Hamburg Hbf and Raurimu Spiral layouts in Z Gauge

[Mayner]

Came across these two layouts at the Tauranga Model Railway Show this weekend, although the majority of exhibitions in this part of the World are held between June and October (Winter-Spring) the Tauranga Show is traditionally held in January with the influx of Summer visitors the the Bay of Plenty and its beaches.

Besides an interesting mix of New Zealand and British outline layouts, I was particularly struck by Z gauge layouts that featured Hamburg Hbf and the Raurimu Spiral.

 

The builders unsure if a club or private layout used selective compression and possibly perspective modelling to fit the model on a 4'X2' baseboard.

The buildings and structures apparently scratchbuilt using traditional modelling techniques, a lot of activity within a small space with the lines serving the station and avoiding lines. 

I didn't notice the U Bahn until I downloaded the photos after the exhibition.

Raurimu Station and Upper-Spiral Tunnel portal, the curved steel trestle is on a freelance continuous run section of line the line in the distance is the main line to the next station National Park

 

Looking down from the top of the Spiral, fiddle yard in the foreground.

The Raurimu Spiral layout is intended to link up with a layout featuring National Park Station/passing place on the Main Trunk Line South of the Spiral.

The American 'Wild West" coaches are not unlike the older wooden bodies coaches used on New Zealand's railways into the 1970s, the F Units would pass from a distance for English Electric locos supplied during the 1950

By Duane Wilkins, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45826821

Again despite compression the model is a reasonable reflection of the spiral and terrain.

The terrain on the spiral is mainly re-generated 'bush" or native forest with introduced (highly invasive) gorse.

Raurimu was established as a Sawmill Town complete with its own 'Bush Tram" of Logging Railway following the opening of the railway in the early 1900s

https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23017495?search[i][place_authority_id]=-319765&search[path]=items

Currently the main land use in this area is livestock farming, but likely to revert to forestry as farming carbon credits becomes more profitable than farming sheep or drystock, spent a very interesting week in 2017 visiting farms in the area as Government  inspector including a guided tour of "Raurimu Station" which includes the farmland in the background of the photo

[murphaph]

How popular is the hobby in NZ John? More popular than at home? Hamburg Hbf doesn't look much but it's the busiest station in Germany and second busiest in Europe by passenger numbers. Bit of a dark horse. Most people assume either Cologne or Munich are busier.

[Mayner]

11 hours ago, murphaph said:

How popular is the hobby in NZ John? More popular than at home? 

The level of interest in model railways and railways in general appears higher than Ireland, possibly similar at a similar level to the UK. The hobby is organised more on American lines with national groups who represent NZ and American outline, Garden Railway and other interests hosting regional and national conventions where modellers meet exchange ideas, play trains and visit each others layouts rather than around large exhibitions like the UK and Ireland. The New Zealand prototype and model railways are more visible with high quality NZ prototype and model magazines available in large newsagents and Hobby Shops.

There is no Kiwi equivalent to MM or IRM, modellers of the New Zealand prototype are supported by a comprehensive range of kits and parts produced in the three main modelling scales (9mm, S, 120:1) by a relatively thriving cottage industry manufacturers.

The New Zealand Model Railway Guild publishes a bi-monthly Journal https://www.nzmrg.org.nz/, high quality prototype magazines include the bi-monthly New Zealand Railway Observer https://www.nationalrailwaymuseum.nz/shop/the-new-zealand-railway-observer/ and the quarterly Linesider https://www.facebook.com/people/LinesiderMagazineNZ/100070985336554/.

Although New Zealand has a similar population to Ireland (spread out across a landmass similar in size to the UK mainland) Kiwi's are more pro-active in terms of railway preservation with several operating heritage lines and approximately 44 operational steam locos. A lot is down to a self reliant can do spirit of the people who settled New Zealand exemplified by "Kiwi No8 wire mentality', many of the smaller groups were founded by local community groups who were prepared to get stuck and develop the necessary skills  as opposed to railway enthusiasts from the big cities!

[murphaph]

Great Summary John. Thanks! I have wondered previously what the comparisons are like. It's very interesting that there's no RTR equivalents to MM and IRM despite the high level of interest in the hobby. I suppose the Irish manufacturers have a GB market to tap into too, as many of the MM locos obviously ended up there. Most eBay auctions of MM locos seem to be from GB based sellers anyway. A hypothetical NZ manufacturer would presumably be almost entirely reliant on sales within NZ. 44 operational steam locos is an incredible number. I'm very impressed by that! I wonder was it more difficult to scrap them than it was for Irish owners who could send them to Hammond Lane for easy onward shipments to steel plants in Britain. I wonder did NZ's remoteness depress the scrap value of those locos to a point where it made no sense cutting them up in the first place. It seems that although NZ does have a (fairly unique!) domestic steel industry, it came very late and the furnaces used are not like those in traditional plants that use iron ore mined from the ground.

Those canny Kiwis developed a way to make steel from sand: https://teara.govt.nz/en/iron-and-steel

Edited January 23, 2023 by murphaph