Narrow gauge excursion

I recently rediscovered my interest in narrow gauge railways. I think it was triggered by ordering Roco's new H0e model of the Austrian Rh 2095, in the version of 2095.014-3 of the Waldviertelbahn. A "must-buy" despite not having a narrow gauge layout. So the beauty will end up in the showcase for the time being or will get a dedicated Austrian micro-layout somewhen in the future.

In the meantime I dug up a very old box: the H0e starter set No. 31000 of Roco featuring a small Diesel locomotive, two skips and two wooden open cars and an N(!) set-track circle. I had bought this set some 35 years ago!

Roco's "Grubenbahn" Starter Set, bought some 35 years ago. The track in the image is from Peco.

The little Diesel engine with the original motor.

New core-less motor by Tramfabriek and the Train-O-Matic decoder.

The engine is too neat to have her sit in the box for another 35 years.. So I decided to give her a make-over. I installed a new motor by Tramfabriek and Train-O-Matic decoder No. 02010223. She now runs supersmoothly!

So the next thought popped up in an instant: why not build her a very small layout (70 x 38 cm) that could fit into an Ikea cupboard? Dustproof and ready to play with. Nothing fancy, just an oval to admire running trains in fitting scenery and max. two turnouts. I have ordered Peco H0e flex track and the two turnouts. More on the idea soon.. (I hope)

Engine shed with inspection pit

Late night views into the engine shed, now in its position on the layout above the inspection pit.

Engine shed roof, lighting and interiors

The roof of the engine shed that I have recently moved to the other side of the station was already totally warped when I took it out of the Auhagen kit box. No bending effort was successful and I also did not want to glue it solidly to the building - as I wanted to keep it removable because of the interior design and lighting. So I built my own roof out of an Evergreen sheet (Metal Roofing No. 4524) which has a similar structure as the roofs of the station building and freight shed.

Two led's were installed to provide the lighting and I moved the interiors that I have shown in a previous post to the other wall (as the shed got turned in its new position). The roof ridge was done from a strip of very fine sanding paper.

The roof still needs painting, it's currently only primed (Tamiya primer). Then also the chimneys and rain pipes can be glued down in position. And I want to add a figure or two to the interior, as well as some posters as wall decoration.

Moving the engine shed (part 2)

The idea of moving the engine shed looked immediately convincing on the first test. It's a much more balanced layout now that offers more possibilities and looks less crammed despite it's short length. So I waited no longer and added the new switch, added the new loco shed rail and added some centimeters to the freight shed track.

Overview of the two station modules in situ. Not shown to the left is the platform and station building area. A fascia will certainly further integrate the layout in the furniture.

First test drive in the living room with my traditional test loco, the Austrian Rh 2045. Note that the layout is shown here from the backdrop end.

Railroad modelling in the sun. The rougher work of cutting out the inspection pit in the shed was done in the garden.