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Qualmann's Ware/Store house is pretty much complete now, however the major sections aren't attached nor is it fixed into the layout pending quite a bit of surrounding work (including backscene, rear scenery, fascia, overhead wiring, signalling the siding etc. etc....!) that needs to be done. Good enough for a picture, though sans wires means the siding needs to be worked by steam.
Beyond the excellent kits provided by the US maker Jordan, pickings are quite slim for interwar road vehicles, particularly trucks. Some exceptions were the excellent models made some years ago by Roskopf, a small German company. These models respond well to a bit of work, and look the part for the more traditional truck types of the era. While they have been out of production for quite a few years, they are still available from some of the 2nd hand sellers in Europe. The picture below shows the delivery truck following detailing (repaint, flush windscreens, removing one set of rear wheels, decalling, weathering) which will be parked outside the warehouse, with a comparative of an unmodified Roskopf truck.
Here she is "hooning" down Glenburn Rd at 30mph heading for the warehouse.
Anything wrong here? The two lines on the right of this shot are the Up and Dn main, here passing the yard (I haven't named it yet as it serves several purposes) on one of the unscenicked sections of the layout. There's a wee gap on the Up (furthest right) line! I had a point there which I had suspected was a bit iffy, and while testing it out as an access point for some more stabling found it was definitely iffy. Fixed down, there was nothing to do but wrench it out and I took a fair section of the straight also, as this wasn't my best laid track. Murphy's Law dictates any work of this kind always has to be in the least accessible spot, and hence that's a 600mm reach across the yard....so I thought it pertinent to empty the yard before attempting the replacement. Once my stock is on the layout I prefer not to touch it too much, so rather than lift it, I ran it all to the other end of the layout which explains why what looks like a major signalling overun problem has occured in the shot below. No doubt VR has arranged a replacement bus service as no-one is catching a train at Glenburn today....
Whereas Hope St was residential, the next street closer to Melbourne, Faith St will be predominantly commercial. The first building for the street is the Qualmann Warehouse, which has been commenced . The building fascia is formed from the frontages of the Faller "North German Warehouse" (kit picture above) suitably modified, with body built out in cardboard and Noch stonewalling. Where appropriate, the building will be clad in corrugated card. The step design, visible in the pictures owes itself to placement bridging a rise in the layout height across the plan. Much more work to go before she's ready to place on the layout, will post updates as she progresses.
Have laid the roadwork for the next street on the layout, Faith St, and as the line is still elevated another VR girder bridge is required, again a modified Atlas girder as per Hope St though slightly longer to bridge the broader commercial street here.It also again has the typical VR brick and bluestone abutments. The omission of one of the Up side pillars is temporary pending decision on the scenery option taken over there. Presumably laid down at the same time, Faith St has the same bluestone edge pavers broken by a couple of driveways for the Qualmann Pty Ltd Warehouse which is still being built....This section is the final elevated road before the landform rises up to track level and beyond. Much building of buildings now to be done to fill this void....
While suburban pass runs are slightly less frequent on the weekend, the Goods still needs to keep her heels moving, but not as fast as this shot of her having just left the boundaries of Jolimont Yard would indicate - for most of the trip East she'll be limited to 20-30mph.
Having arrived at her first shunt location, Qualmann Coolstores just outside Burnley, 37a has drawn up clear of the siding and is here shown pushing the consist back into 1 Road, from which she will drop/pick up wagons in accordance with the Rules for the siding, with numbers of wagons exchanged defined by drawing random cards.
Having completed her work at the Coolstore, 37a is on the way again, here seen passing one of the suburban yards between Burnley and Glenburn with the changed load.
The cards at the coolstores, having fallen heavily on this run, 37a only was permitted to drop a single short T van, however gained four vans, bringing her load up to 11 (=12) wagons + brake, she is here slowed by the bank running Dn into Glenburn station, holding the speed slow to prepare for her next work just beyond the station.
Once again the cards have fallen heavily with a complete replacement of the wagons dropped in the yard last weekend, with 6 (=7) of her own. Here 37a's E is shown pushing the new wagons into Glenburn Yard, having marshalled the removed wagons into the consist as her first working for the siding. Fortunately she's well protected in this move by Glenburn's signals (imagined........must get to them!). 
Having left the sidings behind, 37a builds up speed for the remainder of the run out to her terminating point at Lilydale.
Owing to the changes at the sidings, 37a now has a completely different consist from that she left Melbourne with under an hour ago, with the only original member of her consist apart from the boxcab being...
...... Z21 wobbling along on the rear.
After some smooth but not fast running, here's 37a having arrived at Lilydale, stabled between suburban electric units awaiting their runs back to Melbourne. And so ends a fairly typical run for the weekend Dn afternoon goods. After crib, the crew will run around, place the van on the opposite end of the train and await a path to scurry back to Melbourne.
Have finally completed the Steeple Cab for "Glenburn", she was an original part of my thinking for the layout so it's great to have got here! If you're interested, there's pictures and details of her build at:
My traditional Anzac Day Special, this year hauled by the D1, taken while stationed at Glenburn for the day. I did a bit of a write up of this tradition when I built the F horsebox that here with bracketing Z vans forms the train. If you're interested, it's at (click link below):
The next house for Hope St is a detailed LJ Models card kit of a quite typical early Australian suburban house. Once again, the producers' comment that some detailing lifts these kits is born out with simple detailing - real corrugated roof, cast chimneys, wooden steps and posts, cast window frames, etched cast iron work and wooden roof supports. I think it shapes up pretty well opposite the scratchbuilt pair of cottages, and is a very good result for a rather inexpensive kit.
Funny things telegraph poles, they are such a common feature of suburban streets as to be virtually invisible, however leave them out of a model and something is clearly missing, or put in some generic item, and there is something quite amiss! Hence these three poles have built in the style of the day and location and emplaced in Hope St, along with rudimentary wiring - just enough to garner the impression of what they're doing there. The means of carrying power under the overbridge is per prototype.
E Class is called upon to working a rag tag assortment of stock back to Melbourne.
Twin swing door Motors power an Up short E train, crossing the outward bound midday Parcels Motor.
A Parcels Motor is called upon to run the Dn afternoon goods, here sweeping through Glenburn. This load will hardly tax her, single motors were rated for quite a few more wagons.
