#Post 10

 In the State of Victoria there were two well known towns of Ballarat and Bendigo that had local tramways run by the State Electricity Commission.

The town of Ballarat located 115km (71 miles) from Melbourne commenced their tramways in 1887 and didn't close until the 19th September 1971, and Bendigo located 152km (94 miles) from Melbourne commenced their tramway system in June 1890 and closed on the 16th April 1972. Such was the local love of their tramways both cities have retained portions of the original route as tourist tramways.

I was lucky to be able to visit both systems just before their closures. I was in my early 20's and at the time tramways were my main interest so I visited the city after travelling out from Melbourne by train. To record the trams I had taken my trusty Bolex 8mm movie camera. There is such a difference between the technologies of then and now. So after recording as much as I could on the day, I also decided to travel to the second sister city of Bendigo. I wasn't aware of any direct transport and didn't want to travel back into Melbourne and then back up to Bendigo, so I hitched a ride and lucky it only took two car rides to get there.

So the same pattern started, riding all the routes and taking as much film I could afford.

One of the benefits of these trips is that I still have two 400 foot reels of footage from both systems. There are now better ways of sharing material now than way back then. So my plan is to eventually have the film digitised and then uploaded to Youtube so it can be shared, after all it is over 50 years old.

I have been lucky enough to still retain friendship of school mates that I left way back finishing school in 1966 and in 2019 we ventured off to Victoria to a 'rail' weekend. Part of that trip involved a visit to Bendigo and naturally enough it included a visit to the Bendigo Tramway to see the depot and a ride on their tourist tramway.

So these are a few photos of the Bendigo tourist tramway as it still exists and it was great to be able to relive my memories of Bendigo even though I am now much older. One day I will get back to Ballarat and ride their tourist system as well.

Post #9

 Most fleets start with the 'first one' and the number builds from there. My initial tramcar fleet of eight cars has increased rapidly when I sighted a Facebook Market place ad for 'ten tramcars' but what was the most remarkable thing was the price of $50. From what I have read these models were from a deceased estate and I can understand the person doing the selling wants to clear the decks as soon as possible. There was only one picture with various scratch built and modified cars but the one that was at the front of the picture was a Brill sprinkler car. I currently have a 'gold' one included with my initial eight car haul.

This was the Market place ad I saw.

This has quickly doubled my fleet of sprinklers and more importantly this one still goes. The only trouble is that the trolley pole needs to be replaced. 

The two yellow ones in the back row appear to be someones attempt to model a freelance electric railway. The third yellow one in the second back row seems to be a Rivarossi model but is only a trailer.

Two Birney cars

There were also two Birney cars which I think are brass models. Both are fitted with some sort of motor bogie that appears to be on the small side, but at least they go.

I am not sure the origin of these two remaining models but the left hand one appears to have pinched the bogie from one of the Birneys, and as this was one type of model I wanted it may require a bogie transplant in the future.

The sprinkler and model of Victorian SEC car

At least the sprinkler model was painted in green. I think I would be correct if I said all of the brass rolling stock were released as DC only models. They were pre DCC and will now require decoders to be fitted to be able to operate on my planned layout. But ironically these model trams seem to have an 'inbuilt' sound decoder which just turns out to be the gears and motor. A bit different when you are modelling a steam and diesel railway, but with the brilliant sound decoders available now why would you miss out? Fitting of DCC is a bit further down the track in my plans I only hope that they make suitable 'tram sound' decoders. The sound of the gong is very prominent.

I will need to obtain some trolley poles for the trams I need to operate from the States, at least they are still available.

So for a $50 outlay I think I have scored well.

 

Post #8

 The big day hasn't come yet for laying the track but that hasn't stopped the collection of various items for it. One of the distracting things that seems to waste my time is going various internet site looking for items that may be of interest. Various Facebook sites and Ebay and Youtube seems to be sucking up the time.

I was on the Ebay site recently looking in the HO scale items for sale in Australia. You generally start on page 1 and maybe end the search around page 20, it is then you realise the latter objects will turn up the next day on page 5, so why am I wasting my time looking?

