New Zealand Model Railway Guild Inc.
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is a major project in your life. If you are unsure of your abilities it is best to start small - not small in scale necessarily, although there is some advantage in that if you live in a flat or expect to move often...You see there are a lot more things to think of other than what the train will look like. |
There is not room here to tell you exactly how to do it but in general you should start by reading, learning and planning. There are many magazines available on railway (Railroad) modelling including the N.Z.M.R.Guild Journal, which will guide you on the actual way to do it. Other sources of information are Railway books - most main libraries have some available, magazines on full sized rail practice, 'New Zealand Railfan' and 'Rails' are worth looking at for current and in-depth stories. 'The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Inc.' publish 'The Observer' a journal of record of NZ railways. They also publish books and have a large archive in Wellington of the old documents of the N.Z. Government Railways, including photos and drawings.
..To add an NZR element to your
layout...
If you have an 'N' or 'HO/OO' layout and want to include some
N.Z. prototype stock on it, the easiest way is to buy second
hand. A number of model shops have used rolling stock available,
including locos. Of course there are professional builders who
will build for you either from kits or from scratch.
| Club Name | Contact | City |
| Auckland | ||
| Auckland NZR 3/16th Group | Neville Connew, (09) 836 3751 | Henderson |
| North Shore M.R.C. | POBox 36 120, Northcote | Birkenhead |
| 9mm Modellers Group & Von Strapp Co-op | Contact Phil Rzoska | Auckland |
| Lower North Island | ||
| Mana MRC. | Ken Lankshear, (04) 232 7920 | Tawa |
| Wairarapa Railway Modellers | Ian
C Galbraith, (06) 377 3603 |
Masterton |
| Wellington NZR Modellers Group | Lower Hutt | |
| Wellington Model Railway Club | Russell Postlewaight, (04) 233 0938 | Wellington |
| South Island | ||
| 9mm Railway Society (South) | John Gardener, (03) 338 8823 | Christchurch |
| NZ Railways Modellers Group | Colin Barry, (03) 358 3681 | Christchurch |
| N120 Group | Spencer Sherlock, (03) 351 5768 | Bryndwr |
| Nelson NZR Modellers | Phillip Smith, (03) 544 6497 | Richmond |
| Is there any one modelling the New Zealand scene in HOn3.5 |
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| Yes it has a following, but modellers have found it hard as there is very little available ready made in the way of NZR stock. Not that that need be a problem to the enthusiast. Rail to 12mm gauge is made by Shinohara of Japan for the HOn3 market there. Diesel and steam mechanisms are available from both Australia and Germany still. Wheels, bogies and couplers can be obtained. There is more interest in this scale in Australia where the Queensland railways also run on a 3 foot 6 inch gauge. And as proponents are quick to point out --- It is the most popular scale in the world. |
| What are the advantages of these different scales? |
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| 9mm suits builders of accurate
and well finished models and structures. There is a
limited availability of components and kitsets. The
layout would require a large area unless you built an
end-to-end only structure. 3/16ths (Sn3½ or 1:64) is a good general purpose scale where the layout is not too big. There is a good range of components and kitsets for locomotives, rolling stock and structures. Most clubs run HO gauge track which is handy for running 3/16ths models on. NZ120 is growing in popularity, not so much detail is needed on the rolling stock but it allows for much more realistic modelling of the scenery on a scale appropriate to our mountainous bush covered country. There is a limited availability of structures and kitsets produced by fellow enthusiasts. |
| Can I buy ready made N.Z. rail models from the local modelshop? |
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| Not at present. There are professional model makers who will provide on order either from available kitsets or scratch built. A reasonable range of kitsets are available for the Sn3½ scale modeller and NZ120 kits are becoming available from enthusiasts. |
| What is the appeal in modelling N.Z. railways? |
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| For New Zealand modellers it is having the the trains of the country running in characteristic scenery. For non-N.Z.ers it is the challenge of modelling an exotic and unusual prototype. The range of the prototype is quite large, from the early provincial and bush tramways (logging railways) to the present day , set against the beautiful and striking scenery. |
| What Kitsets are available from the model shops for New Zealand rail equipment? |
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| There are a number of manufacturers of kitsets and other items for NZ Rail models. The best place to find them of course is in the Guilds Journal. There will soon be a Trade Directory on sale at leading Model Shops, it will advertise the full ranges of all suppliers . We will publicise it when it is available. |
| Is there much second hand equipment available. |
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Yes, there are often second hand items
displayed at the model shops. If you are after second
hand equipment::
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The Prototype New Zealand Railways scene that we model has developed on a 3 foot 6 inch gauge, track system. In the beginning, a small country with very few and scattered population, could not afford to install the railway infra-structure used in Europe or Britain. The terrain was more rugged and not as developed as that of the old countries. The style of the railway and its stock has developed to suit these differences.
A model of an NZR prototype is first recorded in 1901 and was naturally enough executed by Railways engineering apprentice staff. One of our pioneers in modelling was Frank Roberts and he in 1903 built a model of the "Wa" class steam locomotive using a scale of 1:19. Over the next 50 years he was to lead the way in the construction of accurate models usually in 1:24 scale. These are now a national heritage and in the hands of the Museum of New Zealand.
Others were also inspired to model the local scene and some have been described in the overseas model press as early as 1926. The scale to model in has been a point of difference over the years. Frank Roberts using 1:24 was running on 1 3/4 inch gauge track for his outdoor layouts. Others used 2 inch (51mm) and 45 mm gauge mainly for garden railways.
Indoor modelling was limited, as in Europe, by the availability of suitable electric motors. 'O' gauge, using a scale of 8mm to the foot is recorded, that used a 6volt DC motor from Leeds Model Co. Several other 'O' gauge and even an 'OO' gauge to 4mm scale layouts were produced in the pre-war years. However it was always seen as a problem that the 'standard' scale/gauge combinations of overseas did not fit the 3 foot 6 inch gauge of our prototype.
Ken Cassells and others were working during the post war years toward gauge/scale combinations that would allow accurate modelling of the stock, structures and scenery. These have become refined over the years and now provide a basis that most work to.
With the availability of the smaller 'N' gauge mechanisms in the later 1970s these were used with the 9mm track standard to make a class with a scale if 1:120 which equates to 'TT' but with the narrower track. Usually now days referred to as NZ120 and growing in popularity as it allows for realistic modelling of the scenery on a scale appropriate to our mountainous, bush covered country.
There are of course other scales used, and the choice may be
made because of individual preferences.
There are layouts being built in 'N' scale using 6.5mm ('Z'
scale) rail, 'HO' scale using 12mm gauge rail, 7mm and 1/4 inch
to the foot using hand laid track. Of course besides those that
model the NZ Railways there are the standard British, European
and American models to be found.
| Scale | Gauge | Name | Identity |
| 9 mm. | 32mm | 'O'gauge | NZ34 |
| 7mm. | |||
| 1:64 | 16.5mm | Sn3.5 | NZ64 |
| 1:87 | 12mm | HOn3.5 | NZ87 |
| 1:120 | 9mm | TT3.5 | NZ120 |
| 1:160 | 6.5mm | ||
© 1997 The New Zealand
Model Railway Guild Inc.
www.railmodel.org.nz..last updated
November 24, 2008