Garden Whistle Mar 2012 - Sandman.org.nz

- G scale news from around New Zealand -March 2012The Ashburton Forks Railway, was one of nine railways visited as part of the NZ Garden Railway Convention in January.Kerry Paterson’s scratch built ‘Rogers Q’ and train cross a bridge in the colourful garden. Photo: John Robinson.

The Garden Whistle - March 20126th NZ Garden Railway ConventionJanuary 2012 - ChristchurchNeil’s climax hauling an empty log train on the Tuahiwi Valley Lumber and Mining CompanyText by Glen Anthony (Christchurch)Having attended four out of the five previousGarden Railway conventions there was an expectationand ground swell growing from someattendees that they wanted to see one held inChristchurch. And so at the 2011 convention inHamilton, with my brain still shaking from themajor earthquake in Christchurch less than amonth earlier (and against the advise of some ofmy fellow Christchurch attendees), I said “OKwe’ll do the next one in Christchurch”.Luckily we had the benefit ofbeing able to cherry-pick the ideasthat worked best over the previousyears and try a couple newones of our own.The second railway visit of the weekend; the Somerset & Willard Railway.The idea that seemed to workthe best (thanks to co-operationfrom the weather) was to doaway with a central hall and interspersethe clinics and demosamongst the layout tours. I mustconfess that I stole the basic conceptfrom something that I sawwork well in Hamilton. But itbecame necessary in Christchurchfollowing successive majorearthquakes which damagedall the older, cheaper halls anddrove up demand (and price) ofthose that remained.Page 2

The Garden Whistle - March 2012A conventionis only as goodas its components.So a bigthanks to thosewho opened theirhomes and madetheir railwaysavailable forviewing. Alsothanks to thepeople who offeredclinics anddemos. We evenbroke newground; I don’tbelieve that ademonstration ofa computer controlledGPSguided automaticlawn mower hasever been includedon a garden railway convention before!The weekend was a sad occasion for the Blackridge Lines. It was the final run before beingpulled up because of earthquake damage. The entire suburb of Brooklands has been condemnedby the earthquake authority, and everyone has to move out and all houses will be demolished).I don’t intend to go over everything that happened,and I didn’t even get to see all of it myselfanyway, so I’ll let the photos on the nextfew pages tell most of the story. Thanks to thosewho sent them.But a few more thanks are necessary: To DonEllis for being the tour guide for the weekendand arranging the transport car pools.But the biggest thanks must go to my wifeBrenda, and to Danise Black who arranged andsupplied the food, thereby keeping everyoneelse happy for the weekend. A big job donewell!Thanks to those from outside Christchurchwho took the gamble coming to see what remainsof out battered city. I hope you all had agood time, and look forward to catching up withyou again at the next one in Auckland.Photos from the weekend can be found at:http://www.gscalecentral.co.uk/f/tm.aspx?m=192680&high=I couldn’t get a photo of everyone due to people coming and going, but here are some of the 42 participants.Page 3

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012What others thought...I had a great time at the weekend it all seemedto go smoothly from where I was. Good varietyof layouts, nice crowd to chat to. What morecan I say? Kabita Whale. (Christchurch).Watching trains at Ashburton. Photo by Raynor.The great thing about Garden Railway Conventionsis that everybody seems to get somethingdifferent out of them. Here is some feedbackfrom some of the participants:I thoroughly enjoyed the concept used at theConvention this year. Having the clinics at thevarious railways was a welcome change fromwhat we have become used to over the years, inall scales. Ian Galbraith. (Masterton).Well done great layouts, variety with keenowners. Plenty of ideas all rounded off with spoton organisation. Thanks from me.Raynor Johnston. (Hamilton).I must say I did enjoy the layout focus. It wasdefinitely a highlight being able to see so manydifferent layouts and has re-invigorated meperhapseven to actually getting somethingstarted at last. The other components of clinicsand of course meeting 'new' fellow enthusiasts(and putting faces to names) were able to be accomplishedjust as well in this format, though Iappreciate the mobile catering kept you on themove. I did also much appreciate the prototypevisit, which has been on my 'to do' list for quitesometime, and was probably the registrationclincher for me. Philip Smith. (Wellington).I enjoyed catching up with people I had metbefore, almost like a family reunion. The mostsatisfying part was when two people gave mepositive feedback about the clinic I did last year.I also enjoyed seeing all the railways in operationand the various methods of construction,and the beautiful gardens.Jenny also enjoyed meeting new people and Iam sure has found some new friends.Hugh and Jenny Keal. (Auckland).Page 4

