A full XPT schedule

What a week it has been! Hot on the heels of adding an XPT set to Philden was the news of Auscision Models' arrival of their long awaited 442 Class loco. So after a Friday afternoon of running XPT's to and from Philden and Phills Harbour, I thought I should explain how I transform running a train back-and-forth on a 9 foot bookshelf layout into something so much more, before this blog gets overrun with pictures of the new locos which are headed my way.

Actual timetables from the era you are modelling can be so much more than just a reference tool.

Just as I do with my 2 car Xplorer train, I begin by selecting a random Countrylink timetable, in this case from September 2003. Collecting timetables from the era I model is another extension of the hobby that I enjoy, and in this instance I've grabbed the North Coast timetable. As my operating session is taking place on a Friday afternoon, I scan through the timetable to find a starting point and time for my simulated 7 day sequence. Sure enough, back in 2003 the next departure time is for Countrylink's service 004 The Murwillumbah XPT departing Murwillumbah at 9.50 pm. From this point I now have 7 days to have this XPT set returned to Murwillumbah in time for next Friday's departure at the same time. All while making as many trips as I possibly can without overlapping any arrival and departure times. The challenge is to maximize the amount of trips and station stops the XPT set can make and minimize the amount of down-time the set will accumulate between runs, all while making the scheduled stops listed on the timetable. Its a challenge that can yield different results every time I try this.

Stations were designed to be more than viewing platforms for passing trains, so enjoy making your trains actually stop.

Phills Harbour momentarily becomes Murwillumbah and Philden at the other end of the layout becomes the next stop, Mullumbimby, as I work the train back-and-forth while making all the stops listed on the timetable on the up service to Sydney's Central Station. Train 004's arrival is at 11.38 am the next day. The next Saturday service the train can realistically be serviced and turned around to work is Train 001, the 4.24 pm overnight Brisbane XPT. So its back up the North Coast we go, with Philden and Phills Harbour once more filling in for each station shown on the timetable before arriving in Brisbane on Sunday morning at 6.35 am. Here the train is refueled and returns south as Train 002, departing at 7.30 am and arriving in Sydney at 9.51 pm Sunday evening.

One of my highlights is making the trains slow to a smooth stop at the platform.

Monday morning sees the same set head west, this time on Train 427, the Dubbo XPT. Departure from Sydney is at 7.10 am with arrival in Dubbo at 1.40 pm. The same XPT set returns as Train 428, departing Dubbo at 2.10 pm and arriving back in Sydney at 8.48 pm Monday night. Tuesday morning 7.43 am, and the XPT forms Train 603, the 'Daylight' Melbourne XPT, arriving in the Victorian capital at 6.15 pm that same evening before returning at 7.45 pm as Train 602, the 'Overnight' Melbourne XPT arriving back in Sydney Wednesday morning at 6.25 am.

A physical timetable to hold in your hand lends a sense of attachment to the model train you are running.

About this time, my wife interrupts to ask if I'd like a cup of coffee while I'm 'playing trains'. I consult the on-board services section of my timetable and inform her that coffee is available from the buffet car which happens to be Car D on my XPT set. She returns minutes later and tries to charge me $4 for it. Anyways, Train 005 is now ready for departure from Sydney, the 11.35 am Grafton XPT arriving in the north of the state at 10.00 pm Wednesday evening. After an overnight layover in Grafton, it departs at 6.30 am the next morning as Train 006 arriving back in Sydney Thursday afternoon at 4.34 pm. Friday morning and you guessed it, 7.15 am sees the departure of Train 003, the Murwillumbah XPT which will arrive back where we started at 9.00 pm that evening, bringing to an end my 7 day schedule.

Crew changes, refueling and overnight lay-overs between services all add to the realism of running passenger trains.

By now, more than an hour has passed without my having to worry about a fast-clock or timing the departures of each train. From my laptop, I'll play a station announcement prior to the departure of each new service, and randomly play an XPT sound clip featuring the train's twin air-horns and passing diesel rumble to add to the scene. By the time I've finished my $4 cup of coffee, I'm ready to call it a day from running the passenger train. The next time I power up the layout, I'll pull a different Countrylink timetable from my collection, an depending on the time and day, end up with a completely different sequence as I try to coordinate a schedule without any pre-planning.

Operating is probably the most enjoyable aspect of a model railway once the layout is complete, and adding some form of realistic attachment between your layout and the way it is operated becomes just as important as the scenery. I've found with a point-to-point layout that I prefer running my passenger trains in the manner I've outlined above, rather than the more traditional approach of drawing my own chart that would effectively only shows arrivals and departures of trains running between Philden and Phills Harbour. But I suppose it is a case of each to their own. If you find something that works, and makes operating your layout more enjoyable than simply making your trains move, then you're onto a winner!

See also; Running some Countrylink Timetables and Snacks for operating sessions

Phills Harbour Opening Celebrations

The 1st train to Phills Harbour breaks through the commemorative banner on my new Beach Extension.

