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Wombat Creek Tramways

Wombat Creek is a H0 (1:87) scale model of a fictional town situated somewhere in the Victorian Goldfields, Australia.

The time is 1963. Geelong wins the VFL Championship against Hawthorn (109– 60). John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. ValentinaTeresjkova is the first woman in Space. The men behind The Great Train Robbery get £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London.

The town consists of several buildings. The “Wombat Creek Bank and Gold Exchange” is a prominent building in the town centre. You will also find several other commercial buildings; among them the daily newspaper“W.C. Chronicle”(colloquial known as the "Toilet Paper") and “Wombat Creek Brewing Company” (Famous for the “Wombat Bitter”). “The Big Nugget Gold Mine” is situated at the Western outskirts of town near the small Chinatown. The War Memorial is in a small park along East Street.

The town’s mayor Alfred Campbell together with his son David Campbell owns several businesses, including the bank, the pub and the newspaper. AC/DC basically run the town and make most decisions on behalf of the rest of Wombat Creek’s residents, who, on the other hand, are too busy with their own businesses.

The mayor’s latest initiative is Wombat Creek Tramways. Wombat Creek doesn’t really need a tram system, but AC reckons tramways will improve the town’s reputation. Partly because of limited funds the tramways' construction and rolling stock depend heavily on second-hand requirements from other Australian and overseas tramways.

Finally a rainy day

Text and photos from Wombat Creek Consolidated Mines Pty Ltd Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Wed, May 07, 2025 16:52:47

After weeks without rain we got showers today. Good for the garden and spare time for me.

The goldmine in Gumnut Gully doesn’t have the capacity to crush the ore. Instead it has to be shipped to the Big Nugget Mine in Wombat Creek. The ore skis are without brakes and a brake van is needed.

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The result of a few hours of measuring and cutting resulted in the body of a small brake van. A similar van was used at the Mt. L yell railway in Tasmania. The body is on a temporary chassis which explains the lean.



Chaos at the Sawmill

Text and photos from Wombat Creek Consolidated Mines Pty Ltd Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Fri, May 02, 2025 10:47:51
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Woody has come to pick up some timber from the sawmill. A heavy wind gust must have come through! Better get the timber stacked again.

The phone number (WC 1049) will have to be changed soon. In the early 1960s Australia went from two letters and four digits to six digits. The new number will be 92 1049. I think, Woody will rather buy a newer truck than repaint the old one.



Real world copies model world – or vice versa

Text & photos from Wombat Creek Tramways Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Fri, May 02, 2025 10:34:30

Wombat Creek, November 2021

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Adelaide City, April 2025

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Second steam tram operational

Text & photos from Wombat Creek Tramways Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Wed, April 23, 2025 10:59:50

It took the volunteers at Wombat Creek steam Trams just over three years to go from this:

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to this:

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The steam motor is running pretty well on its own. Still to be tested with the rather heavy die cast trailer, which may need modification negotiating sharper curves.



Trailers under construction

Text & photos from Wombat Creek Tramways Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Wed, April 16, 2025 21:05:57
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My Ebay contact has designed and 3D printed trailers for the Baldwin steam tram. They are very similar to the trailers used at the long gone Sorrento Tramways at Mornington Peninsula. The trailers are printed as a kit to be assembled, which makes painting quite easy. So far I have finished the chassis and the floors.



Trestle bridges

Text and photos from Wombat Creek Consolidated Mines Pty Ltd Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Fri, April 11, 2025 15:14:00
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Two trestle bridges over Stony Creek (yes, the creek running through Gumnut Gully has been named) have been finished. As a test, short goods train has passed over each bridge. Not a tiny squeak was to be heard!

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Spot the mistake(s)

Text and photos from Wombat Creek Consolidated Mines Pty Ltd Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Sat, April 05, 2025 13:09:24
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Testing second steam tram

Text & photos from Wombat Creek Tramways Posted by Claus EllefPosted on Thu, April 03, 2025 10:31:51
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The guys working at Wombat Creek steam Trams have a great time. Their second steam tram, an ex-Bendigo steam motor, was fired up for the first time and had a test run along the tram line near the steam shed. Everything seems to work just fine and work will progress as planned. Next step will be enclosing the boiler with side windows and a roof.



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