Just noticed that my last post was over a month ago, so it is definitely time for a quick update. As mentioned in my previously, I was not that pleased with the shape & size of the piston cover, so I have been trying to reshape it in my 3D-model. Believe I am almost there, but it also requires modelling new and larger pistons … and it takes some time to make them look good.

I also received “The Mapleton Tramway” by John Knowles, a great book that includes a detailed description of the route and gives an interesting insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the little Shays. Train operations are described, including the excursions operated at weekends which connected with QR trains.
An interesting feature of the line was the private siding to the general store at Mapleton, where goods were unloaded from the daily tram across the store veranda.

The picture above shows the tram besides the veranda and it gave me the idea for a small diorama,  allowing me to test my ability to model Queensland scenery. As my layout will only be based on The Mapleton Tramway, it will of course not be an exact copy of the Mapleton general store, but I will surely try to recreate the atmosphere. I am thinking about using one of the plastic StructOrama kits for my general store, but would rather have laser cut kit, because they tend to have more character. Let’s wait and see what happens …