Strathfield’s Model Railway

Arthur Trimingham of Augusta Street, Strathfield with his model railway, 2 January 1941

Courtesy State Library of NSW

Strathfield has long been known as an important railway junction but the suburb was once home to a very different railway system.

In the collection of the State Library of NSW is a series of photos taken on 2 January 1941 in Strathfield. They show an unidentified gentleman with his model railway layout. A little research reveals that the photos were taken for Pix magazine[1] and identifies the man as Arthur Trimingham of Augusta Street. Arthur was a carpenter and joiner from Fishlake, Yorkshire who moved to Australia as an adult, shortly before World War I. He had settled in Strathfield by the early 1920s. A single man, Arthur appears to have lived in several Strathfield houses. In 1923 he was living at Eastleigh at 3 (formerly 1) Augusta Street, Strathfield. This house no longer stands.

By the mid 1930s he was living at 14 (formerly 12) Augusta Street, Strathfield when he entertained a photographer from Pix magazine. This house still stands. The elaborate setup was impressive and completely home-made. Arthur had taken up modelmaking nine years earlier during the Depression, constructing rails from kerosene tins and fashioning carriages and engines from bits and pieces. Pleased with his success he took over a corner of the yard, laying out a track with the assistance of a friend, Mr N. Reid, who did the wiring and electrified the system.

 Photos courtesy of the State Library of NSW

By the time that he was visited by the Pix photographer, Arthur had turned his hobby into a business, supplying shops and customers with his hand-made model trains, constructed in his own workshop. Wheels were fashioned from his own lathe using old, melted down aluminium pots and pans from the kitchen. His layout included two railway systems – one overhead electric and the other, third rail. The stations were made of concrete.

                                               Arthur Trimingham in his workshop in Strathfield.                                                                                    Main control panel

Photos courtesy of the State Library of NSW

Trimingham also won awards, including at radio exhibitions in the Sydney Town Hall. In February 1949 his models were exhibited in Newcastle where 17-year-old Ernie Scott was in charge of an entire railway system made by Trimingham. These included a coalmine and a crane.[2] By this time Arthur had moved to 204 (formerly 168) Homebush Road, Strathfield where electoral rolls described him as a model maker.

Arthur Trimingham died in Strathfield just before Christmas in 1956, aged 75.

 

By J.J. MacRitchie

Local Studies Advisor

 

References

[1] Pix V.7 No.1 4 January 1941 https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/232839249

 

[2] Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate 26 February 1949 p.5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/134355492