Wuiske Models www.wuiskemodels.com

So for the third and final part of the parts that partially form the parts of parts to make the larger parts of this series of corners about the Jandowae Grain Complex, let’s finish up with the wheat shed… Or at least part of it?

The wheat shed in Jandowae is a VERY normal structure that can be found all over Queensland, with similar versions of it all over Australia.

This structure is fairly simple in design but actually presents a vast wealth of details to incorporate into it.

Overall, it’s a shed. Plain and simple. However, with the nature of the products loaded into it, bracing is required externally to ensure the weight of the product doesn’t force the walls out of shape or worse yet, cause them to collapse completely.

The grain arrive from properties in trucks, B doubles, B triples, double and triple road trains and is unloaded over a simple pit.

There are two of these pits on this shed. Both of which are housed in small “lean to” structures on the opposite side of the shed from the railway track.

The pits are very similar to the unloading pits we covered in Chapter 137. Essentially a grate with a small panel over the top of them that gets lifted out of the way and the trucks roll through.

As you can most likely tell, these pit structures don’t appear tall enough for a forty foot tipper (thirty eight foot is more common though) to lift fully for unloading.

This is where the grain doors come into use. If you look on the back of most tipper trailers used for grain traffic, they have a small grain door located on the rear gate that simply slides upwards, leaving a small opening where the grain can be funneled out.

This same method is used when a truck is unloading into the small hoppers on a portable auger.

Along the sides of the shed there are also a multitude of hatches to allow augers to unload into the shed from outside.

Overall, these sheds are extremely versatile. Mostly, this is due to the sheer volume of additions, revisions and changes made over the years to allow ever changing machinery to be used.

Obviously, all of these changes are geared towards moving ever increasing volumes. This shed in particular, can hold up to 30,000 ton of grain.

As a point, on average, that’s around seven trains from just this one structure!

As I mentioned briefly above, the structure is covered with external bracing.
These braces are made from a mixture of three inch and one inch steel pipe.

The lower diagonal brace is two inch pipe, just to be difficult. Some of these structures have angle iron and square RHS used instead but they’re usually newer structures.

The bracing seems to be around four feet (1200mm) apart and stands around six feet (1800mm) above the ground.

The lower edge of the building is constructed of concrete, some are brick, this is to attempt to limit intrusions from vermin. The concrete course is around two feet (600mm) high.

The vertical pillars are a folded U channel with the open section facing towards the wall. Simulating this with simple styrene strip would be easy.

The walls are simple corrugated iron up to a height of around eight feet (2400mm) above the ground. There is a second course of corrugated iron above this which extends another six feet (1800mm) above the lower section.

The bracing along the top section is mounted internally due to the shape of the grain pile inside the shed when full. There is no need for a smooth wall that could be damaged by wheel loaders.

To unload the shed, there are two options… The first involves augers being placed inside the shed and being fed with grain by wheel loaders. These access the interior through doors on either end of the building.

The other option is with the augers placed outside the building. The variations seem to depend on whether they’re loading onto rail or truck. With the decline in the Queensland Governments Train Set, trucks are seen in copious quantities at this site.

As with the silo complex, the wheat shed is surrounded by conduit, hatches, access doors and electrical panels. The power comes to this structure from an overhead power line running along the dirt road behind the complex.

Being located in the country, EVERY bit of roofing is seen as a potential water source. As such, there are water tanks and garden sheds (housing the water pumps) located around the structure (complete with a piece of corrugated iron to cover the top).

Overall, this structure is my favorite part of the entire complex and has the potential for an insane amount of detail to be added. I’ve seen one modelled (insanely well) by Wayne McDade on his HOn3½ layout and it inspired me to do the same.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed our little series on the Jandowae Grain Complex. It’s something we intend to model in it’s entirety on our next layout. As always though, we shall see how we go.

With a small spell being taken by all the inmates and staff at the Wuiske Asylum for the purpose of stapling some wheels to said asylum and dragging it 105 kilometers towards the beautiful, leafy downtown hamlet of Kulpi…

I can now, finally get in and finish the second part of the last part, which is actually the next part of this series of parts about the Jandowae Grain Silo Complex, which will be a part of our branch line, which will be part of the full future layout… parts permitting.

In the last chapter (part) we covered the overall layout and the weighbridge. This time round, let’s take a meandering, coffee fueled, wobbly waddle around the silos themselves and see the details crying out to be modeled.

The silos themselves are a pretty standard concrete style that can be seen throughout Australia. The complex itself consists of two separate silo blocks (forgive my lack of ability to speak Grain Grower Tribe Speak).

The first “block” (on the right of the above photo), has four cells and is labeled with a white square and the number 1 and painted in red. Whilst the second “block” has six cells and is labeled as number 2.

Between the two “blocks” is the unloading ramp. This is essentially a metal frame with an iron roof spanning between the two sets of silos. The unloader can unload three trucks at a time… in theory.

