Christmas Spectacular 1st Anniversary

Can you believe it is almost Christmas again? What a year 2023 has been. I'm pleased to say that I haven't let personal challenges get in the way of releasing 3 new books over the course of this year, and revamping my model railway in the process of working on a 4th title. That means that my above Philden Street Christmas Spectacular YouTube video this week also celebrates it's 1st Anniversary. So I thought it timely to haul it out for everyone's attention once more, and wish you a truly wonderful Christmas Holiday. See you all next year...

Merry Christmas, and the Happiest of New Years!

Phill O

Philden Street's curtain call

In the rush to revamp my model railway and completely overhaul this blog early in the New Year, I never really acknowledged just how good a layout I had built and enjoyed operating over the course of the past two years. Of course 2020-2022 will always be remembered as the great Pandemic Panic, and Philden Street Yard emerged during the middle of all these great Aussie Covid lockdowns. But alas, this layout has now been revamped on the other side of it all. So, the question remains... what happened?

Like a lot of good ideas during lockdowns, self-isolation and sudden spurts of what I called modelling time, I had decided to ditch plans to complete my NSW North Coast layout Philden Road, and instead do something a little different. Different turned out to be modelling an inner Melbourne industrial yard, set in the late 1990's to early 2000's era solely because I had two Auscision Models Indigenous NR Class locomotives on pre-order and thought I could combine standard and broad gauge locos on a shelf layout as they effectively run on the same HO scale track. After my Philden Road effort that tried to combine two different rail gauges requiring two separate track arrangements that ultimately cannabalised each other for valuable real estate, the idea seemed brilliant.

So off I went. Selling this and buying that only to find out that I couldn't buy the other thing that I needed, before deciding to convert my layout to DCC sound and ultimately starting over again with another shopping list. This was followed by selling what I had just bought and replacing some of the locos with a sound equipped version of the same model as 1), it was cheaper than fitting an after market DCC chip to the loco and 2), the after market DCC sound chips weren't available due to Covid supply disruptions. It was a time when everyone was spending money on their hobby and paying over-the-top prices thinking they'd never find a sold-out model again.

Philden Street Yard as it was in November 2021 just prior to converting the layout to DCC.

Then just like that the fun was over. Restrictions lifted, borders opened and the Government sent everyone back into to the world to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, rental prices had skyrocketed while our small office cleaning business earnings had plummeted as a result of everyone working from home. I think our last rental increase on the Sunshine Coast was $165 per week. So during 2022 we called stumps on our 14 years on the Sunshine Coast and returned to Brisbane, with my wife starting a new career and myself risking everything to return to a career of writing full-time. Everything suddenly seemed so perfect.

Except that despite almost having Philden Street Yard completed late in 2022, losing my father disrupted my psyche and recalled a lot of baggage that ultimately messed with what I was modelling. In my rush to build a Victorian layout, it seemed I hadn't picked up on the fact that I had been trying to replace my own memories of my parents separating and soon after moving to Victoria, with a model railway. One that was now resurfacing every unpleasant memory whenever I walked into our loungeroom and looked at the layout. It got to the point where it messed with my head for months until early in 2023 I walked in one morning and simply decided that I hated it.

The namesake Philden Street overpass. I never got around to stringing the tram wires.

The problem soon became the amount of money I had sunk into the layout during the Covid years. Given that I had already comitted to writing full-time over the course of 2023 and had a strict budget to keep within, I just couldn't afford to start over again with another layout. So after talking it over with a few people and seeing that it was the backdrop and setting, not the layout itself that was triggering the problem, the backdrop came out rather unceremoniously and I decided to revamp the layout into the NSW North Coast inspired layout I'd originally set out to build with Philden Road.

