Category Archives: Rail Heritage

Rail Enthusiasts’ Day

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Rail Heritage WA is holding a “Rail Enthusiasts’ Day” at the Rail Transport Museum on Sunday 2nd May: 11am-5pm

Activities on the day will include:

  • Book launch — Bill Gray’s revised, fully detailed, guide to all our locomotives, carriages and exhibits – now in full colour. Special first-day price!
  • Selected stalls catering to enthusiasts
  • Behind the scenes tours — see restoration area and talk to restorers**
  • Tours through an XA diesel locomotive (bring own ear-muffs!)**
  • Special displays of Western Australian prototype models – multiple scales and gauges – with help and information desk
  • Behind-the-scenes tours of WA Model Railway Club system
  • Used book and magazines sale
  • The bookshop newly stocked
  • Sales on commission (rail artefacts, special books, etc.) – contact email hidden; JavaScript is required for details
  • Sausage sizzle, cool drinks, tea, coffee and snacks available

** For insurance and safety regulatory reasons, participants in these tours must wear hats and closed shoes and be over 12 years of age. We also recommend you dress appropriately for an area where objects may be rusty and/or oily.

The Railway Museum, 136 Railway Parade Bassendean WA 6054

http://www.railheritagewa.org.au/

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Also available is the April newsletter from Rail Heritage: Acrobat logoNewsletter 2010 04

RailFest 2009

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Railfest poster

This year’s annual RailFest at the museum is only a few weeks away. We’ll be doing our usual thing on the day (same as a normal Sunday) only with more G‑Scale trains running outside — plus the opportunity to have an escorted viewing of our N‑Scale layout ‘behind the barricade’ for a gold coin donation. RailFest is always a great day, so come along and be part of the fun!

Members: As discussed at the meeting last week, we are having a formal busy-bee on the morning of Saturday 3rd October (i.e. 8 days before RailFest) to get the place neat and tidy. BBQ lunch will be provided by the club and the afternoon has been set aside for a chance for us all to get together and run some trains. Please come down to the club and be involved!

Rail Heritage WA — 50th Anniversary

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Tomorrow night (Friday 13th February) Rail Heritage WA is holding a 50th Anniversary Meeting at the Rail Transport Museum — 8pm onwards. Hear from people who were Foundation Members — what were their ideas? Slides from the early years too! All welcome. Supper provided.

On Saturday 28th March, Rail Heritage WA is holding a social evening. Enjoy the opportunity to socialise with members, volunteers, interested people from kindred groups, etc. at this fully catered function being held at the Rail Transport Museum. For just $25 a head you have roast meats, salads and a choice of desserts, together with tea & coffee and a soft drink — this was most enjoyable when held for the ATHRA. Beginning at 5pm, with the meal served from 6pm, enjoy the surroundings and the company on the last evening of daylight saving for the summer. Friends and families welcome. Please book by Friday 20th March by either phoning Derek on 9361 3187 or by email to email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Later in the year Rail Heritage WA are also planning:

Changes to Museum and Model Railway opening times

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The Rail Transport Museum is changing its opening hours (and entrance prices) from the 3rd March 2009. From that date the museum will no longer open on public holidays (the last public holiday the museum and model railway are opening is Monday 2nd March), but will be opening on every Wednesday of the year. Unfortunately the model railway club has insufficient members to be able to open every Wednesday of the year, so we will continue to open on Sundays and Wednesdays during school holidays only.

So our new opening details (from 3rd March 2009) are:

  • Sundays: 1 — 5 pm
  • Wednesdays (school holidays only): 1 — 4 pm
  • Museum entrance fees: $7 adults, $6 seniors/pensioners, $3 children, $50 platform pass (annual pass for families)

Edmonton send their thanks

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We received a nice note from Ian Jenkins at the Edmonton Model Railroad Association (our sister club in Canada). They were so impressed with our donation of a copy of Rails Through the Bush earlier in the year that they built a special holder for it and mounted it on the wall of their clubrooms rather than simply file it away in their library!

In other news, Geoffrey Higham (Rail Heritage WA) tells me that Latest issue of the Westland journal is now available from the entry kiosk. Apparently if WAMRC members identify themselves appropriately (e.g. by wearing the club green shirt uniform), we can pick it up for $6 (same as Rail Heritage members) instead of the normal $7 cover price. Please make enquiries at the Rail Heritage kiosk if you are interested.

RailHeritage Newsletter

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The November issue of the RailHeritage WA newsletter is now available: 11–08-newsletter

An interesting point to note in the newsletter is that the museum is planning to change their opening hours next year to open on Sundays and Wednesdays (not just in school holidays), but not on public holidays. Contrary to what is stated in the newsletter (“The WAMRC will also be open on those days”), we are yet to formally discuss this at a general meeting of the club (it will be discussed at the general meeting on Wednesday 19th November). It was discussed at the last committee meeting and we struggled to see how we can achieve this given the small number of our members who are available to open the club on Wednesdays… we shall see!

RailFest this weekend

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It was full steam ahead last night down at the club trying to get ready for RailFest this Sunday. With the N‑Scalers only just back from the Albany Hobby Expo, and the Arid Australia boys still making their way back from Sydney, we are not as prepared as we normally are.

All members are requested to come along on Sunday for as long as they can — not just the one or two hours you have put your name down for on the public layout roster. It appears likely we could be short of people!

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The picture above is from the N‑Scale layout whilst on display at Albany. It shows the brilliant effect that can be achieved by using “Glass Coat” 2‑part epoxy resin for simulating water. The picture is of a cow drinking from the river (complete with reflection) viewed under the bridge on the new terminus station module constructed specially for this exhibition. On the rails above, a German beer train is being shunted by a steam engine.

I’ll post some more pictures from the exhibition soon.