Exhibition #6 Stafford 2018

August has turned out to be one busy month. Still trying to find the time for a million different projects that were waiting for me on return from a week's vacation, Denise and I were at least able to put everything aside for the weekend to take my layout down to the 2018 Stafford Heights Baptist Church Model Train & Hobby Show.

The view inside the 2018 Stafford Heights Baptist Church Model Train & Hobby Show.

Stafford Heights is a suburb located on the north-side of Brisbane, and since 2014 the Stafford Heights Baptist Church has organised it's annual model train show to be held inside the Church building, with the adjoining cafe and common areas hosting some trade stands, model boat and aircraft displays, second-hand sale tables and a cake stall. Despite being one of the smaller model train shows held in south east Queensland, the show is unique in that it is held over the Friday night and Saturday, with Sunday obviously being out of the question as the Church building is needed for the congregation.

Heading south on a Friday afternoon for the short trip down the Bruce Highway, our road trip playlist this time consisted of country artist Dierks Bentley's latest album The Mountain. Our view from the car window was of the Glasshouse Mountains, and the usual gridlocked traffic heading north in the opposite direction for the Friday arvo exodus from Brisbane. We on the other hand, arrived and were set-up with trains running well before the 6 pm opening time to the public. At first, I wasn't sure what to expect for a Friday night model train show. When 7 o'clock rolled around however, the Church building was filled with a good sized crowd. Visitors dwindled noticeably by 8.30 pm, and the show's organiser, knowing that Denise and I were travelling back to the Sunshine Coast that night, kindly offered for us to turn off our lights and head home early. We gladly took up his offer and were home by 10 pm.

I hadn't seen the Beauaraba Siding layout on display for years. It was there at Stafford Heights.

The next morning we up bright and early to once more head down the highway with Dierks playing in the car. Arriving early gave me the chance to have a wander around the other layouts and pick up something small for myself from one of the trade vendors, while my wife drove to nearby Westfield Chermside to buy a gift for our daughter. I was pleased to see Beauaraba Siding once more on display. I think it had been a number of years since I last saw this layout exhibited.

Once more, I exhibited Philden with the back of the station building facing the viewing public.

While Friday night was spent running my new Auscision Models 20' foot side door containers on a short string of NQTY wagons behind my 421 class, for Saturday I ran 3518 at the head of a 90's era cement train, all while the 2 car Xplorer that was featured on the cover of this month's Australian Model Railway Magazine racked up even more scale miles. And all weekend long, I donned my Glenapp Boys cap that was kindly sent to me by Rob and Dennis Sibson, the two blokes responsible for maintaining the Glenapp Signal Hut that featured on the cover of my book Last Train to Grafton and can be found on the Brisbane Interstate Line down near Border Loop. I promised them both I'd wear it at future model train shows. Thanks boys!

The show reached its busiest point on the Saturday between 10 am and lunch time, while behind the scenes volunteers from the Church ran the busy cafe inside and manned the sausage sizzle that was taking place outside the main entrance. Their service and enthusiasm was faultless. If Denise and I wanted a cup of tea or coffee, one of us would leave to order and moments later it would be delivered on a tray to our layout. The Church even arranged for a small HO scale model railway layout to be given away by random draw to a needy family, while a second HO scale layout was their silent auction fundraiser. Along with the gold coin donation collected from each admission, the Church will once more use the monies raised over weekend to help out those in need in the community. And for that reason, I was glad to have played a small part by bringing my layout down to this year's model train show.

With the layout back home safely in Caloundra once more, I'm taking the opportunity to do some more work on the beach extension while it is not assembled and standing against the wall. After straightening the beach extension, the overpass disguising the no. 2 mouse-hole entrance has been rebuilt, and the platform stonework finished for the new station. This weekend should see me complete the scenery on the new extension, leaving only the modern Countrylink Travel Centre to be completed. The week after, Philden will be packed in the car once more, and again head south down the highway. This time for the Redlands Model Train Show on the 25th & 26th August. It's a pity that I'm not quite going to have the new extension finished in time for the Redlands Model Train Show, but then again, neither will I have finished the million other things I have waiting to do. Ah, that's life. Until next time, happy modelling!

