46th Sydney Model Railway Exhibition

Iain · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:41 am

Yes an obvious typo probably due to being annoyed by the phrase "AMRA nazi's".

Did Arid Australia eventually run a very long train as rumour said they would?

Iain Stuart

dthead · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 8:07 am

Sunday afternoon saw a 350 car train while I were there. And they had alot more wagons in staging yards as well. Took some video on the digital camera but haven't check it yet.

Regards,
David Head

taggy · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 8:08 am

I do believe that you (Hanovale) and a few others including my model association werent invited this year due to the sheer size of Arid Australia. There was simply not enough room for all! Laughing

Iain,

There was a sign there yesterday saying they hold the record of 902 wagons on a single train. I do not know what day it was set though.

Aaron

3801, pure beauty.
People are like slinkies, they have no purpose but bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

http://photobucket.com/nswgr38pics
Member of NSWRTM.
Bruce: "And thats the way the cookie crumbles"

KRviator · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 11:11 am

pv · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 11:21 am

Arid Australia - in my opinion it was a dead loss. (it was certainly arid of trains each time I saw it)

The pool canteen arangement was a joke with rubbish food and service, there was not enough seating and overheating as others have pointed out was an issue. (but they are also issues at Liverpool) The suppose disabled parking out the back was a waste as organisers obviously have nil idea that a narrow gate, then being able to get between parked cars and over a gutter does not constitute disabled access.

The layouts and stands overall were good and enjoyable.

Perhaps it's time to take the next step and go a bit more upmarket in venues.

peve

jd4980 · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:20 pm

Well i was there on Monday, and had a great time, plenty of room and a fair go at every stand was to be had. Was good to catch up with a few people you only ever see at exhibitions, and meet some new faces to go with names. The trade stands seem to be dominant, but that debate is a huge can of worms and done too many times before. I got a shock to see Berg's had a stand, first time in how many years ? I was surprised there weren't more demonsration stands but the reason is probably obvious. It was my first visit to the Hurstville venue and it certainly seemed to handle the crowds and parking requirements for Monday at least.

The Coffs group surely do need F@#%ing for setting their layout up the way they did, would have been a lot better to have the finished side out, but they may have set up first and not realised they were going to be hidden so possibly its unfair to be giving them a hard time over it. The general quality of layouts was good, but there seemed to be something letting each down, like Queens Wharf, outstanding, but hand from above shunting ? When its a terminus layout this especially doesn't seem right, but the layout and gear itself awesome. Leigh Creek was my favorite. I'd echo the general sentiment of most that Arid Australia was impressive for the first 2 and a half minutes of looking at it, and the effort to get it to the east coast should be applauded but don't come back guys. Took up a lot of space and while i have no exhibition offerings of my own and shouldn't talk out of school, it was pretty ordinary to look at, the trains were the only real appeal for me.

The show capped off a great weekend for our party. Thanks to the organisers and exhibitors.

Chovies5910 · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:58 pm

Hopefully next year they will go back to Liverpool next year. That place was so much bigger and better.

And if anybody is think why would they do that here is a quote from the exibition book.

MR-DUCK · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 1:38 pm

I agree with a few other posts here especially "pv". Arid Australia was too big to devoid of trains and I feel was entered at the expense of smaller more quality layouts. My pick for the best layout was the Queensland "ESK" layout. After seeing this layout in real life I have a new appreciation of Queensland modelling.

" MORE TRACTIVE EFFORT BOYS"

Draffa · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:06 pm

aussieloco · Beginner Joined: Oct 02, 2007 Last Visited: Dec 2, 2008

SA_trains · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:51 pm

Well, I enjoyed the Hurstville Expo. My only compliant, which, to be honest is a Happy problem for Expo organisers, was Saturday's crowd. Huge number of visitors, so I guess the AMRA were very happy.

Yes I found it difficult to get in close to examine layouts and the scrum in front of the Austrains layout, was extraordinary!

However, with some patience, I achieved all that I wanted too. I really didn't see any huge problem. Yes I saw inconsiderate people with strollers, or people pushing in front, but don't we see that everywhere else in life? Doesn't make it right, it just is the way of the world (unfortunately Crying or Very sad

)

brod13 · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:59 pm

In one of the video's a page or two back, begins with an On30 layout, does anyone know the name of that layout?

Regards, Brodie

http://brodie259.fotopic.net/

jd4980 · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:04 pm

Kav442s5 · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:04 am

I have to say that I didn't mind seeing the unfinished bit, I saw this layout a couple of years ago in Newcastle and from memory that bit was just a fiddle yard. I think that it was a good thing showing that part because it gives an understanding to the general public of what goes into constructing a layout by showing a landscape with track and some buildings but no ballast and scenery.

It's creepy crawly season, so stop those creepys from crawling, particularly if its a TERMITE!

jd4980 · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:09 am

Thats probably a fair call and an opinion many share Kav. For me though, i got to an exhibition seeking inspiration from other peoples work, not to see what i can see in my own shed 50m away for free. Hence my strong opinion on the orientation of the coffs layout. I am a fan of the Coffs idea, i think it caters nicely to a club senario, they run decent trains at decent speeds, most are top blokes, i'm not having a shot at their layout or gear. Its operations like Moss Vale i can't handle where you have an NR passing a 60, i don't like that at all. As i mentioned previously, despite some glaring failures on most layouts, they were all generally good, i don't recall shaking my head and walking away giggling to myself once, like at some shows.