The Champagne has been popped, (all 3 bottles of it), and the first train has rolled into Phills Harbour Railway Station on Australia's New South Wales North Coast. Wine time and model trains have never been such good friends as what they were on Sunday 24th February, 2019.


A year after rebuilding the staging shelf that was an important part of Philden, the new Beach Extension has proven to be a far worthier addition than the two stub-ended tracks it replaced. While still performing exactly as a two track staging yard should, this new section of my layout now gives me a greater sense of operating pleasure. It now feels like my trains go somewhere, even if it is just 9 feet down the line from Philden to Phills Harbour. So to mark the occasion, I once more created a banner for the first train to run through.

But first the waiting room needed to be populated with waiting passengers.

First I needed to populate the Travel Centre's waiting room with passengers, and while I had bought 100 of them off eBay for something like 10 cents each including postage, more than half fell into the category of looking rather bodgy. Fortunately it only took 35 of the tiny figurines to make the platform and waiting room look busy without over-doing the scene. So I simply placed the better figures in the more visible areas and glued the less detailed figures toward the back of the waiting room.

There are 25 passengers spread out in the waiting room inside my Countrylink Travel Centre.

While there are a further 10 passengers on the platform and the ramp leading up to the station.

The HO scale figurines, (although by no means from the top level of painted figurines that are available), really enhance the station scene. Along with some wheelie bins and painted blue Countrylink benches that I glued on the platform, the station scene captures a little of that modern New South Wales railway look I was after.

The anticipation builds as evening falls at Phills Harbour. The first train is less than an hour away.

Returning our attention to the encroaching evening, with the lights on at the station I was reminded of my own memories of train watching in New South Wales whenever I'm holidaying that way. Apart from the morning XPT from Brisbane to Sydney, most of the passenger trains that call at stations along the North Coast do so at night, and Phills Harbour when lit up seems to evoke that sense of overnight train travel that now seems almost forgotten to travelers whom board flights expecting to get there that same day or evening. Night operating sessions are going to be something that I indulge in more often now that my layout extension is complete. In my opinion it only conveys a stronger sense of atmosphere than if I had left the lights on.

A sole visitor checks out the beach from the subway beneath the station, oblivious to the history about to unfold above.

Speaking of atmosphere, I wanted to include some figures standing by the entrance to the subway tunnel that leads to the beach beneath the railway tracks, but by the time I remembered I only had one suitable figurine left that wasn't already glued in place. Under lights however, a sole figure standing alone at the end of a subway tunnel draws more attention than in daylight. So I'm leaving her be. I've named her Jenny from the block, and her presence raises more questions than it adds detail. Who is she? Why is she walking alone after dark? Is she safe? Or is she a ghost?

Sometimes the best mini-scenes that emerge on a model railway aren't necessarily the ones we set out to create. As a writer, I find it fascinating to see this tiny figurine appear in my photos, like in the one below.

A moment in history as an Xplorer service becomes the first train to arrive at Phills Harbour Station, 24 February, 2019.

So with the first train having already been and gone, the bottles of bubbles long empty by 10.30 pm, and the Ohio State Marching Band on their flight back to the U.S.A., calmness has once more descended over the seaside city of Phills Harbour. I want to thank my wife Denise for being the train driver for the evening as I filmed the historic occasion, and also my son Brandon for being the sound guy and cuing the station announcements and marching band music under much duress, (sorry Champ). I now have two nice railway stations to run my trains between and nothing for me to have to worry about ahead of this years Brisbane Model Train Show....

....All except for Jenny on the block.

See also; Completing the Beach Extension

Completing the Beach Extension

The lights are on, the beach extension is finished. Inside the wide spaces of the Phills Harbour Travel Centre, the cleaners are seeing to the finishing touches ahead of the grand opening celebrations this weekend for the arrival of the first Countrylink Xplorer service from Sydney's Central Station. The glass is fingerprint free, the platform clean and the toilets smell lemony-fresh. The air-conditioning is keeping the waiting room at a refreshing 22 degrees Celcius while outside the humidity lingers in a sticky evening that still lurks around 30 degrees. Its the peak of summer in Australia, and soon holidaymakers will be arriving on the New South Wales North Coast by the train load.

I test-fit and sanded the edges of the perspex smooth before removing the protective wrap.

A year ago to the day, I posted my first blog entry regarding the start of construction on my new Beach Extension. Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days later, I'm ready to run my first train. The past week has seen a flurry of activity take place on Philden, as I made sure I had everything finished ahead of this May's Brisbane Model Train Show. I began with getting the 3 mm perspex panels cut from ASAP Plastics here in Caloundra. The perspex for this little project cost me only $15. The main front panel will be removable the same as the main body of the layout. This will enable me to slide it out when operating, but also slide the perspex back in place once finished so that my layout stays undisturbed and dust-free until I next use it. The side or corner panel however, I glued in semi-permanently. While I built the extension to allow for a further extension, I don't see any more space magically becoming available in the next few years. By gluing it in place with some shower screen silicone sealant, it can stop my trains from running over the edge for as long as is needed.