See also; Exhibition #5 Toowoomba 2018

Exhibition #5 Toowoomba 2018

What a weekend, what a week! Fresh back from a weekend away for the Toowoomba Model Trains & Hobby Expo, my layout is back from its 430 km round trip from Caloundra and awaiting its next trip in the back of our car. This time, to a new address as I am moving house in a week. Considering that this will be the third time in five weeks I will have to lug the layout down five flights of stairs, you can forgive me for not having made any progress on the new extension since the Brisbane Model Train Show in May.

A behind the scenes view before the crowds arrive. From here it almost looks as big as Southern Highlands!

While I've visited Toowoomba in the past, I'd never actually driven up the range to see the Toowoomba Model Train Show before now. So packing a suitcase along with the layout in the back of the Mondeo, Denise and I made a weekend of it and stayed two nights at a motel in the heart of town. Once again I set the layout up so that the incomplete extension acted as hidden staging for the weekend. And although I was disappointed that the new scene still wasn't ready to be shown off, this time I paid a little more attention to what worked on my layout over the weekend. And what didn't. But first, here's a few snaps of some of my favourite layouts that were on display over the weekend. As you can see, the quality of layouts on display at the Toowoomba Model Trains & Hobby Expo was exceptionally high.

I spent all weekend looking across at the Southern Highlands, and this photo shows just 1/3 of the layout!

Victoria Creek was a small Queensland sugar milling layout I was glad to see again as I hadn't seen it for years.

One of my all-time favourite layouts Splitters Swamp Creek was there at Toowoomba. Just look at that backdrop!

The HOn31/2 scale Stannumvale is perhaps the nicest-looking Queensland layout I've ever seen. What an amazing station!

The Moreton N Scale group were also at Toowoomba with their gem of a layout.

And finally Philden, my little layout as viewed from the road side of the railway station.

A lot of regular South East Queensland attendees all made a very similar comment over the course of the weekend. They all liked looking at the layout from the street side of the railway station. I was told how watching the 2 car Xplorer train glide to a stop at the platform was a bit like train watching in real life. And I also heard how having the trains disappear completely from view behind the scene, (as opposed to last year when I operated from the front and the trains just stopped on a visible shelf) made the layout appear bigger. Funny that, I would have thought it would have been the complete opposite. Also, behind the scenes I found my 3 track extension a little clumsy to operate over the course of the weekend. When you're trying to change locos and wagons at various points of the day to keep what's running looking fresh, there wasn't really the room to do so. It has got me thinking about the basic design of the extension, particularly given that there is going to be some platform edging to come alongside the mainline. So stay tuned, there may be another twist in how this gets completed.

The weekend as a whole was an awesome experience. From our three-and-a-half hour drive there from the Sunshine Coast to Toowoomba via Kilcoy with our country mix tape blaring, Pepsi-Max cans in hand and Caramello Koalas at the ready, to our 2 night stay at Potter's Boutique Hotel in Margaret Street where Denise and I enjoyed a romantic dinner on the Friday night. Being positioned beside our friends Stuart and Mardi's store and layout for the weekend also made it easier for us to plan our Saturday night dinner out. For something different we all dined in town at Al Attar Middle Eastern Grill. So what is an event like the Toowoomba Model Trains & Hobby Expo worth to a city like Toowoomba? All up, taking Philden to Toowoomba pumped over $500 into the local economy, and that's all money spent outside of the actual venue.

