A new frontier

This is my first ever blog post.  I realise now that this is where it's at as far as recording modelling progress and sharing techniques and know-how, so I've joined the fraternity.
This is a short post, just to get started, but I hope to have some photos of what I'm working on in the near future.

I have always wanted to model Demondrille, 391.6 km from Sydney on the Main South.  This location is unique on the NSW railway system firstly because it was a locomotive servicing point on the main line and secondly, because it was not a terminus or locomotive depot.  Walking around the remains of the coal bunker almost twenty years ago, I was captivated by the extent of these facilities, despite the fact that it was not far from the large rail centres of Harden and Cootamundra, and yet in the middle of nowhere.

I have made some moves towards fulfilling this ambition; the train room now exists (though it also fulfils a few other functions; storage for example) and I have a half built coal bunker.  But Demondrille is a large and complex facility and my procrastination and pursuit of perfection combined with the usual lack of time means I might never have an operating layout.

So, to break this conundrum and just build something, I decided to create a smaller layout (consisting initially of one or two modules) based on Kingsvale, which is the first station along the line from Demondrille on the cross-country branch to Cowra and Blayney.  I was very fortunate to discover that in Ken Ames book "From Grease to Gold Braid" there is an entire chapter on his time at Kingsvale in the early 60s, including a number of decent photos.  Great!

Kingsvale was a busy fruit-farming area (still is) and the railway facilities comprised a single line with a loop and goods siding, a modified A4 station building and a loading bank.  An easy place to start.

I was keen to try a Proto87 layout, but this is another aspect which actually retards my modelling; with so much stuff that is not to Proto87 standards and a desire to have an operating layout of some sort as quickly as possible, I decided Kingsvale should not be Proto87.  I will aim to make it to as high a standard as I am capable of without going as far as Proto87 just yet.

If you have any photos of Kingsvale (or Demondrille) pre 1992 (the first time I visited the area) and are willing to share them, I would love to hear from you!