Oh dear, I need help....

This period was a little blurry, I wasn't sure how, what, where and when to get started with my journey. I was in a team meeting with my manager and was going through a rough time outside of work with my beloved father-in-law who was ill at the time and my manager attuned to this, decided to switch the meeting up and shift the focus onto us as individuals moving away from corporate discussions. I had previously mentioned to the team So how did I get here and my manager asked how things were progressing, and I mentioned I had "blocker" this is what we call items that stop us from producing outputs for software releases.

He mentioned had I thought about going to a train show to break the ice on the topic which I had no idea these existed, it turned out there was going to be one up at Bundy.

23 March – 24 March 2024
Bundaberg Multiplex Sports & Convention Centre
Civic Avenue

Bundaberg West

Unfortunately, due to personal reasons I did not make this event.

What's that!

A couple weeks later on the way home one day, I drove past a street where we use to frequent as kids and low and behold, the model rail hobby shop we use go to was still there, so I performed an immediate u turn, parked the car and walked up to the door where a gentlemen greeted me and asked "How may I help you?"

The gentlemen spent a couple hours with me while serving customers as they entered to pick up their orders and not once did he try to sell me something or move me on, but instead kindly asked what I was trying to do and leaving me with placeholders for me to make decisions on my own. It was here where the doors started to open on deeper topics like:

• HO vs Hon3.5 scale
• 16mm vs 12mm gauge
• DCC vs DC

He then suggested I pop over to Buckley Park, 20 Terrence Road, Brendale, QLD to view several large running layouts and collect some more ideas. Before I left, he also suggested I think about coming to a train show in Brissy which I didn't know about.

Brisbane Model Train Show 2024
4th - 5th May 9am-4pm 
The Exhibition Building - RNA Showgrounds
Brisbane Showgrounds 
601 Gregory Terrace
Bowen Hills, Qld 4006

I went over to Brendale and there was a model rail club operating at this address and lots of people. I wasn't sure what the protocols were for this place and had a gentlemen walk up to me and say "How can I help you young fella?" 

I explained my reason for being there and was quickly rushed down to the back of the complex where there was a hive of activity. I was introduced to couple fellas where it was action stations. I had no idea what was happening until one of the chaps explained the trains were controlled by their phones and today was special as a new section was being tested with various operational movements. Before I knew it an hour had passed, and I was running late getting home to the next engagement. I excused myself to one of the fellas who said come back anytime and quickly chased his loco down the layout to the other end. I left the shed with more questions than I had arrived with......

Trains, Trains, Trains

The Brisbane Model Train Show 2024 was coming up and I must say I was a little nervous going as big crowds are not my thing. But I put my plan together and off I went on my own. Walking into the exhibition building it was full of noise and movement from the young to the old. Initially I thought I had come to the wrong show as there was a range of different model scales and countries being modelled. 

I continued up towards the back and I hit the jackpot, there was the QR model rail area. It was a buzz and hard to get to at first so thought I'd do another lap and passed a gentleman who was making old QR wood wagons. I asked what he was doing, he grinned and told me he was Scratch Building QR Wooden Wagons. After watching him for 20 mins, I asked did he run a class on this and he kindly replied no, just get yourself some plans and material and experiment away and you will have hours of fun. Before I moved on, he mentioned I should try a model kit to test my patience and recommended I pop round to the PGC Scale Models / Southern Rail stand.

I made my way around to the stand where it was a buzz. I waited patiently and a tall man at the back called out, "Hey there, how can I help you?" . I mentioned I'd been referred by the gent scratch building and that I was interested to purchase a tank wagon kit, which he chuckled and said they all sold out this morning. 

He then asked me a couple questions, and I explained a little bit of my story. He gave me a range of advice and did not try and sell me anything and told me to take my time with my journey, it's your model railway he said and enjoy the ride. He gave me a card for PGC Scale Models and suggested I contact them in a couple weeks to possibly see if they could help in any way. I thanked the gent and stepped back from the stand as another customer moved into the table. 

I know I mentioned I work in IT and hardly use my phone for anything but managed to take this one photo the whole time I was at the show.  

I did a few more laps a little confused and as I walked out of the exhibition building, I left the show with even more questions than answers for the questions I was looking for answers too.

• How do buy what you need?
• Who supplies what I need?
• What parts are readily available?
• When do I get to run a train?
• Can I achieve my goal?

I will say I was a little lost on what steps to take next, in my next posts I will try and keep explaining the process I went on.

Until next time.

Little Shunter