The June 2020 issue of AMRM is now available

The June 2020 issue of AMRM should now be available at most outlets. It is scheduled to be available from all outlets by Monday 25 May.

If your local hobby shop or newsagent does not stock AMRM (ask them why not!), you can purchase a paper copy of the June issue online at:

www.australianmodelrailways.com.

The digital version of the June 2020 AMRM was released by Zinio on Thursday 21 May.

Buy digital issue of June 2020 AMRM from Zinio.

The June 2020 cover.

The contents page.

Despite the COVID-19 lockdown, we have managed to bring you a bumper 80 page issue.

The feature layout this issue definitely illustrates the old adage that a layout doesn't have to be big to be good. Anthony Veness describes his magnificent Queensland Railways HOn3.5 'minimum space' exhibition layout, which can rightly be described as a little 'gem'.

This issue features even more 'infrastructure' projects, starting with part 2 of Don Bishop's series on building an SAR goods shed.

Carrying on the theme, Graeme Barnes describes how he built an HO model based on the flour loading silos at Gunnedah, just the thing for the modern-era freight service modellers.

Most layouts feature roads, so Mitchell Campton shows how to make suitable road signs to guide our miniature road users.

As always, to model infrastructure properly, one needs to know what the prototype looks like and Phil Jeffery's Beyond the Fence series has been providing that information on a regular basis for many years. His latest 'BtF' covers a row of very 'modelegenic' shops in the Victorian town of Belgrave.

This issue also features an 'On the Workbench' featuring the construction and painting of another vital piece of infrastructure, a signal box. This WW2-era building is a Hawksmoor kit, available from Casula Hobbies.

Rolling stock has not been forgotten either, with two articles on building wagons, one from the very early days and the other from more recent times.

Ian Dunn describes a variation that can be made to a Redfern Works 'early days' NSWGR A wagon kit, while Brett Kavanagh converts an r-t-r modern era open wagon into a vehicle for the use of shunters.

If you thought our feature layout managed a lot in a small space, wait until you see what John R B Parker has achieved in O scale!

With DCC becoming even more widespread, a very useful piece of 'kit' is the programing track, which Les Fordham has managed to make portable!

DCC is also the subject of this issue's 'In the Loop' column from Trevor Hodges where he discusses the phenomenon of the 'tribes' of supporters that have coalesced around the various systems available on the market.

The Gallery this issue was originally designed to celebrate the Waverley Model Railway Club's 2020 exhibition, which was to have marked 50 years of exhibitions organised by the club. Sadly, the COVID-19 crisis resulted in the cancellation of this year's event, but we can still enjoy a 'virtual' exhibition with pages featuring images of some of the layouts that have appeared at the club's previous exhibitions.

Despite the economic downturn that was occurring even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, we have still managed to fill seven pages with interesting new models and other relevant material in the Reviews, Recent Releases and News sections. 

We also have available an online version of AMRM to compliment our traditional paper version. You can purchase the paper version from newsagents, hobby shops and specialist bookshops (or direct from AMRM if none of the above are convenient), while the online version can be purchased either through us or direct from Zinio International.

Contact AMRM, either by sending us the form below, or via our website, to take out a subscription to the online version (or adjust your current subscription to include the online version) in time for the release of the online version.

Purchase this issue of AMRM in either paper or digital form.

Ring the office on (02) 9311 2036 and have your credit card handy.

Or click here to

online to the paper or digital (or both) versions of AMRM at our website.

You can also purchase a digital issue of AMRM (including back issues) from the Zinio site. 

James McInerney

Editor

Back Issue: December 2018 AMRM

The December 2018 issue of AMRM is now available as a back issue direct from SCR Publications (paper copy) or Zinio (digital copy).

You can obtain a paper copy of the current issue online at:

www.australianmodelrailways.com,

or directly from the AMRM office by phone on (02) 9311 2036, using your Credit Card.

Digital back issues can be obtained from Zinio

(scroll down from current issue).

The December 2018 cover.