The unloading is performed by lifting the cover lids over the unloading grids. This is done by winding a small manual winch, just like on a small boat trailer. Each of the unloading bays has a genuinely ancient (and massive) light fitting above it which could easily be represented with a 3mm LED.

Beneath the unloading grate is a rubber belt with small steel buckets on it, which carry the grain towards the elevator.

The unloading complex seems to be powered by what some (myself especially) would regard as the dream compressor for powering an air brush. The levels of detail within just this section alone are staggering.

On both sides of the unloader, small windows can be seen (though not seen through) on the side of the elevator. The sides of the silos are festooned with cable troughs fitted with 25mm orange conduit to feed the power cables where they’re required, which it turns out is EVERYWHERE.

In the act of walking around the silos, I actually learned a lot about their construction. The most interesting thing to me was the voids between the individual silos. Which, it turns out is hollow and has large cut outs on the sides to allow for shelter with the access hatches as well as the rail loading gantry.

The unloading gantry is, as with the rest of the complex, a wealth of detail and provides an amazing amount of potential for modelling.

There is a separate structure mounted rail side for each of the two silo “blocks”. They’re essentially the same as each other but there are small differences which I put down to being due to the difference in age.

The entire system is operated by someone climbing a ladder and operating the system from atop the gangway tucked away inside the side of the silo “block”.

A liberal application of Plastruct components could easily make this become a reality in model form.

The actual rail loading facility is fairly straight forward, despite first impressions.

 Due to my severe lack of height (in comparison to a silo complex), I was unable to photograph the top of the silo complex. However, the basic elements are pretty much uniform.

The grain rises through the elevator and is transferred to a conveyor above the silos, this then drops the grain into the required cell within the silo.

All of the cells within the silos have a large inspection hatch just above ground level. Usually covered with safety signs.

The entire site is covered with small sheds protruding from every conceivable location.

Some are corrugated iron, some are Zincalume, some are both. Most of them have miss matching doors. As well as a few miles of conduit running into and out of them from all directions.

As with all things in this modern and enlightened world, there are safety signs EVERYWHERE. Most likely applied by scatter gun.

There is far more to be seen in these photos than I can describe.

Dozens of excellent articles on building these types of silos and similar have been published over the years through publications such as AMRM and Model Railroader.

Whilst the silos here in Queensland are slightly different from those found throughout the country, they share the same purpose and similar details.

There are still more variations with American silo complexes, though the modern ones seem to be pretty similar.

I’ve found, in the past, that by combining the techniques used in the above publications along with reference photos such as these, an accurate and pleasing model can be produced.

In the next chapter, I’ll round this little series up by looking at the wheat shed, my personal favorite structure in the complex.

As always though, we shall see how we go.

With yours truly having the Deadly Man Flu Of Death, I thought I’d take the time to put fists to keyboard and do another rant to keep you all updated…

This time though, to be different, I thought I’d actually do a useful chapter based on something that will become far more relevant on the next layout.

This chapter will focus on the Jandowae Grain Silo Complex. Hopefully, it’ll give you an overview of how it all works and explain the layout of the complex to give us all a better insight for modelling. So here goes…

A week or so ago, I decided to go out and photograph the weighbridge here on Planet Jandowae as it’s actually a VERY standard design for Queensland.

Whilst there, I took photos of the silos, out buildings and wheat shed as well.

To give you some idea of the overall layout, I’ve taken an image from trusty old Google Earth to show the overall complex. The complex measures a bit over 400 meters by a bit over 100 meters deep. Or 4.6 meters by 1.15 meters in HO Scale.

In this image, you can see a rough diagram of how the trucks unload into the silos. It’s a three step process involving weighing the loaded truck/ road train, unloading it, then weighing it empty to work out the amount of grain dumped.

There is also a part of the process that involves someone at the weighbridge dipping into the grain and testing the moisture content and quality of grain, this affects the price paid to the farmer for his crop and inspires a lot of the local discussions at the pub about the “unfair” and “one eyed” weighbridge attendants.

The Weighbridge has concrete ramps approaching it from either end that are around 12 meters long. All road ways are graded with a clay like gravel and then have blue metal or crusher dust over the top. The deck of the weighbridge is around 0.75 meters (2′-6″) above the ground level.

The main beams beneath the bridge are just I beams and the deck is a fine checker plate steel. The barriers along the bridge are concreted into the ground on either side of the bridge and are the standard type you see on normal roads.

There is a staircase at either end of the structure for access. This design allows for one trailer at a time to be weighed. The traffic using it varies wildly to include AB Triple road trains, Conventional B doubles, 50 tonne B doubles (they have the twin axles under the trailers that ware spread out), single trailers and every imaginable form of old rigid framed truck that can still be registered or get onto a property.

The actual building is very simple and appears to be demountable, with lift rings fitted underneath it. Note the buried septic tank at the bottom right of the structure.

All the windows are the standard Australian Aluminium Framed Windows that we produce, it’s one of the reasons we made them. Insert shameless plug here.