The Garden Whistle - March 2012This is another one of those great G scale conventionswhich I can add to the list that I haveattended. It was good to catch up with oldfriends and meet new ones.We saw a varied range of great layouts of theChristchurch garden railway group along withsome exceptional scratch building that has beenfeatured in the Garden Whistle, but by attendingyou sure get the bigger picture.Michael Hilliar. (Auckland).It was a great weekend so good to catch upwith people who are so enthusiastic about theirhobby and meet up with people and put a nameto a face who in the past was just a name in amagazine or newsletter and chat away on a commonsubject. Thanks Glen and Brenda an eventwell done and I really did enjoy myself.John (two lunch) Lammiman. (Christchurch).Thanks for a great weekend. Meeting othermembers of the Christchurch group, who forme, had until now, only been names on themembership list, visiting their layouts & finallyputting faces to the names of our out of townvisitors made for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.A nice touch to finish at the tavern, pitythey hadn't tidied up the buildings & run a propertrain. Well done.John Bethune. (Dunedin).Christchurch presented us with a differentstyle of Convention, not excluding the welcomingearthquake on Friday evening. There is nodoubt there is a different feel in Christchurchnow, a mix of apprehension, determination, perhapsa element of fearbut resolve too. Butyou can take the inherentbeauty out of Canterburyand Christchurchin particular.And the 9 railwayson show all spoke highlyof what the regionhas on offer. Each railwaywas different, butall well presented andcertainly different toour Wellington regionrailways. A nice gardeningclimate might"Post Convention Offer" Train Signs.I am happy to provide a .dxf file to take to asign maker to have them cut out.Also instructions on what to do.They can be 200, 300 or 400mm square.Anyone interested can email me ondelof@clear.net.nzDean Farrow.help and motivation from a strong club. A realpoint of difference was the amount and skill ofthe scratch building, and a couple of the railwayswith some generous sweeping curves.Saturday progressively warmed, and the Vulcanrailcar ride on the Plains Railway remindedme of hot summer holidays journeys, ah thememories. Sunday being somewhat overcastmeant less seeking shade but still comfortablefor railway viewing. Food was good, companywas good, railways were great. Roll on the nextvisit. John Robinson (Wellington)Vulcan railcar RM50 at the viewing platform on the Plains RailwayPage 5

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012NZ Garden Railway Convention: The Layout Tours. Photos by John RobinsonRailway 1: Glen & Brenda Anthony.Rocky Creek RailwayRailway 2. Kevin & Michelle Leigh. Somerset & WillardRailwayRailway3: Andrew & Bindy Hamers.(no railway name)Page 6

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012Above: Railway 4: Dean& Lois Farrow. TheFence Line Railway.Left: Railway 5.Kerry & Crisma Paterson.Ashburton Forks Railway/Ashrail.Left & Below: Railway 6: Karl & Alison Arnesen.Jessie Falls and Mt Catt RailroadPage 7

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Railway 7:Brian Allison.Blackridge Lines(since closed andlifted because suburbdeclared an earthquake‘Red’ zone).Railway 8:Ross & Gwyn Fraser.The Fraser Line.Below: Railway 9:Neil & DeniseWiggins.The Tuahiwi ValleyLumber and MiningCompanyPage 8

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012Left: Dean Farrow. Vacuum forming shapesAbove: Hugh Keal. Making peopleWorkshops and Demo’s.Photos by John Robinson & Raynor Johnston.Above: Ross Fraser. Computer navigated lawn mowingBelow: Glen Anthony. Working with HebelAbove: Kevin Leigh. Fabricating brass couplersNot shown: Kerry Paterson. Scratch building locos.Below: Neil Wiggins. Battery powerPage 9