The contents page.

This issue's feature layout is a permanent HO scale home layout that very nicely recreates the look of Sydney's outer suburban region.

Tom Carlos continues his Billabong Marina series with a description of the main industry on the layout.

Ron Geeves returns with another article on the Canberra Model Railway Club's school mentoring efforts, describing a computer-controlled exhibition layout built by the students involved in the program.

In possibly the easiest conversion ever described in AMRM, Peter Ennis shows how to adapt an Orient Express Reproductions SAR M van model to represent the vans hired by the VR between the wars for evaluation purposes.

Craig Mackie describes an easy to complete model of a very common everyday object.

This issue featured another 'On the Workbench' for the 'hardcore' modeller from Cliff Barrett. While ostensibly a description of the construction of a Mechanical Branch Models NSWGR water tank, the author's description of the construction process contains a huge amount of useful information that will be of value to anyone constructing complicated kits or scratchbuilding a model of their own.

Trevor Hodges returns with 'In the Loop', having penned an interesting essay on the advances in the hobby that we have enjoyed over the last 30 years or so. Gallery describes, using models constructed by Ian Denny, the interesting story of an aspect of interstate transport of priority traffic prior to the ISO container revolution that has been all but forgotten.

The Reviews section features the r-t-r Orient Express Reproductions model of the SAR F class steam locomotive and the latest batch of r-t-r HO scale passenger carriages from Casula Hobbies.

As one might expect in the issue prepared after the AMRA (NSW) Liverpool exhibition, the thirteen page Recent Releases/News section is chock full of very tasty new models, both available and 'on the way'.

We also have available an online version of AMRM to compliment our traditional paper version. You can purchase the paper version from newsagents, hobby shops and specialist bookshops (or direct from AMRM if none of the above are convenient), while the online version can be purchased either through us or direct from Zinio International.

Contact AMRM, either by sending us the form below, or via our website, to take out a subscription to the online version (or adjust your current subscription to include the online version) in time for the release of the online version.

Purchase this issue of AMRM as a back issue in either paper or digital form

Ring the office on (02) 9311 2036 and have your credit card handy

or

Order a back issue from our website

You can also purchase a digital back issue direct from the Zinio site:

James McInerney

Editor

Back Issue: October 2018 AMRM

The October 2018 issue of AMRM is now available as a back issue direct from SCR Publications (paper copy) or Zinio (digital copy).

You can obtain a paper copy of the current issue online at:

www.australianmodelrailways.com,

or directly from the AMRM office by phone on (02) 9311 2036, using your Credit Card.

Digital back issues can be obtained from Zinio

(scroll down from current issue).

The October 2018 cover.

The contents page.

This issue's feature layout carries on the 'minimum space' theme from last issue, spotlighting Little Chipping, the latest in a series of minimum space Victoria-themed exhibition layouts constructed by the Murden family over the last thirty or so years.

Furthering the 'minimum space' theme is the latest instalment in Tom Carlos's Billabong Marina series, this time concentrating on adding industries.

Layouts are definitely the theme of this issue, with Trevor Hodges taking time out from penning In the Loop to describe how he built his layout's aluminium-framed baseboards.

The layout has been built and now you want to run it. Brian Peacock discusses an alternative to the classic method of controlling each train manually.

The construction of individual items of rolling stock has not been ignored in this issue, after all, we need something to run on all those layouts! Peter Ennis describes construction of a picturesque, but pretty much forgotten, item of VR rolling stock. 

The r-t-r revolution has made things a lot easier than in the old days when one had to do everything oneself, but that doesn't mean one can't take a good r-t-r locomotive and make it better! This month's On the Workbench details, 'chips' and weathers an Austrains 30 class tank locomotive.

If you want to see some very fine modelling, then the annual Modelling the Railways of South Australia convention is a good place to go! This issue's Gallery features some of the 3'6" narrow gauge models that were displayed at the 2017 convention.

