A "PC1" On Steroids

All,

As the mercury nudges towards 40 degrees... I found solace inside with the air-con cranked up & the cricket acting as background noise while researching some more local railwayana.  The subject of this second post for the day could also border on another Ripleys.

Picture yourself at an exhibition & you came across this cameo scene on someone's layout... Your first thoughts would probably be... has the guy gone mad!!!.  Well as is often the case with railway infrastructure sometimes fact is certainly stranger than fiction.

This scene only captured earlier this week is located next to the up main adjacent to the site of the long gone Goulburn North signal box & between the station proper & the Blackshaw Rd level crosssing which is just out of view to the right of shot.

The "buildings" are owned by the Goulburn Bowling Club & i believe are used for general storage & greenkeeping equipment.  Apart from the shemozzle of precast & weatherboard components... the origins of at least one of the items is very interesting.

The PC1 station building was ( widely believed ) salvaged from the site of Willigam on the long closed  Taralga Line.
Willigam was the first station reached on the branch,  after the Taralga Line branched from the Goulburn to Crookwell line at Roslyn.  Modifications to the original structure have taken place over the years as evidenced by the photograph.

For those interested Willigam was roughly 2 miles from Roslyn & the "station" consisted of a 120' platform with a PC1 station building for passenger accomodation located on the Up side of the line with a loop line on the down side.  There was a loading bank opposite the platform on the loop with a sleeper stage at the Taralga end of the loop.

The Taralga branch closed to traffic in May 1957 ( opened in Feb 1926 ) with the rails etc removed some time in 1959.  

The Crookwell line remained open until the last "commercial movement" to & from Crookwell from Goulburn in March 1984.

I hope this post does offer a source of inspiration for a cameo here & there that will take care of the bits & pieces we all accumulate in the modelling junk draw!!!  Certainly a great scene if modelled in low relief between the track & the backdrop.

Regards,
Rod

Ripley's...Believe It Or Not...

Hi All,

Yeh i know the post titles don't get any better...but i have a Ripley's story that is hard to believe.

I love to research out rail related industries, both from the rail & the social aspect. As most of my earlier life being spent living & working in Botany... I had researched the Botany Line to death... now living in Goulburn has given me a blank canvas & a different perspective on life...Suburban Vs Rural

This infatuation with research also aids my decision making process in the model room & layout building...although the research definitely takes up the time that could be spent on the layout...hmmm an enjoyable conundrum.

When i first started frequenting Goulburn well before i moved here, one of the dominant features of the trackside infrastructure & the skyline was the old flour mill. This mill & associated site has a history to be believed & has been a cornerstone of my research for the last few years.

I guess i should begin by "siting" the mill to put this story into perspective. The mill is situated immediately adjacent to the up main around 400 metres north of Goulburn Station on the up side of the main running lines, just beyond the Blackshaw Rd Level Crossing. The rear of the plant faces the railway while the front faces Sloane St.

From a railway perspective the flour mill was served by a dead end siding that was reached by shunting movements leaving the yard travelling north via the North Shunting Neck, (which paralleled the up main ) crossing over the level crossing then a hundred metres ( approx ) further on running through a set of trailing points which served the mill...from this point the shunting neck was known as the Weighbridge Rd & over the years this road was extended to a point just beyond the Cole St overbridge.....

Mill History...

The site originally was home to a fully enclosed public swimming baths that boasted gas lighting & a smokers room in the tower that was built & opened in 1892 & was designed by Goulburn architect E.C. Manfred who was also responsible for designing a fair few local landmark buildings.

The baths & site were sold in 1906 to William Connolly who already operated the Argyle Flour Mills elsewhere in Goulburn. He set about building a modern flourmill which incorporated the baths building in the finished mill. The actual pool was just covered over with floorboards & the building put to work.

At the time, the mill was one of the largest & most modern equipped mills in the country area of NSW. The Peerless brand of flour it produced was reputedly world renown for quality & was exported to a fair few overseas countries.

The mill survived into the early 1970s when closure took effect & in the late 70s the site was sold to a local family who after making some significant changes & additions to some buildings, installed a 14 lane Ten Pin Bowling Alley & the old public baths area was converted into a roller skating rink... Yes the mill was now a leisure centre!!!

