Exhibition #7 Redlands 2018

The recent Redlands Model Railway Show was somewhat of a homecoming event for Denise and I to draw the curtains on a busy model train show season in south east Queensland. The 4th and final exhibition for Philden of 2018, saw us once more head south down the Bruce Highway with our country playlist blaring with everything from Morgan Evans to Kenny Chesney in the car. This time we continued south over the Gateway Bridge to an area that was once so familiar to us. The Redlands.

The calm before the crowds stormed in on Saturday morning.

Held in the Smith Street Hall in the bayside suburb of Cleveland, 2018 marked the 7th anniversary for the Redlands Model Railway Show. There was no model train show in the Redlands back when Denise and I were living in the nearby suburb of Capalaba a decade ago, so to be included in this year's show was special, in that it gave me the chance to bring my layout down to the shire I once called home. We also have family still living in Redlands, so the weekend also became a chance to catch up with Denise's brother and his family, and dine out on the Saturday night at an Indian restaurant at nearby Wellington Point.

The Lindfield station indicator board sign was a new addition for the Redlands Show to complete the presentation.

For once I was able to turn up early for the opening day, cashed-up and with a shopping list of what I wanted to buy. Normally the timing of exhibiting my layout at a model train show doesn't coincide with me necessarily being able to afford to buy anything whilst there, and the expense of taking my layout to a show, (especially if a couple of nights accommodation is required), only further eats away at what I can justify as 'hobby money'. Instead, I only added another pair of 20' foot side door containers to my roster from Don at Railco before the doors opened to the public.

From the opening 15 minutes on the Saturday morning, there was a constant stream of paying public marching through the door on account of it being a rainy weekend in Brisbane. So before it got too hectic, I walked the floor to take these few photos of some of the layouts on display over the weekend.

I was set up beside Clive Collin's Snap Shot layout. Each square was a different scene from around the world.

Turnpike Land, featuring London's underground, is still a crowd favourite on the south east Queensland circuit.

The Urangan Pier at Hervey Bay was across from my layout with its cool blue water...

...while Philden stood opposite with its scorching hot outback sunset lighting effects.

The view looking across the hall inside the Redlands Model Train Show as the doors opened on Saturday morning.

Inside the hall became quite crowded during the peak Saturday morning and afternoon periods, and Sunday turned out to be busier still, as the wet weather gave the locals something to do on a rainy day. There were still paying customers arriving at 2.30 pm on the Sunday afternoon. The organisers surely must have been very happy with the numbers over the two days.

Being positioned up on the stage gave me the best view of the venue, and a chance to watch what was going on down on the floor below. While it is inevitable that some of the 'old timers' will always succumb to some shut-eye at some point in the afternoon, a visit to the bathroom on the Saturday made me laugh when I recognised the sound of snoring coming from one of the cubicles. Some-one had fallen asleep on the toot-er!

The new extension once more doubled as hidden staging for the weekend, and while the layout and trains performed faultlessly, the inevitable finally caught up with me when I had two wagons take a dive off the layout onto the timber floor. The first occurred when I hurriedly steadied the layout after a young child tried avoiding being caught by her parents by running beneath the white safety chain to hide behind the curtains of my layout. With one hand on the layout and the other quickly cutting the power to the train that was running at the time, my own knee caught on the wiring that ran from my LED lighting, which in turn whip-lashed the cement hoppers that you can see in the photo above. While the NPRY bounced on its side with out damaging any of the walkways or ladders, I later stepped on a piece of the under frame detail that obviously came loose. The second was just one of those accidents when my wife had her jacket sleeve catch on the steel train as she reached in to throw a toggle switch. Turns out those NCNX wagons don't bounce so well as you can see in the photo below. I've already rebuilt this model once after it arrived in the post in worse condition, so I can easily rebuild it again. I'm just fortunate I found all the pieces.

Some minor post-show repairs waiting for me to see to.

Two exhibitor plaques in the space of two weeks! Now for a well-earned rest.

Philden safe back home once more after two model train shows in just two weeks!

So having just spent two full weekends only two weeks apart, running trains up and down my 9' foot long bookshelf layout, Sunday pack-up couldn't come quick enough. Despite it only taking just over half an hour to pack-up, load-up and be driving out of the car park, its the long drive back to the Sunshine Coast and the trek up and down the stairs from our beach-side apartment that is the most exhausting part of taking Philden on the road. Sure it's a great feeling of accomplishment when its all over, but after such a busy 2018, I've promised Denise that we will only take Philden to one exhibition next year. That now looks like being the Brisbane Model Train Show in May, which gives me 8 months to enjoy having my layout stay still long enough to complete it like I'd first envisioned.

Redlands marked the 7th exhibition that I have taken my layout to, and as you can see in the photos above, the exhibitor plaques have nicely accumulated along the front timber fascia of the layout. There's only room for 3 more plaques to be mounted on the front side, that only doing one show per year will take me through to 2021. By my own reasoning, that might just about do it for this layout.

What's wrong with this picture?

Another funny thing to occur from the Redlands Show, was that somewhere over the course of the weekend I screwed up my shopping list, and threw it in the bin. With my paid-for 442 class loco waiting only on word of its arrival, I took another look at what I had written down on my list, and decided that the pair of 20' foot side door containers I'd bought before the doors opened on Saturday was enough. As far as adding anything new to run on Philden goes.... I'm done. It's time to start planning a new layout.

