Old Layout(s)

This page is under construction, but please view what we have

The old Club Layouts include:

Petersville

Crestwood

Petersville

“Petersville” – In 2013 it was decided that the previous exhibition layout, “Crestwood”, was getting a bit tired and needed to be replaced.  It had won two “Best in Show” awards and numerous other honourable mentions, but was past its prime.  Work was started on a new exhibition layout, after considerable discussion and false starts.

When “Crestwood” was sold in late 2013, the construction of a replacement exhibition layout became an urgent priority.  Track work has been completed on the new layout, wiring for DCC was completed and basic scenery was completed.  We aimed to have the layout at exhibition stage by the Malkara exhibition in August that year.  Still a lot of work to do at that stage, however – June 2014.

“Petersville” was an HO scale layout designed to provide maximum action at any exhibition.  It was based on a coal mine with a small town nearby.

Rail traffic was block coal trains, plus interstate traffic on the main line nearby – mainly containers, wheat and passenger traffic.  There was plenty of shunting action.  Petersville did not have a fiddle yard as such. 

The layout was designed so that the audience could view it from all sides.  Control was from several points around the layout.

The control system was DCC radio control, with points controlled by macros.  We had used this system on “Crestwood”, our previous exhibition layout, and it worked very well.

The layout was composed of 6 modules, each 1.8m x 1.2m.  Each module could fit into the Club trailer and the complete layout and all ancillary equipment could be easily carried in one load.

The layout sat on a 25mm steel base with a 6mm baseboard.

Petersville under construction early 2014

The last CMRCI layout (named Petersville because of the number of our Members who bear that prestigious name) was first displayed at the 2014 Malkara exhibition and has since appeared at the Canberra, Wagga Wagga, Bungendore and Albury shows. It won the Ladies Choice Award at Wagga in 2015 and Best In Show in 2017 as well as Best In Show at Albury in 2018.

Petersville in action at the 2018 Canberra Model Railway Club Expo

In 2019 the decision was made to build a new layout to replace Petersville. It had had a busy life and was showing signs of age. Construction of the underlying structure and baseboard for the new layout is compete.  The trackwork and electrical systems have been completed and tested.

Petersville in action at the 2015 Wagga Wagga annual model railway exhibition.

The following few photos are of the layout in our clubhouse in 2019 before its demise and breaking up.

This page was last updated on 6 Dec 2020