The 'modern era' comes to Lambing Flat: Indian red diesels.

With all the lovely r-t-r models becoming available over the last couple of years suited to the 1960s/1970s era, it has been hard to resist the temptation and stay true to Lambing Flat's 1950s steam era ambiance. In fact, it has been impossible! Especially as I have clear memories of the late 1960s and the 1970s with lots of lovely Indian red diesels and interesting bogie rolling stock rushing past on the Main South around Harden (I lived at Young until I came to Sydney in 1977).

While the steam era will always be my first love, a bit of Indian red and some 'high wheeler' bogie vehicles have started to appear on the layout.

The oldest diesel on the layout is this Traino 44 class, which has been around for well over 10 years. All the locomotives have been weathered to represent their appearance as they were in the 1960s/1970s, a bit scruffy and grubby, but not the utter decrepitude that crept in through the 1980s. They are all weathered with Tamiya and Aqueous Hobby Color acrylics, diluted in Isocol alcohol for spraying.

The second oldest diesel is this Austrains 442, but it hasn't run since 2006, as I haven't got around to fitting a chip yet.

Another diesel that has been around for a while is this Trainorama 49, which has been backdated to 1960s condition by painting out the post 1979 yellow buffers and the post 1970s silver painted handrails on the end steps. It has just been lightly weathered as, during the 1960s, Parkes Depot looked after them very well and they were always in very good condition.

My very favourite diesels are the 421, so I was very pleased when Auscision released their magnificent model, which needed no modification other than a spot of weathering. As with all the 'working' diesels, it has been fitted with a Loksound chip, in this case loaded with the sound files sold be DCC Sound in Victoria. Not only does it look fantastic, it sounds fantastic as well!

Another shot of a beautiful locomotive.

Another loco I have a definite 'soft spot' for is the 422 class. This is another Auscision model, lightly weathered to represent a loco that has only been in service for a couple of months. It is also fitted with a Loksound chip loaded with DCC Sounds' files.

Another shot of 42201, waiting to depart 'New Yard' with bogie stock. Future posts will feature more of my bogie stock and bring the 'New Yard' story up to date.

Yet another shot of 42201 in the yard (on a different day!), standing next to another recent diesel, an Auscision 45 class, a very fine example of another locomotive class that I am very fond of. 

The 45 is a little more heavily weathered, as the locomotive is in mid-1970s condition (I was too slow and missed out on a 1960s version, they were all sold out!) 

There is also a Trainorama 48 class, but that has not been weathered yet, though it trundles around quite nicely, making suitable 48 class sounds, courtesy of its DCC Sounds-loaded chip!

Steam and diesel quite happily co-exists on the layout, as can be seen here with Austrains 3610 about to be assisted out of the yard by Trainorama 4910!

The next post (whenever that might be) should feature some of the bogie rolling stock that has recently joined the roster.

Bowen Creek at the Thornleigh exhibition.

Andrew Campbell and Ian Millard's Bowen Creek was exhibited at the Thornleigh exhibition over the June long weekend. It looks fantastic and runs very well. I photographed it on Friday evening for a future article for AMRM. Here is one of the images.

On Sunday I also took some video with my old digital camera (it is much better for video than my 'work' camera). It's up on Youtube already!

It is a wonderful layout, it captures that '1970s' look to perfection, and it is well worth a long look!

From the vaults-4: Diesel era on Lambing Flat.

I've always tried to keep a consistent era on Lambing Flat, though I haven't always succeeded! Ostensibly, the layout is set in the mid-1950s, but with my excursions into pre-WW2 models and the fabulous r-t-r early diesel era models that have come onto the market over the last couple of years, LF's timeframe has 'stretched' a little.

However, while rollingstock can be taken on and off the layout to suit a particular timeframe, the fixed infrastructure can't, and so it is the buildings and other infrastructure that really sets the timeframe of a layout, rather than the rollingstock. Luckily for my preferred eras, NSWGR branchline infrastructure didn't change all that much from the early years of the 20th century till the mid-1970s, so I can 'stretch' my timeframe a little without having to call in the Detail Police and arrest myself!

About the latest I can go with levels of traffic I prefer to run is about 1974, when the 'fuel crisis' of the time gave the Department an excuse to cut most branchline passenger services. Once the passenger services went, the rot really set in, with the beginning of wholesale demolition of buildings and progressive reduction in services till, by the late 1980s, just about everything had gone; freight, stock and all, with the only thing left on most branchlines being bulk wheat. Even that went in most places eventually, leaving very little of the former extensive NSW branchline network intact by the 2000s.

So here is another photo 'from the vaults' (this one was taken on 30 December 2005, before the layout went DCC), showing Trainorama 4429 arriving at Lambing Flat, circa 1970-72, with the remnants of the Mail. (Click through for a bigger view.)

The train, as was typical of the period, has an MLV (Rails North epoxy kit) for parcels, and FS and BS (modified Trax) for the sitting passengers, then an EHO (see EHO1473, or is it 1469? earlier in this blog) for the guard and more parcels, then an ACM (Rails North epoxy kit) for the few remaining sleeping car passengers, with a CR (Workshop 5 epoxy kit) bringing up the rear with the through passengers to Murringo (the car will be detached and added to the Murringo Mixed after the 44 class has run around. The 48 class hauled Murringo Mixed will then enter the platform once the Mail has departed for Cowra). The yard is very quiet, a few S trucks at the goods shed in No.1 siding, while a K truck is being loaded with wool in the back road. The old D truck, of no use now that there is no steam locomotive ash to distribute as ballast along the pioneer line to Murringo, will soon disappear from the scene, probably sent to Junee to be burnt.

This was the how things looked at the very end of the NSWGR era. With the advent of the PTC and then the SRA, the passenger service will be cut back severely, then replaced with a road coach, the general goods and stock traffic will be abandoned and all that will be left will be bulk wheat and the occasional enthusiast tour...