By Sunday, Denise had discovered that the Toowoomba Wine Show was being held next door in the Glenvale Room, so I lost her from about 11.30 am to close to 3 pm. When she returned, she duly declared this the best train show we have ever been to, and asked if we are coming back next year. I had plans to take Philden to an interstate show in Sydney in 2019, but as I write this, our friends Stuart and Mardi are on their way south to the Epping Model Railway Club Show at Rosehill for back-to-back exhibition weekends. Which gets me thinking... if we were to take a week off work, we could do Toowoomba again next year before heading south for a few nights holiday and finish the week at Rosehill in Sydney. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if the Wine Show was on again at the same time.

So anyway, you'll have to excuse the lack of posts in the coming months, I have an apartment to pack and a number of small projects to complete on the layout in time for my next two model train shows in August. Till next time, take care!

Exhibition #4 Brisbane 2018

In the blink of an eye, it seems a whole year has passed by since I debuted my layout at last year's Brisbane Model Train Show. Returning to the RNA Showgrounds in the inner Brisbane suburb of Herston for the 2018 edition, seemed like a case of deva ju. The only difference to the drive down from the Sunshine Coast each day coming courtesy of the weekend coinciding with Eurovision and the playlist that Denise and I had compiled of our favourite Eurovision songs from the past few years blaring in our car.

That's me behind the layout trying to copy the pose of Philden's mascot, while Craig demonstrates some scratch-building techniques at the table next to me.

Once more the Brisbane Model Train Show was held in The Marquee, which as Brisbane show-goers will testify translates to a big tent with semi-permanent roof. With the asphalt floor also doubling as Sideshow Alley for the 2 weeks that the Brisbane Ekka is held each year, setting up in this venue is always tricky on account of the sloping floor, and clubs and individuals such as myself are always scrambling for blocks of wood to level up our layouts during the Friday afternoon set-up.

What 2018 did bring however, was a bumper crowd for the opening day on Saturday. At one point there were no less than 20 people crowded around my small layout vying for a view. Or they might have been trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on next to me, as fellow blogger, champion and all-round good bloke Craig Mackie manned the AMRA scratch-building demonstration table. You couldn't ask to be set-up beside a nicer person for the weekend, and I'm not just saying that because Craig scratch-built one of his famous Hills-Hoist clotheslines for me to add to Philden at some point in the near future. Read his blog post and you'll see he fulfilled requests for no less than 11 clotheslines that day!

Looking over the Model Train Buildings trade stand at the full length of the venue.

Sunday afternoon quietened down noticeably after the lunch time rush, and though it was a quieter day on account of it being Mothers Day, everybody agreed the numbers were up compared to the 2 days last year. Everyone who mentioned that they were readers of my blog were given a sneak peak behind the scenes at the new scene that is being constructed. While a special shout-out goes to regular reader Mike, who flew all the way from Dunedin, New Zealand, to spend the weekend visiting family, and come check-out the Brisbane Show!

Despite there only being a handful of Australian model manufactures at this years show, (I noticed only Southern Rail Models, Wuiske Models, SDS and Eureka), there were a number of new cottage craft suppliers to break up the usual retailers, and a number of new layouts to be seen. Amongst my favourites were Stuart & Mardi Walker's Olde Town, and the OO scale replica of Urangan Pier.

I'm keen on trying to include the Wool Shed building flat from Walker Models on my own layout!

Having just started a new waterfront scene myself, I loved the model of the Urangan Pier from Hervey Bay.

I now have a second Brisbane Model Train Show plaque to go on my end layout panel.

Packing up on Sunday was a rush to make it home in time for the Eurovision Final on TV, and a get-together with my kids to celebrate my 46th Birthday. The show ended at 4 pm and by 4.15 we were driving out of the venue for the trip back up to the Sunshine Coast. The changes I've made to the new extension on my layout have made it easier to set-up and pack-down. So with the knowledge that we are going to do all this again in just 3 weeks time for the Toowoomba Model Train and Hobby Expo, we headed back up the Bruce Highway with Eurovision songs blaring in the Mondeo, and a fourth exhibition for Philden in the rear view mirror.

