Sunshine, Palm Trees and a Food Industry...

Well it's been push, push and more push to get the layout ready for the Goulburn Model Expo.
On Wednesday, I dropped into Casula Hobbies and picked up and Installed cross bucks with flashing lights. These are not wired to sensors or a switch, instead they will constantly flash during the exhibition.

Here is a link.to our Facebook page with a short video : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/175d5MFhZW/

The van was packed very late last night (Thursday) and a few extras thrown in the van earlier today.

The layout is all set up and I have received a few nice comments from my piers.

Tomorrow will be a big day, then we have Sunday...
Anyhow, I am knackered after the late nights I have endured and I hope to see some of you at the exhibition.

Cheers, Gary.

 

Thank you Gormo, it was a good exhibition and we had a great time !

Cheers, Gary.

 

Here are a bunch of photos of the ops crew and the layout whilst at Goulburn this weekend. Thanks to both Robbie and Mick for the pics !

The layout set up in it's entirety...

After set up on Friday night, we had to get a ops crew pic !

An overall pic of the hall we were in and the layout in the foreground.

Mick took a bunch of great photos using his tripod and really captured the feel of the layout !

First photo of Saturday, 6.30am coffee at Bryants Bakery in Goulburn prior to kicking off the day... (photo courtesy of Robbie)

I allowed the public to run a few trains on the layout. The young kid in this photo was a real hand full...

Robbie enjoyed operating the layout over the weekend...

I will post up more photos from the exhibition in the relevant thread tomorrow.

Cheers, Gary.

 

We sure did Ron. We were also very well behaved in the evenings when we all went out for dinner and drinks. All three of us capped our drinking to only two drinks a night ! Last year we had a BIG Saturday night, getting back to our rooms at 2.00am and up at 7.00am for breakfast before heading back to the exhibition for more running...

Cheers, Gary.

 

I have to say that not a lot has been done on the layout of late, but I have decided to add another peninsula in good time for more operations.

Apart from that, I have recently purchased two FEC ACF 50' Hi-cube waffle sided box cars (wahat a mouthful !), manufactured by Moloco. These cars are identical apart from the number. They are highly detailed, a lot like their price. At $117.00 each, I wasn't really expecting that high of a price tag...

The cars look great in the FEC livery of dark blue and white.

The lettering is crisp and the details are awesome with the finer details being added rather than cast into the plastic.

End detail...

Undercarriage detail...

I do like the overspray on the roof. This is very common on freight cars in the US...

Both cars will eventually gain some weathering, well that is said for most of my rolling stock ! One day I'll find the time !!

Cheers, Gary.

 

Well it is the end of the year which means making plans for 2026 !

So, what's in store for the Down Town Spur ?? Better watch the video to find out !!



Merry Christmas to all and may you have a safe festive season.

Cheers, Gary.

 

Well it's that time of year again where I pack the layout into the van for an exhibition.

I have been busy replacing couplers, tuning rolling stock and packing it all back into the boxes...

Tripped over last night whilst carrying my Rapido GP38 and I came down hard, so did the geep... Repairs to be completed today.

Most of the stock is boxed up, just needs restocking into the plastic crates for transport...

I also managed to weather up another Rail Box boxcar last night to go with the other Rail Box car I weathered several years ago...

So, at the moment, the layout is being taken down and a few scenery items need some repair, which won't take too long. Once completed, the layout will be stacked into the van on the rack I made last month. Tomorrow both Michael Grace and I will travel to Cowra and stay the night at Robbie Crouch's home, then Friday we will trek down to Lilydale for set up that evening.

Fun times ahead !

Cheers, Gary.

 

What a great weekend down at the Easter Model Railway Exhibition in Lilydale over the weekend.
Have to thank the following for their assistance over the weekend.

Michael Grace & Robbie Crouch...

Philip Seeley...

The members of the Yarra Valley Model Railway Club who put the exhibition on and of course putting a face to a name, Andy Spencer & Jason Geritz, both members of our Facebook page.

I will share photos of the exhibition when I get back to Sydney.

Cheers, Gary.

 

Thanks for the kind words Philip. I was delighted to have you come along and help out running the layout. Your contribution was well acknowledged by Robbie, Mick and I.

Overall, the trip down to Lilydale, the whole exhibition and the trip back was a blast. The hospitality of the Yarra Valley Model Railway Club is second to none. Huge shout out to them ! https://yvmrc.org.au/

We arrived right on 6pm Friday afternoon and we were met by army of club members who assisted with the unloading and setting up of my layout. I can tell you that is a rarity in at Sydney exhibitions !

Throughout the whole weekend, we had the club president, members of the organising committee come past and ask if we needed anything and how things were running along. The club provided us (the exhibitors and traders) a meal break/break room to occasionally take breaks in, not once did I get there as the layout was overwhelmed with the paying public. At times we were in conversation with people anywhere between 10 minutes and 45 minutes !

So the whole weekend was great, we had great neighbours (trade stand) and they also stayed in the same motel as us. Big shout out to DCM Models from Adelaide !

I'll eventually get some photos up on a different thread...

Cheers, Gary.