25/09/2026
Members of Sydney Model Railway Society were saddened to hear of the passing of Robert "Bob" Gallagher OAM early on Friday 25 September.
Like many of us in this hobby his interest in model railways started in childhood which then transitioned into an apprenticeship as an Electrical Fitter Mechanic which led him to early Australian outline modellers and then became a member of SMRS and mentored by our earlier members Ken Smith and Arthur Wheatly.
Bob then entered the early days of NSW railway kits to support modellers but really hit his stride when in 1974 he took over Australian Model Railway Magazine as Managing Editor and led this being developed into an A4 sized all colour format to deliver news and articles to support decades of up and coming modellers in the hobby well before modern social media which everyone seems to rely on today.
Last but certainly not least in 2019 Queens Birthday Honours List Bob was awarded and OAM for "services to rail transport modelling" which was certainly well deserved after a lifetime of dedecation.
RIP Bob, your last train has completed it's journey.
