Home, Sweet Home... for a new layout hopefully.

So I've been thinking about my small HO scale Victorian Railways switching layout that is set up in my garage. The garage is underneath our house and really isn't suitable for a layout. The main issue is the dust. Most of the garage is unlined and since the house is built on a slope some areas under the house are exposed dirt. Dust and fine dirt can be blown around especially when the kids leave the side door open after they drop their bikes on the floor. First world Dad problems. In short the location is not ideal for a layout especially when your layout is DCC with its electronics, decoders and throttles.

We've reached a stage where we're pretty settled and the time is right to build something to house a layout and all my railway 'stuff'. Its amazing what you pick up and collect, not just locomotives, rolling stock and kits but books, magazines and memorabilia. I'd hate to add up the cost of all this stuff and I haven't even tried because I don't want to know! Honestly I should just for insurance purposes. 

So I've decided to move my railway stuff from the garage to a purpose built building. Over the past few months I've been spending a lot of time online looking at cabin, hut and shed designs to see what would best suit my needs. 

I looked at getting a 20 foot container. Containers are very popular because they provide good storage at a good price. They're sturdy, transportable and if you get one in good condition they're weather proof. You only have to look around to see how popular they are. They're literally everywhere.

Where I live in Otago we get a pretty big variance in temperatures through the seasons, from cold nights and morning frosts with single digit day time highs in winter to dry hot summer days in the 30's. While the steel construction of containers make them robust, the same metal construction allows for very efficient thermal conduction as well. This makes the inside very, very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Not great on track or electronics. Sprayed foam insulation would help but is expensive. 

The next option I looked at was metal garden sheds. These are also cost effective but suffer the same sort of issues as containers and they're not as robust. 

Kit set garages are popular for hobby spaces but are beyond my budget.

I've settled on making my own hut / shed. Now I'm not a builder by any means but I like the idea of building my own space. An added bonus will be that I pick up some new carpentry skills and a few power tools along the way. 

Since the hut / shed would be used for a small staging to station point to point layout and as a place to store and show my memorabilia I thought a railway design would be appropriate. With the section we have size won't be an issue but it needs to be something manageable.

Searching the net I found a few plans that would work for me.

Victorian Railways 10' x 8' Hut

The first was a Victorian Railways 10' x 8' way and works portable hut.

 

Credit: Mark Beau victorianrailways.net

I found this plan on Mark Beau's excellent Victorian Railways website 

 www.victorianrailways.net . If you're a fan of Australian railways you'll love this website. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This plan rates highly because it has that link back to what I model and with beefed up framing would be a great looking little hut.

NZR 14' x 9' Shelter Shed 

The second plan I found was for an NZR 14 x 9 foot shelter shed station. These station shelters were found at small unmanned stations throughout New Zealand.

Da 1512 leads a goods train with car past the shelter shed at Ngapuhi on the Okaihau Branch in the far north. Credit: Internationalsteam.co.uk 

https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/tales/lythgoe69.htm

I found this plan on archway, an online search tool from Archives New Zealand. 

Credit: Archives New Zealand - Archway

I've spent many hours searching through archway. Most of the building plans are held at the archive offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin but many are held in digital form and can be downloaded for free. 

You can access archway at https://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ 

At 4.2 meters long by 2.7 meters wide this building is quite a bit bigger than the other huts and sheds I've looked at. While the extra space would be nice the extra materials required will stretch the budget but the mono pitch roof will also make it easier for me to build.

NZR One Man Hut

The third plan I'm looking at and the front runner at the moment is a plan I found in the Archives New Zealand office in Dunedin for a proposed 7' 6" x 10' 6" one man hut. 

Credit: Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office

While this plan is described as a proposal it actually became the basis for a new design of single men's huts on the NZR. These huts were found all around New Zealand and sometimes in quite large numbers as shown in the photo below from the Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand website showing the single men's compound at Gracefield in the Hutt Valley.

Single Men's Compound at Gracefield, Hutt Valley. Credit: Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21417/single-mens-huts-gracefield

A single man's hut on a wagon at the Palmerston North railway yards. Credit: Manawatu Heritage https://manawatuheritage.pncc.govt.nz/item/59bcd750-b6a8-4a3a-903b-bd456bb486f5 . 

So those are the three options that I'm looking at. If you have any advice, it will be gratefully  received.

Hopefully I'll have a design picked in the not to distant future and an upcoming post will cover the preparation and construction.

And that's about it.

Station Profile: Herbert

DXB 5137 with DC 4761 lead 934 Dunedin to Middleton freight through Herbert. 19/01/21.

