JohnK
New Member
Hi everyone. Oddly, I drove my first model train just six months ago, but in my 77 years on the planet, I've always been fascinated with model railways and model making in general. I'm a member of the Cairns (Australia) Men's Shed where we're building a 7.5m x 2.8m HO/OO DC/DCC layout with a predicted 100 plus metres of continuous mainline running on four levels. I'll add photos as things progress, but we're currently able to operate about 30 metres on DC only.
The Shed also has a Laser Cutter and I use it regularly to produce models for the Shed's layout. I can design in CorelDraw and I enjoy creating my own models or converting "ScaleScenes" paper models to laser cut models. I do the cutting and encourage other Shed members to build the models.
I'm also a member of the Far North Queensland Model Railway Club where members meet in private homes every month. As this makes it difficult for apartment dwellers and the like, a few guys got together and recently established the Cairns Model Railway Club which currently has two club layouts in HO and OO gauge. More about that later as well.
We were recently donated an incredible N Scale layout which has been featured elsewhere on this site. Sadly the layout suffered a lot of damage as it traversed half the planet and sat in storage for the past several years. Rats, Mice, Cockroaches and Ants all had a great feed, or built nests in every nook and cranny, making the damage almost "extreme". However, enough remains intact for us to restore the layout to its former glory and that's exactly what we plan to do. It will become a feature of our Club and we plan to show it off wherever and whenever we can.
We've had the layout for less than a week, but it's already beginning to sparkle from a very gentle scrub and polish. Some buildings are beyond repair, however we've managed to source most of them and it will be relatively easy to replace everything as we progress.
Sorry, but I can't say more until I get authority from the Club's Committee. I just hope the original builder is still a member and we can all work towards returning the layout to its former glory.
John
The Shed also has a Laser Cutter and I use it regularly to produce models for the Shed's layout. I can design in CorelDraw and I enjoy creating my own models or converting "ScaleScenes" paper models to laser cut models. I do the cutting and encourage other Shed members to build the models.
I'm also a member of the Far North Queensland Model Railway Club where members meet in private homes every month. As this makes it difficult for apartment dwellers and the like, a few guys got together and recently established the Cairns Model Railway Club which currently has two club layouts in HO and OO gauge. More about that later as well.
We were recently donated an incredible N Scale layout which has been featured elsewhere on this site. Sadly the layout suffered a lot of damage as it traversed half the planet and sat in storage for the past several years. Rats, Mice, Cockroaches and Ants all had a great feed, or built nests in every nook and cranny, making the damage almost "extreme". However, enough remains intact for us to restore the layout to its former glory and that's exactly what we plan to do. It will become a feature of our Club and we plan to show it off wherever and whenever we can.
We've had the layout for less than a week, but it's already beginning to sparkle from a very gentle scrub and polish. Some buildings are beyond repair, however we've managed to source most of them and it will be relatively easy to replace everything as we progress.
Sorry, but I can't say more until I get authority from the Club's Committee. I just hope the original builder is still a member and we can all work towards returning the layout to its former glory.
John
