ADVENTURE TOURS .COM

Well I have had a big couple of days out.


We blasted off from home at 2pm on Friday.Checking with the chief on the flight plan she didn't care which way we went so I thought we might be able to make Tamworth before it was dark, as I wanted to see if the rumours of an accident brake down crane in the old freight centre where right and get some pics for a model .Everyone has fantasies don't they !!
Well they where right and after some enquires I was in.It belongs to http://www.dsrm.org.au/ awaiting transport to the museum.

           122 TONNE LC 1060 KRUPP-ARDELT EMERGENCY CRANE / L688 JIB WAGON


With 40 minutes of sun left Werris Creek was our next target. With a quick look at Loco.There seemed to be a lot of stuff there but no action in the yard.

                                             And what looks like rotten row for some 80,s

It was about this time that the passenger  said  IS THIS THE WAY TO SYDNEY  ?    Its a short cut !
No more light ,means no more trains,
Had a pub feed at Muswellbrook, carefully selected for the viewing options with 3 going past then camped at Branxton.

Saturday

 Epping here we come.

Got there in time to line up for 40 minutes waiting for opening time.And first stop the second hand stall.Its everyman for himself in there ,And you thought the Myer Boxing day bra and shoe sale was bad.Got some books inc working timetable 1977 for Northern Division Cowan to Wallangarra,North coast and Branches $5  and styrene sheets all bargains .
As usual a good collections of layouts and all the retailers with there with there latest offerings no coil steel wagons or oil pots yet apart from 4 wheel ones which where selling like hot cakes even if they where the wrong colours.I wouldn't mind some of the Loco fuel ones but you have to buy 2 others that you don't want.I'm going to have a think about that.
I  will give you some of  what I thought where the modelling highlights.

                                               A very nice bridge and road on ODDWALLS

             Water tank complete with interior detail and softening plant on WALLERAWANG

                         Someone obviously knows something about sub stations at WALLERAWANG

                                                        Some of Geoff Notts work

                                             http://modvid.com.au/html/body_geoff_nott.html

                                         ITS THE   Andrew and Ian show staring BOWEN CREEK

                                           DUCK CREEK  HOn3 Puffing Billy based layout

                                 LAKE AND DALE   O 16.5  Set in the Lake District of England

Its 2 and where out of there, off to see if that damaged crane is still at Chullora and yes it is right near the fence BINGO

The cab looks a right off not sure how the operator faired .I do remember seeing some shots of the tip over but haven't been able to find them again due to my  special filing system  its The biblical system Seek And Yee Shall Find.

COWANS BOYD RC110-11T AND NDKY 3000 JIB WAGON

And just for good measure the on top of the truck roof over the fence shot of the softening plant and interior of a water tank at Enfield

 

Another crane at Thirlmere

   http://www.trainworks.com.au/

Whats the record for cranes spotted in 24 hours ?

Overnight in Bowral and then on to pick up the new hound courtesy of the Moss Vale pound .That crack about how many cats a day would a dog like that eat , didn't go down to well.

Left at 11am I was going to go to the museum but it was raining.No it wasn't cats and dogs either.

Came back home through the Putty Road which was uneventful till we got to Singleton where  we cross under a north bound coalie So I thought I would get in front and try a video before the sun went down . Set up at Hebden Road crossing Ravensworth about 4.30 didn't have to wait long as 4 coal trains 2 in both directions passed in 15 minutes.But I wasn't ready for the best bit, what the locals obviously call lets ignore the boom gates, red lights ,double demerit points,oncoming train and stop signs on a double track .Makes you hope they under stand what the red on a traffic light means .These where only cars  but maybe the truck drivers around the area have a bit more respect for what a train can do.

The videos are a bit rough but maybe the rail operators might like to think how much some video gear at crossings would cost to stop this as opposed to a multi million dollar crash, clean up and court case.Maybe its a OH and S issue to save the train drivers  trauma or possible death .But then again it could be a 2011 version of natural selection.

1510 ks later got home at 9.30 Big Dog went to bed.

THE INSIDE STORY

Well, following on from the last post we have some great internal shots courtesy of Graeme Henderson.
The tank in question is a lipped wrought iron tank 20,000 gallons (it actually calculates out at closer to 23,000 gallons)at Meranburn on the Parkes Orange line taken on 31-1-99.
This tank represents 1 of the 3 designs and capacities of this style of tank ,With other tanks of the same design built at Boppy Mountain , Brocklesby , Byron Bay ,Cobar , Corowa ,Forbes ,Lismore ,Milsons Point , Parkes and Springdale.

Interesting detail on the inside top lip and bottom reinforcing ring  attachment point to brickwork.
Also the what appears to be the bright orange colouring of the rusting wrought iron sheet .
This tank being the first series was not fitted with a scour drain.
The tank being round is basically self supporting with equal pressure exerted on all sides so no bracing is required apart from the top ring.
The tank design with a unsupported bottom except for the outside edge had to support some 100 ton of water plus tank when full.

