both my children are now grown, married and living in places of their own. With my Daughter-in-law proudly identifying as Indigenous, there's a certain synergy from adding the pair of these locos to my layout, although my Son would have had no idea at the time of making sandcastles with his sister, that the train passing above him might have any ties with his future. Looking at the snake dot painting on the side of Warmi reminds me of those holidays we all shared as a family, and the excitement I felt of visiting new places for the first time and being able to take just a quick peek at the local railway station or nearby bridge in the hope I may see a train.

NR30 and it's sister Indigenous unit NR52 may well be at home in the industrial sidings of my Melbourne themed Philden Street Yard, but the beach extension I've quietly kept from my days of Philden is going to be refashioned into a stand alone micro shelf layout that will one day stand above Philden Street's staging. I've an idea to model a pop-up steel unloading shed on the NSW North Coast Line, using the premise that the former banana loading shed at Coffs Harbour was temporarily leased for a few years longer prior to being pulled down and the land rezoned, to receive steel reinforcing products for the Pacific Highway upgrade. It would let me run some steel wagons into the shed using my former Phills Harbour Countrylink station as the headshunt for the micro layout concept. My NR's would bring the steel products from Philden Street Yard in Melbourne, allowing for wagons to be moved from Philden Street's staging to the above North Coast steel siding, as a sort of expanded operation between the layout, staging shelf and upper micro layout.

As usual however, I'll let those projects be stories for another day. Stay tuned for a big announcement after this weekend's AFL Grand Final.