My birthday present from my son Brandon and his girlfriend Lisa was this cool steam train wine bottle holder!

Although we cheered Jessica Mauboy on in the Eurovision Final on Sunday night, unfortunately Australia received the least votes from the TV audience. I personally loved her song, but I also loved the gifts my kids gave me, including the metal steam train wine bottle holder you can see above. Not only that, but my daughter ensured I'll have some new shirts to pack for when Denise and I head on our road trip for the Toowoomba Show in 3 weeks time. The layout stayed in the car for Sunday night, before Monday morning it was once more trudged up five flights of stairs and reassembled in place over my desk.

With another three shows to take Philden to in 2018, I've promised Denise that there will just be one that we'll take my layout to in 2019. So for now, 2018 might well be the last appearance Philden makes at the Brisbane Model Train Show for quite some time. Now, to get some small tweaks done in time for Philden's next outing. But as usual, I'll let them be stories for another day.

See also; Exhibition #1 Brisbane Beginnings

Exhibition #3 Gold Coast

Hey there Humphrey Bear! Thanks for stopping by to see Philden at this year's Miniature Trains on the Coast. Fresh back from my 3rd public showing of Philden on Australia's Gold Coast, I must admit that the warm weather over the weekend signalled the Queensland model train exhibition circuit is coming to a close for 2017. Swapping the Sunshine Coast for the Gold Coast for another weekend of running trains, I once more dismantled my bookshelf layout, took it down six flights of stairs and packed it safely into the back of our hatchback for the two hour trip down the highway. The warm weekend called for the air-conditioning to be on high and some Coldplay on the car stereo.

The 2018 venue for the Commonwealth Games hosted this year's Gold Coast Miniature Train Show.

Down on the Gold Coast, Carrara is being transformed ahead of the city hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games in April 2018. The old Gold Coast Rollers basketball stadium was once more the venue for the Miniature Trains on the Coast over the weekend of October 28-29, but this time the giant yellow Gold Coast Sports Complex building behind it was being opened for the public to view for the first time. I think organisers were expecting a bumper crowd next door with food vendors, live concerts and activities throughout the day, but the spies I sent next door to tell me what I was missing out on reported that the numbers were thin and there were more people inside the old building looking at the model trains.

I don't get to park this close when I go to the AFL at Metricon Stadium! Did anyone notice my Brisbane Lions plates?

Saturday saw a good amount of visitors through the doors and called for exhibitors to park their cars next door at Metricon Stadium, the home of the AFL's Gold Coast Suns. Last time I was here was to watch my Brisbane Lions defeat the Suns by just 2 points. Back then I had to park the car 7 kilometres away and walk to the game. This time I was directed to park much closer than anyone with Lions number plates on their car has ever dared before. I just couldn't help taking the above photo!

Denise spent just as much time at the controls as I did over the weekend.

A basketball stadium as a venue for a model train show is superb, in that the floors are dead level and the amenities a cut above most others. Denise and I had no problems in setting up the layout, and posted a new record for packing up and loading the car for the trip home on the Sunday evening of just 20 minutes. The quality of layouts on display over the weekend was the best of the 3 shows I have taken Philden to so far.

Despite adding a new illuminated layout name sign that said PHILDEN, I still had someone point out that my layout looked nothing like the Granville Bridge on account of the 'All Stations to Granville' memorabilia that is attached to the layout's frame. It only proves you can't win them all. I suppose it was nowhere near as bad as the gentleman who stopped, screwed up his nose and exclaimed, "it's nicely detailed and all, but why would you want to build something that just goes up and back? To me it's just a waste of space and may as well not be here. In fact I'm bored already just looking at it." I suppose its each to his own, but if by comparison he's only got a box of old train parts tucked away in a garage he plans to do something with one day, I for one would like to return the compliment when he exhibits his layout someday. If indeed he ever gets around to building one at all.