The Garden Whistle - March 2012The LBSC Live Steam - DieselText and Photos by David Bousfield(Auckland)Here is my tribute to LBSC, the famous andprolific miniature steam loco designer. Twoand a half years in the making. I bought a bundleof old magazines from the 1930's and a constructionarticle caught my eye. The articlestarts with:“The success of the Diesel locomotive on intermittentshunting work and short branch-lineoperation has inspired many small locomotivebuilders to attempt a small edition; but owing tothe fact that nature cannot be "scaled", it is impossibleto make a little Diesel which will operatelike a big one with crude oil as fuel. Youcould not get the compression, even if the fuelwere injected correctly. However, there is noneed to let that fact deter you, as we can build alocomotive which looks like a Diesel, and operateit by steam; so here is a short description ofsuch a locomotive, suitable for gauge 0, onwhich it will do all that "Sister Diesel" does on 4ft. 8 ½ gauge".I thought the loco would be a quick build, butwas wrong. I scaled the plans up from O gaugeto Gauge 1 then added a little bit here and thereto make it look better with my LGB stock.This loco was built as a tribute to LBSC, butthe cylinder is pure K.N Harris (LBSC's nemesis):-) It has a built-up cylinder block with allthe porting and dimensions to K.N Harris' book.The exhaust sounds nice and snappy. As thisneeded to be a fairly high speed motor (by mystandards), I opted for a reduced piston strokebut an increased bore, and it is over-square. Iraised the cylinder as high as could be to reduceangularity and do away with a crosshead. I fittedscrew-down drain cocks to the cylinder asper K.N Harris' recommendations.Page 10

The Garden Whistle - March 2012The loco was built using 6 mm bore x 13 mmOD ball races, I have a plentiful supply of them,so 6 mm silver steel was used for all the shafting.Besides the crankshaft, the big-end is alsoball raced. The loco is worm driven, I made myown, it was a real mission, but still enjoyable. Ithought the motor would guzzle steam at a greatrate with the gearing (nearly twice the volumeof steam as a RH loco with wheels the same diameter)so I made the boiler as big as possible.As the motor exhaust doesn't go up the funnel asmoke box wasn't needed. The boiler is a twinburner gas fired affair with a central internal uptakeflue with water all around it.The bodywork is all 0.6 mm steel, and as it'salmost a one-piece lift off structure now, is quiterigid. It's all soft soldered together, I am a fanof soft soldering now that I have a 80 W ironand the right flux.The bodywork lifts off to reveal the works.Initially I couldn't bring myself to paint it, andhad been contemplating naming the loco "SilverLady". But now the loco is resplendent in NZRblack.As the loco has a short-stroke single cylinder,and the flywheel is now rather inaccessible, anelectric starter was made for it. The loco runsnicely at a slow crawl, and the exhaust note isfantastic.This video shows various clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovv5efZS7yYThis video shows the starter being used:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK6Q2RrAL8IPage 11

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Lyndi RailwayA railway packed with detailed scenes everywhere you look. Here is the main station with the yard stacked full of trains.Text & photos by John Robinson (Wellington)It can be a bit hard to define my “favourite”garden railway, partly because, well, I just likejust about any railway, and partly because eachrailway has it’s own unique flavour, howeversome railways do draw you back more oftenthan others. And judging by the numbers comingand going during the Wellington GardenRailway Group’s February running afternoon, itwould be fair to say that Brian & Diane Cashmore’sLyndi Railway is on the favourite list ofmany.The WGRG visited here a year ago in pleasantwarm late summer sun and this visit was equallypleasant, as pleasant as Diane’s scones andcream, yum. Oh sorry supposed to be reviewingthe running day, not the cakes, aren’t I! Hmm,yes, well as in our past visits there are always somany changes it puts most of us to shame. Brianbeing such a prolific scratch builder of buildings,structures andan increasing numberof wagons yousee.In the foreground is the wine shed & tanks. Grapes are growing in the vineyard to the right.For Christmas Igot a copy of thelate Peter Jonesbook “MakingModel Buildingsfor Garden Railways”.A goodread by the way.In an age wheremost of us look toan easy to build kitor scratch buildfrom neatly pre­Page 12