There is a fair amount of pipework beneath and around the sides of the building which is ALL simple PVC piping (it’s cheap and it works).

The raised walkway allows staff to walk along, inspect and test the grain whilst it is still within the trailers. It also allows them to check for foreign (and weighty) objects that may have “accidentally” fallen in.

The drivers will stop ahead of the bridge and unroll their tarps or covers prior to driving onto the ramp.

The structure itself is festooned with warning labels and directions for the drivers.

Underneath the structure is a simple concrete pad, that shows a lot of weathering and encroaching weeds. The entire structure is supported on simple RHS box section and I Beams.

 Note the floor is actually just timber slats with gaps of about an inch between each board. Overall, it’s a fantastically detailed structure that doesn’t take up a huge amount of space. Also, being out in the open as it is, attention REALLY get’s drawn to it.

Overall, this complex is actually not that large. The capacity of the silos is around 50,000 ton. And there is storage for another 52,000 ton under tarp next to the silos. In the next chapter, I’ll start rabbiting on about the Wheat Shed and the actual Silo complex. As always though, we shall see how we go.

Well it’s been a year since our last rant, corner, blog (urgh, I STILL hate that term) or just general update on the daily goings on at the Wuiske Asylum. Hopefully, I can explain the reasons why this has been the case and keep you all in the loop of what’s been going on and the challenges that have been 2022.

2022 marks 20 years since the day that Burt Kingston was sent to me to have models made for his collection which resulted in me having that fateful cup of coffee at Joan and Rusty’s house that began my meanderings down a path that would keep me insane, broke, grumpy and yet somehow infinitely happier than I have any right to be for half of my life.

Over the last 20 years, my (and now our) sole drive has been to produce the best models we’re capable of and make them available to as many people as possible without them needing to know secret handshakes or be part of the “hip (replacement) crowd”.

This has made me about as popular as a bowl of bat soup in a Chinese restaurant with half of the industry and a portion of the modellers. Which, of course, is perfectly fine. We’ve never looked for the ego stroke that others may or may not have. Our goal is to make as many models as possible as available as possible.

The reason for this is REALLY simple, The more models out there and the more availability, the more models we can make and the more viable those models become… Simple hey?

That being said, we have made some amazing friends over the last 20 years and have learned a hell of a lot along the way. We’ve made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of successes.

The reason for the lack of Adam’s Corners over the past couple of years has been essentially that we’ve not had a great deal to say. As the planet is aware, the pandemic was “entertaining” and the last year after the lifting of restrictions has been trying to say the very least.

We’ve watched around half of our suppliers around the world go under, we’ve seen some of our suppliers become insanely greedy. We’ve had tooling go missing, we’ve had money go missing and we’ve seen where we need to change to safeguard ourselves, our investments and our customers future models.

Having said that, to quote the Bishop, the Priest, The Deacon and the Satanist with four flat tyres… “We ain’t going anywhere”.

As those of you whom frequent our Wednesday and Friday night chats (insert shameless plug here) are aware, we’re still working away at building our new house, shed, factory and layout.

As it’s 2022, EVERYTHING has been at least twice the quoted amount, the materials have not been available for months and the trades people have vanished off the face of the planet to pursue bigger and better jobs which pay more.

Even to the point that we would not have electricity if it wasn’t for one of my long time friends from high school, Aaron Weir. Azz managed to not only find the time to drop everything and drive out to our new place but to source the bits we couldn’t get and install them for us. Obviously, if you’re looking for an electrical company for industrial and retail fit outs, get in touch with him. Insert second shameless plug here.

Both Bridget and myself cannot thank Azz enough for EVERYTHING he has done. Not least of which because it took TEN MONTHS of other electricians promising to arrive and he just did it. Thanks mate.

Once the move finally takes place, we will be transferring the Adam’s Corner “thing” over to our youtube channel. Insert third shameless plug here. We have some pretty big plans for this, but that’s another story.

We recently reran our popular KSA cattle wagons, Fourth shameless plug here and here.
Even that was a Herculean task due to lacking or delayed supplies etc. But, as ever, we got the job done and we’re very happy with the results.

We have a few little surprises with regards to the KSA wagons coming up soon that will test the waters on something we’ve been talking about here for a while. But that’s another story.

As this magical little blue ball hurtling through the void that is a flat Earthers head get’s closer to completing another lap around the massive Halogen globe in the sky, we should be getting close to that time where we expect a visit from a morbidly obese, red pyjama clad gent being led by the team at Venison Express.

So before he tries to cram his increasingly girthsome posterior down one of the few remaining chimneys in this country, I think we should say to all of you that from myself, Bridget, Aidan, Michael, Lab Matt and all the other Wuiske Minions that we sincerely hope you all have a VERY merry and safe Christmas as well as a safe, happy and prosperous new year.

With any luck, 2023 will see the completion of many, many projects that have been languishing over the period that was 2022… As always though, we shall see how we go.