For my first station profile I've chosen Herbert, a small blink and you've missed it Otago village on State Highway 1 and more importantly a crossing loop on the South Island Main Trunk. 

1978 New Zealand Topo Map - Herbert

Opened on the 14th of November 1876, Herbert is located at the 276 kilometer mark on the South Island Main Trunk (SIMT). On the 7th of September 1878 the South Island Main Trunk between Christchurch and Dunedin was finally completed and opened for traffic. The station then settled into its role as a small country crossing station serving Herbert and the surrounding area. As a station operating under tablet train control Herbert was manned with staff operating the tablet machine, assisting with crossings and looking after passengers and inwards and outwards goods traffic. 

Like many stations in New Zealand, Herbert consisted of a main line, crossing loop and goods siding. Herbert was similar to other stations between Oamaru and Dunedin along the South Island Main Trunk where the siding come directly off the mainline on the opposite side to the crossing loop. Stations with this layout included Waianakarua, Hampden, and Waikouaiti. This layout was used in these locations so the station, siding and goods shed were all on the side closest to the township they served allowing for safe and easy access.

Herbert - Hampden Signalling and Interlocking Arrangements Diagram. Credit: Archives New Zealand Dunedin.

In 1959 Herbert was upgraded as part of the new Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) system introduced to the SIMT. The CTC system between Oamaru and Dunedin was operated from the Train Control Office in Dunedin. With the introduction of CTC the old tablet machine was removed and electric point motors and intermediate, home and departure searchlight signals were installed.

The station was closed to all traffic on the 30th of March 1980.

From 1989 the section between Oamaru and Port Chalmers was converted from CTC to Track Warrant Control (TWC). This system allowed train control to give track warrants to locomotive engineers by radio removing the need for the complex and expensive CTC system. Track Warrants gave Locomotive Engineers permission to proceed from one location to another and provided other information required for the safe working of trains in TWC sections. As part of the conversion a number of stations with short loops were closed while new loops with TWC signals were constructed. Herbert was retained as a crossing loop under the new TWC system but unusually retained its searchlight signals. It was during this time that the goods siding was also removed. 

The removal of the goods siding proved short sighted as Herbert was used in the mid 1990's as a loading point for logs from the nearby Herbert Forest. The resident Oamaru DSC shunting locomotive would bring USL log wagons from Oamaru and set them on the main line. While the DSC ran round the train logs stored on the site of the old goods siding would be loaded onto the USL wagons by front end loader. Once loaded the shunt would return to Oamaru where the log wagons would await pick up by a mainline freight train.

Where once any number of goods, express goods and passenger and express trains would keep the tracks shiny, Herbert has approximately eight freight trains pass through every day. The loop is rarely used except for the occasional crossing when a delayed train has been unable to cross its opposite number at its normal place.

To get a better idea of the track and infrastructure through Herbert we'll start from the south at Otepopo Tunnel. Otepopo tunnel is 220 metres long and is tunnel number 2 on the South Island Main Trunk. The first tunnel on the South Island Main Trunk is the Lyttleton Tunnel linking Christchurch with Lyttleton Harbour.

The northern portal of the Otepopo Tunnel taken from the Glencoe Road level crossing.

Trains then cross the level crossing at Glencoe Road as they approach the up intermediate double searchlight signal.

Glencoe Road level crossing looking west. 

The up intermediate signal looking north from the Glencoe Road level crossing.

Trains then climb a straight section as they approach Herbert. 

Up home signal and the southern points for the crossing loop.

After passing the up home signal trains go over the points for the crossing loop and cross the Herbert Road level crossing. 

The southern end of Herbert crossing loop looking south. The former station building was located between the grey lineside signal building and the Herbert Road level crossing.

Between the current southern end of the crossing loop and the Herbert Road level crossing loop was the original Herbert railway station. Like many other stations, this building was demolished in the 1980's.

A northbound freight lead by two Mitsubishi DJ Bo-Bo-Bo diesel electric locomotives pass Herbert station in the late 1970's. Photographer: Joe Wallace

Herbert Road level crossing looking west.

The main and loop departure searchlight signals at the southern end of the crossing loop.

Herbert crossing loop looking north. The goods siding was located on the right side of the main line where the graveled area is now.

Just to the east of the main line and north of the Herbert Road level crossing is the Herbert signal cabin. This non descript concrete block building contains all the signaling equipment for the Herbert crossing loop and may also contain a stand by generator and toilet.

Herbert signal cabin taken from the southern end.

Rear of the Herbert signal cabin.

North end of the Herbert signal cabin.

Front of the Herbert signal cabin.

Northbound 934 Dunedin to Middleton freight passes through Herbert.

