The December issue of the AMRA Branchline magazine is now available: 
AMRA Branchline December 2008
December AMRA Branchline
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Edmonton send their thanks
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
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!
Notice of General Meeting — 19th December
The next General Meeting will be held at the club on Wednesday 19th November 2008 at 8pm. Please see the Notice of General Meeting (19/11/08) for more details. The minutes from the last General Meeting are now available on the members page.
Image: An example of the new T‑Gauge models (1:450 scale) now coming out of Japan
Albany Hobby Expo Pictures
As promised, lots of photos of Weepy Junction from the N‑Scale SIGs trip to the 2008 Albany Hobby Expo at the beginning of October are now available in the galleries page.
Image: Cars in the carpark of the new station terminus on “Weepy Junction”
RailFest this weekend
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.
HO or N — Hard to Choose
The WAMRC models in both HO & N scale (and G too — but it is not relevant here), and we get a few visitors and prospective members asking what are the relative advantages. Some of us even have a foot in both camps — hard to choose which one to concentrate on.
It looks like this guy (David Smith) couldn’t decide either. He has ended up building a working N scale model of an HO layout. Yep — that’s right — around 1:12,000 scale or so he reckons! He has an excellent web site describing in detail how he did, plus a link to a YouTube video showing it actually running. Check out the White River and Northern Model Railroad Clinic page to find out more. 🙂
May Minutes now available
The minutes for the May General Meeting are now available on the Members’ Area (send me an e‑mail if you have forgotten the user-name/password to get access). Don’t forget — the next General Meeting is on Wednesday 17th September (i.e. in two days).
Also now available is the updated Members’ Handbook (no password required).
Image: WAMRC member Cliff Dacey pilotting an AN loco at Forrestfield, January 2003 — Tony Parker
Notice of General Meeting
The next club general meeting will be held at 8pm on Wednesday 17th September 2008. Please see the attached General Notice 17–09-08 for the meeting agenda.
A reminder also that subscription fees are now due. If you have not renewed your subscription yet, please see the Treasurer.
Image: Old railway bridge, near Donnelly River Mill, South-West WA
August AMRA Branchline
The August issue of the AMRA Branchline magazine is now available: AMRA Branchline August 2008