So after about a six month break from the world according to some demented long haired train obsessed bikie with a part time business breeding sacrificial tennis balls for those REALLY obscure cults, it’s that time again where the more adventurous of you will join me on a gallop down Dopey Drive on a slightly broken wooden horse.

The honest truth about why there has been no real updates is that Bridget and myself have just been working with our unmentionables to the grindstone, lining up our ducks to produce a weird duck related calendar and some models that we’re rather proud of along the way.

Whilst on the surface of it, Wuiske Models have released some much needed bogies, a rerun of the popular HJS wagons and some track with Kieren…

We have been working very hard in the background on some more items that will hopefully start coming online in 2022. And will make a significant difference to QR modellers everywhere.

At the top of our list of priorities is our new Wuiske Models factory. This has been progressing fairly well considering that it’s 2021 and everything is in short supplies, cannot be produced or cannot be delivered. As always, we’re continually trundling along in our quest to manufacture and mass produce Queensland models right here in Queensland.

Obviously, the most important part of all of this “business related” construction is the layout room. I’ve touched on this in the past… briefly. Many of you have been trying to offer suggestions on locations to model, suggested ideal radius for curves and similar things.

In short though, we’ve got it sussed. Essentially, this is planned to be the layout I’ve been dreaming of since I was around thirteen years old… But with some actual knowledge added in. Well, maybe.

The basis for the “dream layout” was always Normanby Yard.
Those of you whom have seen the video I filmed back in 1994 at the age of 15 should be painfully aware of my desire to model this yard.

The only issue, I discovered as I learned more about operations, was that Normanby is essentially a “hidden staging yard” that’s not very well hidden and has had some static grass spilled upon it. Obviously, we’ll need to extent outwards from Normanby to avoid a layout with lots of track that is actually as boring as a pacifist’s pistol.

In parallel with my not so secret interest in Normanby Yard was my interest in Gympie.
The old Gympie station was at the Northern end of a bottleneck for Queensland Rail. The Blackall Range to the south delayed trains heading north for decades. The upshot of all this is that pretty much all photos of Gympie Station show a collection of trains waiting to “jump South”.

What a great idea for a layout right? Having a complete set of Working Timetables from 1990 in my possession, I was able to see the sheer volume of trains using this corridor on a daily basis and they worked around the clock! If you then start leafing through the Suburban Working Timetable, you come see just how many “trip workings” and “hospital trains” as well as light engine movements QR was running even in 1990.

So, having a rather stupidly large shed at our disposal and having produced enough HOn3½ track to sink a few scale models of battleships with holes drilled in their hulls, perhaps we should start looking at modelling from Roma St to Gympie as a layout.

This will include the Wamuran Branch, leaving the main at Caboolture station, the Mary Valley Branch running from Gympie and a fictitious “Western Line” running from Gympie. There will also be another branch running from Roma St to a version of the Pinkenba Branch.

Each of these branches will be around 90 feet in length with the Mary Valley Branch being possibly up to 180 feet in length. The main line will be just under 500 feet long. We anticipate that the layout should be able to accommodate around 20 to 25 operators with all aisleways being a minimum width of one metre.

But more of all this later, as the plan progresses further. It is customary at this time of year for me to make mention of that morbidly obese celebrity with the unusual reindeer and red pyjama fixation…

That’s right, after a strict diet of milk and cookies, the diabetic North Polite will be hauling his increasingly girthsome frame around the world racking up frequent flyer points with Air Venison to drop off some cool toys to all the good children.

Such thoughts bring back fond memories of the lumps of coal he would leave me under the tree on Christmas morning. Oh how my brother and I used to play. We would let our imaginations run wild and whilst they may have been mere lumps of coal to the casual observer, in my mind they could have easily passed for lumps of quartz.

So with my head swimming with fond memories of playing hide and seek with my lumps of imagined quartz, it’s time for me to extent a massive thank you to you all on behalf of Bridget, Aidan, Michael, Lab Matt, Hayden and myself for another wonderful year.

Whilst this year has been more trying than a midget judge being shot in the chest with an arrow, only to discover an electricity bill tied to it, we’ve still had an absolute ball and made some more great friends and seen the Queensland modelling community grow even more.

With any luck, all of you will have a VERY happy Christmas and a safe, prosperous and enjoyable new year.

We have many things planned for 2021, not least of which is our big move and even bigger layout. As always though,
we shall see how we go.

So we’ve had the first Brisbane Show in 2 years. And what a show it was!
Despite the rain, thousands of you turned up to play trains.

So before we get to far into my usual saunter down insanity boulevard, we’d like to thank Bruce, Frank and the entire AMRA club of Queensland for putting on yet another great show.

Being that we like to keep all things fair in the old Adam’s Corner realm, the following will be a completely biased, opinionated and one sided commentary of the show according to me.

This was decided by a meeting of fictitious semi asthmatic molluscs whom were completely unable to string two grunts together in a conference that took place upon the vacant block of land that resides between my ears.