Heading towards the northern end of the crossing loop is the up main and loop departure signals, the northern crossing loop points and the down home signal. 

The north end of the Herbert loop taken from the Frew Road level crossing.

The main line then crosses the Frew Road level crossing.

Frew Road level crossing looking East

The main line looking north from the Frew Road level crossing.

Heading north from the Frew Road level crossing we pass the down intermediate signal and then cross the Irvine Road level crossing.

Looking south along the shiny rails of the South Island Main Trunk from the Irvine Road level crossing.

Irvine Road level crossing looking east.

Looking north from the Irvine Road level crossing.

And that's it for my first station profile.

Just a reminder tracks are for trains. All my photos were taken from public land and roads including level crossings. 

As this is my first station profile if you like what you've see or have some constructive advice on what I could do better please leave a comment.

And that's about it.

Good Riddence 2020... Welcome 2021

 

 DXC 5304 and DFT 7051 lead Dunedin to Middleton Freight 934 through Goodwood on         Christmas Eve 2020. 24/12/2020.

2020... What a year and not in a good way. Bush fires in Australia, a pandemic and no end of other disasters around the world. I'm not sad to see 2020 disappear in the rear view mirror. 

Hopefully as the covid-19 vaccines are rolled out the world will begin its long journey back to some sort of normality but I doubt it will be the same 'normal' we were all used to pre-covid.

I have been fortunate to have a little time off over the festive season and with the recent flooding in Otago a chance to have some quiet time at home. The rainy weather give me a chance to go back through the different pages of my blog. On thing I've realised is that I have really enjoyed sharing my average train photos with the world even though I don't have a big audience. There is nothing better than flicking through historic train photos on a rainy day. By posting these photos online I hope future railfans will be able to do the same and through my photos see what was going on in Otago during the 2010's and now 2020's.

As a new years resolution I have set myself the goal of doing a post every month. 12 posts a year seems like a good target. Unfortunately I don't get the time to chase trains like I used to but I have a few other projects on the go that might be of interest to those visiting the blog. 

So to every one I wish you all the best for 2021.

2020.... Yeah Nah.

DFT 7008 with DFT's 7132 and 7051 and a short 920 Dunedin - Middleton freight hold the loop at Merton after crossing a southbound freight service. DFT 7008 had not long returned to South Island rails after a few years working in the North Island. 11/01/19.

Hello blog. Long time no see! 

While driving past a train the other day I got thinking about my southern rails blog. Between family and work commitments and a health issue the blog had been long forgotten and I wasn't even sure that it was still 'live'. So logging on this morning I was pleased to find it was still around but with very little recent content! Considering the how 2020 has gone so far I'm not surprised. 

Between pandemics, lockdowns, travel restrictions and natural disasters 2020 has been a bit average. As I've been telling my kids, look around and take note of what you're living through. Your kids and grandchildren will be asking you about 2020, probably as part of class projects and history lessons. 

All these things have also made railfanning difficult so there haven't been a lot of photos of Kiwi Rails finest taken recently. Below is a few I have managed to get over the last year or two.

Enjoy!

DFT 7036 and DC 4755 departing Palmerston with train 937, a Middleton - Dunedin freight. 11/01/19.

 DFT 7008 and DFB 7239 crest the Tumai Bank with a Saturday morning 920 Dunedin - Middleton freight on a frosty winters morning in East Otago. This is a good catch for me with DFB 7008 being one of my favourite locomotives. 29/06/2019.                               

DXC 5229 and DFT 7036 climb  the grade to the former Hampden railway station site with northbound Dunedin to Middleton freight service 920. 21/08/2019. 

A very average shot of DI 1102 passing south through the site of the former of Hampden Station on its delivery trip to Dunedin Railways. DI 1102 had been leased to Dunedin Railways by the Christchurch based Diesel Traction Group as a back up for their DJ locomotives in what was forecasted to be a bumper 2019 / 2020 cruise ship year. 2020 and the corona virus had different ideas. Septermber 2019.

DXR 8022 leads DFT 7051 and DC 4801 through Herbert on 934 Dunedin - Middleton freight.

DXR's are extremely rare visitors to the lower South Island and only travel down to Dunedin for maintenance at Kiwi Rails heavy lift facility at Hillside. 03/12/2019.                                 

DI 1102 with a DJ and two Dunedin Railway carriages heads north along South Island Main Truck at Katiki with a service to Christchurch to return DI 1102 to the Diesel Traction Group at Ferrymead. This is a bitter sweet photo as it was one of the last Dunedin Railway trains before they went into 'hibernation' in March due to the downturn in tourism due to Covid. Staff have been laid off, rolling stock laid up or returned and the Taieri Gorge railway mothballed. June 2020.