Another transformation of the mill took place in latter years where the bowling alley was dismantled & removed & the whole building including the pool area was reopened by the same family as a retail furniture business.

The furniture business relocated to new premises at the beginning of 2011 & as i write this post the whole site is laying empty & for sale. While the main buildings are heritage listed it will be interesting to see what becomes of the site & associated buildings as it looks for another chapter in it's already incredibly diverse life.

For those who are interested... Yes the pool still exists under the floorboards of the building that housed it.  I have been priveleged to have stuck my head underneath the boards & witness this remarkable feature....still very much intact.

So... where else would a public baths have been transformed into an integral part of a flour mill...then the whole site play it's part as a leisure centre & later be the home of a furniture store???

This shot is taken from the Blackshaw Rd level crossing & shows the rear of the main mill building. Of interest is the single level building at left of shot extending along the street side with the tower in the distance.  This is the building that housed the original public swimming baths & later the roller skating rink

A wider shot this time showing the newer building addition at right of shot.  This building was added to house the bowling alley, plant room & other services

A view of behind the bowling alley addition showing all of what is left of the flour mill siding alignment & infrastructure.  There is evidence of loading dock remnants & steps etc below the wire fence in the middle of the shot

I would love to acknowledge credit  for this photo...but have no idea of the photographer etc...

While this shot may be out of sequence... it is a useful comparison with the next shot...

Taken from Sloane St is an overall view of the front of the site. I believe taken in around the early 1940s

The main mill building is obvious while the building at right housed the original public baths & later a roller skating rink.  The signwritten shed & the elevator / silo complex were demolished to make way for the new addition that housed the bowling alley & carpark.

Taken from the same location as the previous shot albeit some 70 odd years later...

 

The entrance to the original public baths is at far left adjacent to the tower which once contained the " smokers room"

The bowling alley was housed in the long building extending from centre to right of shot.

 

Visible on the roof of the main mill building is the support structure for the now removed water tank...While not visible in the previous shot it was added & removed in the intervening years.  

A New Arrival...

All,

As alluded to in last night's post.... The Timber Water Tank Stand kits are complete & ready to go...Only 6 weeks late!!!....a marathon 4 day & night effort has the first run packed and awaiting their new homes.

A last minute order from the U.S. for a fair quantity of kits, destined for retail sale,  set the cat amongst the pigeons. I am told this style of water tank stand was used in some parts of the U.S. & as a casual observer of happenings over there...I was not in a position to argue the point.  They were added to the manufacturing list... are now on their way & do not impact on the local first run quantity available.

Kit Box Lid Graphics...

There are some details & changes to the kit i would like to cover in this post...

1. The replacement floor for the Casula Hobbies tank ( as discussed in an earlier post ) is now a feature of all kits.  It was just too difficult to predict which tank people would use in the long term... so why not just add it to all kits.

2. The one piece bearer & column assembly has been the main feature of this kit.  As basswood is relatively fragile we have lasered the components incorporating retaining frets & these will be supplied in 2 sheets each containing two assemblies per kit.  This should ensure that the components reach the customer undamaged...As stated in the kit instructions...care & patience needs to be taken when assembling these components as the bearer is oriented across the grain with the columns lasered along the grain.  Across the grain being the fragile plane... The only other option was to supply all the columns & bearers as individual components.  This option would entirely destroy the magic of this kit & would make accuracy in construction very difficult & tedious. When the components are installed to the base & the joists added, a very strong base is the end result.

   


3. The final retail price has caused me some angst & while i hoped to be able to send to market at under $35.00 inclusive... Reality has to come to the fore & we have had to adopt a price of $37.50 with an expectation of sales at around 250 units long term.... So the price will be $37.50....

For the moment we will remain selling on ebay & look at other avenues in the future.  We can announce though that this kit & soon the entire range will be available through Gwydir Valley Models....this should take effect when Warren reopens in mid January.

Kits Earmarked For Warren at Gwydir Valley Models...

For those of you who have emailed during the last few months regarding this kit....please accept this posting as a notice of the impending release of the kit.  We will allow the new year to ring in & then list on ebay around the 2nd January...To give those people a chance to catch up...