The Garden Whistle - March 2012pared styrene or strip wood, Peter created manyof his buildings from what ever he had on handor from salvaged material. While one needs tobe careful comparing skills to such a guru asPeter Jones, Brian certainly is in the sameschool of modelling in not being afraid to justget on and make it from whatever materials willdo the job. And doing it with an artistic eye.For example, how many of us would take onmaking a winery, yet alone all done with nonmodellingmaterial? The vats are stainless steelflues with silver painted plywood caps, pipingfrom galvanised nails and medical airline tubing,and the winery building from pine mouldings.There is an accompanying vineyard ofcourse. Perhaps the first corkage will be at nextyears visit.Other new features this year include a quarrycrushing plant and in the back corner in front ofa new stone retaining wall is Mystique station.On top of the retaining wall, for his next build,Brian will be placing a French inspired château,perfect foil to the winery and vineyard no doubt.As described last time, “the track layout is asort of pear shaped main loop with a branchlinedown into the main station and back out again”.There has been some fine-tuning of the areaaround the vineyard as plans continue for expansionof the railway in the not to distant future.Brian has been using Aristocraft Revolution receiversin his track power locos for some timenow and the system continues to show it’s reliabilityand flexibility. Throughout the runningday we ran numerous trains, either two of Brian’sat a time or a mix of Brian’s and guesttrains. I think most of the guest trains wherebattery powered so the need for the availablesystem of Train Engineer conventional trackpower didn’t arise. Live steam was run late inthe day dispelling the myth that track power andlive steam don’t mix.My closing line from the last visit is again fitting:- “All up it was a pretty usual sort ofWRGR running day, much better being therethan reading about it or looking at the pictures.However there are some more pictures to lookon the web at” http://www.gscalecentral.co.uk/f/tm.aspx?m=196307&high=Filling the wagons on the wine train.More details; the goods shed with men unloading wagons.Brian scratch built this Mid West Quarry building.And he also built the new “Mystique” stationPage 13

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Jackson County Narrow Gauge1:29 scale freight on the main line (foreground) with some narrow gauge on the branch line (rear track).Text & photos by John Mayne (Hamilton)The February GROW Meeting was held onmy railway the Jackson County Narrow Gaugein Hamilton on the first Saturday of the month.While the turnout was relatively low the meetingseems to have been a great success with fineweather, some visiting family friends and a fairlyintense impromptu operating session.While not as busy an afternoon as the NIMTwe managed to get four trains running using amixture of DCC and battery radio control withGeoff, Raynor and Stefan each bringing alongtheir locos and rolling stock.Operation got very interesting with Raynor’sStainz and one of my narrow gauge freights runningin the opposite direction to Geoff’s 1:29diesel hauled freight and Stefan’s RDC.Things were not helped by the short lengthand dodgy track on one of the crossing loops,requiring saw byes and some other odd moves.Raynor got so enthralled with the running thathe demanded we cut short our afternoon tea andcoffee break and continue playing trains.While I have concentrated mainly on the gardensince last year’s convention the session hasbeen a good prompter to finally sort out the loopon what was originally intended to be a temporarysection.Stefen’s RDC at the stationBachmann Mogual passing the Engine shedPage 14

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Wayne’s Postal Car BuildBy Wayne Haste (Wellington). This is one of two postal cars built in Saxony (Germany) in 1908 -1912. They finished up as works vans in the 1950s, then sold as batches 1960s. This one was restoredrecently to its original condition and colour (red).Page 15