After the “extended little lunch” that was 2020, this was only the second show at this venue on Gregory Terrace. Frank and Bruce had told me they’d rearranged things differently this year to make the “flow” better… Plumbing aside, they did a spectacular job!

Several of you had commented to me that the layouts were of a far better standard this year and from what little I saw, I have to agree. Both Matthew and myself managed to do a fair bit of “grocery shopping” as well.

By shopping, obviously, I mean a small truck load of kits to go on our upcoming gallop down Ga Ga Street that we are calling our next layout. Sadly, Bridget didn’t get to grab any of her usual railway books as the ones she’s chasing were in short supply this time around.

I will say that this year we saw A LOT of Queensland models running round on layouts. Mostly ours, but a few SRM and CGL models were also spotted. I will say that it does give me a sense of joy to see so many things we’ve made being enjoyed by fellow modellers.

Back when the Queensland market consisted primarily of kits, you were hard pressed to see them at a show running around a layout. So, this is something that makes me very happy to see.

One person actually commented to me that the last time he attended the Brisbane show, it was primarily American layouts with a smattering of British and German layouts to even it out.

This time around, he informed me with a sense of joy, it seems to be 90% Australian and about 50% of that seems to be Queensland models. Sometimes it’s hard for us to notice these things at shows from our position but it’s wonderful when someone points it out.

As it’s 2021 and the after effects of the extended beep for the swear word that was 2020 is still upon us, it was great to actually be able to put some faces to some names of people that we regularly speak to.

People such as Mitch Vickers-Jones (whom I didn’t manage to get a photo of since he was muttering something about the “witness protection program”).

As well as Rob Sou, whom Bridget introduced herself to by screaming “you’re the tallest person ever!”.

It was great to actually be able to put some faces to names after having spoken to them for such lengthy periods of time.

So once again, we’d like to say a massive thanks to the AMRA Club of Queensland for putting on yet another spectacular show.

In other news, the Thursday prior to the show was Michael’s second birthday.
That’s right two years to the day before that Thursday, Hell spat forth our dearly beloved son/Chucky Doll.

Thankfully, our good friend Shane from Bundaberg Toyworld was available to load us up with enough presents to create a global shortage of China’s finest produce.

So on behalf of myself, Bridget and Matthew, we’d like to thank you all for your continued support. Our next show is the Toowoomba Show on the 5th and 6th of June at the Toowoomba Showgrounds. This is another of our favourite shows, due to the club being comprised mostly of lunatics whom enjoy having a laugh above all else.

As always though, we shall see how we go.

Well, it’s been an eventful March for us all here at the Wuiske Asylum.
Firstly, we’ve been inundated with all of you wanting to know about and grab our new Flexible Track. Secondly, we had our first Model Train Show in 18 Months!

The Wide Bay Burnett Model Railway Club Inc put on their annual (aside from Covid Stuff) show in Bundaberg. Obviously, Wuiske Models were there to terrorise the locals, enjoy the rain and just plain have fun!

Normally, this is the first show of the year in Queensland. Being 2021, this was the first show in 18 months though! As such, the sheer volume of modellers blinking as they emerged into the sunlight for the first time in over a year was astounding.

Being the only show that is well and truly outside of South East Queensland, it meant most of the traders, exhibitors and punters were staying in hotels, Air B&Bs, Timeshare Tents or stolen dog kennels. Which of course meant that EVERYONE was looking to have some fun at the show as well as after the show.

This is the primary reason Bridget and I love this show so much. Everyone is in a great mood, ready to have fun and just relaxed. Also, there is a relatively well known series of drinks produced in Bundaberg that we all (in the name of being neighbourly obviously) had to sample… Repeatedly.

As per usual, we stayed in our usual digs across the road from the railway station. As did the RMCQ (Brendale Club) boys and two very dear friends of ours, Majella & Gerarde Ryan whom we always manage to get up to no good with.

There really is something that you never get used to when you hear a train whistle and see twenty plus hotel doors open up in unison as a parade of semi sober, semi conscious modellers amble towards the end of the balcony and start mentioning which train that is and start regaling each other with tails about their memories of said train.

This always makes me laugh as I sit there quietly sipping my surgically attached coffee. Also, it really helps to bring home why we all model the things we model and how these weird friendships develop over the years.

Similarly, the same conversations can be heard in several of the local pubs and clubs over the course of the weekend. Walking into a pub and hearing some drunken oaths slurred about “he only models N scale” and other such things will never not make me smile.

For us and everyone else we discussed it with, the show was insanely successful. The turn out was greater than at any of the previous years and everyone had a great time. As always.

However, one of the highlights of the Bundaberg show is always the arrival of our good friend Dirk. Every year he stops off at his local bakery and grabs us half a dozen cream buns which is always entertaining.

Firstly because I have a rather stupid moustache and cream goes everywhere whilst I am trying to pretend I am actually professional.