Exhibiting my layout three times over the course of 2017 has however been a rewarding experience. Now that the Gold Coast Miniature Train Show is done and dusted, I feel like a footballer whose season is over. In fact, at this stage I am unsure whether I will exhibit Philden again next year. The layout from here on can only be tinkered with as far as any changes are concerned, and for the large part I've exhausted what I can write about it here on this blog. I don't want Philden to become one of those layouts people tire of seeing. During the course of the past 2 years, I've not only been enjoying my hobby, but taking the time to self-produce some railway books of my own. To a large point that has been a rather disappointing affair. Readership here and on my author blog hasn't necessarily translated to sales and it is time for me to give it the flick and move onto something else. At this point I am committed to finishing my set of 4 Last Train railway bush poetry photo books by mid next year, after which time I feel inclined to pursue something entirely different in life. By then I may have finished that other layout I've been referring to, and Philden might not make another public appearance at all.

Regardless of what the future brings, I plan to keep Philden standing proudly above my desk.

Armed with the memory of posing for that photo with Humphrey B. Bear at the 2017 Gold Coast Miniature Train Show, and with Denise having recorded just as many scale miles as I did on my small layout over the weekend, we headed home. A stadium quickly becomes a lonely place after the game is over. So with Coldplay filling our ears, and summer storm clouds chasing us in our rear view mirror, we headed north on the highway. Another show over. Another one to come. Perhaps. But as usual, I'll let that be a story for another day.

See also; Exhibition #2 Pine Rivers

Exhibition #2 Pine Rivers

It's been a week since I exhibited Philden for the second time at this year's 2017 Pine Rivers Model Train Show in the northern Brisbane suburb of Strathpine. I'm glad to say the layout is now back safe in our apartment by the sea in Caloundra, and once more standing proudly above my desk as I write this. But first of all, I wanted to share with you the biggest challenge I face each time I decide to pack Philden in the car and take it on the road; getting it down the stairs!

There's 6 flights of stairs between the door of our apartment and the garage.

While I enjoy great ocean views from our top level apartment overlooking the sea, getting the layout out the door and down six flights of stairs to pack it safely in the car remains my biggest hurdle. At each and every turn on the four landings between the door of our apartment and the garage, there is just enough room for one person to stand holding the end of the 1.9 metre long main layout section while the other person has to stand sideways and twist while passing it up and over each handrail. While the layout is not very heavy, it is an awkward process to say the least! Once the layout is packed safely in the car however, it takes less than 45 minutes to unpack, setup and have the first train running when we arrive at the other end.

I use old grocery plastic bags to wrap my buildings in and transport to shows in a separate box.

The other thing I always do when taking Philden on the road, is carefully pack both the station building and the railway goods shed, which are both removable, into a sturdy box like I've shown above. Unfortunately, I left this box at home on my desk shortly after taking this picture, and didn't realise until I had the layout set up at the venue. Thankfully I travelled to and from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane each day for this show and could simply bring it with me the next morning! (Reminder to self; don't dare do this should we take the layout to Sydney!)

Has this blog gained me a reputation in being located beside the fire extinguisher? Don't know what I mean? then click here.

For this show, our country music playlist on the highway was a mish-mash of everything modern, but fittingly as we passed by the Caboolture exit we had Keith Urban blaring in the car. The venue for the Railway Modellers Club of Queensland show at Strahpine was a good one. The Strathpine Community Centre was spacious, modern, had good lighting and facilities and most importantly had a level floor.

There was only one moment of panic for the entire weekend, and that occurred shortly after I'd set-up and test ran a locomotive on the layout. One of my staging shelf sidings was dead, and it took me 20 minutes to trace the problem back to a broken wire connection beneath the layout on one of the isolating toggle switches. It must have broke loose at some point between packing and unloading the car. Thankfully I always carry a fix-it box full of things like pliers, screwdrivers and a soldering iron for if things go wrong. In this instance I was able to use some wire glue to re-do the join to the toggle switch and I was back and running.