 Graeme made a good point in that tanks where not always full depending on usage and pump capacities to replenish the supply.So you can model a tank any where from nearly empty to full.

Do we have any more takers for the inside the tank challenge.

THE BITS YOU CANT SEE BUT CAN

The June AMRM had an article by Peter Jarvis on
Modelling The NSWGR Steam Locomotive Watering Facilities.

Which I thought was very good .But as it says Modelling I think the main point has been missed .In that all the photos shown are of tanks as we would see them and that is from ground level.

BOLIVIA was built as high as possible so that track level would be at eye level and the trains and scenery would be seen as in real life from ground level . With the viewer having to look around structures and scenery to see the trains .And moving around to view them and thus changing the way the layout looks from different angles.
But even still you look down on the layout.Not as bad as some layouts that give you a view as if you where in a plane.But this means that most important part of modelling a water tank is the internals from the top .Which most people wouldn't know about because they have never seen in the top of a tank.



These shots are from Glenreagh and although much deteriorated in condition show the wealth of detail needed.On the part your going to see the most.



This is the water tank on BOLIVIA showing the bracing , inlets and also some algae growth.

Bye the way does any one have internal shots of a parachute tank or the wrought iron circular tanks

This is the under side of Byron Bays tank all I need is the top view.
2 posts in 2 days a new record !

NORTH OF THE BORDER

Just thought i would share some images from Warwick station taken on 4-6-11.

Obviously a once busy and important station on the QR network.With a very large and grand goods shed and station, with a pedestrian over bridge. The yard and lines that radiate from this town being the Stanthorpe, Wallangarra line and the Goondiwindi,Dirranbandi line unfortunately see very little action these days .

But there must be resleepering going on by the yard full of wagons,which look like they would hold a lot more in weight and quantity of sleepers than our NSW WSC wagons ,also they have a rail inside the wagon to run the length of the train for unloading.With the top yellow frame section being a container set up sitting on a flat wagon

And check out the nice pub which is opposite the station and some interesting maybe wool and produce stores which look like they where once on a siding.
And a grain storage complex for good measure .
It actually looks like a nice station to model

    GO YOU QUEENSLANDERS !!!!!

After reading the article Building the Hawkesbury River Bridge in the latest Australian Railway History May 2011.And thinking how good that was,Imagine my excitement when in a book store yesterday and finding this little beauty that I haven't seen before.Put out by the Clarence River Historical Society.

With plenty of photos, original drawings and reprints of articles by The Journal of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Nov 1932, Dec 1932 And August1935.Plus Roundhouse July 1982.

It makes for a frightfully good read for anyone with a tendency towards a bridge fetish.

I'm not sure whether the ARHS has it available but a link to the Grafton Society  http://www.clarencehistory.org.au/publications.html  will soon have it in your hot little hands.

Well just to prove I have actually been doing something.Some shots of IDR Models kits that have just been finished.

KHG GUARDS VAN
I went a bit overboard with the weathering but by the time I realised it was to late.

OSF CONTAINER WAGONS WITH LRC CONTAINER
These where very common on the run from Tenterfield and Wallangara abattoir and have been needed for a long time.



OSF WAGON WITH SDS MC CATTLE CONTAINER

I have another wagon built which was going to have cattle containers on it but  after finding a picture of 2 x Fielders tank containers on a OSF I will go that way.

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After getting the wagons finished which was a good break from the layout.
A much needed repair was made to the A Depot which had developed a nasty buckle in the styrene used for the concrete receival apron,and thus had distorted the styrene of the catwalk and awning support beams.
New styrene was cut for the concrete and a new catwalk,support section fabricated from brass.
Which will allow the depot to be stuck down in position.
I got all excited and started to build some sheds and out houses associated with silos to.Plus dug out some photos of sampling stands to chose from.


The receival area cleaned up

The new sections made up.

The sections in place with some RU'S. At Mount Russell there was the ability to transfer grain from incoming wagons via a grate in centre of the tracks to be delivered via an auger to the road receival grate.As shown

 The monster from the air with a 45 class for size

ALCO CAM

Well I actually went up to the train shed today with all good intentions of painting some wagons
BUT  !  I got side tracked on a little project that's being one of my pet ambitions for a long time.And that is to be able to have a cab ride around my own layout.And hopefully it would look realistic from track level,which is one view that we never get
Having just returned from the big smoke (are trams fun or what )and purchasing a little camcorder invented for adventure sports. I set about building a wagon to hold it and be pushed ahead of the loco.

So without further ado presented in surround SMELL-A-VISION a cab ride around BOLIVIA travelling out of the fiddle yard on a down train through BOLIVIA and  terminating back in the fiddle yard.





I think it turned out alright apart from the window glare and low lighting.
Being one of those neanderthals that doesn't have DCC yet . It could use some sound effects.

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