The ECOFAB grain hopper roof

 Repurposing railway wagons - modelling the ECOFAB grain hopper roof

SSR BGKF #1220 R in Junee in October 2026, has been fitted with an ECOFAB roof, and adorned with graffiti

 Far too many years ago, I acquired a dozen NHFF Auscision coal hoppers, to run on the (then being built) Yendys layout.  For reasons that are too complicated for this forum, my hopper models were  never commissioned, and have sat around in their boxes.  What to do with them?  As far as I know there is no requirement for unit coal trains to run through Wagga in the future, although Inland Rail might have other ideas.  

Auscison packaging in 2006 was more compact than today.  And they offered undecorated hoppers for a considerable discount over the decorated hoppers.

It is interesting to see what parts are metal, and what parts are plastic.  The discharge doors are all metal castings, and add good weight to the hopper

However, the railways may have already provided an answer.  SSR (Southern Shorthaul Railroad) have bought quite a number of surplus coal hoppers, and impressed them for grain traffic with the BGKF code..  How accurate is the NHFF compared to the BGKF?  A quick search on the internet found nswgoodsrollingstock.com, and hotboxcontent.com.au, and yes, they are the same design.  SSR had bought 132 coal hoppers for grain haulage. 

The ECOFAB grain hopper roof was first introduced in 2017. It is a fibreglass roof, with a pneumatically lifted hatch cover.  

Some prototype pictures

All the below pictures were taken in Junee in October 2026 from the footpath outside the yard boundary fence. No trespassing.

Not all grain hoppers have an ecofab roof fitted.  The SSR patch is clearly seen on this BGKF wagon without all the graffiti that adorned the others

A slightly different design of coal hopper, with crossways discharge doors.  Coded BHVF

A train of hoppers about to depart.  In the distance is the new Kemp street bridge (subject of a future blog post)

Note: the grain hopper lid is still partially open

Two BGKF wagons - one with a veranda over the end sill tanks (to protect it from the coal loader dumping coal), the other without.  

Not having the end veranda allows a better view of the grain roof lifting mechanism

I took this image on 30x zoom, handheld

BHKF hopper - lacks the SSR decal, and may be newly acquired to replace the 30 BGKF hoppers that have already been lost to accidents.  The triple "bomb-bay" discharge doors are prominent

Modelling.

At the recent Goulburn exhibition, I acquired a broken Auscision coal hopper for a very reasonable $20.  The thought of converting my coal hoppers to grain hoppers had been buzzing around my head for years, and here was a chance to experiment without affecting any future resale value of my boxed coal hoppers.  

Missing both end verandas, steps, ladders, one set of discharge doors, and one internal sloped bulkhead; broken side pipework, & handbrake wheel.  Signs of glue for the two remaining discharge doors having been reattached after falling off. But, 2 good bogies, and couplers.   These hoppers sell new for $75 each (pack of 4 for $300), so $20 was probably a fair price.

Without any of my own pictures of the ecofab roof from above, I checked the internet for prototype images.   Most came from the Auscison website, as Auscision have also started to sell grain hopper wagons with the ecofab roof.  I won't show the Auscsion pictures here, but here are 2 others.

The roof looks fairly easy to fabricate with sheet and strip styrene, although the lifting mechanism detail is a bit poor.  As Auscision pictures also do not show the lifting mechanism in any detail, I toyed with the option to buy a new stand-alone hopper model, adorned with grafitti, selling individually for $100 as a pattern - but that sort of nullifies my desire to save money by repurposing models I already own.  How much detail did auscison put into the lifting mechanims anyway if they didn't highlight it in their pictures?

A new set of discharge doors was made to replace the ones missing on the hopper I bought.  I didn't want to spend a lot of time on this, as it is mostly hidden, so it is made quickly using scrap styrene 

The roof was sized to fit the hopper, and I made educated guesses on the size of the lifting doors.  No rivet detail, as it is barely visible on the prototype picture.  The lifting mechanism is also qute crude but covers the basic shape 

The lower discharge doors are a press fit, but lacks the finesse of the other two.  

Typical viewing angle

The studs for the missing veranda show up white.  The Ecofab roof looks OK, but the same cannot be said for the lifting mechanism.

Conclusion.

I will allow the model to sit for a while.  The ecofab roof doesn't have any positioning lugs, and comes off easily. And I am not convinced with my lifting mechanism, and will probably rework it when I get more information, like dimensions, or plans.  I then need to replace the steps, and handbrake, before painting

It has been a long time between posts, but life gets in the way.  I should have another post soon on the Kemp Street bridge rebuild progress by Inland Rail.   Stay tuned 

Stop press.