The RMCQ members were friendly to the point of ushering both Denise and myself out the back of the venue for an impromptu sausage sizzle the moment we arrived on a Friday evening to set up, something which was much appreciated given how rushed we both were in finishing work, packing the car and travelling down from the Sunshine Coast in dreaded Friday afternoon traffic. The hospitality then continued all weekend long with constant reminders to help ourselves to free tea, coffee and biscuits in the exhibitors canteen. Saturday evening saw my wife Denise head off for dinner with our daughter who lives in Brisbane, while I stayed behind for a bbq and a chin-wag with the boys. I must also thank fellow blogger Craig Mackie for the impromptu tour of the nearby RMCQ club rooms in Brendale. The facilities and sheer size of the club layouts was more than just impressive, and makes a strong statement about just how healthy our hobby is here in Queensland, Australia.

I deliberately included this photo as a reminder to myself of what havoc the venue lighting poses for photography.

I got so caught up talking to people throughout the weekend at this show, that I totally forgot to take the camera out and capture some photos of other people's layouts. Instead of coming back with a swag of photos, I came back with a short list of names and numbers of fellow modellers who I'd really like to meet up with later, including a fellow modeller I discovered also lives in Caloundra. I think my calendar is going to look busy for the remainder of the year.

The above photo I've included to show the difficulties in photographing a layout with a perspex panel. While the layout was easily viewed from every angle with the naked eye, taking out the camera and photographing the reflection of the hall's ceiling lights is proving a bit of a drawback. Despite the plastic chain barrier keeping most hands at arm's length, the perspex has saved my models at least a dozen times from over-keen youngsters trying to poke at the scenery. Given that my bookshelf layout is so narrow and built to the edge, I still think that for now I'm just happy to demonstrate the feature of having a removable perspex panel to the keen photographer, and keep it there when the show is busy with a large number of families. After all, it is getting by far more positive comments from the visiting public about what a good idea the perspex is to stop the layout from getting damaged, than it is remarks about it being difficult to photograph on their smart phones.

Yes, that is the latest Model Railroad Planning book on my desk for my next plans...

So returning home on the Sunday evening, with Keith Urban once more filling the silence from two days of me being talked-out, we left the layout in the car until Monday morning when once more we hiked it back up six flights of stairs, and re-assembled it above my desk. I had a list from the Brisbane Model Train Show back in May of things I wanted to improve ahead of Philden's next outing, but sad to say I only got around to one of them for the Pine Rivers Show, and that was replacing all the lighting in the buildings with LED's. So after two days of once more having the layout incorrectly identified on account of all the railway memorabilia that is mounted on the framework (you can take your pick with Granville, Point Clare or Broadmeadow), I'm glad to say I have ordered a custom-made LED sign with the name PHILDEN spelled out in Countrylink colours. They assure me I will easily have it in time for the layout's next outing at the Gold Coast Show in October. So there will be no mistaking Philden the next time it is exhibited, and maybe, just maybe, I might exhibit it without the perspex panel in place to gauge the difference in interest levels.

In the week that followed the Pine Rivers Model Train Show, the trains have sat quietly above my desk as I've been inundated with work on all fronts. Including an interview with ABC Radio Southern Queensland about my latest book Last Train to Brisbane, and strangely enough having one of my earlier novels Last Wish of Summer featured on this year's Bookworks Summer Reading List in the States. I don't know why after almost 5 years, but fortunately I made the novel available as an independently-released eBook in the weeks that followed being dumped by my previous publisher, so any sales at this point are most welcome for Philden's future layout fund!

