The 16th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention has now been run and done for 2026. Another very successful event by all means, with plenty of smiling faces and motivated modellers walking away from the convention with refreshed enthusiasm.

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A full clinic schedule once again provided a healthy mix of options for attendees to participate in, with each of the 27 sessions being well supported. Thanks must go to all those who hosted our clinics and provided notes for the convention handbook. The handbook came in at a generous 220 pages of reading to take home.

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The venue was certainly full of plenty of layouts and displays to take in. A commendable effort to all those who have spent time assembling projects for display and transporting some distance to be a part of the weekend. Without that effort we have an empty venue, so special thanks to those that provided the great variety of visual entertainment for other attendees.

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Our Traders for the event all faired well, with either good sales and support of their manufacturing efforts, or great opportunities to network for future product planning. Without the time and effort of these small business operations, we don't have suppliers for our hobby, so it was great to hear of the excellent support for these traders over the weekend. Special thanks also goes to the attending traders for their support of the gift certificates in the contest room.

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The contest room is of course a great sample of some of the modelling being produced by our attendees. Results of the contest have been published below.

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The 16th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention formed a partnership with Alexandra Timber Tramway & Museum for this event. Our aim is to support a nominated preservation group and highlight the great work that many of their volunteers undertake. As modellers, we turn to these sort of groups for ideas and inspiration for our next projects, so they are a valuable link to the modelling community. We would like to thank Glenn Howe and Stefan Rebgetz from ATTM, who were our guests for the weekend and provided an excellent presentation on the ATTM history and future directions. Thanks to the success of this convention, we were able to provide a donation of $2000 towards Alexandra Timber Tramway & Museum for investing in future preservation projects.

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The convention of course doesn't happen without attendees registering to be a part of our event. A special thank you goes to everyone who attended, and particularly to those that have travelled from long distance (especially at this time of elevate fuel prices). For our overseas visitors, it was a pleasure to welcome you to our event and always great to meet new modellers. 

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Looking towards future events, we are seeking new faces to be involved with delivering the event. Over the years it has proven to be an extremely valuable experience for all attendees. It's especially great to hear from the first timers who can appreciate the significant different experience a convention offers over a regular railway exhibition. The Australian Narrow Gauge Convention is so important for this niche community and therefore a valuable part of our community to aim to maintain.

 

If you think you have the time, enthusiasm and passion for getting involved, please feel free to contact us via email.

info@austnarrowgaugeconvention.com

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Thanks again,

Dan Pickard

on behalf of the 16th Australian Narrow Gauge Convention organising committee.