The Garden Whistle - March 2012A Visit Down SouthText & photos by Glen Anthony (Christchurch)The new Dunedin Model Railway club decidedto hold a model train show back in January(the weekend before the Garden Railway convention).It was their first show, and it was onlya small hall so they could only fit a few visitinglayouts. But Karl Arnesen and I were luckyenough to be invited to bring layouts.Brenda and I decided to go down early and gofor a holiday in the “Catlins” area (the SouthEast coast line between Dunedin and Invercargill).Here are some railway related news bitsfrom the trip.The Saddle Hill Railway at Wal’s Funland, MosgielWe arrived in Dunedin a week before theshow. On the Sunday we went out to Mosgiel to“Wal’s Funland” where the 7¼” track from thelate John Rappard’s Signal Hill Railway hasbeen re-laid to form the “Saddle Hill Railway”.The railway is owned by the Funland complexbut a new group “Otago Model Railway andRoad Society” runs trains for the public on givendates. We found Christchurch Garden RailwaySociety member John Bethune clearing thetrack ready for the 11am start time. There werealready a good number of families playing onthe mini golf course that the railway circumnavigates.Brenda and I took a ride at first opportunityand found that we were the lucky first passengersfor a new club loco and ended up on theclubs Facebook page.Then we followed John Bethune the short distanceback to his house to view progress on hisgarden railway. The bridge he was building lasttime we visited had been completed and installed.Its thick steel and never likely to rust outin John’s life time! A water feature obtainedfrom the North Island had also been installedand looks great as the track goes under it in atunnel. John has put most of the track down butit needs some electrical connections to be madebefore John’s track powered trains can run.The next day while on the road from Balcluthato Owaka we found the “Tunnel Hill” walk. It’sa short walk to the most southern railway tunnelin NZ (although the railway doesn’t go throughanymore). The 250m long disused tunnel waspart of the Catlins Branch line to Tahakopawhich was pulled up in 1971. The tunnel portalsare made from brick (rather than concrete) andwere made on site. The tunnel is lined withstone on the bottom half and bricks over thearch.After arriving at Owaka we visited the museum(not much else to do at Owaka), and foundseveral railway exhibits which had come fromthe station including an unusual sign “TrainWater feature and bridge, John Bethune’s garden railwayJohn Bethune’s garden railwayPage 16

The Garden Whistle - March 2012stops here 20 minutes for lunch”. There was alsoa nice model of a “Trails” rail bush tractor ina glass case. We found the actual tractor on displayat a DoC site a short distance from the roadmuch further down the road at Tautuku.Causeway, a decision some are now regretting.At Opukehe on the South coast (where it wasblowing a gale) the water vat still stands and thestation platform was still there. When wereached Tuatapere I was surprised to find thefull railway facilities still there. The stationbuilding had a fresh coat of paint, and the goodsshed and water vat were there too. Even someold railway wagons had been moved in recently.Trails tractor model in a glass case at the Owaka MuseumRiverton Railway Station freshly painted like newThat was the end of our holiday and then wewent back to Dunedin to pick up the layout andtake it to the show. There were 10 layouts ondisplay at the train show. They had a steamtruck and miniature traction engine giving ridesoutside. And while the venue may have beensmall, the result wasn’t; $10,000 was raised forthe Dunedin Oncology Day Unit and the Hospital.A fantastic result.The real thing under a shelter at TautukuA chance stop at a Curios Shop at Papatowai(a blink and you miss it town) turned out to bethe best discovery of the trip. The old house buswas crammed full with gadgets toys and animationsmade out of just about anything. Handlesto be turned and buttons to be pushed everywhere.Yes one of them did start an HO scaletrain which ran around the walls of the bus. NaturallyI was right in my element and they mademy creations look very basic. We even paid the$5 to go through the R13 garden which hadeven bigger and better creations. (It’s R13 becausehe is tired of kids just breaking things, -so now he doesn’t let them in!).A few days later we had completed our stayand journey through the Catlins and arrived inInvercargill. For an afternoon trip we went on toRiverton & Tuatapere. A railway branch lineused to run here and the track formation is clearlyvisible from the road in many places. The localsat Riverton have removed the old RivertonLester Hopkins 1:32 tram and cable car layoutSteam truck outside the model train showPage 17