Since I was mad at myself for the amount of money I'd outlayed throughout the Pandemic years to essentially come full circle, this time I drew up a spartan roster for the new layout. I kept only my two Indigenous NR Class locomotives and my pair of CFCLA ex-NSW locos along with some container and steel wagons, and sold-off everything else. And I mean everything. Any models, books or memorabilia that weren't needed went, and I only replaced them with a pair of Pacific National locomotives for the new layout. I felt that for once the hobby owed me something in return.

The stick-on vinyl lettering could be peeled off without damaging the painted fascia...

...but the gum took some time to continually dab at in order to lift it all off.

Philden Street Yard did however prove to be an ultra reliable layout that was fun to operate. During the course of 2022 I produced 22 YouTube videos on my Philden Street Yard video playlist, sometimes taking days to film, edit and upload each one. Looking back it wasn't time spent wisely, as each of the videos gained only a few hundred views. But still, they're there for anyone to discover in the future.

So this is the last you will ever hear about Philden Street Yard. It leaves behind a legacy of being a YouTube layout rather than an exhibition layout, as once again the amount of money required for me to travel and exhibit a layout like I have done in the past is simply unfeasible at the moment. In its place, my revamped Philden Coast layout becomes the final Australian HO scale layout I shall build. Price-wise I am simply thankful for what I have been able to build and collect, and content to concentrate on writing my final Philden Model Railway books to leave behind my life lessons learned and skills gained for the next generation of modellers to run riot with.

The final signs come down ahead of the layout being revamped and a new backdrop installed.

The layout's revamp and new backdrop provided me with enough surprise material that I am currently in the stage of finishing my next model railway book, a book solely focused on backdrops. So in a nice turn of events, some of my images from Philden Street Yard will be preserved in printed form alongside its replacement. Without doing what I did, the book may never have come about.

I guess it shows that for many modellers, a model railway layout is intrinsically tied to past memories, and those memories predominantly stir-up something whenever we step into the layout room. At the end of the day, my hobby is supposed to be an escape and remain something that I'd like to continually tweak and improve. I can now move on to working on The Coast, and leave the memories of my inner Melbourne industrial layout to hopefully be appreciated in the years to come on my Philden Museum page.

I hope you enjoyed reading a little of this layout's backstory, and I'm sure you'll be able to easily spot the surviving elements on the new layout. It's a case of everything has changed, while very little has changed.

Philden Street Christmas Spectacular!

It's time to slip into Christmas and sign off for 2022. And after a hectic year with all life served up... Why do it quietly? That's right. I've made a song and dance about it. If you think you've seen annoyingly catchy Christmas numbers before? You ain't seen nothin' yet! Make sure you watch it on YouTube on your bigscreen TV, or simply press play on the clip above. Have a safe, happy and very Merry Christmas! And a wonderful New Year! I'll see you on the other side of 2023.

Adding extra VLCX vans

Recently Auscision Models re-released some long sold-out models of their VLCX louvered vans. Funnily enough I once had some V/Line VLCX vans on my original Philden layout, only to sell them off when funding my new layout build. Well one thing led to another, and suddenly I was back to modelling the same time period, only with the layout's location now moved to Melbourne. In hindsight I probably could have kept them.

There are now 5 x VLCX/VLVX louvered vans in Philden Street Yard while I decide upon tying them in with my final locomotive acquisition in early 2023.

My B65 Smurf is still one of my favourite locos, so adding a pair of West Coast Railway VLCX vans to my roster was a no-brainer!

Anyway, a twin pack of VLCX's in West Coast Railway blue have now joined my fleet, along with the single Pacific National VLVX in the chance that I decide to acquire a Pacific National BL Class loco early in the new year. The G/BL Class dilemna is a polarising one for my layout, as technically I could fit a V/Line, Freight Victoria or Freight Australia G Class loco into my time period, and also a National Rail, Steel Link or Pacific National BL Class. That's six options when I really only want to decide upon one locomotive as potentially my last motive power addition! My mind has regularly changed by the week for the past 12 months which is why I refrained from ordering one in the first place. For once its a real nice problem to have.

