Wombat Creek Tramways

I am please to announce Wombat Creek Tramways are back in service. Buildings, tracks and tram have all been moved to a new location without any damages.

Now I can start modelling again!

At noon today Wombat Creek was it usual self. A few people out and about in the 30+ degrees heat.

At 3 pm the temperature was the same, but Wombat Creek looked like this.

What happened? A tsunami? No, the town is too far way from the coast. A cyclone? No, the town is too far south. An earthquake? Could be – they do happen in Victoria. Fortunately most of the brewery is still standing!

Well, the truth is, Wombat Creek is on the move. One key feature of the layout is it can be dismantled, moved and hopefully easily assembled again. I didn’t expect to take advantage of the feature already, but our landlord wants to sell our current rental and we have to move out. Fortunately we have already rented a new place with more space for Wombat Creek. So for a couple of weeks you will not get news from ‘the Creek’, but things should be back on track late February.

28 chairs are ready for the diners at the Duncan & Fraser Restaurant. Each chair consists of a 5 x 10 mm thin plastic card bent into shape, one whole staple and one staple cut in halves.

Next ‘challenge’ will be painting customers and staff. The restaurant will not be fully booked but still around 25 figures to paint!

One down – 27 to go!

Quite a few years ago I bought one of the (in-)famous Atlas tram editions. Unfortunate – perhaps because I didn’t do a proper research first – the model of a steam tram from Bern, Switzerland is narrow gauge. Fortunately it can be re-gauged to standard gauge even the model needs some alterations to resemble an Australian steam tram.

The trailer was deemed to be of no use, but a friend from the Melbourne Tram Museum provided photos of the steam trams in Bendigo. They only operated for a short period between 1892 and 1902. The trailers were of slightly various designs but all more or less like the one from Bern. The Bendigo trailers had either 8 windows and platforms with open sides or 6 windows with enclosed platforms. The Wombat Creek Tramways went for a ‘consolidated’ version. So instead of being scrapped it underwent a minor rebuild. The platforms got solid sides and longitudinal benches and the bogies got wheels from a W class tram.

The double-decker trams in Hobart did occasionally display an unfortunate habit – overturning rounding sharp curves. The tramways solved the problem by converting the trams into single-decker trams.

Wombat Creek Tramways will keep no. 17 as a double-decker. The test-runs have showed a tendency of the tram swinging from side to side, so I have decided to add some extra weight. A visit to a store selling fishing gear paid off. Two 20 grams lead sinkers have stabilised the tram. The shop assistant asked, where I would go fishing. To his surprise I replied: ‘I never go fishing!’

The livery is very close to Hobart no. 17. As seen from the photo the tram sports very fine lines and a tramway logo on the sides. This was done in ‘Photoshop’ and later printer out on ‘Transparent Clear Label For Ink-jet Printer Only’. Before applying the prints to the tram, they were sprayed three times with matt finishing sealer.

The mechanics at the workshop have been busy this week. The former Hobart tram has been transformed from this:

to this:

The photo shows the tram, now renumbered as WCT no. 17, at the tram stop in Victoria street. The rebuilt is almost finished. Still to come are two side steps and the seats of the saloon. To gain a more smooth run additional weight will be placed under the longitudinal seats.

Except the four seat in the corners the seats of the top floor of the double-decker tram have reversible backs. The joiners at the workshop have been busy today. 10 pieces of cardboard, 10 pieces of thin plastic sheets, 40 small staples, some paint and a lot of patience (plus a pinch of quiet swearing) give you 10 seats.