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Situations VacantNotice is given that I will be resigning / not standing again for the position of editor at the clubAGM in April. The next issue of the Garden Whistle will be my last as editor (but I am available forassistance to do a hand over to the new editor - if required).Please consider if you are willing to stand, or if a group are willing to share the job.The only skills required are to operate a computer and create a pdf file to be able to email (easy)!Glen Anthony. (editor).For SaleG Scale:2 - Bachmann Silverton Flyer Sets Denver Rio Grande Western (4-6-0) No track - $450.00 eachBachmann Spectrum - DRGW 4-6-0 (Bumble Bee) - $475.002 - Bachmann Log Wagons - undecorated - $55.00 eachBachmann S>V> Railway Reefer (no box) $60.00ERTL - 1913 - Model T - Delivery Truck $25.00ERTL - 1913 - Model T - Delivery Truck, J,C,Penny $15.00Green Wheels - US Mail Delivery Truck (Blue) Model T - $15.005 - Model cannons - $2.50 each7 - Model Power Bulls - $5.00 eachClassic Tank Kit - 1/2 Track, 1/32 scale $15.00On30 Scale:Bachmann Spectrum DRGW "On30" scale 2-6-0 & 3 coaches, narrow gauge, with HO/On30 track& controller, new, $250.00.Contact: John Bethune (Dunedin). email: beltandaxe@gmail.comFOR SALE – Passenger Train Set of 6 Wagons.Laser Cut Ply kits, metal axle boxes and wheels, Bachmann knuckle couplers setup for close coupling.Baggage car has no interior as was setup as a battery wagon when I got them. Not being usedand need to put some funds back into the kitty.$350 for the set. Contact Chris Drowley 0274 496-907Page 18

The Garden Whistle - March 2012Trains on the Brain(reprint from the “Christchurch Mail” newspaper, April 2009)By Bernadette CooneyA collection of eclectic railway memorabiliaadorn the walls and display cabinets of PhillipCooke's home, a railways collection enthusiastwho has also worked for the rail industry all hislife.A signals maintenance man for OnTrack, Phillipis an avid collector of rail history from NewZealand and overseas, a passion for collectingthat started with his first model railway set atage 10.From iconic New Zealand Rail crockery, tomaps, tickets, medallions, signal lamps and barrierarms if it is rail related Phillip may have itor at least know where to find it.Among his treasure trove is an array of unionmedallions, conductor's carriage keys, badges,uniform buttons, and the original opening ceremonyprogramme from the grand opening ofChristchurch Railway Station in November1960.Opened by government minister MichaelMoohan, the Moorhouse Ave station stood as amonument to the glory days of New Zealand railpassenger travel before cars became commonplace.An Edwardian silver plated tea set presentedto J K Bogle in 1910 upon retirement, after34 years of service for New Zealand Railin Napier, is perhaps the oldest and mostdistinct collection piece Mr Cooke has. Asilver chalice used as the trophy for a tugof-warchallenge by Lyttelton rail workers,dated 1925, is another unusual memento.Phil Cooke and some of his train mementos"I went to the 150th anniversary of rail in theUK in 1980, which was a real buzz. There's a lotof people out there collecting stuff. In fact, anythingtransport related is hugely popular to collect,"he said.When not working or collecting, Mr Cookedraws on his love of all things Edwardianthrough his involvement in the Friends of FerrymeadFraternity, a group which promotes theaims of Ferrymead Heritage Park and staffs theCurragh Cottage and Brittenden Drapery atweekends.Jigsaw puzzles made by Chad Valleybetween 1933 and 1939 for the GreatWestern Railway, United Kingdom, oldLondon Underground rail maps and Beziqueplaying cards are among Mr Cooke'sfinds, sourced mainly from word-ofmouth,internet auction and overseas conventions.Phil Cook holds a New Zealand Railways bowling ball and anEdwardian silver plated tea setPage 19