Secondly because, each year, without fail, Bridget lets out a high pitched squeak of excitement that sounds slightly akin to one of those chew toys you buy for your pedigree labradoodle cross bull mastiff cross badger, cross empty coffee jar flea bag being run over by a lawn mower on it’s last legs.

Those of you whom join in our Wednesday night modellers chat through the Queensland Modellers’ Group on Faceplant know the noise of which I speak.

This year, The evil Dirk, whom we actually believe may have been a sacrificial animal breeder in a past life told us he’d forgotten to grab any.

It turned out in fact that, the thoroughly lovely, decent and all round nice guy (whom possibly should be given an order of Australia) had actually bought two packs of the delightful cream buns and hidden them in plane sight behind us on the stand.

So thanks have to go to Dirk. We enjoyed the buns as ever and the look on Bridget’s face when she discovered them was priceless. Thanks mate.

For Bridget and myself, the real magic of this event is the fun times that happen after hours on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

This year, Matty Harrison joined us to lend a much needed hand and to join in the insanity after hours. I feel pretty safe in saying he had a fantastic time.

For us, we attended the Metro on Bourbong Street (unfortunately this is only 200 metres from our hotel) and had a few drinks with PK and a few of the other boys from the RMCQ. Bridget and I attended their smoker’s section which seems to be neatly styled on Colditz with a late Bubonic feel to the décor. No matter, we had a great night!

Saturday night, a small, intimate group of around 35 of us attended the East Bundaberg Sports club and had a great meal. Bridget even managed to discover that they sell a certain well known Bundaberg mad spirit, they even had a reasonable amount of said spirit in stock she discovered.

Upon leaving this fine establishment, we dropped Steve Hornabrook off at his hotel… Well we almost did. We actually dropped him and ourselves off very near Steve’s hotel at an Air B&B that had been leased by our old friends at the Gold Coast Club.

So, Bridget and I sat chin wagging, swearing, musing and plotting with Den & Glenys, Roc, Marty and the two Steves until 2am! This should help to explain why we were all just a tiny bit dead and dopey the next morning.

On the Sunday night, we just sat at the hotel with bout 6 of us and ate some genuinely awful pizza from a well known chain store. But with such company, the additional salmonella and diphtheria toppings tasted superb and in fact they very nearly could have passed as food.

From  myself, Bridget and Matty, we’d like to thank the club for yet another outstanding show. We’d like to thank ALL the people from all the clubs and shops whom we spent time with for giving us a truly enjoyable weekend.

I’d also like to apologise to the Gold Coast boys for that incident with the Brain Coaster… oops.

So, what a fantastic start to the show season! It was great to see that after an 18 month holiday, we’ve ALL become delicate little petals whom have forgotten how much hard work there is in doing these shows. But most importantly, it reminded us all of just how much we truly love doing what we do and how lucky we are that the residents of the Wuiske Asylum get to “work” with the residents of so many other train-related asylums.

Our next show will be the big one. Brisbane on the 1st and 2nd of May.
Hopefully, our gumbyment will continue making influenza great again and the show will go on without the interruptions we’ve all had to endure for the last year or so.

As always though, we shall see how we go.

For those of you that have been following our Faceplant Page (insert disgustingly shameless plug here), you’ll be aware of some new project we’ve been claiming will be a “game changer”.

Well, perhaps it’s time we revealed exactly what it is…

That’s right, Wuiske Models is making Flexible Track in HOn3½!

With our original image, many of you assumed, this was a rib sided container mold.
I feel I should point out that these pieces are actually rather LARGE. About 3 feet in length actually. What we’d shown was merely the mold base. The marks people assumed were ribs are nothing more than tool marks left over from the milling machines tool path.

In any case, making track was something we mentioned about 10 years ago that we were planning on doing. This was simply due to the, at times, sporadic availability of HOn3½ track… And that was BEFORE this covid stuff.

As usual, most people thought nothing more about us saying we “wanted to produce…”.
However, as usual, we’ve now done it.

Back in Early December 2020, we were having a conversation with Kieren Haskell and between us we collectively said “bugger it, how hard can it be?”

As it turns out, there are MANY reasons that there are only a handful of track producers on the planet. But, as usual, stupidity and bloody mindedness prevailed and now we’re very close to having track available.

The first issue was to sort out if this was something we could make here in Australia… It wasn’t.
The second issue was to see if Kieren could do it in Taiwan, turned out he couldn’t either… But together, we muddled through and with a lot of Taiwanese help, we got it done. At this point, I should mention that it’s not without VERY good reason, that most of the decent quality track brands are NOT made in China.

So by dispensing with such silly things as sleep and family time, Kieren and ourselves managed to learn a few things and invent a machine or two.

The next step was for us to find some dimensions for Queensland Rail sleepers and spacing… There are three of them at least!
Eventually, we agreed upon a standard that would work and was the most common.

The next step was to produce a mold. In the meantime, Bridget and I were talking with a couple of the handful (there is actually less than 5) suppliers of model rail on the planet and we decided we’d be best to at least attempt to make our own rail.

