Queensland's
Rail Heritage

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  7mm model of Nambour's Coolum at the Brisbane Train Show 2002
 

 


CaneSIG (cane railway modelling resources)

Div 1 AR: NMRA (National Model Railroad Association, Australasian region) and Mainline Magazine

RMCQ: Railway Modellers' Club of Queensland

1:48 Special Interest Group

Iredale on the Toowoomba Ranges

Modelling Queensland Rail in On42 (& On15, On24)

Model Railroading at the Workshops Museum (Ipswich)

MELSA: Model Engineers and Live Steamers Association

Modelling the Railways of Queensland Convention

Qld Model Trains Group (Internet)

AMRM: Australian Model Railway Magazine

NGDU: Narrow Gauge Down Under Magazine

Sources of Queensland-specific model materials

10th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention, at the Workshops Rail Museum in Ipswich, Queensland, 22-23 April 2011. Download the form to register your interest.

 

Modelling Queensland's railways...

Model building provides a way for everyone to help save our railway heritage. Some model layouts are open to the public, others are in private homes... but many modellers also participate in exhibitions and other public events.
    Both Queensland Rail (QR) (and the private operators accessing QR's track) and the cane railways use a 'narrow' gauge in railway terms. The QR track gauge is primarily 3' 6" and the cane railways are primarily 2' gauge. The operating equipment is generally smaller than on the larger gauge railways but the system lengths and tonnage hauled make both very large railway systems indeed.
    QR, and its predecessor Queensland Government Railways (QGR), is often modelled in S scale with 16.5mm track (ie Sn3.5 designating the narrow gauge) to represent the narrow gauge and use resources (HO mechanisms, etc.) at a reasonable price.
    HO models (HOn3.5) are also available and use track spaced at 12mm to represent the narrow gauge. In both cases models sitting on standard gauge bogies and using standard gauge track fail to properly capture the 'Queensland' look.
    Cane railway modellers primarily work in HO using a 9mm track gauge (ie HO scale dimensions but with the same track gauge as N, called HOn30 or OO9) or 7mm/O using 16.5mm track (ie either European or American O scale but using the same track gauge as HO).
    There aren't a lot of commercial Queensland profile models available (see sources at left), thus most modellers do at least some scratch-building.

     

qldrailheritage.com site developed and maintained for Queensland's rail heritage providers. Contents provided for non-commercial use only and are copyright © A C Lynn Zelmer or as indicated. Page last updated: 9/03/10 [lz].