Welcome to my web site covering my modelling of the Shelley Railway Company, a "what if" narrow gauge version of Victorian Railways' broad gauge Wodonga-Cudgewa branchline which ran through the foothills of the Australian Alps.

I chose to replicate favourite sections of this beautiful branchline in HOn30 for the space saving benefits of narrow gauge using N gauge track, and the good detail level possible in HO (3.5mm/ft) scale. All locations on the Cudgewa Branch section of the model are closely based on the actual branch, suitably compressed to fit the available space. All rollingstock is likewise based on actual Victorian Railways rollingstock, again compressed where necessary for narrow gauge operation. Operations are largely authentic for the branch in it's latter days post-1950's with exceptions (eg. railmotor operation to Cudgewa, mixed trains) for operating interest. These differences from prototype are the reason for the inception of the Shelley Railway Company to distinguish from the actual Victorian Railways operation.

The diagram below shows an outline representation of the current layout which covers the section Shelley-Cudgewa. This is an operating layout, and all of the rollingstock you find on this site is in regular service, there being no dioramas or static display models here.

If you wish to find out more about the layout please feel free to contact me via this site, or public sources on the layout can be found at:

* John Dennis' photo essay: http://members.optusnet.com.au/jdennis/shelley/frameset.html

* Australian Model Railway Magazine, February 2002, "Cudgewa - The Shelley Railway Company"

* Narrow Gauge Down Under Convention Notes, Melbourne, 2007, "Prototype Based Australian HOn30 Modelling - Two different approaches."

* Narrow Gauge Downunder Magazine, Issue No. 29, April 2008, "Selective Compression"

I hope you enjoy looking through the site, and that it may either provide some encouragement in your own modelling endeavours, or encourage you to look further into this excellent and lifelong interest.
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