Sounds A bit fanciful

Well, I've finally had the last relic from my DC days converted to DCC sound, thanks to some help from the good folk at Trainworld in Melbourne. My A Class Freight Victoria locomotive has finally seen some use on the layout as evident in the short YouTube clip above. A81 was gifted my way after parting with my former Philden Road layout in 2021, and for the good part of the past year has sat in my display cabinet waiting for availability of a sound equipped decoder. Meanwhile, I culled and sold my other DC locos in favour of what was readily available with factory-fitted sound. That pretty much sounds like 2022 doesn't it?

A81 becomes my 3rd Bulldog locomotive to join the roster on my sound eqipped fleet.

It would be a bit harsh to compare the differences between my A Class and the other DCC locos on my layout, as my model of A81 is from the original 2009 version that had the 8-pin decoder technology for its time. Next year this model will be pushing 14 years old. As a 2nd hand model, this locomotive has already travelled from it's previous owner in Perth via the Sunshine Coast before journeying from Brisbane to Melbourne and back! Thankfully her scale miles have been kinder than her postal miles!

The only downside to operating an 8-pin DCC decoder seems to be the lack of lighting function and individual control of the numberboards and marker lights etc., meaning it's a case of headlights on, all lights on. The cab figures are also of the basic variety, simply two blue dudes in both ends of the loco cab. It is nice however to reflect on how the quality of models being produced are still improving. Here I am embracing second generation DCC technology, and it's probably only a matter of another decade before there'll be something entirely different tempting modellers to upgrade to the latest features.

Given that this model has already been re-run once in the past 10 years, waiting for a third production run of the A Class with DCC sound I thought sounded a bit fanciful. Even if a re-run were suddenly announced, who knows how long it would take to arrive? So thankfully I could get this loco sound converted, and put it to work earning it's keep in 'The Yard'. And thankfully it sounds pretty good!

NGPF grain hoppers arrive

2022 has seen the re-release of a swag of popular Australian grain hoppers, notably the South Australian AHGX's and New South Wales' NGTY/NGKF plus NGTY/NGPF, models that each would fit my early 2000's era layout but have been out of stock for a number of years. With Philden Street Yard's fleet becoming equally divided between my fictitious HO broad gauge and standard gauge, (yep, they're essentially both 16.5 mm gauge standard HO scale track anyway), I thought I'd better add a short standard gauge grain rake to even up the score against my Victorian broad gauge rake of VHGY/VHGF's.

This is my early 2000's era Freightcorp/Pacific National set of four NGPF grain hoppers.

I opted to grab two packs of the Auscision Models NGPF grain hoppers with ground operated lids and roof walks removed purely because I've seen plenty of photos of these hoppers on domestic grain services in and around Melbourne. Plus it helps that I really like the look of these cylindrical hoppers with their straight sloped ends. I bought one pack with the blue Freightcorp logos, and the other with the white Freight Rail Grain logos with the sole intention of creating a mixed set for myself to haul from Southern New South Wales to Philden Street Yard behind my motley collection of standard gauge leased power in the form of JL406, FL220 and B80. I'm ultimately still a NSW boy at heart, and this lets me model some surviving NSW models in Melbourne in the early 2000's.

The standard gauge B Class and grain hoppers now need to be weathered up over the summer!

I'm quite happy with how they look, although in my latest clip on YouTube, both B80 and the string of NGPF's look way too clean. I'm planning to fix that this summer and weather both the B Class and all 8 NGPF's, even though I'm only keeping one box of 4 for myself. I might really do a job on my grain fleet and try and match some photos from the time period in question as a last minute inclusion in the new book I want to start early in the new year.

I also have a pack of Trainworld V/Line VHGY/VHGF's to feature soon in another post, and some recently re-released VLCX vans arriving this week to add alongside my existing Freight Australia ones, so I'm already lining myself up with even more weathering projects for the New Year. Shopping wise, I think I'm now done. My rollingstock roster is now at capacity, being that I now have enough wagons to fill my staging shelf and sidings twice over.

