Garry Glazebrook MMR

The Layout

The Newcastle Fassifern Railway

Newcastle-Fassifern Layout: A prototype-inspired memory machine of Newcastle in the 1960’s

Layout Description

The genesis of my current Newcastle-Fassifern Layout was a trip with a fellow railfan from Queensland to New South Wales in 1965, when we were 15, where we rode behind 38’s on the Newcastle Flyer and saw double-headed Garretts on coal and freight trains. It left an indelible memory and a desire to recreate that magical time in my home.

My current HO layout is my third, all based on the Newcastle-Fassifern area in the mid 1960’s. It occupies around 100 sq. m. after demolishing some bedrooms – fair enough as the kids left home years ago. It includes key layout design elements – Newcastle station and city centre; Broadmeadow with its double roundhouses; BHP steelworks; and the climbs up to Tickhole Tunnel and the Fassifern Bank.

All trackwork and some 250 points are installed (and some working signals courtesy of my signalling engineer, Roger Tuck), along with about 70% of the scenery and 20% of the structures. The layout is built for operations, with 12-16 people typically running around 20 trains in a two-hour session, using a 1.5:1 fast clock to represent a three-hour slice of the 1965 working timetable.

I have had enormous help from many friends who have installed decoders, built 3-D printed buildings, and helped with wiring and scenery. It’s given me lots of satisfaction and led to some great friendships. What more could one want from a layout!

Site Information

Layout Owner:	Garry Glazebrook MMR
Address:	21 Yean Street, Burradoo 2576
Phone contact:	0414 223 241
Email contact:	g.glazebrook@bigpond.com
Layout details:	Name: The Newcastle Fassifern Railway Scale: HO with DCC
Operating sessions:	Tuesday 9.30am
Refreshments available:	No
Special instructions:	Front gate on Yean Street, or drive into Arthur Smith Cres then left into Anglewood Drive to rear of last house on left.