The year is 1963 somewhere in Victoria, Australia

The competition is moving in



After three years Wombat Creek’s the sole department store has got a competitor. Foys has opened next to Myer. The building is a modified Scalescenes low relief model. It was planned to be erected further up Bridge Street, but the ‘low relief’ wasn’t ‘low’ enough leaving no footpath at the front. Instead the model got an extended roof and right wall and placed near Myer. The original building came with three pairs of entrance doors. Two pairs have been converted to display windows complete with mannequins. At the top floor a couple are waiting at the lift. At the second floor a customer or employee is enjoying the view from one of the corner windows.


Foy & Gibson, commonly known as Foys and later Cox-Foys, was one of Australia's largest and earliest department store chains. The company manufactured a lot of the goods (e.g. clothing, leather goods and furniture, hardware and food) sold in the stores.

The first store was established in Collingwood, Victoria by Mark Foy. This business prospered during the 1870s. In 1883 Foy’s son took over together with William Gibson, hence the name Foy and Gibson.

When the business expanded in the late 1880s and early 20th century. The company continued to produce and sell a variety of goods and became one of the largest employers in Victoria. The business expanded to Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide in the early 1900s.

In the 1950s and 1960s branches of Foys were sold off and the company doesn’t trade anymore.

Foy & Gibson Adelaide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Foy_and_Gibson%27s_department_store,_Rundle_Street,_decorated_for_centenary(GN09848).jpg

I remember that store

Foy & Gibson - Wikipedia

The picture in the first link seems to have disappeared Sol



 
 

This link seems to work:

(Click to enlarge)

The 'Daylesford' Building


A new building has been erected in Wombat Creek. Once gain it is a modified Scalescenes kit. The original kit is a low relief building. I have changed it into a 'full' building by adding walls along the sides and at the back. Extra windows at the front (and back) has turned the building into a block of offices except for the ground floor. The entrance is in the middle surrounded by a high end men's clothes store and a fancy shoe shop. At the moment the shops are still under construction. I haven't decided if they will be topped by a broad awning or not. The front of the building is not visible from a normal view point, so it will not be very detailed. The 'ghost' signs are 'borrowed' from the internet and adds some interest to otherwise blank brick walls.





The name 'Daylesford' is a nod to a well-known spa town in rural Victoria. The town started as a gold mining town named 'Wombat'! Later the name was changed to Daylesford. You will not find a creek in town but Wombat Hill still looms at the outskirts.

Lunch time


The girls from the 3^rd floor are enjoying their lunch break – and so is Chris from Accountants!

:thumbs::thumbs:


Looks great Claus - as do the girls …………………….

Freight Car No. 17


The fleet of trams in Wombat Creek has been extended by Freight Car No. 17.

(Click to enlarge)

(Photo: Trams Downunder)

The original tram entered traffic in 1906 as NMETL No. 13. The tram was part of a fleet of five (no. 11-15) single truck open cross-bench trams built by Duncan and Fraser for The North Melbourne Electric Tramways & Lighting Company. When the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB) in 1922 took over the NMETL, No. 13 was renumbered as No 214 in the M&MTB roster and classified into the V class. It was withdrawn from passenger service in 1925. Two years later, it was fitted with windscreens and enclosed with a box type body for use as a freight car, and renumbered as No 2A. In this form it was used to carry spare parts and other materials from Preston Workshops to each of the running depots to enable minor tramcar repairs to be carried out locally.

In 1934 it was renumbered to 17. It was further modified in 1959 to carry large advertising panels on its sides, but it continued carrying freight between the depots. 'Sunkist' was one of the major advertisers with different side panels showing products like frozen peas and ice-cream.

The freight car was withdrawn from service in 1977 replaced by a lorry. In 1978 it was reconstructed to near original condition as a toast-rack passenger car by Preston Workshops for use on tourist services, numbered as V class No 214. In 2006 it was repainted in NMETL livery and numbered back to 13. It is now on display at the Melbourne Tram Museum as the oldest electric tram.