So, since Kieren was talking about “getting his head around this track stuff”, we said, “good, let’s make rail too”.

After much swearing, tears, oaths and badly missed translations for “Nickel Silver”, he got so furious that he managed to force molten metal through a teeny tiny (0.075″) opening using little more than brute venom and hatred for those Wuiske mongrels.

So, by this stage we had Code 75 nickel silver rail and a start of a mold for the sleepers. The next step was to work out how to bring the two together… This was not simple.

In the end, Kieren had exhausted his vocabulary of current, historical and future swear words and we’d repeated “it can’t be THAT hard” enough times that a design was arrived at for a nifty little machine that should mean we can get accurate Australian narrow gauge track produced without it costing more than the average Porsche.

As you’re mostly aware, Bridget and I are about to commence construction of an insanely stupid layout. We estimated we would need about 3,500 lengths of track for this monstrosity. As it turns out, that’s about 15% of the way to breaking even on producing track. So now we’re making track.

So by this stage, we’d been working on track for about 30 days and most people were ringing in 2021. We had a mold that was spitting out test shots and about 30 kilometres of rail sitting with Kieren in Taiwan.

The next step was, once we approved everything, to add the wood grain and the all important “Wuiske” wording underneath it.

The next steps were to look at what we would actually make the sleepers from…
Kieren had stumbled upon a material (by act of pure serendipity) that would give the flexibility and strength required BUT, would also provide a degree of temperature absorbing in the finished product.

Essentially, if we spend about 10% more on the raw plastic, we can produce a sleeper that whilst not heat resistant, will mean you can afford to take a few seconds longer soldering feeder wires to your track without it becoming a tangled blob of plastic on ply.

One of the other benefits of this Process is that the top and sides surfaces are not as glossy as conventional sleepers. Something that’s been a pet peeve of most of us for years.

So, where we now stand (2½ months after having said “bugger it, let’s just do it”), is that we have HOn3½ Flexible Track with accurate sleeper dimensions for Queensland Railways. Our own Code 75 Nickel Silver Rail, Semi Heat resistant sleepers and a rather nifty (though I may be biased) label to put on a cardboard box.

The plan is that this track will be made available in boxes of 15 three foot lengths with an SRRP of $150AUD.  With the way it’s looking at present, the current machinery will allow Kieren to pump out a maximum of 1,000 lengths per DAY!  With any luck, this will eliminate shortages of HOn3½ flexible track.

The HOn3½ track will be available VERY soon and will be available exclusively through Wuiske Models, with the exception of Taiwanese and Japanese customers, for whom it will be sold by Haskell Co.
All in all, not a bad effort for 2½ months of no sleep.

With any luck, this little experiment will work out well and then we can look at a few other track based ideas we have rattling round our collective brains.
As always though, we shall see how we go.

Without trying to sound like Bridget and over dramatise things, it’s been over a MILLION YEARS since I’ve put fists to keyboard and added to this little rant thingy.

So, that aside, it is of course getting towards the end of the year. So obviously, it’s time for another Adam’s Corner Christmas.

That’s right, the morbidly obese, bearded one with the unhealthy (and possibly illegal but we are all accepting of everything these days so it’s all become moot really) reindeer and red pyjama fixation squeezes his ever girthsome read quarters down the chimneys that don’t exist anymore due to fir regulations to deliver China’s finest items… Also some socks.

This year has been an interesting and VERY eventful one for all of us. 2020 will surely go down in history as the cancerous polyp on the backside of the calendar.  For us, it was a triple whammy but we got there.

As many of you know, Bridget and I had her MASSIVE fish tank develop an instant and destructive leak. A week later we had the floods and two weeks after that, we had a cyber attack and lost ALL of our data.

So with this pathetic start to the year, we did what we always do… Worked our backsides off! With the help of our insanely dedicated workers (aka the Wuiske Minions), we have managed to turn 2020 into a great year for Wuiske Models and set ourselves up for some VERY big things over the coming years.

This year, we’ve produced a lot of items and it’s actually been our biggest year for adding to our Made In Queensland line. All of this has helped push us further towards our goals of setting up a factory right here on the Darling Downs!

I think I can announce that Bridget and I have already started down this path by purchasing a five acre block that will be the future home of Wuiske Models.

On top of this, we’ve built a fairly sizable shed to house both the shop and the new layout.
The shed is 12 meters wide and 30 meters long. The layout room has been walled off at 12 meters by 24 meters. This will ensure we have a layout that we most likely won’t live long enough to complete.

Being completely honest, this layout is something I have been dreaming of since I was about 8 years old. That’s a layout featuring Normanby yards as it’s heart… But if you’re modelling Normanby, why not add Roma St yard? Why not Mayne? You can see where this is going can’t you?

If you click this link, you’ll see a video I shot of Normanby back in 1994 (when I was 15!).

Once the idea was roughly formulated for what we’d like to reproduce, we set to arranging the shed. Once the slab was poured, everything looked pretty small and not very impressive. The fact that a road train with two side tippers was used to get the sub base in should have been an indicator really.