That leaves only the National Rail C Class I have pre-ordered to arrive sometime next year, and maybe, just maybe, either a G Class or a BL Class to add as my layout's final purchase. I locked my C Class order in early, but procrastinated, then ultimately talked myself out of ordering a G or BL before pre-orders closed. I'm hoping that they won't all be sold out when they are finally released in 2023, and I'll just let fate narrow it down to which liveries are left for me to choose from. Likely it will either be a National Rail BL Class or Freight Australia G. My preference has changed week by week for the past year!

Philden Street Yard Episode 7

Another video update from my YouTube channel. This time I give a walk through on how to clean your model railway track using a method straight from my own book Model Railway Trackside Tips.

And before I get inundated with comments on why I don't use this particular product, or didn't mention that one... Let me just say yes, I know there are a myriad of different track cleaning chemicals, solutions and under carriage felt pads on the market. But here's the thing. I'm not getting paid to endorse anyone's product, recieving sponsorship of any kind or being paid for advertising on my blog or books. So why not just show people a cheap do-it-yourself method instead, that for the past decade has provided me with ultra reliable operation on all of my layouts? Sounds simple enough to me.

Cheers!

Philden Street Yard Episode 6

Well... Philden Street is now on the final stretch towards being complete! Twelve months after my Secret Project PV3 cryptic posts revealed the new inner Melbourne switching layout I was building, the namesake Philden Street overpass is in place and the Restaurant tram is standing above the railway tracks to give this layout a sense of time and place. It seems that nothing screams Melbourne more than a Melbourne tram!

After 12 months of only photographing beneath the overpass, it's time to complete Philden Street!

Inbetween the before and after images I have shared here, there is a 7 minute video montage of how I built this scene on the YouTube link at the top of this post. I wanted to see what I could sneak into my next book Model Railway Scenery Secrets, but this urban street scene also leant itself really well for a video update for Episode 6.

The tram tracks and plate girder sides are in place, I can then add all the extra detail later.

Philden Street can now be completed with finer details, populated with people and have overhead tram wires strung at a later date. The two structures that stand high above Philden Street Yard can now be completed infront of the TV over the summer as I joked about in the video, all while watching some cricket in the comfort of airconditioning.

The two buildings I am going to have a little fun with. They are both Walker Models laser-cut buildings manufactured right here in Queensland, Australia, and as you can see, the Fish n' Chip and Tackle shops have already been cut in half and are ready to have the interior detailed and transformed into a one-of-a-kind storefront that is sure to draw some attention. It's the first building I will complete. As I'm an Author, I'll leave you to figure out just what it might be. Although I may or may not have let the secret slip in my video above... I honestly can't remember.

Until next time...

SSR in 'The Yard'

There's nothing like seeing something new running on your layout. But with no model railway Black Friday Sales to be tempted by Down Under this year, (or get in trouble with the Ministry of Finance!), this week I put together a short film featuring a friend's small fleet of SSR locomotives that came by Philden Street Yard for a visit. (Click above image to play).

That's the Auscision Models ex-NSW 44204 loco, named 'Paul Fitzgerald'.

Once again, the size of the 442 Class loco is well suited to 'The Yard'.

Side-on, the 442 Class didn't suit every paint scheme it wore, but the yellow gets a pass mark.

Who knows when this loco may find its way back to the refuelling tracks in Philden Street Yard again?

I like the yellow & black paint scheme on the Southern Shorthaul Railroad, or SSR locomotives, so when my mate Anthony Veness dropped around recently to run some trains it was an opportunity to photograph and film something different running on Philden Street Yard. It was also interesting to compare our 442 Class and B Class locos from different time periods side by side. My roster leans towards the early 2000's while his roster dates from the 2015 period onward. Still, once the rollingstock from the correct era is placed on the track, 'The Yard' does a convincing job of changing time periods, through the art of looking like the small inner Melbourne yard has been there all along just watching the years roll by.

