Sleeper Traffic

The main justification for the short Mount Windeatt branch line on Philip's Creek is the Parker Brothers Saw Mill and its supply of sleepers for NSWGR as well as timber products to other markets.

As a consequence, the release of InFront's 18ft sleeper wagon  caught my attention, and I lashed out and purchased ONE at the Thornleigh exhibition some weeks ago.  My intention was to construct this one as a test and then purchase a few more when finances permitted. Unfortunately, the latest version of InFront's website advises that the wagon is now out of stock. Nice plan - fail!

It's a great kit with some fine detail. I thought the instructions included in the kit were basic but the manufacturer's website included additional photos that provided a useful supplement. Unfortunately, now that the model has been 'sold out', these photos have disappeared.

While the assembly of the kit was uncomplicated, I wasn't prepared for the partial disintegration of the Austrains chassis. It seems that everything on the chassis was a press fit and, progressively, both buffer beams came off, closely followed by the brake cables coming adrift. A bit of superglue fixed the problem but getting things back together required younger eyes and more dexterous fingers than my clumsy digits.If I was building another kit, pre-emptive gluing of the chassis components would be a requirement.

I also wasn't that happy with the decals when they were applied but I suspect that it had more to do with my technique than the product as supplied.

The colour photo on the website inspired me to be fairly generous with the rust colourings as part of the weathering. I understand that the wagons had a fairly hard life. However, it's also clear from the photo of the sleeper load that I have more work to do on the timber.

All in all, a nice addition to Philip's Creek!