Willans Hill Miniature Railway facts for kids
The Willans Hill Model Railway is a super fun place to visit in the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens. You can find it in the Turvey Park area of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. It's a special railway with miniature trains that are just like the real ones, but smaller!
How It Started
This amazing model railway began way back in 1978. A person named Raymond Catts had a great idea. He wanted to start a club for people who loved model trains. He put out advertisements to find others who were interested.
It took a couple of years, from 1978 to 1980, for enough people to join. They even started a special course to learn how to build and fix things. From there, more and more people got involved. Soon, they found the perfect spot to build the railway you see today. The Wagga Wagga Society of Model Engineers now runs the railway.
What You'll See
The Willans Hill Model Railway is quite big! It has about 3 kilometres (that's 3,000 metres!) of track. This track can hold different sizes of miniature trains, including 7 1/4 inch and 5 inch models.
When you visit, you'll find:
- Two stations where trains stop.
- Two tunnels for the trains to go through.
- Three bridges that trains cross over.
- Four buildings that add to the railway scene.
- The club owns 6 locomotives (those are the engines that pull the trains).
- Many other locomotives are owned by club members themselves!
Special Train Events
Every year since 1988, the railway hosts a big event called the "Invitational Run." It happens on the first weekend of November. Miniature trains from all over Australia come together for two days of exciting train running.
- Saturday: This day is usually just for the club members to run their trains.
- Sunday: This is the day when the public can come and watch the trains. It's a great chance to see many different miniature trains in action!
In 2007, a special 24-hour event called "Railway for Life" was held. It ran from September 15th to 16th. This event helped raise money for the Cancer Council, which is a charity that helps people with cancer.
Different Train Routes
The railway has three main routes that the trains can take:
- The Main Line: This is a shorter route that stays within the beautiful Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens.
- The Museum Line: This route takes the trains under a road called Lord Baden Powell Drive. It then goes to a loop near the Museum of the Riverina car park.
- The Spiral Line: This route goes around a spiral track. After going around the spiral, the trains can return to the main station using either the Museum Line or the Main Line.
Newest Train
A cool new train joined the club recently! It's a locomotive called The T387. The club bought it from Adelaide in 2018. This new train had its very first run on the tracks in October 2018. It's a great addition to the railway's collection!