So enjoy this last look at Philden Street Yard with its incomplete overpass scene. The next update will reveal the layout looking finished. Well... apart from the two buildings I want to finely detail over the summer while watching the cricket that is.

Until next time...

My weathered CFCLA diesels

My weathered pair of ex-New South Wales locos are hard at work down south in Philden Street Yard.

With so much happening between working on the layout and a new book these past few months, I almost forgot to share some completed photos of my first two model locomotives to have been weathered. The ex-NSW pairing of FL220 and JL406 turned up a treat, having been airbrushed and detailed with oil drips and subtle paint chips before receiving a coat of Vallejo clear matte acrylic. I'll have a detailed explanation as to how I arrived at the finished results below in a new book due out next year. But for now, these two are going to entice me to weather some more of my models over the coming months.

FL220 received a very light weathering, but it is still enough to show up on the yellow on the pilot.

Even a well maintained loco will accumulate some diesel soot on the grilles.

I avoided airbrushing too much around the windscreens, but there's just enough grime kicked up from the rails to make the face of the loco look realistic.

Compare this as-new photo of FL220 taken after I purchased it in 2021...

...to this photo taken a year later after being put to work on my layout.

While JL406 now looks a whole lot dirtier in Philden Street Yard, than...

...the new model that first debuted on my original layout Philden back in 2019.

The ex-NSW 442 Class is my one tie to my original Philden layout, and shows a lot of use being this far south on my inner Melbourne Philden Street Yard.

The one thing about weathering locomotives, is that it makes the unweathered ones stand out. I'll have to do something about my West Coast Railway B65. It now looks too clean!

I've come to love the CFCLA leased pairing. A sound equipped EMD and an Alco still earning their keep on my early 2000's layout. The ex-422 Class FL220 was the second sound equipped locomotive I purchased for this layout, and the ex-442 Class JL406 followed early the next year after I ummed and ahhed over what was available now versus what was announced as coming over the next few years. In the end, my memories of JL406 running on my Philden layout won out. JL406 was still available to purchase ready to run with DCC and sound, which didn't make me feel bad for having sold-off all my standard DC equipment ahead of the new layout build. The pairing makes for a great excuse to run from southern NSW to the Port of Melbourne before stabling overnight in Philden Street Yard.

I've already done a short video of the pair at work in 'The Yard' when they were both new. In case you missed it earlier this year, this is what they looked like before I gave them a light weathering...

As for my other weathering projects? There are still some models available to purchase through my eBay shop, link below, but only while they last. I'm waiting until next year when my layout is finished and has made its debut exhibition before I decide upon doing anymore weathering or taking on some custom work, as I now have a short list of people waiting for me to find the time to weather their entire fleet of models.

So what does this mean? It's my fancy business card and guarantee that the model is weathered by me.

And you'll know that each of the models you purchase has been weathered by myself as they come with a Certificate of Authenticity. Who knows? One of the models you buy may just happen to be featured in an upcoming book?

For my own record...

Models sold 49/105

Philden Street Yard Episode 5

It's time to get lit! As in, wire up the lights and reveal the completed scenery for 'The Yard' and the newly opened Murrays bus depot layover compound. The swear jar is full, and I've been upstaged by a puppet! The only thing for me to complete on the layout now is the signature Philden Street overpass scene. I want this switching layout completed in time for Christmas, and then select which two model train shows to take the layout to in 2023. Hope you like this 10 minute video run-through!

A 48 Down South?

What's a Pac Nat 48 doing that far south I hear you say? Relax, I'm not changing eras or relocating Philden Street Yard away from it's inner Melbourne location. I just happened to have fellow modeller and good friend Anthony Veness bring his 48 Class down for a run in 'The Yard', and thought I'd shoot a short video of it in action on my layout.

