Wombat Creek Tramways

The setting is not what you would expect, but the photo shows the Bellcord with windows! The doors are in ‘back order’. Next step will be the front entrance, which will be a challenge due to its shape.

From this:

to this:

in exactly one year!

Before I began construction of the Bellcord I searched the internet for an image of an interesting building, which would fit the corner opposite the bank and Fraser & Duncan. I came across a few photos of the former United Kingdom Hotel in Clifton Hill.

Next step was a visit to the hotel (now a McDonald’s) to photograph details of the exterior. I was especially interested in smaller details e.g. the yellow and brown bands on the lower walls and the tiles on the front entrance. They could be processed in Photoshop and printed out for the actual model. The trusted Street View from Google will help with other details (I know this from the build of the Bank).

So I felt well prepared and ready to go. Only the front will be more or less a copy of the place. The rest of the building has to be amended to fit the space on the layout. As the construction moves ahead I realise (again), it is impossible to find all the details until you get to them! The brick walls have their own set of tiles at the top; only the top part of the balcony sits on top off the lower part of the building etc. Some details can be incorporated at a later time. For some it is too late.

Anyway, the brick work is done. I am now waiting for the windows to be done by the joiner (me) and the glazier (also me).

Construction is well under way with most of the walls up. The radius of the curved walls is rather small (20 mm). To make sure the curves will be smooth once the bricks come up, small vertical cuts have been made for every 2 mm on the outside.

The construction of the Bellcord (the jazz club) has commenced. The concrete slab (foundation) has be poured (read: cut out of 1.5 mm cardboard). This allows me to see how it fits in on the corner next to the Fire Station and the future Comedy Theatre.

To get an idea of how the ‘Bellcord’ will fit in on the corner of the Golden Mile and the Main Street, I have printed a photo of the the original building in the approximate scale. It looks a bit flat and the hight probably needs to be increased to correspond with the fire station. ‘The Golden Sea Gull’ on the front will of course not be part of the model.

With the tracks finished, the narrow gauge railway definitely needs rolling stock. At the moment the entire fleet consists of three steam locomotives, one big passenger coach and four ore wagons. None of this is typical for a narrow gauge railway in Victoria, so it is time to get constructive!

Almost 50 years ago I bought four scale N wagons (made in Yugoslavia) for $1.60 each! The purpose of the purchase has always been to use the chassis and bogies for HOe/OO9 stock. Finally this is going to happen.

The sawmill supplies the mines with fire wood and props and will need open wagons like the Victorian Railways NQR.

Our five friends of the Bellcord are devastated. Their preferred block of land for the jazz club has disappeared along with the fire station? What is going on?