Model Trains and Things

There was a time when the steelworks in Newcastle and Port Kembla were hives of industry served by an amazing fleet of industrial locomotives ranging from chunky saddle tank locomotives to unusual diesels that came from various manufacturers.

Today the steelworks and their locomotive fleet are gone. The steelworks in Port Kembla are still in production and the plant is still served by an interesting collection of locomotives but Pacific National now have the contract to operate the industrial network so thinks are likely to change.

Back in 1995 and 1997 things were different though and Brad Peadon shot these photos.

BHP 16 was deep in the steelworks at Port Kembla in October 1995. This loco was the first of 12 English Electric locomotives that began arriving in 1959. They’re powered by a 635kW/850HP EE 8SRKT engine.

Now lets head north to Newcastle and November 1997.

BHP 48 was one of 22 locomotives built by Goninan’s at Broadmeadow. These were introduced in 1960 and used within the plant on various duties. When the Newcastle steelworks closed a number of the locos were offered for sale and BHP 48 was purchased by Manildra Flour Mills.

These days it wears a nice shade of blue and is numbered MM04.

BHP 53 was from the same group as the previous loco. When the steelworks closed this loco was passed to the Richmond Vale Railway where it’s reportedly preserved in an operational condition.

The majority of these locomotives were powered by a Cummins diesel but both 48 and 53 were part of a small group that were powered by a Rolls Royce diesel. Both the Cummins and the Rolls Royce units produce 403kW/540HP.

If you’ve been waiting for ready-to-run Australian N scale to arrive before you switched to Australian prototype modeling then you’re wait is over.

This is the Aust N Rail GY wagon and it’s available now in red or yellow.

You can find out more about this landmark model at the Aust N Rail site and order direct from the site too.

It’s an interesting question that popped up yesterday when I got together with two other Aussie modellers here in Hervey Bay. It’s the first time this loner has come in from the cold in over 10 years and it’s the first time in those 10 years that I’ve taken a good look at some of the current offerings from three of the top manufacturers.

I have to say that I was amazed at the level of detail that’s now appearing on locos and rolling stock from Austrains, Powerline and Eureka. Ten years ago much of what appears to be common today was only being applied by those who really wanted to get into super-detailing.

Brake hoses, doors that opened, hatches and hopper doors that opened, brake hangers, rear-view mirrors, antennas and a quite a few other bits and pieces really caught my eye and almost made me want to go back to HO. But then one of the guys I was with asked me an interesting question.

He asked me if I thought perhaps we were going too far with the detail on the locos and rolling stock. He asked me if I had models like that would I ever let my grandkids play with them and I had to admit that, never mind my grandkids, I wasn’t prepared to touch these models myself.

He then asked me another interesting question. By adding all this wonderful detail and then not being prepared to let our kids or grandkids play with the models have we reached the point where we’ll never attract younger people to the hobby?

Looking at the prices of what’s basically a plastic model I have to wonder if we’re not pricing new people out of the hobby. And frankly, I can see some things that might be more beneficial than all that detail.

How about directional lighting? It’s not rocket science and it’s not expensive. Slightly above entry-level N Scale locomotives were being produced with directional lighting 15 years ago and yet today we have the Eureka Garrat that doesn’t have directional lighting.

How about operating tail lights in the guard’s vans instead of having doors that vibrate open?

Operating roof hatches and hopper doors are amazing but who bothers to open and close them? Wouldn’t more realistically painted bogies be better than ones that look cheap and plastic because they’ve been cast in yellow?

Somewhere along the way I think the hobby has been shunted off into a very long siding that’s going to finish up going no where. Instead of producing models that are going to keep on developing more and more demand in an expanding marketplace the manufacturers seem to be trying to out-do one another with details that appeal to an ever diminishing market.