Sometimes it's nice to just see something different running on your layout. The little 48 Class lent it's size quite well to the confines of Philden Street Yard. With a roster full of big locos like the ex-Victorian Railways A's, B's and soon to arrive C Class, not to mention the monster NR Classes, I think I have enough big locos on my switching layout. The 48 only highlighted that I don't need another biggie in my fleet. So sorry G Class fans. I don't think I'll be adding one to my layout now. Perhaps I'll just wait until a new release of sound equipped T or Y Class locos to become available in the future.

48162 is nicely turned out in its new Pacific National colours.

Like the 48 Class I once had, the windows are heavily tinted, which is something I don't really like.

Beside the NR Class locos, the 48 Class looks tiny by comparrison!

So there you have it. That's what a Pacific National livered locomotive would look like in Philden Street Yard. Having had a turn shunting some container wagons into place at the brewery, 48162 can now return to Southern New South Wales on the next northbound freight out of Dynon, and get back to work hauling grain trains west of Cootamundra.

I hope you enjoyed the video on my YouTube channel. I have a few more I'd like to make before the year is out as my layout is now nearing completion. Then next year it will be onto some other project. Until next time, take care. Cheers!

'Cheeseburger' in 'The Yard'

It's time for a Friday afternoon knock-off fix of fun, in the form of the fantastic A66 in 'Cheeseburger' livery making a guest appearance in Philden Street Yard. So grab yourself a beverage, and prepare to roll out the red carpet for the next premiere of Bill The Puppet today at 5:00 pm AEST, or 6:00 pm AEDST (daylight savings time). The timed premiere includes a dramatic one-time only 2 minute countdown timer that's bigger than Ben Hur, just to build up the occassion before I let the unitiated down with another model train video!

V/Line A60 (left) in the Mk 1 passenger livery, and A66 (right) in the Mk 3 passenger livery which earned it the nickname 'Cheeseburger'.

The model of A66 belongs to friend Anthony Veness, and I filmed this on an Apple iPhone 13 Pro some weeks back. The sound installation was done by Anthony using speakers, decoder and sound files bought from DCC Sounds. I loved the difference in the sound of the A Class compared to my pair of B Class locomotives so much, that I recently sent my A Class Freight Victoria locomotive off to the good folk at Trainworld in Brighton, Melbourne to convert the loco to DCC sound. So I'll have a YouTube clip of it at work in 'The Yard' hopefully in the coming month. The other A Class loco shown below, A60 in the red & blue V/line livery, had a custom DCC sound conversion done using a much older decoder, and by comparison the Zen decoder didn't match the sound quality of the DCC Sounds one. But look for it to make a passing cameo run-by in a future video just the same.

A pair of A Class Bulldogs in 'The Yard'.

So enjoy the short video on YouTube, and give it a thumbs-up like if you enjoyed it. I'm going to crown my best video of 2022 in December using the formula of the total number of views multiplied by the number of likes for each video. So I'm very interested to gauge what people like best ahead of a few new ideas I have in mind for 2023.

Cheers!

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.

NR52 makes its debut

Here's the first look at my long awaited Indigenous NR Class locomotive number NR52, officially named Kungara Mankurpa.

This model, along with NR 30 Warmi, was one of the reasons I decided to build a new layout back in 2019, after discovering that the NR Class SDS Models version I had at the time was too long for my old layout Philden. So after starting work on a new, bigger layout, I ultimately revisited my idea and decided upon building an inner Melbourne railway yard based solely around being able to operate a pair of NR Class locos on the layout. Philden Street Yard was born, and whatever locomotives or rollingstock I would go on to acquire for the layout, had to be selected with the knowledge that they would need to fit the time frame that these two locomotives would have worn this paint scheme, which is approximately late 1997 to the mid-2000's. So from that point of view, although the twin Indigenous locomotives have been a long time coming... once they had set wheel in Philden Street, they looked like they had been there the entire time.

