Victorian Model Railway Society

Some models by club members at the 2025 Forum

VMRS — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:20:55 +0000

Prototype Modellers Forum 2025

VMRS — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:09:33 +0000

Phil Jeffery shows how incorporating prototypical Victorian Railways advertising could improve your
layout
David Foulkes demonstrates the use of lower melting point solders to assemble small parts on brass
locomotives and rolling stock kits.
Lance Cross covers the early sleeping cars on the Victorian Railways
Adrian Ponton explores the logistics of changing from fixed wheel vehicles
to bogie wagons for grain transportation on the VR in the 1970s
Fraser Brown traces the development of open wagon design and construction in Victoria from 1855
to 1905
Peter McLeod uses step-by-step pictures to enhance the instructions for the SEM X class loco tender
Matt Turner covers aspects of safety in our railway modelling
David Powell shares some ideas about layout design, especially from a viewer’s perspective
Phil Dunn will cover the genesis, design and operation of the Victorian Railways D3 Class 4-6-0
locomotive.

Some models by club members at the 2025 Forum

Prototype Modellers Forum 2024

VMRS — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:03:47 +0000

Transporting and Distributing Fuel on our Model Railways: Bruce McLean
Carriages on Carriages: Mark Bau
Conversion of Ratio Signal Kits to VR Semaphores: Bob Gartside
Build Your Own Bock Oily: Phil Jeffery
Modelling Unique Prototype Structures: Richard Parker
Sheep Loading Races of the VR: Don McGilvery
ISO Containers: Matt Turner
Some Recent Baseboad Projects: Damian Chrystie, Ian Franklin and Matt Winzenried
Making More Than One: Richard Leeder

Models by Richard Parker – Murtoa & Marmalake

VMRS — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 01:01:12 +0000

Richard’s stunning models are based on Murtoa and Marmalake stations in Western Victoria.

Richard says, “The idea for the Murtoa layout began way back in 1979 when I first saw Graham Brown’s prototype Woodend layout at the Australian Model Railway Association’s (AMRA) exhibition at the Camberwell Town Hall. I had never seen anything with such detail and realism up to that time and decided there and then that I had to build a prototype layout like this for myself.

“The location I chose to build my prototype model of was Murtoa, situated on the main western line between Melbourne and Adelaide; Murtoa is the branch line terminus for the Warracknabeal–Hopetoun line. It had almost one of everything you could find at a country station at that time. It is on a main line with a branch line terminus, had an island platform, footbridge, railmotor dock and more.

The results speak for themselves – outstanding modelling work and exquisite detail.

All photos by John Dennis.

Murtoa

Marmalake

Wallan N Scale Layout

VMRS — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 22:22:40 +0000

These photos feature the amazing N Scale layout “Wallan”, owned by Christopher Pearce. These images give a great feel for how N Scale can portray prototypical railway scenes in a realistic landscape.

Models by Graham Fraser

VMRS — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 01:54:44 +0000

These Models of Victorian Railways Lineside Structures were scratch built by Graham Fraser to represent some of the buildings on the Melbourne to Bendigo Railway Line.

The models representing buildings at Castlemaine, Malmsbury, Elphinstone and Harcourt were built in HO Scale (3.5mm/ft) for his home layout.

Most of the models were constructed from polyurethane resin castings.

Patterns for the brickwork, bluestone, corrugated iron walls and roofs were made from various materials e.g. Evergreen styrene sheet/strip and Northeastern timber.

Silastic rubber was then poured over the patterns to make the mould from which the castings for the buildings were created.

Additional styrene weatherboard sheet and strip was used to complete some of the buildings. The decorative details were drawn and then etched in brass.

