Model trains
Bruce Macdonald's collection of O gauge trains
These O gauge model trains, collected by Bruce Macdonald, were made by more than 30 different manufacturers from across Australia and New Zealand between the 1930s and the 1960s. The O gauge was a popular choice for hobbyists and a number of manufacturers chose to specialise in that scale. The gauge of a train model is measured between the inside edges of the load-bearing rails, with O gauge generally measuring 32 millimetres, at a scale of 1:43.
Highlights from the collection
Learn more about some of the model trains and scenery on show at the National Museum, with information on each manufacturer, from Bruce Macdonald’s 2005 book Spring, Spark and Steam: An Illustrated Guide to Australian Toy and Model Trains. Photos by George Serras, Jason McCarthy and Katie Shanahan.
Slideshow of model trains
Image Gallery Page Navigation
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Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd
New South Wales Railways C38 class locomotive with tender and passenger cars, made from aluminium by Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd, Sydney, in about 1951.
Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd
New South Wales Railways ‘Silver Chief’ clockwork locomotive, tender and passenger cars, made from aluminium, by Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd, Sydney, in about 1948.
Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd
New South Wales Railways ‘Silver Chief’ clockwork locomotive, tender and passenger cars, made from aluminium, with original box and track, by Maurlyn Manufacturing Pty Ltd, Sydney, in about 1948.
McCredie
New South Wales Railways suburban passenger coach, made from tinplate by Gordon McCredie and associates, Katoomba, during the 1940s.
Gordon McCredie was a pharmacist with an interest in O gauge model railways. During 1942, McCredie began to pursue his hobby and supply items to several retail shops as part of physical therapy to recover from a serious hand injury. McCredie’s range of locomotives and rolling stock were generally based on New South Wales Railways prototypes, but they lacked real accuracy. McCredie operated from his home in Katoomba, and formed associations with other modellers, including Eric Hallmen and Leonard Pluck.
Meadmore Model Engineering Co.
Melbourne W class tramcar, made from tinplate by an unknown manufacturer, distributed by Meadmore Model Engineering Co, Melbourne, in about 1952.
Clement Meadmore established a business selling manufactured parts and accessories for model railways in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood in 1928. He organised a public model railway exhibition in Melbourne’s Central Hall in 1932 to promote interest in the hobby. Other hobbyists joined Meadmore to expand the layout which later became part of Melbourne’s Luna Park.
Modeltoy Products
Sheep van on a turntable, made from wood with pressed and cast metal components by Norman Coleman and associates, West Maitland, during the 1940s-50s.
Working as a boilermaker at the Cardiff railway workshops near Newcastle, Norman Coleman began making O gauge model accessories in his home garage before leaving his employment in 1948 to pursue his hobby full-time. Working at a premises in West Maitland with two staff, Coleman’s products included bridges, level crossings, footbridges, water tanks, signal boxes, goods sheds and cranes, and a number of rolling stock items such as sheep vans, cattle wagons, flat wagons and refrigerator vans.
Model train production in Australia
Following the Second World War, local manufacturers responded to shortages in imported products by creating quality toy and model trains for a growing market. During the 1950s and 60s, the Australian toy and scale model train industries prospered, creating products for children and serious collectors.
Australian manufacturers, including Ferris, O Gauge House, Maurlyn and Robilt, produced trains modelled primarily on New South Wales and Victorian rolling stock. While model trains of the 1930s and 40s were often made of wood or simple tin-plate, by the 1950s and 60s complicated and highly detailed pressed sheet metal trains that ran on electric tracks were being mass-produced.
A lifetime love of trains
Bruce Macdonald received his first train set at the age of five, the start of a lifetime love of trains. As an adult, he was involved in the restoration and conservation of historic full-sized steam-powered engines, including items in the Museum’s collection. During the 1970s, Macdonald returned to his interest in O gauge toys and models and spent decades collecting examples of the main Australian and New Zealand manufacturers. About 155 pieces of rolling stock and scenery from the Macdonald collection are on show at the National Museum.
Bruce Macdonald's model trains are currently on show in the Hall at the National Museum of Australia.