These kits are not a "limited edition".... they will be available on a permanent basis & if sales mean we exhaust our stock earlier than anticipated... do not worry there will be more available..... We will also be taking feedback for development of other designs of timber stands... There was plenty of variations & i have a feeling we may have more choices for tanks in the future???!!!

Even though we are a tiny player in the world of model railways...I am excited about this kit & hope that it fills a void in the market & means that all modellers who have had tank kits or completed units laying around in the " to do" bin can look forward to actually installing 1 or 2 completed water tanks & timber stands on their layouts..... It has been an enjoyable experience developing this kit!!!

Now To The Layout Room!!!!

Regards,
Rod
 


  

A Modelling Proposition...With Butter

All,

It has been a while between posts...A fact i have been reminded about quite a number of times.  One email arrived with the subject heading " Is Anybody There" & that was the sum total of the email!!!

The normal lead up to Christmas around here normally means that business drops off around 1st week of December as clients start to get into the festive mood & oil company budgets dry up & does not pick up again until late January... I like it like that!!!  Not so this year & indeed there is still a backlog of work which has only been tempered by an announcement that we were closing until mid January.  While not technically correct...This was the only way to buy some time to get the gestation period of at least one kit finalised & hopefully leave time to catch up with other matters.

To that end i can state that the Timber Elevated Tank Stand kits have been finalised with packing taking place today & should be completed tomorrow... There will be a separate blog post to deal with this issue tomorrow night. 

Now to the reason for this post...

There has been a lot written in the past couple of years about oil or petrol depots from a modelling perspective & this obviously has coincided with the multitude of releases of rail tank wagons.  Like any self respecting layout builder, I will
of course be adding at least 2 or 3 depots on my layout.  These additions will also be a labour of love as most of my earlier working life was spent in petroleum & petrochemical depots & terminals.

In the quest to research what is left of the local depots i came across another industry in Goulburn that was unintentionally intertwined with at least one oil depot.  This fascinating little branch ( should be classified as a twig ) or gaggle of sidings located within a hundred or so metres of Goulburn Station is steeped with industry & does present a very real possibility to be incorporated into at least my layout....

The location is just south of Goulburn Station ( on the down side of the mainline ) & branches off  the still utilised South Shunting Neck...although nowadays this neck really only serves as a non mainline link from the workshops & roundhouse to the yard ajacent to the station proper.  The branch leaves the neck via a facing point to the left, leaves the mainline corridor & travels down the left or eastern side of Bungonia Rd.  The branch once served at least 3 oil depots, a sawtooth shed that once housed an animal skin warehouse & a Butter Factory.

The only remnants left along this branch are the Mobil Depot ( in early days the Vacuum Oil Depot ) & the Butter Factory.  Sadly of course none are now served by rail with the branch truncating over the years & ultimately closing sometime in the early 80s with Mobil being the last customer.  Nevertheless there is still plenty of evidence of this once relatively busy rural industrial area.

I spent a few days researching & photographing the location recently & have added some photos that may spark some discussion & hopefully some inspiration for others.

The general location of the branch... to the left in the up direction ( just out of shot ) is the station proper
& main line ( down ) to Albury travels out of picture to the right 

         

 The branch leaves the shunting neck just beyond Baxters Boots & another set of points beyond a gate at the start of Bungonia Road marked the entrance to the Mobil Depot...  behind this depot was the Butter Factory which had earlier on one & then two sidings.  Back on the branch proper... it can be seen that the line then serviced another two depots before terminating at the end of the street.  Some locals have told me that the siding extended beyond what is shown above to a sand quarry a little further on but i am yet to find any solid evidence of this at this stage.

Where it all begins... the points to the branch leaving the shunting neck... the main lines in the background
Goulburn Station just out of view in the top right of the photo....behind the photographer is the points serving the Mobil Depot
& branch continuation.  

 

Same location as the last shot athough in the opossite direction with the Mobil siding ( which also served the Butter Factory in earlier days ) curving away to the left & the branch proper at bottom of shot .
 

The most interesting aspect of this shot is the siding which once served the Mobil Depot....once served the Butter Factory located behind the depot.  The shed with roof just visible to the left of the distant telegraph pole now sits on the alignment of the siding extension to the Butter factory.