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012Phillip Charles Cooke - (Cookie)2.4.1957 - 17.1.2012Phillip Cooke (left) and Ray Parmenter outside Don’s work with their trucks loaded with the clubs layout ready for thetrip around to Pioneer Stadium for the Christchurch Big Model Train Show back in 2003. Phillips truck was usedmany times to transport the layout to various shows around Christchurch. (Ray Parmenter collection)Phillip Cooke was a founding member of the Christchurch Garden Railway Society back in 1989.Don Ellis and Ray Parmenter are the only others still in the club today. At the time of his death, Phillipwas the club treasurer, a position he had held for many years. Sadly he has joined the many hundredsof others who have passed away from all manner of causes over the last year, but all attributableto the Christchurch earthquakes - the large undocumented earthquake toll.The tribute below was written by Allan Guy from the Garden City Club at Ferrymead, and he hasgiven permission for it to be reprinted here.As Martin James, a fellow Friends of Ferrymeadmember, who lead the service said, "We must notjudge a life by the way it ended but you can treasurea life time of memories spent with Phillip"He also said, "I don't remember my first meetingwith Phillip - he must have arrived" and in his quietand unassuming way, he became an integral part ofthe fabric of our lives."I felt the same way. I joined Garden city Model Railroadclub in 1989, and Phillip would have been oneof the members who showed me around. Later whenI was club president, Phillip was my first secretary,and as such was a great help. If any constitutionalmatters arose, I didn't have to look up the constitution;Phillip knew it off the top of his head. He alsoknew what was going on around Ferrymead with hisvarious contacts. Later when applying for grants torepair the clubrooms, or for the workshop, it wasdone with his usual efficiency.Phillip's sister, Glenda told us that he was given aHornby train set when he was 9. From then on railwaysbecame a passion. Robin Knight has told methat he first remembers Phillip coming into ChristchurchModel Supplies when they had a shop at635A Worcester St and later on the corner of LinwoodAve and Worcester St, and Phillip was still atIntermediate School. If I go back in my memorybanks far enough, I think Trevor Stewart said thesame thing about Phillip corning into Hobdays Modelsand Cycles at the Edgeware end of Colombo St.Phillip joined New Zealand Railways straight fromschool as an office cadet originally in MoorhouseAve station. He also worked in Westport on thegoods side of NZR, then for a time was StationAgent in Kaiapoi, and then Addington station. At thetime he was at Addington it controlled a lot of theprivate sidings at the back of businesses. From Addington,Phillip was promoted to Claims Officer at BShed, the main goods depot in Christchurch and wasPage 20

The Garden Whistle - November 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012there until it closed down. About 12 months later; hejoined the Relay Room in Midas Place, which by thistime had been privatised (now named OnTrack), andwas there until last week, about 12 years later.I am not sure if Phillip was at the very first meetingto discuss forming a new model railroad club inChristchurch, but he was definitely at the follow upmeeting on 3 September, 1979 when Garden CityModel Railroad Club was formed. Since then, he hasbeen a valued member of the club, as I have alreadysaid, as committee member and then secretary. Hewas always available for working bees, and if weneeded it, his 1953 Bedford K truck was available.Because of his interest in G scale, as well as his BritishRailways, and because he worked nearby, he wasfirst on the call out list for the LGB train that GardenCity Model Railroad Club had in Cobb & Co. BushInn. I am not sure that he really wanted this position,but it was carried out with his usual efficiency. Andonce a year we would have a night cleaning thetrack, locos and wagons to make sure it kept runningsmoothly.Around Ferrymead Heritage Park, Phillip was probablybetter known as a member of Friends of Ferrymead.As such, he could be found on a Saturdayworking around Curragh Cottage in the township. AsMartin James said, washers would be fixed, plugsmended, lectures about the dangers of electricitydelivered and plugs chopped off. On a Sunday incostume, he would play the part of the Edwardiangentleman.As Margaret Spowart from the Canterbury Antiquesand Collectables Club reminded us, Cookie loved toorganise group bookings" whether it was a weekendaway, or a night out to a show.Phillip was the current secretary of The CanterburyAntique and Collectables Club, as he wasto Christchurch Garden Railway Club.Other clubs that Phillip was involved with includedBritish Model Railway group in Christchurch, andthe Australian British Model Railway Society. Thatwould be where he met Harry Howell, who used tocome over quite often on business, and alwayslooked Cookie up when in town. Phillip used to go toquite a few of the Australian Conventions. I thinkthey are held every year. Back in 1995, I had goneto Melbourne to my brother's wedding, and afterwards"Cookie met up with me, as he had been to aconvention over there. We toured around part of Victoria,including Ballarat. Most people that go to Ballaratonly get as far as Sovereign Hill, but Cookiehad heard about a gate crossing and semaphore signalsat the station in Ballarat. so that was included inthe tour. Always something interesting when touringwith Cookie.He was a committee member when organising the1980, 1988 and 2000 National Model Railway Conventionshere in Christchurch, and a past member ofCanterbury Railway Society at Ferrymead. He is alsoa past representative of the membership committee atFerrymead Historic Park, and since its restructure,Ferrymead Heritage Park Trust Board.He was also a member of International Plastic ModellersSociety, IPMS and as such served his time ascommittee member and secretary.Because of his Bedford interest, he was also a memberof the Vauxhall Owners Club, Bedford division.I went with him in the Bedford on a couple of theTwin Rivers Runs, which were great fun, and againwe had to dress in costume. On special occasions, Iwas allowed to drive the Bedford, but usually onlyaround the Park. He sold it a few years ago, as herealised that he didn't have the skills to restore it toits full glory.There are probably other clubs Phillip was involved.Military modelling comes to mind, but I don't haveany details of those.And of course in later years, he met up with Pip, andmanaged to get her involved in costume in Friendsof Ferrymead. Again, his sister Glenda said that shehad never seen Cookie so happy as when he firstintroduced Glenda to Pip.As Fred Gear from Team Ferrymead said in his notice,"Sunday drinks at Curragh Cottage will not bethe same without you"Farewell Cookie RIPAllan Guy, Past President,Garden City Model Railroad Club Inc.Page 21

