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General Category => Modellers At Work => Topic started by: David Price on September 16, 2021, 08:14:48 PM

Title: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: David Price on September 16, 2021, 08:14:48 PM
A couple of my recent posts made me realise that, whilst what I had put up were based on US prototypes, I hadn't made clear how any of this might fit into my modelling scheme.

Australia used a mixture of British (Fowler, Dick Kerr, Andrew Barclay, etc.) & US locomotives (Baldwin, Alco, Vulcan, Climax, Shays etc. - but no Heislers) as well as home built (Perry, Bundaberg Fowler, etc.) and European builders (Kraus, O&K, etc.) on the narrow gauge.

First image is of Baldwin designed Victorian Railways Na 2-6-2 #15A (Baldwin built the first two, the next two were built from spares and the remaining 13 by Newport Workshops in Melbourne) with Guard's Van (caboose) 2NU as they ran on the Wangaratta to Whitfield line (the first of four locomotive operated 2'6" State Government lines in Victoria, Australia - the fifth was horse drawn).  Locomotive is a modified Haskell product and the van built from an AMK kit (just don't try and get one of the latter as the supplier rarely delivers............)

Second image is a small 2 cylinder Shay and log train in the Australian "bush" - diorama is Dan Pickard's "Spirit of the Dandenongs" (Dan was co-builder of the Dolly Varden layout now in the US and is a master of the Australian gum tree/eucalypt).

Shay is a dressed up Bachmann product (second locomotive I weathered after returning to modelling), work flat is from Foothill Model Works and the Bates dozer is a Keith Wiseman product.  Handbrake is on the end sill as Australian practice generally had handbrakes accessible from the ground (as does most of the rolling stock from the 3'6" systems across Australia operated by my heritage railway).

The layout under development is based around Whitfield in 1960 with a timber tramway (logging line) feeding the Government line with cut timber - loosely based on practices at Powelltown, Victoria .

Hope this helps clarify where I'm coming from.

Cheers,

dp
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: Ray Dunakin on September 16, 2021, 10:22:49 PM
Nice work!
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: finescalerr on September 17, 2021, 01:14:37 AM
Inspirational. Thanks for posting. -- Russ
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: Bill Gill on September 17, 2021, 05:04:08 AM
Good stuff! Thanks for the background information too.
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: TRAINS1941 on September 17, 2021, 05:59:50 AM
Very nice!!

Jerry
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: WP Rayner on September 17, 2021, 11:52:04 AM
Very good work David. The second photo is quite evocative... nicely done.
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: Barney on September 17, 2021, 01:31:45 PM
Unusual and very nice - the second photo looks hot and sticky !! very atmospheric
Barney 
Title: Re: Australian 2'6" Narrow Gauge in 1:48
Post by: David Price on September 17, 2021, 07:06:56 PM
Thank you for the comments gentlemen.

And Barney our forests in Victoria are cold and wet in winter, but cool to hot and dry in summer but with low humidity (unlike Queensland and the top end which are very sticky!).