 

This shot is taken further down the branch extension looking back to the site of the last photo.  The road in the foreground leads from Bungonia Road to the Butter Factory at the rear of the Mobil Depot.  As the branch crosses this access road it also marks the end of any real visible traces of the branch extension beyond this point.

This shot is from Bungonia Rd looking down the access road to the Butter Factory... Mobil perimeter at left with Sophie standing where the branch extension once crossed the access road.  The shed to the mid left is now standing on the Butter Factory siding alignment.

Further on down the access road toward the Butter Factory reveals the remnants of at least one siding. To my left was located a set of points that split the sidings with the visible track serving a small shed used for coal unloading & storage for the boiler  & the other siding to the left leading to a loading dock which is now covered in & its entrance marked by the signwriting on the front wall & some marks in the tar road in front.    

A closer view of the Butter Factory showing where one siding served the now closed in loading dock...which extended the full lenght of the building side.... The coal siding is just visible at bottom right.

To give some idea of the output of this factory... In 1907 under the ownership of the Argyle Cooperative Central Dairy Co. the output for the year was 262.5 tons of butter ( an increase of 10 tons over the previous year ) with 230 boxes of butter being exported to old mother England.

The history of the Butter Factory was a checkered one with it closing & reopening on numerous occasions & this was governed primarily by the farmers moving from dairy operations to wool & beef as the prices ( and expected profits ) fluctuated. Obviously weather & rainfall patterns would have been a governing influence as well.

Another view of the Butter Factory showing the architectural aspects... The dock was used for road transport.

The Butter Factory was also used as a Dairy Farmers milk depot in later years.

It has been the home of York Foods for the last 22 years who have a long association with cooking oils & the building is now used as a manufacturing base for their range of speciality products like Wagyu Dripping etc.... I can attest to the products...Yummy

Looking back up the access road toward Bungonia Rd.  With the alignment of the old loading dock siding now more visible....With the coal delivery siding on the left.  The points were located just beyond the large tree & the siding then
 traversed through the Mobil Depot... back toward the branch junction & main line...

As a closing shot... back in front of the Mobil Depot showing the branch continuation meandering to align itself with the other customers along Bungonia Road...from here the branch extended for another 200 to 300 metres.

In closing i am not sure how unique it is for a branchline to serve another industry requiring shunting through an operational petroleum depot.  It is certainly against all convention.  Some locals tell me it actually happened & some say the storage tanks on the right of the siding were not in existence when the Butter Factory was rail accessed therefore technically it did not happen... Either way it is a nice thought & certainly this location is food for thought when planning layout industry & associated sidings.  I now have compiled a fairly complete history of the Butter Factory & if nothing else it satisfies my want to study the history both rail & social aspects of  interesting locations. 

Planning A Trip North...

All,

Another busy weekend...

Following a chat with Warren Herbert from Gwydir Valley Models it has been decided that the collection of completed & planned Laser Rail Bits kits will be going on a road trip.

There is a convention planned in the Northern Tablelands next weekend & Warren has kindly offered the opportunity for the "collection" to be on show.  While i don't profess to know much about this get together, it is time that i swallow my apprehensions & put the kits under the microscope of the modelling establishment & hopefully there will be some feedback which will help decide the future of some offerings & the fate of others.

I was offered the chance of a showing of our wares by Garry Laker at the Loftus Convention earlier in the year but a last minute incident involving my daughter put paid to that weekend...

So the weekend so far has been a flurry of activity trying to finalise some items & get everything packed & ready to leave here on Monday.... Don't let me down Aussie Post!!!

As part of the preparation process i decided to include the platform signal box for the trip & have spent some time attempting to refine the components.  I must admit that i am far from happy with this little number & here i was thinking that a simple skillion roof structure would be a walk in the park.  I have now finished two signal boxes complete & while the undecorated one will be sent north... I decided to have a play around with the second one.

So what am i not happy with...

Well for starters i decided to finish the corners off with some angle trim & while this certainly hides the component joints it is well over scale & i will revert to a diamond joint where there is a square trim piece on the internal of the wall joints & a scale timber trim on the exterior joint. Also the roof structure is not quite right & will require a redesign that provides closer to scale size components while still allowing a strong assembly.  I will also have to find a two / six panel window assembly for the front face as even though i was unfazed originally...the eight panel variety is bugging me know. There is still the question of guttering & while i have used plastruct channel to replicate the quad guttering & it does look convincing...it would be nice if this item was available locally.  I should have a quantity of 500gallon water tanks arriving soon & these on a timber frame being fed with downpipes should complete the scene.