I semi-permanently affixed the corner perspex panel with some all-purpose silicone sealant.

The thin panel will stop trains taking a dive from off the layout, but also allows the possibility to expand in the future.

The removable perspex front matches the rest of the layout and will ensure it stays dust-free when not being used.

With the cabinetry of the layout now looking complete, I had to turn my attention to what I find is the most dreaded part or this hobby. Wiring! Fortunately, while simultaneously working on my slightly smaller N scale layout over the summer, it is something that I am beginning to conquer. Armed with a new soldering iron, I just decided to get stuck into it, and ended up giving the underside of my layout an overhaul from end-to-end, complete with new LED's where a couple had stopped working, and of course installing the new lighting on the Beach Extension.

I next removed the perspex panel and backdrop to work on adding lighting to the modern station scene...

...and gave the entire wiring beneath my layout a good tidy-up including adding these self-adhesive wiring clips.

While adding lights to Phills Harbour, I also removed some from Philden and covered the holes with some grass tufts.

Before flicking on the Beach Extension's new lights, there were a few repairs to make on Philden courtesy of taking my layout on the road four times and moving house over the course of 2018. Despite being extra careful each time the layout is taken apart, there's always the risk of a hand catching on one of those tiny wires when loading it in and out of a hatchback. There was also one area where one of the lamp posts beside the signal box shone too brightly on my newly installed backdrop. So the lamp post came out to replace another which had stopped working on the platform at Philden. Another lamp post beside the goods shed had a wire broken from the layout's last outing, so I just took the sucker out altogether and patched the holes in the layout with clumps of stick-on grass tufts I had left over. Problem solved.

The photo above also shows the area between the signal box and the gum tree where I have something else planned for after Philden comes back from this year's Brisbane Model Train Show. By keeping some small projects in mind for the future, I'm finding my layout still feels fresh and exciting two years after it first went on public display. I won't say too much about what will go here, other than it will involve one of Craig Mackie's famous Hills Hoist clotheslines and another of Stu Walker's model train buildings kits, so stay tuned.

Lights on at an empty station, but all that is about to change this weekend once the first train arrives so stay tuned!

Finally I plugged in the accessories lead and stood back to admire the end result. From the warm white LED's inside the Travel Centre to the cool white LED's on the platform lamp posts, the scene was bathed in the kind of atmosphere I was aiming for. Only with no-one hanging around the station to witness it. Take a good look at the above and top photos of the Travel Centre. It will be the last time you see it empty. Arriving in the post last week were 100 scale figurines, all of whom will soon be standing at the platform and inside the Travel Centre waiting to board the train to Sydney. I may have to take a few more shots of the empty platform and waiting room for future references. They might help paint a story in pictures of some timetable nights I plan to run.

So this weekend is shaping as an important milestone. Not only will I populate Phills Harbour with a throng of waiting passengers, but I should also complete the final wiring for the N scale layout which is taking shape beneath it, and get the first train running!

The as yet unnamed and undocumented N scale layout is proving to be a great accompaniment to what has begun as a fantastic 2019. I should have the N scale layout finished by year's end to replace Philden on the exhibition circuit in South East Queensland for 2020.

Also causing a growing sense of excitement, is the pending arrival of Auscision Model's 442 Class locos that I've been looking forward to since.... well, probably not long after I started building this layout. The CFCLA JL Class and the Northern Rivers 422 Class which should follow not long behind it will probably be it for me. Very soon I will sit down to finalize some kind of operating sequence for Philden & Phills Harbour, and my only fear is that I may have too many wagons to operate freely without having to rotate rollingstock on and off the layout, (which is about as much fun as packing up after a model train show). If that ends up being the case, I think I'd be happy to let some items go on eBay to free up some money for my next QR 12mm gauge project.

But if I had to say that there is one more NSW HO scale item that has tempted me from day dot, it has been the Auscision XPT. I know, I know, it is a 7 car set counting the XP power cars which is waaayyy too long for my layout. But my favourite train to photograph is about to be retired in the coming years, and to have a model of one to remember it by, even if it is more nostalgic than practical for a 9 foot long bookshelf layout, is still an enticing proposition. But $1200 for a model that I'd only be able to run up and back as a 4 car set at most.... that's a big ask. The kind of when I win lotto scenario. Still, both Countrylink State Rail era sets are still available, and if I indeed do move on some other items, and perhaps a few of the XPT carriages that I won't need as well, then anything's possible. It would make for one helluva last addition to my layout!

I guess that's the thing about model railways. Like the trains themselves they're always coming and going and somehow managing to stay fresh and interesting. I suppose the next thing is to see how Phills Harbour copes with opening day. I'd better get those tweezers and the super glue ready!

See also: Beach Extension Part One: When paint doesn't match