The Reviews section looks at a very significant release from Auscision, the NSW 48/SA 830 class locomotive, r-t-r in HO scale. Also covered are two self-published books from the owner of last issue's feature layout, Phil Overton.

Things are quiet on the commercial scene at the moment (the AMRA (NSW) Liverpool exhibition is coming!), but we still have an interesting four-page Recent Releases/News section to tide us over until the expected Liverpool deluge of new models arrives!

We also have available an online version of AMRM to compliment our traditional paper version. You can purchase the paper version from newsagents, hobby shops and specialist bookshops (or direct from AMRM if none of the above are convenient), while the online version can be purchased either through us or direct from Zinio International.

Contact AMRM, either by sending us the form below, or via our website, to take out a subscription to the online version (or adjust your current subscription to include the online version) in time for the release of the online version.

Purchase this issue of AMRM as a back issue in either paper or digital form

Ring the office on (02) 9311 2036 and have your credit card handy

or

Order a back issue from our website

You can also purchase a digital back issue direct from the Zinio site:

James McInerney

Editor

Back Issue: April 2018 AMRM

The April 2018 issue of AMRM is now available as a back issue direct from SCR Publications. 

Back issues of the digital version of AMRM are available from Zinio.

Buy digital back issue of the April 2018 AMRM from Zinio.

The April 2018 cover.

The contents page.

This issue's feature layout is yet another now demolished layout, Brendan Jansen's HO scale home layout, Casino, based on the NSW North Coast line and set in the 1970s. The layout featured Casino station itself, along with Paterson and Martins Creek, as well as the Border Loop Spiral! This iteration of the line is now defunct, but Brendan is well into building a bigger, better version in his new home, which we hope to feature in a future issue.

This issue's focus is modern-era export containers and Chris Jones has written a fascinating article covering all aspects of the containers used in export traffic in Australia, including descriptions of the individual container types, their colour schemes, what traffic they convey and what sort of trains one is likely to find them on. This article is so well written and comprehensive that it even piqued my interest , and I am very much a confirmed steam-era modeller! 

An aspect of the 'hands on' side of practical modelling is covered by Kevin Bradney's description of his animated and lit model of a typical drive-in, a once common lineside sight that it rapidly disappearing.

This issue's Gallery covers a prototype about which we rarely hear about, the Queensland Railways. Glenn Wright has described a few of his Sn3½ models of QR diesel locomotives.

This issue, Trevor Hodges' In the Loop column light-heartedly discusses the search for a suitable collective noun to describe us; his fellow model railway enthusiasts! In other articles, Graham Ahern follows up on last issues Gallery with some 1964 photos of the VR 'Weedex' train and Leon Oberg shows a possible use for that spare Southern Aurora carriage. 

Leading into the Reviews section is this latest in our On the Workbench series, this time covering the N scale SAR 55 class Brill railcar produced by Peter Boorman's Workshop.

The Reviews section begins with a look at the first r-t-r steam locomotive from Southern Rail, the HO scale SMR 10 class 2-8-2T and also covers the r-t-r HO scale NSWGR 36' 'fishbelly' MLV from Auscision and the SAR SOC/SO ore cars from SDS. Another DCC 'gizmo' from MCE and four book reviews fill the rest of the six and half pages of the Reviews section.

The Recent Releases/News section then fills another seven pages with lots of 'goodies' to help reduce your bank balance and keep the economy functioning! 

We also have available an online version of AMRM to compliment our traditional paper version. You can purchase the paper version from newsagents, hobby shops and specialist bookshops (or direct from AMRM if none of the above are convenient), while the online version can be purchased either through us or direct from Zinio International.

Contact AMRM, either by sending us the form below, or via our website, to take out a subscription to the online version (or adjust your current subscription to include the online version) in time for the release of the online version.

Purchase this issue of AMRM as a back issue in either paper or digital form

Ring the office on (02) 9311 2036 and have your credit card handy

or

Order a back issue from our website

You can also purchase a digital back issue direct from the Zinio site:

James McInerney

Editor