Auscision have done a tremendous job with these two models, and I'm so glad I changed my initial order from just one to two. But more importantly, to upgrade the pair to sound equipped versions the instant I converted my layout to DCC. That was one expensive month back in 2021. But enough about me talking about them. Here is the first of two YouTube videos I will post this week, starting with this evening's 7:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time premiere of NR52 Kungara Mankurpa in Philden Street Yard. Then join me Friday arvo at 4:00 pm AEST to catch the first look at NR30 Warmi.

Visitor at 'The Yard'

Recently I had my good friend Anthony Veness visit for a running session on Philden Street Yard. Anthony you may remember, is the modeller who took my old Philden Road layout off my hands and is busy re-fashioning it into a larger layout of his own. Bringing his own modern equipment down for a run on my layout quickly got me thinking what it would be like to shoot a couple of YouTube videos of his models at work in Philden Street Yard. So with all the recording tripods and lights set up in the loungeroom, I managed to put a few videos together that I will upload over the coming months, first-up which is B75. I like this locomotive in the CRL Consolidated Rail Leasing livery, although we both agree it looks like the BWS Train!

Having a second set of hands at the ready to film a short sequence lets you add a few more elements to the shoot. Having Anthony on the throttle left me free to film. Now I know he doesn't see eye-to-eye with the puppet... but readers have no idea how much my nieces and nephews love that little guy! (Sorry bro! You'll just have to pretend you can't see him like I have to pretend the Brisbane Lions' finals loss never happened.)

So with a big week ahead in the lead up to a book launch, the AFL Grand Final, and the arrival of my Indigenous NR Class locomotives, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss out on seeing the first runs of NR30 and NR52 on Philden Street Yard. Hopefully I have them scheduled for a double Premiere Party this coming Friday afternoon, 23rd September at 4 pm.

Now to get back to writing this next book....

Cheers!

Philden Street Yard Episode 4

Well... the warehouse is finished! My Episode 4 September vlog gives a rundown, walk through and flyover on the details I added to make this structure the feature at this end of the layout. Naming rights and lighting to follow after I return from a holiday to Uluru, and a book release for Model Railway Trackside Tips is just weeks away! Make sure you follow my blog for details on a giveaway!

Philden Street Yard Episode 3

It's time for a catch-up on what's happening with the layout after settling into a new life back in Brisbane. It's been a couple of months since Philden Street Yard made a YouTube appearance, so I thought it was time for a layout talk to explain what's in store for the remainder of 2022.

There's too much to cover in a single blog post, so I hope you enjoy this short presentation of me waffling on for seven-and-a-half minutes about my model railway layout. Now to get to work on getting this layout finished before the end of the year!

Cheers!

Philden Street's New Chapter

Greetings from Brisbane! That's right, I've now moved and Philden Street Yard is about to begin a new chapter.

After 14 years of living on the Sunshine Coast, my wife and I find ourselves back living in Brisbane. The move was sudden and up until early May the idea alone was completely unexpected. However, Philden Street Yard has been carefully transported and is now occupying pride of place in our lounge room of all places.

The advantage of building a portable layout, is being able to take it with you when you move.

Even Bill the Puppet has made the trip to Brisbane!

The big advantage of building a layout to be portable, is that it can always come with you should you move! P.S.Y. was built to take to exhibitions, and as such, it came apart in 7 sections and fitted into the back of our Mitsi as one of the many trips we made south down the Bruce Highway.

Waiting at the other end on the northside of Brisbane was a newly renovated 2 bedroom apartment with partial city views, a new life as empty-nesters, and for the first time in 30 years a spare bedroom that was to become my model train room slash office. However, at 3.3 metres long, my Philden Street Yard layout wouldn't fit along the longest wall without blocking the entry or preventing the wardrobe doors from opening. So the train room idea was soon scuttled. The compromise was to reconfigure my layout as an entertainment unit in the lounge room, with the TV positioned beneath it and my layout's IKEA furniture turned into a lounge room display cabinet with family photos. I also added some display lighting and commandeered two shelves to display my model locomotives on.