The model is not 100% correct, but close enough. Since Wombat Creek Tramways only have one depot, there is not much use for a freight car. But the manager saw an opportunity for an extra income from advertising, so the tram will trundle the streets of Wombat Creek. Perhaps it will deliver some freight to the Explosives Factory, which is difficult to reach by road.

Long service life then Claus.

I bet the lorry that replaced it in 1977 won't last as long (if it's still running).


Ed

New addition to the fleet



Wombat Creek Tramways has received a new vehicle. This time it is a trailer for the 'odd' Danish tram KS 437.


KS 437 (Kjøbenhavns Sporveie = Copenhagen Tramways) was built in 1918 for the tramways in Copenhagen. The tram was withdrawn from traffic in 1965 and donated to the Danish Tram Museum at Skjoldenæsholm. The trailer is not quite right. In fact it is the same model as the tram itself with the trolley pole removed and extra window sills. Once the route numbers and destination box are removed from the roof, only the number will reveal its origin.


And you may ask, what is a Danish tram doing in Australian Wombat Creek? Well, a Melbourian W class are running at the tram museum in Denmark, so why not? Or is it a matter of nostalgia?

Er, it is your tramway Claus so you can run whatever takes your fancy.

Sol said

Er, it is your tramway Claus so you can run whatever takes your fancy.

From “Post #290,384”, 19th July 2024, 6:37 am

Good point 👍

Interesting read there. Claus. Nice models too.

Busy workshop


With a price-tag of AUS$ 25 each the manager of Wombat Creek Tramways thinks he did a bargain! The staff at the workshop will be busy for weeks to come building new trams.

Just caught up Claus. Great to see the tramway is still going strong. You’ve really come a long way since I last viewed.

Spill the beans Claus - what are those 3 little beauties ?

Oh yes, nearly forgot - the Morgan looks nice too. Station manager's car ?

Petermac said

Spill the beans Claus - what are those 3 little beauties ?

Oh yes, nearly forgot - the Morgan looks nice too. Station manager's car ?

From “Post #290,408”, 25th July 2024, 4:43 pm

The 3 little beauties are a purchase from Ebay. A guy here in Australia is 3D printing a lot of railway 'stuff' like spare parts and chassis with motors. He can also print special orders. Everything is reasonable priced.

The Morgan belongs to the bank manager.

 

Too much going on

The workshop at the Tramways is far too busy and blocks all the roads at the depot.


In road no.1 a Hobart tram is rebuilt and re-gauged to standard gauge.

The yellow chassis in road no. 2 will be a trailer for ballast and coal.

The ex-Vienna tram in road no. 3 will loose a few doors and emerge as a Melbourian U class.

In front of the steam shed a major reconstruction will take place before a Bendigo steam tram enters the heritage fleet.



It is difficult to predict a time frame for the various projects, but the Hobart tram appears to be the first to enter traffic.

Tram no. 47 ready for service

A 'new' tram has entered the fleet of Wombat Creek Tramways. The tram is ex-Hobart no. 47, which after re-gauging is ready for service.


The tramways in Hobart were quite unique in Australia. They did not start with horse trams, cable trams or steam trams but went straight into electric trams. Other unique features were bow collectors and double-decker trams. The latter caused some problems. Like the railways in Tasmania the trams ran on narrow gauge, 3ft 8''. With a relative high centre of gravity corners had to be rounded with caution. After a few roll-overs had happened, it was decided to cut down the double-decker trams to single-decker trams. Tram no. 47 is one of the cut-down trams. The advertising is for an Australian tea brand (yes, they did spell flavor without 'u') and of course Cadbury Chocolate. The factory is still in Hobart.

As always, some superb modelling there, Claus. I haven't kept up recently, but did a quick catch up just now.   :thumbs:  :thumbs:


Back in 2018, Mrs SRman and I were taken to the Skjoldenæsholm Museum by my cousin Peter and his partner, Grete. Everything as so well presented and spotless. The Melbourne tram was a bit of a surprise, as it was one of the first standard gauge trams we saw when we arrived (the trip from the car park gatehouse is by a narrow gauge tram). Apparently it was a wedding present for Mary and Frederik … why a Tasmanian Princess (at that time) would want a Melbourne tram is anyone's guess!!