Auckland:The The Garden Whistle - November - May 2011 2011The Garden Whistle - March 2012Club Events and ContactsSunday 11 March - Ray and Shelley Williams, 5 Broadview place Howick, 2-4pm wet or fine.Club Contact: Auckland G Scale Society.C/- Michael Hilliar, 22 Halver Road, Manurewa, Auckland 2102. Ph 09 266-4745 email: mhilliar@orcon.net.nzWaikato:Saturday 3 March - David Petchey 11 O'Neill Street ClaudlandsSaturday 14 April - Grant and Donna Alexander Cambridge 1863 State highway 1 CambridgeSaturday 5. May - Raynor Johnston Horsham Downs. 147 Osborne Road RD1Club Contact: GROW: Garden Railway Operators of Waikato!Grant Alexander, PO Box 1172, Cambridge. Ph 07 823-0059. gscale@clear.net.nzWairarapa:Sunday 10 March Public Display at Featherston Cross Creek Rail Society Railway Day.Sunday 18 March Lloyd Dickens 55 Titoki Street MastertonClub Contact: Wairarapa Garden Railway Group. C/- Murray Clarke, 4 Taylor Street, Carterton. Ph 06 379 7659.Wellington:Saturday 10 March - Murray Bold's new Ashurst Railway. (Note Saturday not the usual Sunday)Phone John for more details. 0274 427 160Club Contact: Wellington Garden Railway Group Incorporated. www.culcreuchfold.org.nz/wgrg.htmC/- John Robinson, PO Box 56039, Tawa, Wellington 5249 Ph 0274 427 160 wgtngardenrail@gmail.comChristchurch:Sunday 18 March - Ross Fraser. 42 Williams St, Kaiapoi.Bring some long trains to run. Ph (03) 327 6131 if wet to check if on or not.Sunday 22 April - AGM. Neil Wiggins. 172 Tuahiwi Road, Tuahiwi , North Canterbury.All executive positions are vacant and need to be filled;Chairperson/Secretary.Treasurer.Newsletter Editor.Please think what assistance you can offer.All running afternoon’s 1-4pm. If weather looks doubtful, please phone host to check if meeting is still on.Club Contact: Christchurch Garden Railway Society P.O. Box 7145, Christchurch 8240Chairperson: Michelle Leigh. Email: shellandkevin@paradise.net.nzThe Garden Whistle is published monthly by the Christchurch Garden Railway Society and features newsfrom various G scale clubs in New Zealand.Each club is a separate identity and the contact details can be found above.Contributions of articles and/or photos are always welcome. Photos should be sent as separate jpg attachments.Editor: Glen Anthony. 59 Colombo Street, Christchurch 8022. Email: glen.bren@paradise.net.nzPage 22