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.
It took the volunteers at Wombat Creek steam Trams just over three years to go from this:
to this:
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.
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.
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!
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.
Gumnut Gully still appears very quiet and abandoned. Not much of activity is to be seen. However, the still to be named creek has started to form. The creek bed is made from toilet paper (!) which has been painted with green and blue paint. The water is a 2mm thick plastic table cover.
Wombat Creek steam Trams have their first unit restored. The tram (locomotive) is loosely based on a similar Baldwin tram from the Sorrento Tramways. The model is a 3D print. Even without additional weight it is a good (and very fast) runner. With an ‘overhanging’ cab the performance is better running ‘cab first’. The only other rolling stock at the steam trams is the trailer seen in the photo. Originally built for transporting ballast the steam trams use the trailer for transporting coal.
Three passenger trailers are under their way in the post. After assembling and painting they will form the backbone of the Wombat Creek steam Trams public activities. Also in workshop (read ‘on the work desk’) is a former Bendigo steam motor.
Finally, the Comedy Theatre will open its doors after 19 months of planning and construction.
On stage is the comedy ‘Goodnight Mrs. Puffin’. I don’t know much about the play, but it was staged at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne in 1963. Perhaps the ensemble are doing a few nights is Wombat Creek, too.
