Sydney RPM - Home layouts

 Visiting Home layouts after the Sydney RPM event

Model railways are a social hobby, to be enjoyed with others.  Well, that is my experience.  As part of the recent Sydney RPM event, I was able to talk with my fellow modellers, and I was honoured to receive invitations to visit their home layouts.  Two of these layouts were in the southern highlands, south of Sydney, where I could visit enroute to my home in Junee on Sunday. 

Tim Preddey's "Cooma Monaro"

Tim has constructed a large double deck layout in a purpose built building.  The area he has chosen to model is a section of the NSW Monaro railway from Cooma, heading south.  Time period late 1950s-60s.  The real railway line to Bombala, was built using NSW railway pioneer standards - cheap and cheerful;  very light construction, minimal earthworks, fencing, and rudimentary facilities 

Tim's model of Cooma station was constructed from card, and painted in a 1950s colours.   The real station was built in 1889, and served as the terminus of the Monaro Railway until the line was extended to Nimmitabel in 1912, and to Bombala in 1921.  The barracks in the background was scaled using NSW railway drawings of an extension to the barracks. 

Cooma railway yards extend north of the station.  

Tim is using code 55, microengineering rail.  The fineness of the rail enhances the simple open culvert

MacLaughlin Meat Works was built in the late 1930s, and abandoned 3 years later after their freezers failed, and they lost all the meat and couldn't pay their creditors.  The former siding has been pulled up by the 1950s.  Tim's model is exquiste

The trestle bridge over the MacLaughlin River is enhanced greatly with the backdrop.  Tim has trekked to the real bridge, and taken a location specific picture.  This picture, like all the others on the layout, were printed by Office Works, and affixed to the backscene, with scenery blended with texture, and colours. 

But I know you will like to see a train on the trestle.

A 3 car DEB set emerges from a roadbridge - possibly modelled after the one on the Old Bombala Road

Tim's staging yard on the upper deck 

Tim told me that the helix to get between the two decks, was from a former layout.   

Tim at the end of one aisle shows the scale of the layout's two decks, seperated in height by about 50cm, with a lot of space for the operators to pass each other.

The other main aisle - lower deck not yet sceniced.  Tim's method for scenery is old school - chicken wire, and plaster bandage, rather than carved foam.   Note the lights on the valence on the upper deck.  Tim has used LED tube lighting that gives an excellent covereage.  On the Left hand side upper deck is Nimmitabel station

Nimmitabel Station.  Note the lighting, and the lack of a backdrop.

Stockyards at Nimmitabel are particularly nice. 

rear of Nimmitabel station.  Lack of a backdrop gives the scene a lot of depth

Cooma goods shed, and yard "in daylight"

Cooma "at night". Tim's lighting was quite effective, although the picture from my phone's camera didn't quite capture the full effect 

Tim's staging yard is positioned above his workbench.

Steve Pettit - Denver and Rio Grande Western

Steve, like Tim, has a constructed a purpose built room.  He is planning to model specific scenes from the the D&RGW through Tennessee Pass in Colorado, and Helper, in Utah.  The scenery is no where near as advanced as Tim's.  

The trackplan - drawn on graph paper.  Every grid is 125mm square

2 layers of blue foam board glued together are quite stiff enough to not sag under the weight of locomotives.  Steve also makes use of the space under the layout for plastic trays (bought at Bunnings), to keep all his various projects seperated from each other

Inspiration from photographs is taken to the next level, as these pictures will form the template for the actual scenes to be modelled.  

The pictures for "Helper-Utah"

Steve ran a train around the layout for me.  Steve generally only heavily details the first locomotive in the lash-up, the other engines get weathering and not much else.  This is one "trick" that saves Steve modelling time. 

The staging tracks are accessable from the "garage" area of the shed.  The track is protected from the elements by insulated,  drop down covers.  

Steve's interests are varied.  His PE depot scene at the RPM meet would be more at home with these structures.  I have covered another of Steve's layouts - the "Chamatiago & South Western" HOn3  at the 2026 Narrow Gauge convention report earlier.   

Where the magic happens.  Steve's workbench is a masterclass in ergonomics.  Everything needed is close at hand.  And once finished for the day, the 2 doors of the closet are closed, and the room is left neat and tidy.

Mittagong Railway station.

I had a few minutes to spare before my visit to Tim, so I thought I would do a quick photographic survey of the station.  As all the citylink trains had been replaced by buses, I had the station surrounds almost all to myself.

Some renovation was being done to the main building

Elevators were installed on the footbridge in 2020 as part of modernisation

The signal box is well out-of-use, but it rather sad to see broken windows

With all the "rationalization" that the railways are doing, I was surprised to sight a crossover at the down end of the station

The former goods shed.

I was a bit slow to capture the AK inspection train as it approached the station, but did manage a pair of pictures of it leaving.

Powering away, GM10, and GM22 head towards Sydney

Summary

The pair of layout visits was a great way to finish the RPM meet weekend.  Not only did I meet some wonderful modellers, I have gained some excellent ideas that will help me with my own modelling.

I undertsand that Justin Michell is planning another RPM meet next year on April 10, and trying to coinicide the even with layout visits, and possible operation days before, and after the April 10.   I would suggest that you mark the date in your calendar.

Thank you to Tim and Steve for hosting my visit.  I found both layouts inspirational.

Until next time, build a model or two.