I know some would also be puzzled by the colours i have selected for the painted sample.  This colour was in use for the station building & cream shed located at Narellan back in the 50s/60s ... I have some photos that certainly show this colour ( or a very close hue ) used & while it is not entirely my cup of tea...I was intrigued enough to try the scheme out. I don't think this scheme will be adopted on anything else I build.

While i has fiddling around i decided to utilise this sample to also try out some weathering ideas i have had which entail the use of water based acrylic, thinned with IPA ( Isocol ) applied in 4 or 5 light coats & left to dry between each.  When dry i have sanded back the colour in some areas & when bare timber has been revealed i then dry brushed some Raven Oil mixed with IPA onto these areas. Not sure if the result is what i was looking but like all things weathering... I will try anything.  It would certainly be interesting to have several coats of differing colour & when rubbing back it would reveal feathered edges of the ages of colours.

Lastly a humorous footnote... I managed to spill a complete paint pot ( white for those interested ) all over the timber paling fence samples being prepared for transit... So at present they look as though they have been in some kind of neighbourhood dispute & will of course not be making the trip north....

Anyway i have added some shots... 

On the left is the sample going north & on the right is the guinea pig...

   




Roof Installed

Weathering has commenced...

A Little More....Maybe overdone...



Platform Signal Boxes...

All,

First of all i would like to thank all the people for the mini flood of emails responding to the timber water tank stand posts...Apart from the local gang...I have had EOIs from as far away as Israel, Brazil & Old Mother England!!!

It must be obvious by now that this kit will be the next release & if time permits during the week,  the final details, instructions & box labels will be printed & all going well ( the real job stays un panicked ) by mid November they will be available....Here's hoping !!! 

To those who have followed the posts on the other projects planned...they will be all done in one incarnation or another...The period over christmas & new year should allow a fair bit of progress on that front.  BTW none of these kits either planned or available now are "limited run" kits. Once released they will be available for the long term. One thing i have learnt...even with the meagre range we have is that dreaming up a project & working it up for release is one thing...but replenishing the range once released & exhausted is another thing altogether. There may be times where a kit is out of stock but this should be only for short periods  It is an ever increasing spiral & one i must admit i enjoy...If it wasn't for the need to generate an income from the "real business".

Now to the reason behind this post.... My long suffering wife suggested that i have a weekend off...just sit on the lounge & catch up on some reading.. she offered...So i did... ???!!!

I decided to retrace my steps in regards to the Cream Shed project & pulled another pile of publications from the ever increasing library with the view of looking for more examples. Well one thing led to another & i got sidetracked onto signal boxes.  Not the elevated main line variety but the much forgotten branchline examples that were in vast numbers & decorated many country branch platforms many years ago.

With the basic skillion roof design of the cream shed completed, it should not take that long to work up some drawings & samples for a timber version Standard Platform Level Signal Box.  And so it was that part of the weekend was spent perusing the Greg Edwards files & then researching the differing examples that existed in prototype form. 

One thing was evident from the start that just like most things railway...It it pointless just relying on departmental drawings & more important to find examples that belong to a certain family of structures.

So armed with drawings & photos of Wauchope, Barellan, Ganmain & Mittagong Junction etc etc & documenting the minor differences...It was time to produce a version of a 18' 8" x 12' 2" Platform Signal Box.   This initial choice will be followed by the tiny 10' 2" x 10' 2" & the marginally larger  21' 8" x 12' 2"...mind you if these never see the light of day as kits...they will find a home on the layout anyway.

The other attraction of this basic design is that it will come in handy for finalising out of sheds, waiting rooms etc etc

As can be seen from the photographs, this kit is our first foray into a composite type kit & incorporates Tichy brand windows & doors.  Yes it is possible to laser cut windows successfully but the scale size components are very fragile indeed... & assembly would be a nightmare.  The front window assembly is not exactly to prototype...8 panes instead of 6...but i have seen examples of an 8 pane unit...so i am unfazed by this anomally

The need to incorporate other manufacturers components into kits has been coming for a while & i must say that the Tichy brand is up there quality wise on top of that... Don Tichy is a very easy person to deal with... so utilising his stuff in future would be a delight.