A seller has just listed an BGVF auscision grain hopper on ebay, and my questions on how much detail Auscsion have done on the Ecofab roof have been answered.

The lifting mechanism is just like my prototype picture. Well done Auscision

I wonder if Auscision sell the EcoFab roof as a spare part?

Until next time, build a model (or two)

  

The 2026 Goulburn Model Railway Exhibition

 2026 Goulburn Model Expo

Held on the last weekend of August, the Goulburn model expo at the Veolia venue  has again expanded to include a third display hall.  

Goulburn is a railway town.  I have been visiting Goulburn for many decades, and the station area has been a must stop.  I took this picture on Dec 24, 1992, but only got around to scanning my slide in the last few weeks.  Green 4836 is a loco that has appeared in many of my pictures on this blog

Pete, Ben and myself made the trip from Junee on Saturday, rather than our prefered Sunday, as Ben had tour train commitments on Sunday.    

The line to get in the door was long, but was moving quickly.  Pete and myself spent around 15 minutes, whilst Ben found a car spot.

The exhibition was again organised by the Georges River Model Railway club.

After getting through  the door, the crowds dispersed into the cavernous Veolia Arena, Whittaker Stadium, and Pedan Pavillion.   There were around 90 retailers and exhibits in the halls, with coffee, and sausage sizzle vans/stands ouside .  Whilst there was an exhibition guide booklet,  visitors were encouraged to access the information with a QR link to a website.

As I have covered previous years of the Goulburn exhibition, my pictures are generally of new layouts. Links below to my coverage for 2024, and 2025.

https://buildingwagga.blogspot.com/2024/09/goulburn-model-railway-exhibition-2024.html

https://buildingwagga.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-2025-goulburn-model-expo.html

In addition to the model exhibition, the Goulburn Rail Heritage Center was open, and featuring  1076 steam loco, recently restored to operation.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to attend.  

*note. reminder, click on an image to enlarge

The layouts

Amimas Canyon by the Grampian Model Railroaders is an On30 scale freelanced, but based on the RGS railroad in Colorado USA.

----

Amy's Creek by the Sydney N scale Model Railway club is an N scale layout to capture the feeling of a a Victorian high country line.

----

Camden by the NSW N Scale Group, is layout based on the long lost branch line from Campbelltown to Camden, that closed in 1963.

The roadbridge over the Nepean River was shared with the railway.  nb. The loco is not correct

----
Vintage train display by the ACT Vintage Train collectors

These trains were made in the 1950s, and 60s, and still operating as intended.   The 3 rail Hornby Dublo, and 2 rail Hornby and Triang use different tracks, that was one of the steps the manufactures took towards more realism, a trend that has blossumed into the hobby we have today

----

Electric Car Sheds layout by Historic Election traction, showcased models of Sydney's commuter trains.  

----

Chris's Central Station by the Hornby Railway Collector Association displays 3 rail O gauge Hornby trains.

----
Cowan by Richard Ferraro is an N scale layout based on the station just north of Sydney

No doubt of the layout name.  The simple display around the baseboards was effective

Nice to see a NSW N scale layout with catenary.  The station is quite an accurate representation of the prototype

----

Crookwell by Michael Bindley is a HO layout based on the station at the end of the branchline north of Goulburn. The line "closed" in 1985.  I understand that this layout is for sale.

The staging yard is quite simple and compact - suitable for the short length trains that were being run. 

A CPH railmotor exits the tunnel hiding the staging yard.  Having the baseboards angled gets away from the normal baseboard design  

----

Dilemma Depot by Mark Petersen is a small diesel locomotive depot featuring engines from North America.  Small layouts like this can be built in a small room, but later incorporated into a larger layout, should space become available

The trackplan is fairly simple.

----

Eurobodalla by the Eurobodalla Model railway club has made the trip up the mountain from Batemans Bay.  The layout is freelance, on a "what might have been" extension of the railway, south of Nowra. HO scale 

----

"Free Form" by the Illawarra Model Railway Club has also made the trip up the mountain, but this time from the Wollongong area.  The layout is actually a collection of modules built by members, who come together to assemble what was an enormous railway.  Some of the modules were seen last year, and many of the new modules were early in the scenery stage.

Balloon loop turnback section 

----

Gadgerrie West by the Victorian N scale Collective is a large N scale layout depicting the spaciousness of Western Victoria

----

Minimbah by Brian Kirkman & Kevin Dickinson is an N scale layout loosely based on a western NSW location.  The baseboards are IKEA plinth Bases that made construction quick and easy.

