The "group" as it is unfashionably called, is not a club as such, but rather a loose gathering of people with a common interest who meet for regular or project construction or running days at a various group member's homes around Melbourne. Two running crews operate - the Thursday crew and the Friday night crew.
Running days are informal affairs focused more on fun and enjoyment than on rigid adherance to the operating timetable. Indeed it is not uncommon for the odd plastic cow to be placed on the tracks (causing untold havoc and reports to the "fat controller") purely to delay traffic movements for a time while novices like your humble webmaster catch up.
Construction days see the group assembled in somebody's garage working on the Midsomer Norton project layout. View
Our goals are simple. They are all about enjoying the hobby, milking information from our mates at the group, and (as my wife would put it) "playing trains." It is indeed great to be a kid again (or in most cases, be a kid still ).
Here are the core members group.
P.S. If you would like to contact us to ask a question, get some info on a particular topic, or make a submission to mixed traffic.net, feel free to email one of the address links below, or mail to:
Peter
Peter was born and bred in England's industrial midlands. Son of a pub owner, he took on an apprenticeship as an electrician and at one time worked at the Crewe locomotive yards. He spent a number of years in that profession before turning to school teaching as his eventual life's work. Emigrating to Australia some years later he persues his passion for the LMS through the operation of a huge layout set on the LMSR from around 1923 till the beginning of nationalisation. Based on London, the midlands of England and as far north as Manchester (for the main line) and the Chernut Valley (for the branch), the layout is housed in what Peter calls his TR (therapy room). The stations are: London Euston (London), Corby and Weldon (Northamptonshire), Trent (Derbyshire), Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire), and Wolverton (Buckinghamshire). Peter is also has side interests in the NorthStaffordshire Railway and the SDJR, and is the group's resident historian. Link to Peter's Layout
Contact: peter@mixedtraffic.net
Tony
Tony is Australian born, but has a hankering for the "old country" possibly because some of his predecessors were transported to the great south land against their wishes for such hienous crimes as sedition and theft. He trained as a dental technician, but is now a clergyman serving as a youth worker for the Adventist church. Tony's railway interests centre around the west country between the mid 30's to the mid 40's. His layout (a work in progress) could be somewhere in Devon, Cornwall or South Wales, and features a loco yard, small branch line, town station, and a RAF airfield of No 10 Group. A relative newcomer to the group, Tony earns his keep by bringing regular Southern and GWR visitors to Peter's LMS layout, and by serving as webmaster. Link to Tony's Layout
Contact: tony@mixedtraffic.net
Allastair
Allastair is a Kiwi of Scottish heritage, and passionately proud of his ancestral links. While he has had a life long interest in railways, he is also the newest member of the group and confesses sometimes feeling like a sponge, welcomingly soaking up as much information about history and modelling as he is able to. His own layout in in the planning stage but will most likely he housed in a purpose built garage loft and will feature plenty of GWR panniers as he enjoys the constant movement of the shunting yard. We'll be sure to share the genesis and growth of Allaistair's layout over time.
Mike
Metallurgist by profession and avid collector of anything with lots of wheels and at least one funnel, Mike is the undisputed and much appreciated master of all things British Rail. His knowledge of locomotive types, company rolling stock and BR history is exceptional. Mike is also a bit of a guru when it comes to model locomotive maintenance so watch out for some articles from his pen designed to keep your models running sweetly. Being a gracious soul, Mike will also be housing the group's new prototypical SDJR exhibition layout so his shed is bound to be seeing plenty of action in the near future.
Paul (alias "Woody")
High school teaching is Woody's stock in trade and he's a bit of an all-rounder teacing both maths and music among other things. His rail modelling interest is a little different to the others in the group being solidly focused on the ruggedly beautiful west coast of Tasmania. Woody is working on both a layout and a website of his own so we'll be sure to bring you details of his project and a link to his site as soon as its up and running.
Henry
Henry is the latest (but by no means the "least-est") conscript to our group. Long time friend and neighbour to Peter, Henry now comes to us from the thriving metropolis of Yarck in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. He too has had an interest in model railways for some time, has built the control units for the Midsomer Norton project, and being much skilled with wire, soldering iron and circuit diagrams of all types, he threatens usurp Peter's place as our resident electrical engineer.