It has been a very long time since I had the traction bug and I guess that was my learning curve time, a first time for traction modelling and only being in my twenties I was certainly a novice to this type of modelling. But I was willing to give it a go.

The first 'new thing' I had to get my head around was how do I lay track? Wow you can't buy tram track, I am going to have to learn how to do that. Well all I can say is even if it didn't look pretty, it did work. Using the method of cutting shim brass and gluing it to the baseboard with Pliobond then hitting it with the soldering iron it stayed rock solid. Also the right of way was able to be ballasted and the brass strips magically disappeared.

So when I start again to lay track I hope I can make it better than the first efforts. You can see the track in the video in #Post 5.

And as well as the track improving I also want to make the overhead look better. Over the years of modelling you should find your end results getting better or at least that is the aim. I often view pictures of other modellers overhead efforts and wonder if they have tried hard enough? I must admit I am not sure what is harder to do better, is it the hand laying the track or putting up the overhead? I guess both have their challenges. 

So when I was wasting my time the other night on Ebay I came across an offering of a packet of bits and pieces made by Detail Associates. The packet description wasn't very clear as to what was inside. There was a mention on the label of three different diesel types something that I had learned about many many years ago when modelling Santa Fe in N scale. I couldn't shake the packet to see the contents more clearly, but eventually I could see in a corner of the packet what looked like eyelets which I eventually worked out were lift rings to enable the roof hatches on diesels to be removed. But I could see a better use for them. What I was going to try and use them for will be pole attachments for the overhead wire. One thing for sure is that they will have to go into a wooden pole and the chances of finding such a small drill and then drilling a hole into a metal pole are next to none.

Macro view of wire supports

As  seen on Ebay

Anyhow when I get into the overhead assembly I will be giving these a try, don't know how they will go but when I get to that stage it will be shown here. Until then I will keep collecting.
 

Post #7

 I am still in the transitional stage where I will start to downsize my previous layout and sell it all off. Once this is done then I will be able to fully concentrate on the tramway layout. Removing layouts and all their sundries takes time but there is no rush.

In the meantime the hunt is on for items for the new layout. One great source of items comes from BNA Model World and is some flexible cobblestone sheeting that is designed to go in between HO track. It only turned up today, so haven't had time to test it. BNA seem to be set up as aligned to the military modelling fraternity. The range of products is emormous and some items seem obscure to a railway modeller but with some imagination they can work. One item I noticed was a packet of one thousand HO bricks and then there were all the different colour to select from. Have fun gluing them all into place!

In the mean time I am still following the traction modelling via three facebook sites. It is good to be able to see what others are doing and get ideas.

Post #6

 Wow Post Number 6 already and not a new track laid yet. It is all about the planning that needs to be done.

I have previously posted photos of my two freight cars. They are the two unpainted models that will need painting one day. I have been planning to start posting the photos of the painted models next. Now I have to admit that I am certainly no expert on the history of the prototypes of these models. There was no choice when I picked out the painted models in the sellers collection. But what I can gather is that most of these painted models are from the Chicago Surface Lines. So I am not fussed what system they came from, my first models were all from different operators (see video on previous Post #5) The models were tested on a set track circle on the dining room table and two are no goers at the moment, hopefully just a loose wire. I have left this issue till another day.

Another day two mates and I did a hobby shop crawl. We started off at Bergs Hobbies at Parramatta, then moved onto Woodpecker Hobbies at Pendle Hill. This is the hobby shop Rod Stewart dropped into on his last tour of Australia. And they have  photos on the wall to prove it. After this we moved onto Blacktown where we visited Model Railroad Craftsman. I purchased some Walthers Town series building kits and they are safely in the 'trolley' draw waiting to be assembled.

No overhead yet but looking happy amongst the scenery

 

Now according to the box the green trolley is a PTC 'Nearside' car and made by KMT in Japan. The first thing you notice with most of these trolleys is that they have no glazing in place. Must have been very draughty in there. I hope this will be a quick fix later on. You can see how thins with models have now improved - underfloor power truck instead of a big motor visible and they now come with seats. I have plenty of work ahead building the layout before I worry about providing seats for passengers.