----

Mungo Scotts by the Sydney Model Railway Society is a HO scale layout based on the real location on the former metropolitan goods line

The catenary construction is first class, as it closely matches NSW style

----

Penny B. Railroad by David & Penny Bird is an N scale version of part of the island of Sodor.  Penny is one of the talented youngsters the hobby, and constructed most of the scenery, with help from her dad.  

----

Strathburn by Junction Hobbies.  A large S.A.R. proto freelanced HO layout, featuring trains from SAR, NSW, and Victoria

----

Tulong by the Hills Model Railway Society Inc is a NSW freelance layout, set around the steam to diesel transition

----

Wallington Road by the Sydney N scale Model Railway Club is a British outline N scale layout

N scale, and big landscapes go together.  This scene was pretty effective.

High speed trains were not stopping at this station.

----

Wumbat built by Daniel Thomson, displayed by Mark Chamberlain is a display layout, with a S008 silo on a small siding

The layout lighting in the pelmet wasn't working unfortunately. 

----

Yendys by the ACT Model Railway society.  This layout is getting a bit long in the tooth, but it was my last project with the Society before I moved to Junee, so seeing it again brought back memories.

A 3 car set crosses the flooded drain scene.  3 car sets were not common, but may be coming from the Carlingford line?

"U boat" trundling over the bridge

When I designed "Yendys", I wanted a small maintenance area where electric trains could be stabled as moveable scenery, particularly as there was never enough tracks in the fiddle yard for all the short electric trains that members owned.   I was encouraged to view this 'V set' interurban being moved off the main lines to this location.  

Other displays

Task Force 72, is a display of model ships, and submarines in 1:72 scale.  Most of these vessels are radio controlled, and whilst the modelling was exquisite, they would have been more at home on the water.  The models are owned by members of the 'Taskforce 72 Scale Model Ship Association', who have travelled from many parts of Australia to contribute to the display

----

Little Big Rigs from Sydney occupied a large area in Hall 3, where the group had set up a simulated roadway, and industrial complex to enable the radio controlled 1:14 scale model trucks to perform for the crowd. 

----

Goulburn-Crookwell Heritage Railway had a small display, including a pair  of railway 'trikes', that are used to ride the rails close to Crookwell station on the former branch line running from Goulburn to Crookwell. 

A custom pedal powered "trike" is a neat idea to enjoy the line, whilst getting exercise

Retailers

There were around 35 stands selling something.  Many of the larger ones were mentioned/pictured in previous Goulburn exhibition reports, and of the rest, too many people mulling around for an effective picture.  However, here are but a few.  

Eureka Models were selling exquiste models of NSW locomotives, and rollingstock

Pauls 3D prints had made the trip from Victoria.  Paul's range is now growing as Paul is now full time with the business.   

Railmotor Models now has a new owner, and James is expanding the range to include railway merchandise, not just models. 

VIP Hobbies from Wagga, is an online hobby store, agent for SMS paints, had a good range of Peco track. 

On Track Models had the pilot model of their new PN 94 class on display.  The real locomotives only started being delivered in 2024, and will eventually be a class of 50 locomotives

After the exhibition - on the way home

We had to fuel the car, and the cheapest station in Goulburn was the Metro, on Braidwood road.  Evidence of the former long siding that paralled Braidwood road towards the showground, and the stub siding for the former Mobil fuel depot.

Much of the infrastructure for the fuel siding was still in situ, and could be used for modelling purposes

We did a minor detour to Yass Junction, to view the recently repaired, and repainted signal box

The signal box is heritage listed, but all the levers are no longer connected to the points and signals.  This was the view through the window

Yass Junction station at dusk.

Conclusion

Georges River Model Railway club have again excelled with this exhibition.  The extra hall allowed all exhibits to be spread out, and made space for the very large Free Formal layout, and Little Big Rigs exhibits.  Going back to a single booklet this year (hefty sixty A5 pages), was better than the 2 booklets last year (one for each hall).  The booklet included details of the exhibits, as well as a list of sponsors, and many adverts.  I used the booklet to help me compile my notes.

My purchases for the day were modest.  A couple of books from Southern Cross, and Junction Models, a set of three BBW from IDR, some underfloor manual point throws from Will James, and a  broken Auscision coal hopper for $20 from Junction Models.

To all the layout exhibitors, traders, and sponsors, including local businesses in Goulburn, I thank you for a wonderful day.

On the way home.

After Yass Junction, we continued to Harden, and once again, had an excellent meal at the Harden Chinese Restaurant.  

Until next time, build a model (or two).

After Yass Junction, onto Harden, where we again had a great meal at the Harden Chinese Restaurant.  Here is the short soup, starter dish.  Delicious