Useful Links

There are many other web sites, both Australian and offshore, dealing with various aspects of model railways. These are some that we know of in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Suggestions for others are most welcome, so if you have any ideas or notice a link that is broken, please contact us.

Members' Sites

Australian Railway Detail Photos by AMRA NSW member Keiran Ryan (of Peak Hill fame) displays a series of detailed working photos of locos, rollingstock and buildings for the NSW railway modeller. Worth a look.

Lambing Flat, by the talented and prolific modeller James McInerney, shows off his HO scale branchline railway. Also see his G scale Rurr Valley garden railway on those pages. Connected to hundreds of other modellers throughout the world via a railway modellers' Webring.

Kieran Ryan Models is a glitzy, energetic site - a bit like the man himself! Full of things to see and do, including the Peak Hill HO prototype layout.

Cyberdog Design Okay, I'm not a member any more – but because I've had over 20 years of friendship and learning at AMRA, I've been overseeing this site fee-free since 2000. Have a look at my site and if you like the work – ask me for a quotation!

Artists

Steam Train Art showcases the work of Frank Mitchell, a fine landscape artist who has diversified into scenes from the steam era. Many of these colourful, dramatic works are available for sale; or simple browse his onsite gallery of both rail-oriented or other landscape paintings.

Clubs and Conventions

The Newcastle Model Railway Club site is brand new and features numerous shots of their layouts. Like AMRA, they cater for many different scales and prototypes and welcome modellers of all capabilities.

Sydney N Scale Model Railway Club has some great pictures of their large club layout and some interesting background on N scale in general.

NSW School Students' Model Railway Club site has photos of their HO layout, Sandy Creek (right) and a fantastic animated railway station at the top of the page. (We covet that... anti-plagiarists beware...)

N Scale Page is a must-see resource site for all Australian N scalers, with lots of great links and contacts.

Canberra Model Railway Club is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to having fun with model railways of all scales, but with an HO club layout that is essentially Australian. Members meet on the first Wednesday of every month in Kingston. The Club runs the annual Canberra Model Railway Expo every April.

Macarthur District Model Railway Club is situated in the Campbelltown (Macarthur) area, south west of Sydney. Members model various scales including HO and N and a wide range of prototypes, with Australian HO being the most popular. A large modular HO layout Macarthur District is the club's main layout.

Hills Model Railway Society, located in Baulkham Hills, has members interested in Australian, American, British, Japanese and European prototype model railways, covering the 3 common scales, HO, OO and N gauge.

Guildford Model Railway Group is an informal collective of rail enthusiasts based in the south-western suburbs of Sydney. The activities of the Group concentrate on the railways of New South Wales in HO scale, especially their exhibition layout Moss Vale, but also include other scales and prototypes.

Rail Organisations

Heritage Express is operated by the NSW Rail Transport Museum. Located in Thirlmere, a short drive from Sydney, the Museum also has sales offices in Burwood and Newcastle.

3801 Limited is a non-profit company running tours of steam trains to maintain their beautiful rollingstock.

Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division, operating from Redfern in Sydney, offers extensive archives, a great railway bookshop, an informative magazine, lectures in Sydney and Newcastle and much more.

Australian Railway Historical Society ACT Division is located in Queanbeyan near Canberra.

Manufacturers and Retailers

Austrains manufacture injection moulded models of Australian prototype diesel and steam locos and rolling stock.

AR Kits makes quality HO scale Australian prototype model trains and is located in Warwick, Queensland.

Ian Lindsay Models manufactures Australian railway items for various scales, like the goods shed at left, including O scale animals and details. Available from this site or mail order only. Not a glamorous odyssey but clean and clear.

Iron Horse Hobbies from Yerong Creek is at least an entertaining page! Like Lambing Flat, it is also part of a railway modelling Webring.

Mountain Blue Miniatures, located in Blaxland, manufacture Australian prototype O Scale (1/48) figures in pewter and detail parts in polyurethane resin. The figures are useful for a variety of historical periods.

N-trains by Ian Alce, is based in Cootamundra and has been seminal in the establishment of Australian prototype modelling in N scale with a variety of injection-moulded, whitemetal and polyurethane rollingstock and other items.

Powerline Models make a range of HO locos and rollingstock but this page functions only as an e-mail point.

Model railway retailers in NSW include:

• Bergs Hobbies in Parramatta
• Model Railroad Craftsman in Marayong and
• Casula Hobbies in Liverpool.