{"id":195407,"date":"2025-04-04T15:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T05:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=d2edc888a7917210f9385f3887eeacaa"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T05:08:00","slug":"kaleen-exhibition-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=195407","title":{"rendered":"Kaleen Exhibition – 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canberra Model Railway Club’s 2025 36th “Model Railway Expo” <\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

I remember way back into the late 1980s,  a new model railway exhibition started in Canberra, being run at the Wesley Churches Centre in Barton over Easter.  That exhibition  was organised  by a small number of enthusiasts, rather than an established model railway club.  Over time, the Canberra Model Railway club was invited to join the group, and it later became the primary partner.  After 2 moves, and a date change, first to the Lyneham Hockey Centre, and then Kaleen High School, the Expo has continued to florish as a major exhibition on the last weekend of March.<\/p>\n

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Standard gauge converted R766 rests in Junee roundhouse, just back after a weekend of picnic train shuttle trips at Albury, on the same weekend as Kaleen Exhibition.  This is the first time a Victorian Railways steam locomotive has spent time at the roundhouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Pete, and myself travelled the 225km across to Canberra for the exhibition, without Ben, as he was involved with the Albury picnic train that weekend.<\/p>\n

The exhibition featured 34 layouts,  25 commercial exhibitors, plus a CMRI secondhand table, and various displays<\/p>\n

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Glasson <\/b><\/i>returned for its second year.  It is an O scale NSW prototype layout, recently featured in Australian Model Railway magazine.  The layout consists of a small terminus station, with a few industrial sidings.  A fiddleyard contains the trains “the rest of the world”  Operators run through a sequence of moves that takes well over half an hour, and can be very entertaining to watch.<\/p>\n

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Bogie and 4 wheel cattle wagons await loading.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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A NSWGR 49 class shunts a HG guards van<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I have more pictures of Glasson in my 2024 reports from Kaleen, and Goulburn exhibitions<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/buildingwagga.blogspot.com\/2024\/04\/a-visit-to-kaleen.html<\/p>\n
https:\/\/buildingwagga.blogspot.com\/2024\/09\/goulburn-model-railway-exhibition-2024.html<\/p>\n
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The Canberra Society of Model and Experimental Engineers display<\/i><\/b> was quite interesting<\/div>\n
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A number of small steam engines were running on compressed air<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Large scale rollingstock for the CSMEE outside track<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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A 1:12 scale model of the PS Enterprize, a paddlesteamer that steams on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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A live steam locomotive in an inspection cradle, gives a good view of the chassis, for maintenance, and repair<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Rather Small Japan, <\/i><\/b>by Chris Bertthold,  was a collection of small tabletop layouts, 2 of which are shown here.  Beautifully sceniced<\/p>\n

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Electric Car Sheds<\/i><\/b> by NSW Suburban Historic Electric Traction.  The layout shows in miniature, a Sydney electric train maintenance centre<\/div>\n

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Yendys<\/b><\/i> by the ACT Model Railway Society again was displayed.  I designed this layout in 2003, to represent a suburban Sydney railway, to appeal to audiences that had little affinity with NSW country railway layouts, that were dominating the exhibition scene at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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The layout was spit into 2 main viewable areas – the LHS was an industrial area, with a small maintenance facility, to display trains as foreground scenery.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Half way, the topology rises, and in typical Sydney function, a bridge crosses the tracks.  Both buildings at the rear were built by me from DPM and Smalltown kits, and furnished with awnings.  The paling fence was also made with individual boards.  Further detailing from members of the ACTMRS have added to the effect.  Disappointingly, the gap between the layout sections has widened in the years since the layout was built – one of the disadvantages in using timber framing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The right hand side was to represent a town center, with flats, shops, parks, and an elevated station building.  The flooded drain, and roadways was inspired by Bardwell Valley creek where Bexley Rd crosses over the railway, to immediately decend into a flood zone. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Binalong <\/i><\/b>by the Epping Model Railway Club is a miniature representation of the real Binalong on the main southern railway line, south of Yass.  The track layout, buildings and structures are fairly accurate on how the station looked in the 1980s, before being “modernised and improved” by the Railway department. <\/div>\n
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A SMR 10 class with 4 wheel coal wagons approaches the Illalong ballast siding.  Not very prototypical, but many members of the younger public will love counting the coal wagons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The stockyards, and goods shed.  The backscene was a painted vinyl curtain, which is light, and portable for efficient transportation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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A 36class steam engine, and goods train heading south, passes the station.  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Tannochbrae<\/b><\/i> by the Sydney N scale model Railway Society, was a simple layout, that could be built by the average hobbist, with a bit of imagination.  <\/p>\n

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What I liked was the attention to detail, scottish pipes played quietly in the background, scenery reminded me of the highlands, the name of the layout on the lighting valence, and the tartan curtin below the baseboard.  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Cockle Creek<\/i><\/b> missed being listed in the handout booklet, but as a layout, it was well worth viewing.  It represents the 4 track mainline into the Hunter Valley, with 2 lines for the coal trains, and 2 for the others.  The N scale trains were running faultlessly, and were frequent<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The mainline station has an architecture style that was common in the 1920-30s.  The coal trains are seperated behind the station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Differing bridge styles, and the offset tracks add much visual interest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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