The red and cream car box shows the model was used on the Chicago Surface Lines. Also from the same manufacturer as the green model above. You can see that the model was fitted with glazing from the factory but you can't see in. Don't know what's better, being able to see in or not?

The photos have been taken on my current O scale layout so please forgive the lack of overhead wiring at the moment. Another four cars to show on another blog.

Post #5

 I wrote on Post #4 that I had taken some 8mm footage of my HO tramway when I was constructing it probably in the late 70's. So the project today was how to digitise the movie.

A second 8mm projector was sourced as a spare backup and after testing with the seller and all OK it was brought home. It was an Eumig Model 610D, the D standing for dual usage meaning it will show both regular 8mm and Super 8 film by merely moving a slide switch. Eumig are Austrian and it is the same brand as one I previously owned. The crazy thing is that it is cheaper to source second hand projectors just for the lamp and are often sold at a price less than the cost of a new lamp.

I was given a gizmo from a friend long ago which is basically a box where the projector is shone onto screen and then the image is reflected at a 45 degree angle to another screen at the front. This is where you are supposed to capture the image onto another format.

A random pile of 8mm film was selected from many to look at and almost unbelievable a film of some of my HO tramway was found. In todays world with the internet everything has to be digitised, so my first attempt was made to transfer by using the projector showing into the 'gizmo box' and then setting my phone up on a tripod. The projector was turned on along with the phone but for some reason there seemed to be a flickering issue which transferred over to the recorded video on the phone. A fail, so then I shone the projector onto the nearby door but there was a reflection due to the gloss paint on the door but the flickering was absent. I eventually found a spot to reset the projector and with the tripod and phone I was able to record the film taken over forty years ago. The end result may be taken crooked, in and out of focus and not as crisp as a 4K video these days but to view again this footage was a magic moment.

 Back then to lay my track I cut cut up shim brass and glued it down to the baseboard which from memory was Pliobond that I was told the bond got stronger from heat applied, not sure if that was true. Although this video doesn't show any movement of the trams it eventually came at a later stage, I hope I can find footage of that moment. Most of the track appears to be completed even if it looks a bit flimsy. The baseboard looks like it was made on a normal door. This was actually the second portable tramway layout built on a door as space was not really available for a permanent layout. Brass trams at the time were considered a step above any plastic tram around but one annoying thing it why didn't they supply any glazing in their trams?? Would have been on drafty trip for any passengers. So top prices but no glazing, was it too hard to do? Or did the manufacturer state that the models need painting so we won't put glazing in as you would only need to take it out to paint?

I was also able to receeive a few more packets of overhead wiring hangers courtesy of Brian Weisman (Jason's Brass Poles) when he attended the recent West Penn meeting. I presumed he sourced them from that meet. They are now safe in the draw waiting for the time to be hung up. But that's still a little way off.

So enjoy the video a big nostalgia hit for me.

Post #4

 I previously mentioned that my returning inspiration to tramways was the chance viewing of an old tramway layout I had built around forty years ago on an 8mm movie I had taken. I have hundreds of feet of 8mm silent film taken from the early seventies that have been lying around, probably fading and covered with mould. I must admit I haven't taken as good care of the film as I should have. One of the issues was finding a suitable movie projector to enable viewing. Stupidly I had given away my Eumig projector years ago as I had copied most of the film onto VHS tape and thought I would never need another one. I reclaimed the family projector but the bulb was blown, another one would for some reason chew all the film, then another would take the film through the gate but then all of a sudden stop winding onto the back reel. And another issue is going to be the finicky nature of the mercury vapour bulbs designed for the projector. They can blow at any time and currently around $80AU it might make this project very expensive.

 I eventually found a projector at a garage sale and thought I would give it a try. I even got a second projector thrown in for $50 but then when I got it home out of the box found it was a Super 8 model, which had completely different sprockets, so now that needs to be disposed of.