Speaking of which, that's the finished and rolled-up plans for my next layout project in the above photo. After waving the white flag at any upper-level extensions on Philden, I've decided to leave any extension plans for when I have a dedicated train room in which to turn Philden into a much larger L shaped layout. These plans are instead for what is going to go beneath Philden. Yes, it will replace my current desk. Yes it will be a change of scales, and if my Star-Wars-esque quote on Philden that says "somewhere in New South Wales, at a railway station far, far, away..." is anything to go by, then it will entail a trip to the dark side. For as I discovered from a weekend a chatting with modellers of other scales and interests, the saying is true. "Come to the dark side. We have cookies." But as usual, I'll let that be a story for another day.

See also; Exhibition #1 Brisbane Beginnings

Exhibition #1 Brisbane Beginnings

All is well in the universe. After a successful debut at the 2017 Brisbane Model Train Show over the weekend of May 6-7, Philden is back home, unpacked, undamaged and once more standing proudly above my desk as I write this. Unbolting a 2.6 metre (or just under 9 foot long) layout, and carrying it down 5 flights of stairs before packing it carefully in the back of our hatchback for the 90 km trip down to Brisbane wasn't as daunting as I'd imagined. Upon arrival, it simply bolted back together without any fuss and ran like clockwork until the final closing announcement was made on Sunday afternoon.

One tight squeeze, and it just fitted. Denise was worried it would look like we'd stolen a hearse!

Although I primarily built Philden as a space-saving measure, I always had one eye on being able to take the finished layout to exhibitions. As such, the layout was designed to fit into the back of our Ford Mondeo hatch. Having measured the space available in the back of our hatchback 2 years ago when I first started construction, we had one moment where Denise and I held our breath as we started loading the car. The back seats don't quite fold-down flat, and the angle that the layout sat in the back of the car required the front seats to be moved forward ever so slightly. Fortunately we didn't have to set off with our knees pressed up against the windscreen! So with Carrie Underwood blaring on the car stereo, we made good time heading down the Bruce Highway against the traffic on a Friday afternoon and arrived at the Brisbane Showgrounds around 4 pm to set-up.

Friday night lights! A quick test after set-up to make sure it all worked.

Donning our flouro-yellow safety vests, Denise and I soon set to work putting my layout together. The floor of Brisbane Showground's Marquee proved impossible to find a patch of level ground. Fortunately the event organizers were better prepared than I was. There were plastic bins full of ply and timber off-cuts at the ready, and a fellow modeler soon appeared with a spirit level in hand. Just over an hour later, the layout was all wired-up and a quick test with one of my locos revealed all was well. So finding ourselves in Brisbane on a Friday night, we headed off to visit our daughter before the drive back to the Sunshine Coast.

Saturday morning before the doors opened. I thought the curtains looked like they needed ironing.

Saturday. Day one of the 40th running of the Brisbane Model Train Show found us waking early for another 90 km drive down to Brisbane. Carrie Underwood sang in the new day on the car stereo once more, and after a couple of hot meat pies and an iced coffee while the crowd steadily built outside, Philden began it's new life on the exhibition circuit.

I had to set up so close to Walker Models' stand because of the slope of the floor.

It didn't take long for the crowd to pour in, and by 10 am our friends Stuart and Mardi next to us at the Walker Models stand were already doing a roaring trade. Stuart and I thought that being side-by-side would enable Mardi and Denise some time to chat throughout the day. It wasn't until around 2.30 pm however that the crowd calmed down enough to say more than hi. James McInerney from Australian Model Railway Magazine stopped by for a chat, and it was nice to finally talk face to face with someone I'd only previously shared comments with over each other's blog.

Clyde-EMD power made a stunning return, only my 421 came back looking even better in the Interail livery.

Without any infra-red, auto-reversing gizmo to automate running trains, it was left to me, or Denise whenever she took over the throttle, to provide a continuous up-and-back parade of trains for the general public. Being a little unsure of what glitches I may have encountered on the layout's first outing, I elected to set the layout up exactly as it stands above my desk at home, with me standing out front to the side of the little staging shelf. Being that little closer to the public gave me a great insight into what caught their attention.

Dimming the lights during the show made for some great night scenes such as this one of the Xplorer at Philden Station.