 And that's about it.

A bit of New South Wales in Brisbane

After a week long work trip to Queensland, Australia I was fortunate to tack on a few days of rest and relaxation in sunny Brisbane. These few days just so happened to coincide with the 2018 edition of the Brisbane Model Train Show held in the Marquee at the Brisbane Showgrounds. 

This show has layouts from N scale through to Gauge 1 as well as a large number of trade stalls just waiting to prise away my hard earned money. 

I didn't buy any locomotives or rolling stock but I did stock up on back copies of Australian Model Railway Magazine as well as a Victorian Railways goods shed kit from Model Train Buildings (modeltrainbuildings.com.au) and another photo book from Train Hobby Publications. With a growing interest in the Queensland Railways I just barely talked myself out of buying a Wuiske HOn3 1/2 1720 class diesel locomotive in QR's blue and white livery. 

While wondering around I came across Phillip Overton's HO scale layout Philden. I'm a huge fan of this layout and closely follow Phil's website to see how the layout is progressing. The pictures of the layout on his site are good but to see it in real life was pretty exciting. The pictures here don't do it justice mainly because I left my camera in NZ and the camera on my smart phone wasn't up to the job.

Philden, an HO scale layout based on the New South Wales railways. 

Philden is an HO scale layout depicting a small station somewhere in New South Wales. The layout is set in the early to mid 2000's and plays host to a suburban passenger train made up of an Xplorer diesel multiple unit and a short freight train servicing the goods shed, cement works and steel siding. Unfortunately due to the floor in the marquee not being quite level, shunting was out of the question during the show.

The public side

Overall the layout is nine foot long with the station area at six foot and the staging area at three foot. Its amazing what Phil has been able to fit into this space. Normally the layout sits above a desk at Phil's apartment but every now and again is dragged to model train shows across Queensland. What surprised me the most is that the layout is run on DC. No fancy DCC set ups with command stations and throttles. Just a small DC throttle and some switches. Probably not a bad thing for a layout that travels. I get upset enough when my DCC controllers decide to play up, imagine having a crowd watching you, your DCC system and your locomotive decoders melt down!

I was lucky enough to chat with Phil and he gave me a good run down on the layout, how it was built, how its operated and his future projects including an N scale layout and scenicing the staging area.

Philden's staging area in the early stages of being sceniced. 

A big thanks to Phil for his time during a busy show. 

For more on Philden's progress and adventures visit Phillips website at phildenmodelrailway.blogspot.co.nz . 

With a bag of goodies and the contents of my wallet and bank account largely intact it was time to head away. Still can't help but think of building a small layout like Philden but based on Queensland Rail hmmm.

And that's about it.

Happy New Year. Bring on 2018.

N465 at Southern Cross Station.

Hope everybody is having a great holiday season and have started the new year on a positive. 

Well another year is done and dusted. From a railfan and modelling point of view, the highlight for me was my trip to Australia in February where I got see some of Vlines finest with my own eyes and not just through photos on the net. Another highlight was starting my first proper layout, West Ballarat Sidings. Low lights was not getting out more with the camera to capture Kiwi Rail's staff and loco's hard at work and not getting more done on the layout. Hopefully 2018 brings some direction and changes this state of affairs.

Wishing you all the best for your railfanning and modelling in 2018.

An afternoon in the Taieri Gorge

Hindon Station Sign

After getting a few things done around Dunedin I had a few hours to spare before having to get home. With the camera in the car I thought I'd head out to one of my favourite spots, Wingatui Railway Station. Wingatui is the junction between the South Island Main Trunk and the former Otago Central Railway. 

When the OCR closed in 1990, the Dunedin City Council  purchased the picturesque portion of the line between Taieri and Middlemarch. The line was then run as a tourist line by the Otago Excursion Train Trust.

I didn't have to wait long before a Dunedin Railways passenger service came off the junction onto the South Island Main Trunk as it made its way back to Dunedin. Just a shame the DJ loco was running long hood first.

DJ 1209 arrives at Wingatui Railway Station with a Dunedin Railways passenger train. 15/11/17.

With the DJ and its train now gone I made my way to the Fonterra Siding at Taieri. Fonterra has a large store here which is mainly used to store milk powder from the dairy factory at Edendale. The milk powder is transferred from curtain sider containers into the store and then into standard 40 and 20 foot containers for export. Kiwi Rail run a number of Fonterra shunting services between Taieri, Dunedin and Port of Otago at Port Chalmers every day. During the dairy season the amount of milk powder being transported is so large that the line between Wingatui and Port Chalmers becomes one of the busiest single lines in New Zealand. 

