Newcastle Museum has turned back the clock to the days of paddle steamers and horse drawn carriages as part of a special exhibition showcasing one of Australia’s best model railways.
Created by noted modeller Ross Balderson and a small group of fellow enthusiasts, Newcastle 1899 depicted the Newcastle Railway precinct in miniature at the turn of the century, complete with steam trams chugging their way up and down Scott Street.
The working model is complemented by a bustling harbor filled with historically accurate ships including tugboats ‘Champion’ and ‘Commodore’ and the paddle steamship ‘SS Namoi’.
Creating it was a labour of love for Mr Balderson, who has been working on it for more than a decade after being inspired by an image in a railway book taken by renowned Newcastle-based photographer Ralph Snowball.
“I have produced numerous model railway layouts throughout my life recreating New South Wales locations and capturing moments in time of our past history,” Mr Balderson said.
“I chose to model Newcastle after first being inspired by one single photograph published in a railway book, which showed a scene looking across Newcastle’s railway station platforms and rail yard to a row of moored sailing ships loading goods at Queens Wharf.
“With the assistance of Greg Ray and David Hampton I have been given the opportunity to show the model at Newcastle Museum, displaying how the city once appeared back in the days of sailing ships and horse drawn vehicles.”
City of Newcastle Director of Museum, Archive, Libraries and Learning, Julie Baird said Newcastle Museum welcomed the opportunity to showcase the unique peek into Newcastle’s past.
“Ross and his supporters have spent the past 10 years painstakingly recreating the Newcastle Railway Station precinct, drawing from historical photographs, measuring existing buildings, and hand-painting backdrops to develop a breathtaking record of Newcastle in the age of sail and steam,” Ms Baird said.
“The model is a superb reflection of the complex and varied skills that contribute to model-making, combining artistic flair, precision accuracy and detailed research to create one of the finest examples of historically accurate miniature railways in Australia.
“Newcastle Museum plays an important role in interpreting and preserving our city’s fascinating history for future generations and we are proud to be able to display the model for the first time in Newcastle.”
Local history buffs and railway enthusiasts given the chance to see the model in real life when it was displayed in Newcastle Museum’s Link Gallery at the weekend.