As for what? Look closely in the picture above and you can probably work out what doesn't belong. And for that I can blame the Redlands Model Railway Show. It will go down as the place where I screwed up one shopping list, and ultimately replaced it with a bigger one! But as usual, I'll let that be a story for another day.

See also; Exhibition #6 Stafford 2018

Building the Beach Station

Work is continuing on my layout during the two week break that I've had between model train shows, with the former two track staging yard now looking more and more like a finished diorama.

I was also lucky enough to find another brass-coloured station name to match in with the four other NSWGR destination board signs that are already mounted on the rest of my layout. Lindfield, for those who aren't familiar with Sydney, Australia, is a station located on the North Shore Line via the Harbour Bridge.

The foundations for the brick platform edging were laser cut by Stuart from Walker Models.

Constructing the curved brick platform for Phills Harbour was a lot more difficult than the platform that I built for Philden Station three years back, but was made a lot easier by the fact that the brick platform edging was laser cut for me by my good friend Stuart from Walker Models up at Coolum Beach. All I had to do was paint it, which consisted of nothing more than mixing a white-ish wash of mortar mix to swear over the brickwork and gently wipe away before it completely dried, leaving it congealed in the mortar lines only. The bricks are simply unpainted MDF board, (that with the white smear of paint) are a great match for the modern orange-cream brick that was used on Grafton Station on the North Coast Line.

I used two A4 sheets of paper to trace the outline for the top platform area.

I made the platform surface from 4 millimetre MDF board, and to work out the clearance and overhang for the rail side of the platform, I simply used two pieces of A4 copy paper to outline the platform edge with a lead pencil. I then cut the outline using a pair of scissors, and traced the outline of this with a lead pencil direct onto the MDF sheet, which was then cut using a sharp hobby knife before sanding the edges smooth with some extra fine sandpaper.

An overhead view to test that the 2 car Xplorer actually cleared the platform edging.

The single piece platform was then placed into position to test the clearance with my 2 car Xplorer train, (the longest piece of rollingstock which operates on my layout).

The single piece 4 millimetre MDF board platform showing the cut out area to house the lighting.

I want the station building, or in this case the Countrylink Travel Centre, to be removable for if I ever need to change LED lights which I will install from beneath once this scene is completed. So I cut a large opening beneath where the structure will stand on the platform before I began painting.

The overpass at the southern end of the station area includes these cool banana trees from Modellers Warehouse.

While I kept coming back to apply several thin coats of acrylic paint to the platform over the course of a week, I also rebuilt the concrete overpass that disguises the number 2 mouse-hole entrance/exit between the two layout sections while I had my layout in pieces. With the third track now removed and the remaining tracks straightened out into a more gentler curve, there was no need for me to have the concrete walls fanned out into such a noticeable angle. Especially with the larger locomotives such as the NR and L Class locos I once had on my roster now long departed. What that required however, was for me to build the concrete abutments double-sided as you can see above. I painted these to match the concrete abutments on the other side of the mouse-hole highway overpass that leads to Philden Station at the same time that I painted the platform.

Once finished, I glued the new highway overpass into position, patched the ballast on the areas beside the concrete abutment, and super detailed the rock scenery with over 200 individually applied grass tufts and the great banana trees you can see in the photo above which I purchased from Modellers Warehouse at the recent Strathpine Model Train Show.

The finished platform glued into place showing the box housing for the removable Travel Centre.

The entire station area then had the same scenery treatment applied, with a couple of gum trees added in areas that won't impede operation, some rubbish bins behind the far end of the platform and another of the fantastic palm trees from Modellers Warehouse added down at the beach level. I almost used all of the 420 grass tufts I bought on this extension alone. Finally, I then glued the single piece platform into place and stood back to admire the scene so far.

The first look at my Countrylink Travel centre sitting snugly on the platform inside the box housing.

I used unpainted white polystyrene strips to build the box that will house the Travel Centre on the platform, and the base of the structure fits perfectly inside. I've never worked extensively with styrene before now, but its something I'm going to have to do as there are no Australian models available of anything that resembles the modern era Countrylink Travel Centres that were rolled out in the early 1990's, around the same time that my 2 car Xplorer train was introduced into service. As a starting point, I bought a cheap one-colour plastic kit for $10 on eBay. For that price it was cheaper than buying a single sheet of 4 mm styrene and included the postage price from China! At least it gave me 4 walls that I could use as a starting point to construct my model around.

I then stocked up with the other sheet styrene I needed at the recent Strathpine Model Train Show, and can now begin building the platform awnings and angled roofing that will cover the road coach set down area that you can see in the photo above. The roofing will all connect to the rectangular Travel Centre building to create the effect of being one big, modern monstrosity.

The view from what will be the front of the beach extension.

So with next weekend's Redlands Model Train Show being Philden's final outing for the year, it seems I'm agonisingly close to having the new extension completed in time. Only, once more I will have the layout displayed from the other side, and the new extension will remain hidden for now from the public behind the reversible backdrop. After the Redlands Model Train Show, I will have a break of 8 months before I exhibit the layout again, which will give me plenty of time to complete the extension to my liking, including adding lighting, figures, more palm trees and finishing the Travel Centre with a complete interior. By the time I display my layout again at next year's Brisbane Model Train Show, the layout, including the new extension, will be as finished as it's ever going to be! And then I can move onto my next project.

See also; Straightening the Beach Extension

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