For this project the only other components required will be corrugated card, chimney pipe detail for the larger versions, guttering & downpipes & a water tank for some versions  All but the guttering is a relatively easy task to procure & it is amazing that someone has not come up with an easily sourced scale quad guttering detail item...I must do some research on domestic guttering O/S & see what they use...

Anyway that's enough banter for this post...Take a look at the shots....keeping in mind that the sample is a first up trial & the roofing material, guttering & downpipes are yet to be fitted..




General View..

         

The rear showing the vents which i have "cheated" and tried to replicate with the laser rather than a separate detail item...

Opposite end view... I have tried a different technique on this kit & tried to get a better appearance of rusticated weatherboards





 

Water Tank Update...Update.

All,

As i had promised myself...the elevated water tank samples are complete...

It has been a frustrating week with a trial of birch timber which i had obtained to trial for the columns & bearers of this project an absolute disaster. The birch is essentially a rather expensive ply & the charring which occurred due to the material & laminating glues being "cremated" by the laser was totally unacceptable.  To be honest i have been wanting to trial this stuff on the laser for a while & i have now "been there", "done that",  "bought the T shirt" & am not happy Jan...

So... the end result is that all timberwork in this proposed kit(s) will be basswood.  As much as basswood can be a little brittle across the grain at times...it does look like timber should & does weather & age like timber should.  When the kit is assembled  the individual items come together to form an extremely strong finished article.

 I have decided the baseplate will be 3mm opaque acrylic with the column holes all cut out & ready to go.  The acrylic will give a solid base which will not warp etc over time or during layout scenery building.  The acrylic will accept PVA glue so scenicking the base is no problem.

The rest of the items are all precut & shaped to aid construction.  The footings will remain basswood as the adding of cast components will just add to the cost of the kit & existing footings can be readily painted an aged concrete with ease.  The columns & bearers will be one piece as per the last posting.  There will be 4 of these components & all that is required is the footings to be slid on to each column prior to locating & gluing the columns into the base.  Once these 4 composite components are installed & square to the base plate & each other... the 7 joists can be added & as the bearers have precut recesses... this operation is dead easy & you will end up with a very square & accurate looking stand.  The last items to be added are the diagonal braces & again they precut & shaped to make construction very easy.

The kit should take around an hour or so to complete...taking away glue drying time...

Now to the tanks...My original plan was to purchase the tank kits from the respective manufacturers & offer a complete tank stand kit... but due to a number of political issues this will not be happening in the short term.  There is also the concern where many modellers will already have a tank kit or two in the drawer & all they need is a stand for them.

While talking about the tanks & to aid in our decision of how many kits to produce in the first run... I have included an email address   harlow@harlowgraphics.com.au  & would seek "expressions of interest" for numbers & another  issue  of importance to canvass is which tank you are proposing to fit to the stand.  While the Ian Lindsay tank is a simple placement once the stand is complete... The Silvermaz unit is another issue altogether. The tank floor that comes with the kit has joists moulded into it & we  have fabricated a replacement acrylic floor to make fitment to our tank stand easier...but knowing which tank you intend to use will give us a better idea of how many of these replacements to make...

On the subject of plumbing....to get the kit out there in the first instance & keep pricing down... will mean we will have to shelve plans of including plumbing... While looking at the many photos of the prototype i would feel sure that many modellers will already have all the bits needed in the "scrap box"

Also over the christmas break it is my intention to watch a lot of cricket & golf... gather some tank kits " retail" & build some of these kits & offer them as finished items on our stands with water, plumbing, weathered etc etc...i will post if this happens...& they will most probably appear on ebay.

In closing...during the week i will attend to the pack notes & box artwork & hopefully within the next week or so another kit can be added to our range....

As for price of these kits...while this has not been finalised we would anticipate a price of around $30/35.00...Which when added to the tank cost would put a water tank completed on the layout for around $40/45.00

The acrylic base with column locations ...pre-cut

The original Casula / Sivermaz tank floor on the left & the replacement floor on the right

 

Stand completed with modified Silvermaz tank ( new tank floor )



Close up of stand detail...



Bare Stand...