DC 4012 and DCP 4513 shunt a short container train into the Fonterra container sidings at Taieri. 15/11/17.

After getting a few shots at Taieri and with plenty of time to spare I decided to head up to Hindon. Hindon is a small station located in the Taieri Gorge. While there's no longer any freight trains using the line, Dunedin Railways, formally the Otago Excursion Train Trust and Taieri Gorge Railway, run regular passenger services from Dunedin through the Taieri Gorge to Pukerangi and Middlemarch. 

Approaching Hindon I spotted a Dunedin Railways Hi-railer at work on the line. The line passes through some very rugged country and is very prone to slips and washouts. In fact, the Taieri Gorge line was closed between July and September this year after a storm caused washouts and slips along the line. Two Otago Daily Times stories about the storm damage can be found here and here. 

A Dunedin Railways HI-Railer at work in the Taieri Gorge. 

A crib (holiday house) above Hindon station has the old station sign attached. 

Holiday house with the old Hindon station sign.

Before heading down to Hindon station I checked out the nearby Hindon road / rail bridge over the Taieri River. This bridge hasn't always been a road / rail bridge. Timber decking was added to the original bridge structure to allow road access to the north side of the Taieri River.

Approach to the Hindon road / rail bridge. 15/11/17.

The bridge is an awesome example of Victorian engineering. The lattice steel trusses and stone pillars have stood the test of time. Due to the isolated nature of the Taieri Gorge, engineers had to use building materials that were close at hand. Many of the bridges are constructed using stone pillars and abutments. Mortar holding the stone together was made using sand and aggregate from the river. Other construction materials like steel were hauled into the gorge using horses and bullock teams. 

The Hindon road / rail bridge. 15/11/17.

From the road on the opposite side of the gorge I got my first sight of the Hindon railway station and yard. 

Hindon Railway Station and Yard in the Taieri Gorge. 15/11/17.

Hindon itself was a small settlement established to serve farms in the area. Opened in 1889, Hindon railway station provided an important link between these isolated farms and the city of Dunedin. The station was used to cross trains making their way through the Taieri Gorge and provided a means for local farmers to receive goods and fertiliser and ship livestock and wool to freezing works and wool stores in Dunedin. Hindon was also an important passenger stop as it had a refreshment room for passengers heading between Dunedin and Central Otago.

Today Hindon is a stopping point for Dunedin Railway passenger trains and is also used to store Dunedin Railways maintenance train.

Hindon station and yard with the maintenance train. 15/11/17.

Hindon Railway Station.15/11/17.

Rear of the station. 

 Side of the station.

Station front.

The station yard still has a lot of infrastructure that could be found at yards throughout New Zealand from the 1950's through to the 1980's.

Jigger and maintenance of way sheds.

Main line points lever.

The station yard itself is a pretty simple affair with a main line, passing loop and goods siding.

Hindon station yard. 15/11/17.

In the yard was Dunedin Railway's maintenance train consisting of bogie flat wagons, four wheel ballast wagons and a ballast plow van.

 Dunedin Railway's maintenance train at Hindon. 15/11/17.

 Bogie Flat Wagon US90 at Hindon. 15/11/17.

Ballast wagon YC 648 at Hindon. 15/11/17.

Ballast plow van EP65 at Hindon. 15/11/17.

After getting some shots around Hindon it was time to head back to Dunedin. As I climbed out of the gorge I stopped to get a shot of the Christmas Creek Bridge, one of several curved lattice steel bridges found in the Taieri Gorge.

Christmas Creek Bridge. 15/11/17.

As I got back into the car I heard the unmistakable noise of a DJ's Caterpillar D398 V12 diesel engine approach. After a short run down the road I was able to grab a few shots of a Dunedin Railways service as it crossed the Christmas Creek and Hindon bridges on its approach to Hindon.

A Dunedin Railways passenger train crosses Christmas Creek in the Taieri Gorge. 15/11/17.

 A Dunedin Railways passenger train crosses over the Taieri River near Hindon. 15/11/17.

A Dunedin Railways passenger train rounds some curves as it approaches Hindon station. 15/11/17.

With time ticking it was time to end my adventure and head back to town.

If you're around Dunedin and get the chance, I can't recommend a trip on Dunedin Railways through the Taieri Gorge enough. The Dunedin Railways staff do an amazing job maintaining and operating this beautiful piece of railway line.

For more information about Dunedin Railways and their passenger services go to their website at www.dunedinrailways.co.nz . 

And that's about it.