Over the two days of the show, I could almost sense that moment where the viewing public had seen enough and were about to turn and walk away. So I chose that sense of feeling to dim the lights on the overhead LED strip using my remote control, and listen to them say in return, "Oh, its night time. And LOOK! There's little people waiting inside the station!" I think the waiting room on my railway station became the most photographed part of the layout, and it was a reminder to myself that it is the little animations such as these that captures the general public's attention. I doubt I would have been able to gauge people's reactions as closely had the layout's backdrop been reversed and the layout been displayed from the opposite side with me standing behind it.

Easily the most photographed scene on my layout over the weekend of the 2017 Brisbane Model Train Show.

There were a number of glowing comments I received from people throughout the weekend, such as fellow blogger Craig Mackie saying that the layout looked better in person than on the internet. Being a perfectionist however, there's a number of things that I need to tweak before Philden's next exhibition at the Pine Rivers Model Train Show in August.

Firstly, while focusing so much on decorating the layout's timber work with some authentic NSW railway memorabilia, I'd overlooked the need to include my layout's name anywhere. I lost count of how many people stood in front and read aloud, "All stations to Granville," simply because that's what the signs said. I need to add a name somewhere for people to know that the layout is called Philden, and then I can avoid all the questions such as; "is that a model of the Granville Bridge?"

Secondly, I'd never had the grain of wheat light bulbs run continuously for that long and for two days straight. By Sunday afternoon the light in the station waiting room was just starting to become visible through a crack in the roof. It seems the warmth given off from the grain of wheat light bulbs caused the wood glue in the roof of the model to dry out and shrink by the umpteenth of a millimeter, but enough to let some light through. This week I'm going to take them out and replace them with some softer LED's. Fixing the crack in the roof will be a piece of cake, and then that problem will be solved.

Thirdly, I got to talk to a lot of people. While some recognized me from this blog, most had never heard of it when I asked them. They all then proceeded to ask me for the web address. I didn't even have a pen and paper let alone a business card. So there's something else I'll have to look at.

Overall however, the layout's first exhibition was a success, and I enjoyed having my wife Denise play such a big part of it, from set-up right through to pack-down. Her thoughtfulness even extended to the point of making sure she took my phone, the car keys and my wallet when I arrived on Saturday morning, just so that I could concentrate on running my trains without any phone calls or distractions. When I did get the chance to go for a quick walk through the venue late each afternoon however, I'd invariably find that I didn't have my wallet on me, and there were some nice specials on offer too! Ah Denise, you know me too well.

Almost lost in the crowd on account of being one of the smallest layouts on display.

By the time the last train ran out of Philden Station on Sunday afternoon, there were zero derailments for the weekend and only one close call from a curious young hand who was trying to pick the horn from my Xplorer set that was parked on the staging shelf. Both Xplorer and said child remain unharmed, (just). What the 2017 edition of the Brisbane Model Train Show did provide however, was a set of memories that now stretch back to 1991, when I'd first moved to Queensland and had attended my first model train show only to discover that by comparison my own modelling skills were purely dreadful. By 2002, I returned with an N scale layout that was built atop a 4 door pine cupboard, called the C&NW Overton Subdivision and by comparison was on the better side of okay. I've only missed attending the Brisbane Model Train Show a handful of times since 1991, and Brisbane for me will always signal new beginnings. I moved to Brisbane when I met Denise, both our children were born there and now Philden now becomes my second layout to have debuted in the River City.

So 45 minutes after the show was declared over, Denise and I pulled out of the Brisbane Showgrounds with the layout once more packed safely away in the back of the Mondeo. Carrie Underwood was singing on the 90 km drive back up the Bruce Highway to make it a 540 km round trip weekend of Country, and the memory of this year's Brisbane Show will provide me with plenty of enthusiasm to not just make a few minor tweaks on Philden, but figure a way to make it look even better the next time the layout is exhibited.

Until the next post, take care!