Back in their day when this was the only form of achieving a 'moving film' the 8mm film was good and I am pleased I got footage of various subjects that now deserve some preservation. When you consider the ease of pulling a phone from the pocket and pressing a button to record 4K clear resolution film it certainly has come a long way in forty years since the old windup movie camera. Later changes were to invent Super 8 film where most of the film width was altered to give a bigger picture achieved by redesigning the film and providing smaller sprocket holes closer to the edge. After all 8mm film was actually 16mm film cut down the middle. Sound Super 8mm came along by actually gluing a narrow magnetic strip down the edge of the film. Although this was an improvement it then required you to buy a sound 8mm projector which were not cheap at the time. So with todays technology via phones and digital editing platforms we are very spoilt for choices. Any way I know that amongst all the piles of film I have stashed away I have more film of my early model HO tramway, I hope one day to find it.

When my old HO tramway was in full swing I had around 8 to 10 trams for the layout. These were purchased over a period of a few years, mainly from the Model Dockyard Hobby shop that was on Swanston Street in the  heart of Melbourne. It was usually one of the first stops after arriving there either by train of other trips when we went by car. Rows and rows of brass models filled the showcases and model trams featured well, spoilt for choice, but always limited by how much I could afford. You drooled over the choices but always happy when you could leave the shop with a model tucked under the arm or in the bag, no matter how small the model might have been.

THE MODELS

After I got all excited about modelling some trams, it was trams that I needed to obtain to run (doh). This wish is harder to achieve in 2024 than it was back in 1975. Brass trams were readily available, Suydam was in full swing producing their overhead wiring frogs and wire hangers, and I had taken out a subscription to the Traction and Models magazine which I eagerly waited for to be posted out from the states for me to read. Sadly now my big pile I had of the mags was handed over to the purchaser of my model tramway layout, they have been probably been put into a skip bin long ago. How I wish someone had digitised these mags as I believe they are no longer produced and I don't think there are any pure traction model magazines out there.

So as luck would have it, while I was on a high on traction motor fumes on Facebook Market place I noticed someone had put up some brass model trams up for sale. So to cut a long story short in a deal I managed to obtain a total of eight trams which will be enough to start off my empire for now. Out of the eight, two were raw brass which were freight cars and the remainder were beautifully painted models from the Chicago Surface lines. I must admit when I first started modelling I wasn't fussed where the models came from as I had a Hollywood car and also a New Orleans car and a Birney which could have come from many US cities, indeed we had four models running right up to the end of the Bendigo trams in 1972.

So I need to start studying the Chicago system and start learning how to identify one from the other.

MODEL 1 - BRILL WATER SPRINKLER CAR.

After the seller had sent me a photo of many boxes of trams he had, I was able to spot a box containing a sprinkler car. I had fond memories of this model years ago as being something different to a passenger car. It could run around the layout with an imaginery different purpose for being there rather than having to stop and pick up passengers. I remember that I painted my first model black which I suppose it was in real life. I don't know if the Chicago system had one of these in their fleet yet, that is all part of the research that needs to had. I had set up a circle of set track to test the trams I purchased, this one ran OK and I don't think I will need to fit a sound decoder to it as it has its own unique trolley sound.

The box it comes in has stamped on it "Model Tramway System, Wilton, Connecticut, and for the princely price of $19.75. I think I paid a little bit more than that! One thing I used to do was run all of my trams without crew, so now at the second coming I will try and get some figures to put at the controls when the time comes for it to spin around the layout. I will have to see what is in the Modelu range from England, the beauty with 3D printing now is any scale models can be printed. I have a very talented figure painter from Queensland who may in the future get a few jobs from me.

MODEL 2 - BROOKLYN RAPID TRANSIT SOUTH BROOKLYN RAILWAY, DOUBLE DOOR FREIGHT MOTOR

 When I asked the seller if he had any freight cars besides the sprinkler car he stated he had this freight motor which I was happy to get. I took the above photos without the poles but be assured they are in the box ready to be fitted. On this model one of the bogies needs resoldering and more major at this stage is it doesn't operate. It was just admired, put on the track to test and put back in the box for another day after it wouldn't go. I am just hoping it will be a loose wire and nothing major. I am sure once it gets painted it will fit in quite well. I am planning to have a freight track on the proposed layout so it may see many visits there. When you consider how beautiful a virgin brass model looks it seems a shame to paint it, I don't feel the same way about a 3D printed model.

Well thats the two freight models dealt with, I will show the others on a later posting.