The benchwork I built slots together with just 7 bolts and wingnuts...

Once the benchwork is freestanding, the two modules just sit back on top.

I'll add some stick-on wire organisers to stop them drooping below the benchwork.

A quick test of a locomotive on the track revealed all was well, and the layout was effectively settled into its' new environs within the hour of being walked through the front door. It was a great practice run for what it will be like when taking P.S.Y. to some model train exhibitions next year. That was the easy part, and that was also a little over a month ago.

Flashback to May, and after writing my last entry post Brisbane Model Train Show, a lot has changed. A LOT! To the point where I deleted my last blog entry and just needed some time away from the blog. It seems that my sharing concerns about the cost of exhibiting a layout was like poking a stick at a beehive once shared to social media. While some agreed with me, others branded my view as selfish and not supporting of the hobby... go figure what you'd like of that. After spending the morning of my 50th Birthday getting help with dissolving a small business I had run for the past 7 years, not being able to find nor afford any rental accommodation on the Sunshine Coast, not knowing where we were going to live 2 weeks out from our lease expiring and having to cancel my 50th Birthday trip to Uluru, there's always a handful of people who seem to have all the answers. Mentally, I just needed a break, from everything.

So, now I find myself again living in Brisbane, and strangely falling back into the bracket of full-time writer. It's a weird outcome to a year where (back in February) we thought we'd be taking a few months off after our daughter's wedding in August to travel Australia. 2022... like 2021 and 2020, is a year where plans can change in the blink of an eye. So I guess a new chapter is also a new start for my blog, and whatever direction I'd like to steer it in. Once I'm finished fighting with IKEA furniture and unpacking, there's a few little side projects to my books that I need to bring up to speed before I can turn the attention back to my layout/layouts.

Moving day! And the layout assumes its place in our new apartment.

On the other side of our Sunshine Coast exit, Denise and I are enjoying furnishing the apartment with some new furniture, and settling into our new life. The main concern with the layout having to be the feature of our loungeroom however is the staging yard. In a nutshell, although my wife knows what it is and why it's necessary, I have to agree with her in that every visitor to our place is going to ask when I am going to finish the other half of the layout. So the challenge is now on to fashion a small micro layout or just a cameo display case that will stand above the rear staging tracks and align with the top of Philden Street Yard's lid to make the wall look complete. It's another small project for me to look forward to alongside my Queensland themed Philden Creek layout.

But as usual, I'll let that be a story for another day. Tune in next time, when I bring you up to speed with some exciting new aquisitions, and news of what's in store for P.S.Y. for the remainder of this year!

Bringing back the Alco

Keeping the reminiscing theme going this month, this week I hit the Big Half Century, and went and replaced an old favourite locomotive of mine that I had back in the days of my original Philden layout.

I now have an Alco back in my fleet in the form of JL406, who long time readers may remember arrived only 3 months before Philden made its final stand before a house move back in 2019,(as seen here in detailing the steel train). The timing seems ironic, given that here I am 3 years later, and we're almost all packed up ahead of another house move. I now have the ex-442 favourite back again, only this time in a DCC sound equipped version. Just what is it doing down south at Philden Street Yard in Melbourne? Who knows? Philden Street Yard is after all fictional, so fictionally I'll just say that it ran that far south on the standard guage. I think my ex-422 and an ex-442 make a pretty good pairing.

I uploaded the above short clip to my YouTube Channel over past weekend, and thought I'd just leave this here for readers to view while I dismantle the layout and prepare to head south myself. Hopefully I'll have some more photos to share next month after we've moved and settled into a new place. So for now I'll take a short break from the blog, say my farewells to the Sunshine Coast, and then off we go for a new start!

Ciao!