As the frame was built, the shed was still looking disappointingly small. Then the walls started getting lined! Now, we’re at the stage where every time I stand in the doorway to the layout room I just laugh. Mostly because this is completely INSANE!

Speaking as a slightly insane eight year old, not so cleverly disguised as a forty two year old lunatic with a dopey pony tail and moustache, this is a VERY personal dream of mine and something that I have been wanting to do for over thirty years.

As things progress we will keep you updated with the progress of our latest prance down Lunacy Lane.

As it’s that time of year, Bridget and myself would like to extend a MASSIVE thank you to our workers. The Wuiske Models Boys have gone above and beyond this year to build your models and to help us move towards our shared goal of making things right here. Honestly boys, we could not have done any of this without you, so thank you. Honestly, thank you.

This year we’ve done so many things we have been planning for years, some of which were released this year, some still to come.

Bridget and I would like to extent a big thank you to you all for your support and friendship over the last 12 months. It’s been an “interesting” year for all of us and no doubt 2021 will provide more “interesting” things to overcome.

From Bridget, Myself, Aidan, Michael and all the Wuiske Minions, we’d like to wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous new year. With any luck, monumental things are laying ahead of us for 2021… Like me actually writing more chapters of Adam’s Corner.
We shall see how we go.

So it’s been a while since the last little rant on here, yet it’s been eventful. Perhaps for ALL the wrong reasons. So here we go with a wrap up of the last couple of months in the Wuiske Asylum.

Firstly, I, on behalf of Bridget, Aidan, Michael and all the Wuiske Models team would like to wish you all a VERY happy New Year. As per usual we have been head down, bum up working on multiple projects. All was shaping up rather well until some passive aggressive bat in Wuhan decided to vent his anger by assaulting a dinner plate and express his ire by making himself appear particularly delectable.

That’s right Corona Virus has impacted us. But not as much as one would expect. I keep reading reports from different manufacturers claiming “In production”, “Will be here by March/April” etc… Upon reading these lines I have been struck with a sense that I really shouldn’t be giggling my head off.

In short, these are lies! Either lies being told by the manufacturer based on insanely optimistic timelines or being told by factories afraid that they’re losing business by this weird “Bat/Mexican Beer thing”.

The reality is simply this, whilst we’re all busy buying toilet paper like it is the solution to world hunger and holds ALL of the keys to alchemy and ant taxidermy, things are actually on the mend in mainland China… kind of.

The reality is that what makes China such a magnificent place to produce anything is what’s hurting us all right now. “The Cluster” as it’s called is wonderful. Personally I love it! However, when you have a migratory population traveling around the country for a national holiday and an illness breaks out, those workers simply can’t get to work.

As a result, you might have the funds to make something and the will. But if there are no bums on seats, it isn’t getting made. That’s the actual reality of the situation. So when you see all those videos of empty streets, remember that those missing people are the ones whom apply brake rigging or do the printing or simply fold boxes on your models.

From our many and lengthy conversations with suppliers and friends over in that part of the world, we’ve been told that there is around 40% of staff back at work. Whilst that sounds good though, it all depends on which staff with which skill set are back at work. So don’t expect to see much happening soon.

That doesn’t really effect the Wuiske Asylum as greatly as one would assume though as our current line up of projects is destined to be made in right here in Queensland. Even though the majority of our tooling is done in China. And so far as tooling, you only really need a couple of people to be at work.

Now, if we can find some friendly pilots to fly our stuff over, then we’re laughing.

As if the Chinese Bat/Mexican Beer/I Need More Bog Roll/Man Flu/Sniffles thing wasn’t bad enough, Recently we had another flood.

As most of you would have seen through our faceplant page, the Wuiske Asylum was washed clean with dirty water. This has, of course, caused no end of issues and disruption to our normally confused and disrupted system.

We now have our stock spread over a couple of locations, the layout has been removed due to massive warping after the water went through and the office is now upstairs in a a space that would make a postage stamp feel cramped.

As if this wasn’t enough, some of the Wuiske Models team have gotten bored… So bored that one decided to take a swan dive through his roof. Imagine a dyslexic and unambitious Superman with severe learning difficulties and no understanding of this “gravity thing” and then you’ve got it.

Despite all of this, we are moving well on our current six projects and should have something to show you all within the next few weeks.

As most of us know by now, our first show of the year, The Bundaberg Model Railway Show has been cancelled by the Wide Bay & South Burnett Model Railway Club.

This amazing feat has been undertaken by the club a mere one week prior to their show and they should be congratulated on their attitude towards avoiding additional spreading of the Chinese Marinated, Bat Flavoured, Mexican Beer Infused Man Flu.

The Brisbane Show taking place on it’s scheduled date is now highly in doubt, but we will be notified and shall pass on all we know as more information comes to hand.

With any luck, common sense will reign the current block of loonies into line and this will pass relatively smoothly… As always, we shall see how we go.