*Additional details for these models can be found in the VMRS Prototype Modellers Forum Paper 2013 “From Prototype to Model”

Castlemaine Station

Castlemaine Station and Island Platform

Castlemaine Island Platform and Underpass Pedestrian Bridge

Island Platform Etched Brass Detail

Overview Castlemaine Station and Goods Shed

Castlemaine Goods Shed

Thompsons Foundry Office Building and Lop Bracket Signal

Thompsons Foundry Pattern Shed and Railway Gates

Thompsons Foundry Boiler House building

Castlemaine Woollen Mill Office Building

Footbridge to Castlemaine Island Platform Underpass

Coal Stage at Castlemaine Yard

Malmsbury Station

Malmsbury Station and Ticket Office

Malmsbury Station Goods Shed

Malmsbury Produce and Cool Store

Elphinstone Station and Goods Shed

Elphinstone Station

Elphinstone Station Lamp Room and Station Master’s Residence

Elphinstone Goods Shed

Harcourt Station and Station Master’s Residence

Harcourt Apple Packing Shed

Harcourt Co-Op Sawmill

Harcourt Sawmill Interior Pulleys and Saws

Harcourt Co-Op Sawmill

VR Departmental Residence

Weathered Eureka Models VR R Class Locomotive

Scratch Built VR 60T Wrecking Crane

Models by Roger Hill

VMRS — Tue, 30 May 2023 02:13:02 +0000

All models are 1:48 (1/4 inch scale unless otherwise stated

VR K class. Veteran Models kit.

LNER A4 4-6-2 4491, 7mm scale. Purchased second hand and restored.

E Class 0-6-0 scratch built. Veteran Models 6 wheel passenger cars and van

Darjeeling and Himalaya Railway train. B Class 0-4-0 loco. 7mm scale, EDM Models (UK) kit. Wagons are kits by UK Model Railway Developments. Loco in the first wagon is from a Backwoods Miniature kit and built by Frank Kelly.

1:48 Hilltop Engine Shed scratch built from VR Moe Engine Shed WD’s. Floor is embossed card, structure from Micro Mark bass timber, corrugated iron is pressed cartridge paper. Lighting is incandescent mini bulbs in VR lamps cast in white metal.
G42 is hybrid kit and scratch build, D3 659 is a Veteran Models kit, Na 17 is scratch built. Figures are from Modelu painted by Ian Fainges.

R 758 Precision Scale Models RTR, repainted and weathered to reflect well maintained but in use look. Car is a Veteran Models W car kit.

A2 995 with original round top tender. Scratch built in brass and nickel silver. ABL car based on a Veteran Models kit.

Models of South Australian Railways locomotives, built by the late Frank Kelly.

VMRS — Mon, 01 May 2023 23:02:11 +0000

These models are to 4mm scale and run on 20mm gauge track.

They are all scratch built from brass, the only commercially produced components are the motors, gears, wheels and couplers.

720 Class

Coffee Pot

Gd Class

I Class

L Class

No. 1

O Class

P Class

Q Class

Rx Class

Sandfly

X Class

Y92 Class

Models of wagons associated with the production and transport of Pintsch gas on the VR

VMRS — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 05:55:54 +0000

These models are built in 4mm scale, running on 20mm gauge track.

Korumburra

VMRS — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:12:17 +0000

The VMRS’s previous exhibition layout is based on Korumburra. This layout is now on permanent display in our clubrooms. Korumburra is a small town in South Gippsland and the railway served a dairy farming and coal mining area. The track layout at the station was big enough and interesting enough on which to base a model and small enough to reproduce almost completely with minimum compression and omission. There was a locomotive depot with a four (later two) stall shed. The wooden coal stage was replaced by a steel, overhead loading tower. The layout has been shown at two exhibitions and is currently being installed in the clubrooms.

In the late 1990s a proposal was put to a general meeting of the Society that a new exhibition layout be constructed. Malmsbury was looking a little the worse for wear and it was built using old technology and was very heavy to move. Furthermore, it was stored in the clubrooms as part of an operational layout and moving it in and out for exhibitions was difficult.

Korumburra was suggested as a prototype and drawings prepared to see how it could be done. A design using the prototype track configuration, suitably foreshortened, would fit into a workable layout.

Various club members put their hands up to do the different jobs and the work started. As it turned out there was only limited input from most members and the construction of Korumburra fell to a handful of people. This meant, of course that the job took much longer than first anticipated.

Finally, at the Hobson’s Bay MRC exhibition of Easter 2008, Korumburra made its first public appearance and was widely admired. It was eye-catching, to an extent because of the good front lighting, and represented faithfully a recognisable prototype that drew favourable comment from people who knew the real Korumburra.